These Are the Best Candy and Booze Combinations for Halloween
As Halloween approaches, adults everywhere are faced with the usual questions: How sexy is too sexy when it comes to costumes? How many candies can you confiscate from your kids before you become a monster? And, most importantly, is it possible to combine alcohol with this stolen candy, and if so, how to do it with the best results?
This last point is crucial because, as anyone who has eaten a Butterfinger and then gulped down some tannic Cabernet knows, candy sometimes makes booze taste disgusting. This is often due to the fact that most candies, especially those you’ll find in a typical pumpkin-shaped Halloween jar for kids, are almost entirely sugar, unlike more structured desserts. But do not despair – alcohol can be combined with sweets. To do this, you just need to follow two simple rules:
- Match or contrast. By combining candy and alcohol, you can match the flavor characteristics of candy or try to match them up against each other. In general, you’ll have better luck with matching than contrasting because of all that sugar – it’s just that most candies don’t have much difficulty to play with.
- Go as sweet or sweeter. With a few exceptions, you’ll want to pair candy with drinks that are just as sweet or even sweeter. Anything dry will taste very bitter and unpleasant if you snack on something super-sweet between sips: that means wines that can be described as light and fruity, or flavored whiskeys.
If you’re ready to dive into your candy stash and find a drink that pairs well with it, here are some great pairings to try for a more elevated candy experience.
Regular skittles or sour skittles and nutmeg
Skittles – and especially sour Skittles – have a sharp, sour taste, and according to sommelier Samantha Wall , you should match that level of acidity in your pair. It may seem counterintuitive, but the combination of sour flavors makes them less aggressive in comparison, emphasizing the sweetness. She recommends a high acidity semi-dry nutmeg, like Nova 7 , to complement those tiny bits of tart sweetness. If you’re having a hard time finding the right Nova Scotia wine, ask your local wine supplier for a “semi-dry, slightly sparkling wine with high acidity”.
Kit Kats and red port
Kit Kats are very sweet, with sweet milk chocolate on top of a sweet cookie wafer. Sommelier Samantha Wall points to a tawny port (i.e. a port made from red grapes aged in wooden barrels and then blended for a flavor profile) with a high alcohol content to complement that chocolatey sweetness. The strong alcohol of this wine will turn the chocolate into a melting whirlwind in the mouth, and the nutty accents of the tawny port will beautifully accentuate the wafer part. You’ll wonder why you haven’t drank port wine with your Kit Kats all your life.
Snickers and ruby port
According to sommelier Jeff Anderson , ruby port is a fortified dessert wine, which means it’s quite strong (18-22% ABV), making it the perfect pairing with a Snickers bar. Snickers bars are made with chocolate, caramel and nuts. Splashing a little ruby port in your mouth will not only bring out the sweetness, but also add a fruity note, especially cherries and berries, turning your Snickers experience into something completely unique.
Reese’s Peanut Butter Sherry Cups
According to Wine Enthusiast’s Fiona Adams , another option to pair with your peanut butter flavor is sherry, specifically amontillado – for an extra spooky Halloween meta reference – or oloroso, which have a naturally nutty flavor that’s enhanced by the peanut flavor. A Butter Cup flavor profile that balances the sweetness of these all-time favorite candies.
Butterfingers and redheads
Butterfingers, another peanut butter-based favorite, has a slightly different mouthfeel and flavor profile than Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups—less creamy and more crunchy. Sommelier Jeff Anderson says it’s another win for the tawny port, which adds toffee and caramel notes to Butterfinger. Essentially, a sip of port wine will enhance the main taste of the sweets.
Star formation and Riesling
With chewy, fruity candies like Starburst, you want a combination of alcohol that doesn’t interfere with the fruity flavor by counteracting the acidity. Sommelier Samantha Wall pairs Starbursts with Spatlese Riesling , with its low alcohol content and high acidity that will bring out the sweetness of your Starbursts without adding unnecessary fruitiness. The end result will be an enhanced taste of Starburst.
Candy corn and prosecco
Ah, candy corn is the most loved and least loved candy of all time. We can argue all day if this candy has any flavor other than “sugar”, but you can’t deny how sweet this candy is. According to Fiona Adams of Wine Enthusiast, this is where bubbles come in — bubbles can clear sugar from your mouth, sharpening your senses. Crispy prosecco with fruity flavors – I think green apple notes are a good choice.
Gummy bears and Chardonnay
Gummies are a one-way ticket to sugar, and you might think they’re impossible to pair with wine. But , according to sommelier Matthew Conway , gummy candy goes very well with a very mineral chardonnay that counteracts sugary stickiness, such as Tissot’s patchwork chardonnay.