5 Creative Ways to Garnish Cocktails with Hard Candy

Instead of having a Hard Candy Christmas via the vocal stylings of Dolly Parton, let’s aim for something a little less melancholy and a little more, well, tasty. How about we have ourselves a hard candy cocktail? Ok, so adding sweets to cocktails is nothing new. Anyone who has ever had a lemon drop shot, say, or a Dirty Shirley (with a prosecco twist), can attest to the sugary possibilities of a mixed drink. But, what if we took this a step further by actually adding candy to our cocktails?

Creating a hard candy garnish might be just the trick to sweeten up your next cocktail night, dinner party, or any occasion that calls for a bit of whimsy and an ounce or two of liquor. Of course, this will require more than just plopping a few Jolly Ranchers in the bottom of your cranberry vodka. No, no. There is a whole craft, an art, really, to incorporating hard candy into your next adult beverage. Below, we’ve gathered five of our sweetest ideas for sugaring up your next drink. (P.S. You can also add these crunchy, sweet, and sour garnishes to your mocktail or zero-proof cocktails because even those who don’t imbibe deserve mixed beverages with a twist.)

Adding a rim of salt, sugar, or even Tajín is nothing new. But have you ever tried rimming your cocktail glass with candy? This is perhaps the simplest of our sugary sipping ideas, but it packs quite the flavor punch. You can use almost any hard candy for this trick, and it’s easy to execute. Simply take your candy of choice and place it in a plastic bag. Then, pound the candy with a rolling pin, the flat end of a meat tenderizer, or even the side of a can, until it is reduced to fine dust. Next, coat the rim of your glass with liquid (water, lemon juice, etc.) and roll it in your candy dust. This will create a tasty rim for you to sip on and can be added to any number of cocktails.

If you’re making a lemon drop martini, you can use crushed lemon heads and lemon juice to rim your glass. You can also skip the work while adding some fizz to your cocktail by using pop rocks. Or, if you prefer your drink not to crackle, you can use Nerds instead. Crushed Red Hots will add a cinnamon twist to an old-fashioned, and, of course, crushed candy canes are a classic option for a spiked eggnog or peppermint hot chocolate (bonus points if you use melted chocolate for your rim adhesive).

If you’re up for more of a challenge, this next hack is for you. One of the most underrated aspects of many hard candies is the fact that you can easily alter the shape to fit your needs by melting them. This is particularly true of hard candies that are mostly made from hardened corn syrup and sugar (think Jolly Ranchers or candy canes). You can use this feature to morph hard candies into several serving utensils, such as spoons, straws, and even a glass to hold your cocktail if you’re brave enough. 

To turn your hard candies into a straw, simply melt a few pieces of candy on a silicone baking sheet. Once your candy is cool enough to handle but still pliable, roll up the soft candy with a wooden skewer inside to form a straw shape, then let it harden. Once fully cooled, remove the skewer, and you’ve got a candy straw. Making spoons or cups is much easier, of course, as all you’ll need are silicone molds in the shape you want. Simply fill your mold with crushed candy, heat it up, take it out of the oven when liquified, then de-mold when cool. 

Candy spoons in particular make a nifty add-on for winter cocktails. A peppermint spoon, for example, will work great in a boozy hot chocolate. And, if you’re under the weather, you can make a lemon candy spoon to stir your hot toddy.

Ok, so technically this is not a garnish so much as an ingredient, but one great way to utilize hard candy in your cocktail craft is by getting to the essence of what hard candy really is: sugar. By making your hard candy into a simple syrup, you can harness its flavor in a concentrated form and use it as a base for any number of drinks. 

To make a hard candy-flavored simple syrup, add your chosen candies to a pan along with a small amount of white sugar for extra sweetness. Cover your candy with water and bring to a simmer, making sure to stir at regular intervals to prevent clumping and burning. Once the candy has completely melted, and your liquid is smooth and uniform, take it off of the heat and pour it into a container for storage. 

The resulting syrup will have the same taste as whichever candy you use, so this works best for candies with distinct flavors such as Red Hots, Lemon Drops, or even Werther’s hard caramels. If you want to make these syrups really pop, put in a drop of food coloring. You can add these syrups to a standby cocktail recipe or craft a new drink entirely. Red Hot syrup would work wonders in an appletini, for example, as would caramel syrup. For a sweet, vintage twist, add strawberry bon bon syrup to a Shirley Temple in lieu of grenadine.  

This tip is similar to the simple syrup trick. However, it requires less effort but more time. From peppermint, cinnamon, lemon, and strawberry, hard candies often have distinct flavors that would perfectly complement a liquor. This hack works best with a neutral-tasting liquor (think vodka), which can serve as the base for a wonderful cocktail. To make a candy-infused vodka, add ¼ quarter cup of your chosen candy to 2 cups of vodka and let it sit for about a week, then strain, bottle, label, and enjoy.

For infused vodka, choosing a sour candy such as Lemon Heads, Lemon Drops, or even Jolly Ranchers is a great choice. You can also use candy canes for a minty twist. And, if you want some extra flare, you can add food coloring to your infused spirit (red for Red Hots, yellow for Lemon Drops). You can also infuse more flavor-forward liquors, such as whiskey, though you’ll have to be more selective. Cinnamon or maple candies make a great choice for flavoring darker liquors. Plus, you don’t necessarily have to use the infused liquor for cocktails — you can enjoy it on its own, or pour it into small containers and give it out as a party favor.

Let’s cool things down with some ice — candy ice, that is. Hard candy can be the sugar to your rim, the spoon to your cup (heck, it can even be the cup), and it can be the flavor in your drink. But do you know what it can also morph into? Ice. That’s right, you can candy-coat nearly any part of your cocktail, and candy ice cubes serve a great, dual purpose: keeping your drink crisp and slowly infusing candy flavor as they melt. 

There are several ways to make candy ice. Perhaps the simplest way is just by placing your hard candy into ice cube molds, pouring in water, and freezing. This will create a fun visual display, especially for novelty candies such as candy bones or Ring Pops. It won’t necessarily add any flavor to your cocktail as you sip it, instead acting as a little treat to munch on afterward.

The second method requires a bit more labor but will add tons more flavor. To make truly candy-flavored ice cubes, you can use candy-flavored simple syrup. As the cubes melt, they’ll infuse your drink with candy syrup. This might prove too sweet for some, so if you only want a small dose of sugar with your ice, you can add a small candy syrup layer to the top of your half-filled, already-frozen ice cube tray. Freeze again and enjoy your two-toned candy cubes. And there you have it — these five sweet ideas are sure to bring a little bit of pep to your next cocktail party.