Candy & Cocktail Pairings

For when you steal your kids' Halloween Candy. (Because you know you will.)

1. Skittles + White Cosmopolitan

The familiar sweet & sour flavor of stolen skittles goes hand in hand with this year round cocktail favorite.

1.5 oz Absolut Elyx

.5 oz St. Elder Elderflower Liqueur

.75 oz Lime Juice

.75 oz Simple Syrup

.5 oz White Cranberry Juice

Mix all ingredients in shaker with ice. Strain into cocktail glass. Garnish with lemon peel.

2. Reese's Cups + Spotted Cow

Peanut butter and chocolate offer a sweet balance to Wisconsin's favorite beer. Esters (a fruity flavor compound derived from the brewing process) found in the beer offer sweet citrus notes that pair with the Reese's perfectly.

3. M&M's + Brandy Old Fashioned Sweet

What better to pair with the chewy, chocolate and raisin notes of brandy than more chocolate? Try out the foolproof Wisconsin Old Fashioned recipe below and taste for yourself!

2 oz Central Standard North 40 Brandy

.25 oz Simple Syrup or 1 Sugar Cube

2 oz Angostura Bitters

1 Orange Slice

1 Filthy Black Cherry

Muddle all ingredients briefly in rocks glass. Top with ice and fill with sweet soda. Garnish with fresh orange slice and Filthy Black Cherry.

4. Snicker's + Mimosa

Snickers' sweet, nutty flavors make the perfect antidote to a Mimosa's bright, acidic taste. Opposites attract, they always say!

4 oz Campo Viejo Cava

2 oz Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice

Layer ingredients in champagne flute and serve chilled. Or just drink the Cava without the orange juice. Up to you.

5. Starburst + White Claw

Lean into the subtle flavors and fizzy effervescence of hard seltzer by pairing it with a your favorite Starburst flavor.

6. Candy Corn + Bourbon

"What grows together goes together." So what better to pair with a corn shaped candy than a boozy corn based beverage?

Vanilla and caramel notes created by the sugars in charred bourbon barrels match the molecular makeup of Candy Corn oh so sweetly.

7. Hot Tamales + Agave Old Fashioned

Aged tequila has lush baking spice notes from the barrel that closely match this cinnamon flavored treat, while hints of vegetal agave offer a fresh contrast to the heat.

1.5 oz Casamigos Anejo Tequila

.5 oz Disaronno Amaretto

.25 oz Simple Syrup

2 dashes Angostura Bitters

Stir all ingredients in mixing glass until thoroughly diluted. Strain into rocks glass over fresh ice. Express orange peel over cocktail and garnish with fresh orange.

8. Tootsie Pops + Malibu & Pineapple

Combine the fruity outside of a Tootsie Pop with the sweet, chocolate-y center, and you get a match made for coconut and pineapple.

1.5 oz Malibu Rum

4 oz Pineapple Juice

Pour ingredients into rocks glass over ice. Garnish with fresh lime, and pineapple frond if desired.

9. Sour Patch Kids + Gin Gimlet

"First they're sour, then they're sweet!" True statement for both Sour Patch Kids and this classic cocktail. Floral notes found in Aviation Gin offer complexity to this pairing while the lime+sugar cocktail combo mirrors the flavor of the candy nearly identically.

2 oz Aviation Gin

.75 oz Lime Juice

.75 oz Simple Syrup

Mix all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with fresh lime.

10. Hershey's Chocolate + Red Wine

This quintessential flavor pairing requires no explanation. I would recommend a Merlot or Cabernet with milk chocolate. (But I would also recommend you follow your heart, drink whatever wine you love, and enjoy it all the more with some Halloween Candy on the side.)