Candy Cane Vodka

Candy Cane Vodka

I'm going to a party on Christmas Eve and I wanted to take something new. Usually when I attend parties hosted by this particular friend I make vodka jellies but they're more of a summer treat than a festive one. Skittles vodka has been doing the rounds for a long time now so I figured that if that works, a candy cane one would too. 

The ingredients and method couldn't be more simple. You can make it in just a few minutes.

To make this festive tipple you will need vodka, candy canes and bottles. It's worth using a good quality vodka because this won't be something you drink with a mixer, it will be a shot. I'm using peppermint candy canes from Asda which cost £1 for 12, bottles from Lakeland which cost £2.99 each and hold 250ml and Grey Goose vodka. I don't how much the vodka cost because it was purchased from a duty free shop and was a gift. 

I decided to use one candy cane for each 250ml bottle. I put each one in a separate sandwich bag so I could ensure each bottle got exactly the same amount.

Bash each cane a few times to crush it.

Make sure the candy cane is really finely crushed so it dissolves easily in the vodka. After I'd bashed it a few times I rolled over it with the rolling pin to grind it up. You could also use a food processor to do this.

Poor the contents of each bag into a bottle.

Then pour in the vodka.

Give each bottle a quick shake to mix everything and you're done! 

Not all the crushed cane will dissolve straight away but that's fine, give it a couple of days and it will soon disappear. I checked on mine a couple of hours after I'd made it everything had mixed in beautifully. You can give it a taste and add more candy canes if you want. I think I prefer the square bottle as the vodka turns a lovely pale pink colour and this bottle shows it off more as the swing top has a slightly green tint to the glass. For presentation you can tie a candy cane onto the bottle with a ribbon or you could tie on a tag or even write directly on the bottle with a marker pen. This is sure to go down a treat with anyone you share it with and it makes a great home made gift. Next year everyone I know is getting sweetie flavoured vodka for their birthdays!