When we think of candy incorporating alcohol, many of us immediately picture those chocolates filled with liquid and turned into foil-wrapped shots, that emerge around the holidays and feel decidedly dated. But stroll through a specialty candy shop today and you’ll find craft confections presenting flavors from wine, beer, spirits, and cocktails in authentic, innovative ways. 

Why is there such an explosion in artisanal alcohol-inspired candy now? The answer comes down to access, collaboration, and a maturing craft candy industry.

Collaboration and shared inspiration

“Even though cacao has been worked with for millennia by indigenous people in South and Central America, and chocolate has been made in Europe for centuries, the idea of artisanal chocolate is very young,” says David Nilsen, author of Pairing Beer & Chocolate: A Guide to Bringing the Flavors of Craft Beer and Craft Chocolate Together. Firm rules haven’t been established, and chocolate makers enjoy freedom regarding flavors. “Chocolate is inherently a childhood treat, even when you’re buying it as a luxury item,” says Nilsen. “That nostalgic component allows … makers to not have to take themselves too seriously.”

Producers strike a balance of nostalgia and more mature flavors when they tap into boozy collaborations. Sugarfina is one of the earliest trendsetters in contemporary alcohol-inspired candy; their gummy bears in flavors like Champagne, Lemon Drop, Cosmopolitan are still some of the most popular in the category. Sugarfina director of e-commerce and marketing Payton White says the inspiration for treats like these, as well as upcoming releases like Martini, Bourbon, and Spicy Margarita gummies, comes from bridging what people know with what they’re curious about.

“People are drawn to unique flavors, and spirit-infused candies offer the experimentation of tasting familiar flavors, too, in a nostalgic form,” she says. A gummy bear can stir up happy childhood memories, while a gummy bear in a cocktail flavor made with Chopin Vodka, as Sugarfina’s are, combines that experience with adult tastes.

Proximity can also fuel inspiration. Craft chocolate and candy brands often find themselves in the same cities as wine makers, brewers, distillers, and mixologists, and mutual interests can result in sweet, boozy treats. 

“Breweries are so prevalent in every town these days, there’s always someone for a chocolate maker to work with,” says Nilsen. 

Ritual Chocolate was established in 2010 in Denver, a hotbed of independent beer, wine, and spirit producers. “The nature of where we were and the companies we were connecting with, we were always thinking about pairing our chocolate with wine or various alcohol,” says cofounder and president Anna Seear. They started out by asking a winery across the street to borrow some barrels, and soaked cacao nibs in the wine. 

Over the years, Seear thought about what worked in pairings, and how she could take it one step further. When Ritual moved to Park City in 2015, they worked with High West Distillery to infuse cacao nibs in the producer’s barrels, yielding a Bourbon Barrel Aged chocolate. A collaboration with Alpine Distilling has led to a Gin Juniper Lavender Chocolate bar.

While House of Knipschildt’s cocktail creations essentially come from the minds of founder Fritz Knipschildt and director of operations Mike Klein — a mix of personal preferences, current cocktail trends, and seasonal considerations — many of their showstoppers are born from partnerships, too. 

“We were approached by Danny Bouverie, who makes BouverieCV [nearby] in Connecticut, and it’s the best chocolate liqueur we’d ever tried,” Klein says. “We knew we had to make something with it, and we came up with our Espresso Martini Bonbons … these chance encounters happen more than you think, and get us thinking about the best way to showcase [those alcohol] flavors in our candy.” 

In Asheville, North Carolina, Burial Beer and French Broad enjoy a mutual collaboration. Burial has used French Broad’s cacao nibs, chocolate, and cocoa butter in their beer, and French Broad has crafted bonbons and bars featuring Burial’s beers, says French Broad cofounder and CEO Jael Skeffington. The two even brainstorm together to create recipes, like Burial’s From Precarious Places, a peach sour beer paired with a French Broad peach white chocolate bar.

Skeffington credits French Broad’s Asheville location with being able to find influences across categories and partner with like-minded creatives. The chocolate brand engages in these collaborations frequently — their Bonbon of the Month Club subscribers will enjoy an Oktoberfest collection of six bonbons infused with locally brewed beers. 

“Through collaboration, we combine our expertise with that of other creative businesses, resulting in creations truly greater than the sum of their parts,” says Skeffington. “Collaborations like these are a growing trend, embodying the idea that a rising tide lifts all boats.”

How alcohol gets into candy

Once inspirations and collaborators are chosen, there are different ways to utilize the wine, beer, or spirit. Nilsen explains it’s impossible to simply add a liquid to chocolate itself as the chocolate will separate. A go-to method, then, is what Seear uses at Ritual, soaking the cacao nibs in the alcohol. 

For creamy fillings like ganache, liquid can be used; this tends to be House of Knipschildt’s approach. Klein says they mix fresh cream with the spirit early in the process. This gives the alcohol a chance to cook down — generally, and depending on their state’s laws, makers want to avoid producing candy with an alcohol content over 0.5% since then they’re legally selling booze — and also strengthens flavors. For Knipschildt’s Aperol Spritz caramels, they add Aperol, bitters, and orange peel to heavy cream before incorporating sugar.

Another approach is to deconstruct a beverage and add its elements, like malt grains for beer, right into the bar. Hops don’t always work well this way, though, Nilsen says. “The flavors can get sharp, and chewing on vegetal hops is not all that enjoyable,” he says. Instead, chocolate makers do an air infusion, where they place finished chocolate in sealed containers with whole hops. “Cacao is 50% fat, and fat is really absorbent of aromas,” explains Nilsen. Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate has used this technique to make a Vanilla Citrus Stout bar with Cascade hops, while Ratza Chocolate uses a finely ground hop powder to create a Hopped Citrus bar.

While that nostalgia-meets-grown-up-flavors experience is special on its own, the natural upgrade is to further experiment with pairings. Champagne gummies with actual Champagne, or whiskey chocolate with whiskey, are reliable choices, there are fun ways to challenge yourself and create different matches, too. For example, Nilsen says, hop-infused chocolate works beautifully with maltier, less hoppy beers, like a caramelly, toasty Oktoberfest.

Seear notes there are similarities in the creative science of making beer, wine, spirits, and chocolate, and producers can continuously learn from each other. As industries grow and new craft makers pop up, mutual interests stand to keep collaborations flourishing, meaning ever more interesting alcohol-inspired candy on shelves.