Corny Candy cocktail

Now, this is how you make a safety cone orange cocktail, my friends.  One week left until Halloween!  I love this holiday: the weather, the ancient ties to pagan harvest festivals like Samhain, the slutty costumes, the silly-themed food, and especially the outrageous cocktails.  I started a couple of infusions last week in preparation for the festivities.  The one I’m sharing now uses a candy-corn infused vodka that is shockingly hunter-vest orange.  Fabulous!  I’ll post the other one (hint: it’s called The Poison Apple, for my gal Sazerac who is dressing as Snow White) after it premières at her party this weekend.

Corny Candy Cocktail

2 oz. candy corn-infused vodka*

2 oz. blood-orange sparkling soda

Pour both ingredients over ice and stir gently.  Garnish with a couple of candy corns threaded on a toothpick (make sure they are fresh from the bag, if they are dried out they will crack right in half).

*Candy corn vodka:  Fill any sized jar about 1/3 full with candy corns.  Fill the jar up to within ½” of the rim with vodka (use the cheap stuff for this one).  Store in a cool place out of sunlight for 3 days, shaking the jar twice a day or so to encourage the candy disintegration.  After 3 days, strain the vodka through a mesh strainer to remove candy fragments, and decant into a clean glass container.  Shelf stable for about a month, refrigerate for up to one year after that.

I’ve also been writing for SLC’s fabulous City HomeCOLLECTIVE blog recently, and what a freakin’ fun gig that’s been!  To see more on their blog about a fabulous dinner by Pago chefs at Frog Bench Farm, featuring unfiltered totally fab RUTHLewandowski wines, click here.