Willy Wonka Candy Cocktail
In Homage to the 2023 release of Wonka, I’ve created 4 Willy Wonka Movie themed cocktails for you. Let’s kickstart things with a candy inspired sweet and sour drink.
Willy Wonka might be all about chocolate and candy. But at the heart of it all is magic and pure imagination. So instead of eating your Wonka themed confections, why not drink them?
The first movie, Willy Wonka and the chocolate factory, starring Gene Wilder who in my opinion was the best Wonka to date, was released in the early 70s. 1971 to be exact. The first remake of the movie, Charlie and the chocolate factory starring Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka was released in 2005.
As a side note, I really couldn’t take that movie seriously. Johnny Depp is a fantastic actor but that character was just too weird…
What I’m trying to get across is that it makes sense that a lot of adults will be excited for this third movie - Wonka.
And yes, us adults love chocolate. But we also love cocktails.
Home Movie Release
Let’s be honest with ourselves, yes a trip out to the Cinema is great, but there’s a cost of living crisis meaning most of us will just be waiting for the 2023 Wonka to be released on streaming platforms. I’m looking at your Amazon Prime and Disney+.
That does not mean we have to have a lesser experience. In-fact, we can make the whole thing more of an experience! We can dress up head to toe in purple without feeling embarrassed and pause to pee if we so wish. Even more importantly, we can make Wonka themed cocktails and magically drinks.
In which case you’re in the right place. I’ve covered movie cocktails before, check out these 7 movie inspired drinks to learn more. But today is all about Wonka.
How the Candy Cocktail was inspired by Wonka
What counts as a Wonka themed cocktail? A few things really. The checklist I’m looking for with these cocktails is;
Candy themed
Magical
Purple
Chocolatey
Throughout the next few days I’ll be making all manner of Willy Wonka inspired cocktails to suit everyone of those needs and every possible palate and taste. For the chocolate lover, we have the Wonka cocktail, for something magical we have the Fizzy Lifting Drink and for something fun we have the Oompa Loompa. This specific one is my Candy Cocktail, where we will be leaning more into a Sweet and sour tasting drink.
So if you like your cocktails sweet, this is the one for you. But why not make a full night out of it and make all the Wonka cocktails I have coming.
Ingredients and Tools
For the Wonka Cocktail
#1 Lime and Lemon juice
First up is the lime and lemon juice. When we think sweets we think, well, sweet. But any confection you will find will have a whole lot of acidity in it. Usually, a combination of malic and citric acid. 2 things that come from limes and lemons.
It helps preserve the sweets as well as giving them that sweet and sour balance. I’ve spoke about this before when talking about super juice.
So for this Wonka themed cocktail, we’re going to go in with both lime AND lemon and plenty of it! So make sure you pick up a pack of both.
#2 Cranberry Juice
Cranberry juice will add length to our cocktail, that beautiful redish pink color and of course, that added tart flavour.
If you’re not a huge fan of cranberry juice, scroll down to the variations section where I’ll discuss different options you have for substituting the cranberry juice.
#3 Vodka
This is a Vodka based Wonka cocktail. Why? Because we want a clean base. All we want is tart cranberry and sour limes and lemons. So vodka works great for just adding some balance, cutting through that sourness and upping the ABV a little bit.
You can use any Vodka you want. I’d suggest something middle shelf such as Absolut or Stoli. Don’t go for expensive vodka because we’re going to be adding so much citrus and cranberry in this that it’ll be a waste of the good stuff.
Likewise, don’t use Vodka that’s too cheap otherwise it’s all we will taste. Like I said, stick to the middle of the road. Absolut and Stoli are perfect.
#4 Candy Syrup
This is the only one where you’re going to be thinking “Blooming heck Cameron! I’ve either got or can easily get everything else, but what the hell am I supposed to do about Candy Syrup!?”
Well don’t worry. Relieve some of that stress. Yes, you might not have this immediately on hand but its easy to find and you have plenty of options. “Candy Syrup” is my broad term for any syrup that’s going to replicate a candy flavor. If you’re UK based like myself, you can swing by amazon and pick up any of these syrups super cheap;
Any one of those is perfect. They’ll all work great for this recipe. And if you’re American based or shop online using the dot com amazon. Then check out these options:
Other then that it depends on your taste preference. Strawberry is a good go to, any strawberry flavoured syrup and if you can’t find any, just muddle fresh strawberry’s in the bottom of your glass.
For the Serve and Garnishing
That about covers the ingredients for this candy cocktail inspired by Willy Wonka, but let’s cover some other basics to get you started:
#1 Candy/Sweets
First up is the Candy to garnish our cocktails. I just picked up a bag of mixed sweets and picked my favorite. I’d suggest you do the same but feel free to take some creative initiative here. You can use whatever you want, you can even top the entire thing with cotton candy like I did in my cocktail course with the Spray Tan cocktail.
#2 Tall glass
Your also going to need some glassware. I’d recommend a tall glass for this cocktail, but feel free to use whatever you have.
The Exact Glass I Used
#3 Mini pegs
Now you have your glass and your garnish, how do you attach it to the glass? For that, you’re going to need some mini pegs.
Even if you’re going to leave this cocktail ungarnished, I’d recommend picking these up anyway. I use them for about 90% of the cocktail’s I make whether it’s to peg citrus peels on the side of a glass or hold cocktail sticks in place.
Basic Mini Pegs
#4 Cocktail Shaker Set
Finally, your going to need a shaker as this is a shaken cocktail. If you don’t already own a cocktail shaker, I’d recommend picking up a Boston shaker, which is a tin on tin styled shaker. That being said read this article about the 4 different styles of cocktail shakers so you can better decide which shaker will suit you.
And if this is your first shaker, get a set so you have everything you need and can upgrade each piece to suit yourself.
My Recommendation
If you’re not ready to make the dive into buying a cocktail shaker, then use a jar with a tight fitting lid, or any similar container with a tight fitting lid that you can fill with ice and liquid and shake without it coming loose.
Variations
Cranberry Juice
If you don’t like cranberry juice or just want to introduce some extra flavour, here are a couple of ways you can do so;
Swap the cranberry juice for pomegranate juice. It’s equally as tart but will give more of a exotic flavour.
Cut cranberry by half in this recipe and replace the other half with orange juice or pineapple juice.
The spirit base
Another way to switch this up and add some extra flavor is to swap out the vodka base. Tequila would make an interesting variation as would gin.
Feel free to get creative and mess around with your favorite spirits to see what works best for you.
The Garnish
We’ve already covered this but just in case you’ve skipped ahead, you can swap the garnish out for whatever garnish you want. Pick up your favorite sweets and candy and top it with that. Get as creative and magical as you like!
Tips and Tricks
Pre-batching - Make in advance
If you love this recipe and plan on having a few, or you’re hosting a Wonka watching party and don’t want to be pausing constantly to mix up cocktails, then I’d suggest pre-batching.
To do this, multiple all the ingredients by as many cocktails as you plan on making. Then store it in a bottle with a closed cap and keep refrigerated. This can be done the night before.
When it comes to the serve, simply pour out the required amount, shake, and strain.
Make it sparkling
If you prefer your cocktails sparkling, then why not cut the cranberry by half, then fill it the rest of the way with sparkling water or lemonade.
More Willy Wonka Inspired Cocktails
As mentioned, this is just 1 of many Willy Wonka inspired cocktails I’ll be sharing with you.
For something chocolatey and purple - check out the Wonka cocktail.
For something resembling and inspired by the Oompa Loompa - check out the Oompa Loompa.
For something Fizzy and fun - check out the Fizzy Lifting Cocktail.
If you just want to scan through all the cocktails with advance for hosting your own Wonka watching party, then check out the full list of Wonka inspired cocktails here.
More Movie Inspired Cocktails
At this point I think I’m slowly becoming the movie cocktail guy. I’ve been creating movie inspired cocktails for as long as this website has been a thing. I cover quite a lot of these on this article here about all the popular movie themed and inspired cocktails you can make.
But every now and again I like to really dedicate some time to certain movies and shows. Such as these Charlie and the Chocolate Factory/Willy Wonka themed drink recipes.
I’ve done everything from the Baby Yoda cocktail to the Cruella De Vil Cocktail. Check out the recipes below for the full range.
Willy Wonka Candy Cocktail Recipe
Wonka Themed Candy Cocktail
Ingredients
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients to a cocktail shaker and fill with ice.
- Shake well and strain into a tall glass over fresh ice.
- Garnished by pegging your favourite Candy on the side of the glass and enjoy!
Notes
When it comes to the candy syrup. You can use whichever syrup tastes like whichever candy you love. Strawberry syrup works great or you can pick up cotton candy syrups and candy floss syrups online.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
316.84Fat
6.76 gSat. Fat
4.11 gCarbs
31.22 gFiber
0.93 gNet carbs
30.3 gSugar
28.42 gProtein
1.76 gSodium
21.83 mgCholesterol
4.25 mgThe nutritional information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
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Hi, I’m Cameron, guv’nor of Smartblend. If you liked this then you’re in luck, I have a bunch more recipes like it. I share only vegetarian and pescatarian food recipes, cocktails, and drink guides with a sprinkling of wellness and mindful drinking. If that sounds like you, then stick around!
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