A Jolly Rancher cocktail may not technically be a martini, but rest assured, it tastes darn well. Tastessence brings you some amazingly easy recipes to make Jolly Rancher martinis right in the comfort of your home.
A tip to begin with …
Jolly Rancher candies come in varied flavors, which is why you need the right flavored liqueur to mix the perfect cocktail. But fear not, if you don’t really have any fancy-schmancy fruit liqueurs stocked in your bar; you can still replace it with good ol’ grenadine syrup. Add it to your vodka along with a splash of your favorite fruit juice, and you’ll be sipping on something as good as a Jolly Rancher cocktail.
A Jolly Rancher cocktail is a delightful adulthood spin on a childhood classic. There are two very distinct recipes to make this cocktail. The first one involves making use of the actual candy, whereas one simply seeks inspiration from those sweet, colorful delights. Peruse both, and get started with making your own delicious cocktail.
How to Make a Jolly Rancher Drink
Ingredients:
1 liter vodka
3.75 pound bag of Jolly Rancher hard candy
Glass bottles or flasks (one for each flavor)
Steps:
► To begin with, you need to sort out the candy flavors. You’d probably get flavors like watermelon, grape, raspberry, cherry, and apple.
► Unwrap the candy and put 10 – 12 pieces in a glass bottle/flask. Use a separate bottle for each flavor.
► Now, pour the vodka into the bottle, right over the candy. Fill the bottle up to the brim.
► Let the infusion sit for 8 – 10 hours, or until the candy pieces have completely dissolved in the vodka.
► Your Jolly Rancher-infused vodka is ready to be served. You can serve it neat, or use it to flavor your martinis.
Alternatively, you can also make a Jolly Rancher martini sans the candy. In the recipes that follow, we’ve made use of flavored liqueurs instead of the candy-infused vodka.
Jolly Rancher with Peach Schnapps
Ingredients:
2 oz. Peach schnapps
4 oz. Cranberry juice
3 – 4 Ice cubes
Procedure:
Place ice cubes in a cocktail shaker. Pour the peach schnapps, followed by the cranberry juice over the ice. Shake well until the drink chills. Strain the mixture into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a slice of lemon, if desired.
Watermelon Jolly Rancher
Ingredients:
2 oz. Watermelon liqueur
1 oz. Amaretto
2 oz. Cranberry juice
3 – 4 Ice cubes
1 Watermelon piece for garnish
Procedure:
The ice cubes go first into the cocktail shaker. Pour the liqueur, amaretto, and cranberry juice over the ice. Shake the mixture until it chills; strain it into a cocktail glass. Garnish your drink with a thinly sliced watermelon, and it is ready to be served.
Green Apple Jolly Rancher
Ingredients:
1 oz. Green apple schnapps
1 oz. Peach schnapps
3 oz. Cranberry juice
3 – 4 Ice cubes
1 Green apple slice for garnish
Procedure:
Pour the ingredients over ice placed in a cocktail shaker. Shake the mixture until it is sufficiently chilled. Strain it into a cocktail glass, and garnish it with a thin slice of green apple.
As is apparent from the recipes that we’ve provided, you can either infuse your vodka with candy to get that authentic Jolly Rancher taste to your cocktails, or you can make use of various fruity liqueurs to make a candy-free version. We can vouch for the fact that both taste divine, so do give these recipes a try, and let us know what you think.