I was hoping to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with a traditional Irish candy in infusion form, but that dream has been deferred this year. Reason being: Irish Potato Candy has proven harder to produce in liquid form in a bottle than it is to create in the kitchen. Fortunately though, while chomping down on a Cadbury Crème Egg I discovered that Cadbury actually does make other chocolate products, including Cadbury’s Caramel, which is found in Ireland. Do I smell another two birds with one [whiskey] stone infusion? Easter (cause we silly Americans clearly associate Cadbury with Easter) AND St. Patrick’s Day!
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Chocolate Caramel Infusion
Ingredients:
750 mL vodka
4 or 5 cocoa beans
6 cubes of caramel
Infusion Time:
Two weeks
Directions:
– place cocoa beans and caramel in a clean, dry mason jar
– add vodka, close the jar, and then give it a good swirl
– place the jar in a cool dry place for two weeks or until dissolved, shaking daily
– store in the fridge for up to a month
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This is a simple, and delicious infusion that produces a clean chocolate and caramel sensation without the over powering sense of many commercial chocolate liqueurs. I find many commercial brands are more like drinking alcoholic chocolate milk than they are a true chocolate flavored spirit. That isn’t always a bad thing, just not my aim in The Candy Aisle.
This infusion is excellent on its own, chilled, but also can be the perfect base for a dessert cocktail. That we can discover later, for now, In the Spirit of Green, I opted for a shooter, aka bomb.
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Irish Starbucks Bomb
Ingredients:
1 oz. chocolate caramel infused vodka
1 oz. Van Gogh double espresso vodka
½ oz. irish cream
Half a glass of irish stout
Directions:
– combine first 3 ingredients in a shot glass/shooter
– drop glass into freshly poured stout
– drink it ALL IMMEDIATELY
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WOOOO!!! Rager! Responsible Rager! That’s an oxymoron I’m sure, but as I get older it has become much more of a reality. *orders a water bomb on the rocks.*
A couple quick notes:
- If you substitute whiskey for vodka, you get an awkwardly good concoction one could easily pass off as Irish.
- If you can’t find any cocoa beans, 1 cup cocoa powder or 1 cup milk chocolate morsels can be substituted.
Now back to these Cadbury Crème Eggs.
Cheers!
infusiasm 