Vodka Gummy Bears

We just had our first Superbowl party this past weekend and it was lots of fun! We had WAY too much food as to be expected, but at least I know no one went hungry. I don't think I'll be able to do a post for every single item that we made for the party but the vodka gummy bears we made were a hit to say the least! They are super simple to make and only require some planning ahead of time. They aren't harsh and are actually really sweet and of course fun to eat. There are a ton of tutorials out there on how to make vodka gummy bears so I will just give you some ingredients, step by step instructions and pictures of the results. (See a Youtube tutorial here.)

Ingredients
- 2-3 lbs of Haribo gummy bears (Yes, the brand is important. These gummy bears tend to keep their shape and do not disintegrate as easily as other brands. The amount of gummies will depend on how much you want to make. Buy them cheap on Amazon -- Haribo Gummi Candy Gold-Bears, 5-Pound Bag)
- 1 bottle of Smirnoff Fluffed Marshmallow vodka
- 3 cups of Stoli Vodka (over the 4 day period)
- 1 can of frozen lime juice concentrate

Tools
- large holding container with lid
- strainer
- long spoon

Preparation 

1. Add gummy bears to your large holding container. (I put mine in a handful at a time to make sure none of the bears are stuck together.)

2. Fill up container with the entire bottle of Smirnoff Fluffed Marshmallow vodka (the gummy bears should be completely covered).
3. Close the container and put in the refrigerator.
4. After 24 hours take the container out and stir the gummy bears around. You will see that they have absorbed much of the alcohol.
5. Add more vodka so that the gummy bears are completely submerged in vodka. (I used regular Stoli because I didn't have any more of the Smirnoff Fluffed vodka)
6. Repeat this process daily for a total of at least 4 days.
7. On the night before when you want to serve these gummies, instead of adding vodka to the gummies, add the entire can of frozen lime juice. Stir well and mix thoroughly.
8. Put in the refrigerator once again overnight.
9. Right before serving, take the gummy bears out and strain the excess liquid. (Save the liquid in a cup or bowl--it's delicious and can be drank!)
10. Serve the gummy bears in small shot glass plastic containers.

Enjoy!

Infused Vodkas for the Superbowl

So this year we are hosting a Superbowl party and my boyfriend Val has been eagerly awaiting such an occasion so he can infuse some vodka for Bloody Marys. Val's passion for Bloody Marys started when we went to a local bar in Japantown for a Niner's party bus over a year ago. He has been stuck on finding/creating the BEST Bloody Mary ever since. When we were in Chicago last year we happened to stumble on a sports bar after Sunday brunch that had a Bloody Mary BAR. Basically it was build your own Bloody Mary complete with 6 different homemade infused vodkas, over 20 different hot sauces, 5 different custom tomato juice blends, and ample toppings--bacon, sausage, cheese cubes, pickles, celery, artichoke hearts, peppers etc. Val wants to recreate this for our Superbowl party but on a smaller scale. Hence our post about infused vodkas. First off, I have to give credit to the boyfriend since he was the one actually prepping and cooking this time. I was just the photographer. :)

We ended up deciding on 2 different flavors--bacon and cucumber. When we looked up instructions online we found a couple tutorials which were really helpful and I'll give credit below for each type of vodka.

Cucumber Infused Vodka -- original tutorial by Shutterbean found here

 Ingredients

- 750 ml vodka (we used Stoli vodka)
- 1 large English cucumber, peeled & seeded
- air tight container (we used a tall mason jar from IKEA -- $5 super cheap!)



 











Preparation

1. Peel, seed & chop cucumbers and place in a seal-able container large enough to contain it all.










2. Add the vodka on top and seal.
















3. Store in a cool, dark place (like your pantry) for 3 days, or up to a week, agitating daily. TIP: Apparently any longer and your vodka will develop a bitter taste.


<-- my boyfriend "agitating" the cucumbers ;)











4. Strain with coffee filters or cheesecloth. Store and serve well chilled.

Note: Apparently this recipe was originally from Sean Timberlake of Punk Domestics

Bacon Infused Vodka -- original tutorial and recipe found on ManMade.com 

Ingredients

- 6 slices of bacon (normal thickness is fine)
- 750 ml of vodka (we used Stoli again)
- air tight container (we used a tall mason jar from IKEA -- $5 super cheap!) 















Preparation

1. Cook the 6 slices of bacon in a frying pan. Don't throw away the grease!










2. Carefully pour the grease in the mason jar. Add the bacon strips standing upright. (Some tutorials chopped the bacon up before hand.)















 3. Pour the vodka over the bacon, making sure to completely immerse the bacon strips. (Ours obviously wasn't covering the bacon so we had to use a long wooden spoon to push down the bacon a bit--see final picture. We might add some more vodka tomorrow once we get to the store.)












4. Seal the jar and put in a cool, dark place for 2-3 weeks.
















5. After the time allotted passes, place the mason jar in the freezer. The vodka will not freeze but the fat from the bacon will solidify. (pictures to come--sounds gross!)

6. Remove the jar from the freezer, remove the bacon strips and strain the solidified fat through a coffee filter or cheese cloth. 













7. Your end result will be a clear, pale yellow vodka that tastes like bacon!

(Cucumber vodka on the left and bacon vodka on the right.)

See how we used these vodkas for Bloody Mary's during our Superbowl party.