New Year's Eve is the biggest party of the year and deserves a drink (or two) to match. It’s definitely a night that screams for more than the usual wines, beers and mixed cocktails. To help you ring in 2019, we’ve collected a variety of delicious caramel-inspired drink recipes. Dazzle your guests with these fun, festive and easy to make caramel concoctions.
Caramel-Infused
The first step in making these delicious cocktails is to infuse your favorite alcohol with your favorite caramels. The Martini Diva has a very easy to follow recipe for this. It calls for 25 McCrea’s Candies caramels, one 750 ml. bottle of booze, quart-size infusing jars and a few other items. Simple to make, the infusion will take a day or two at most and makes a great basis for a wide range of tasty tipples, including the ones below.
The Martini Diva’s Caramel Ginger Apple Martini
Ingredients:
1 ½ oz Ginger Infused Caramel Rum
1 oz Apple Pucker
1 oz apple cider
Caramel Sauce (see below for making sauce from McCrea’s Candies’ caramel)
Ice
Directions:
Drizzle some caramel sauce into the bowl of your cocktail glass then immediately place in the freezer to freeze drizzle in place. Shake all the other ingredients over ice in a cocktail shaker. Pour into your chilled glass and enjoy.
The Martini Diva’s Salted Caramel Macchiato Martini
Ingredients:
1 ½ oz Vanilla Infused Vodka
2 shots chilled espresso
1 shot heavy cream
¼ tsp/ vanilla extract
Caramel syrup
Coarse Sea Salt
Directions:
Dip the rim of your martini glass in some caramel syrup. Sprinkle a bit of the coarse sea salt onto the caramel, then chill your glass in the freezer. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice, pour in the infused vodka, espresso, cream and vanilla extract then shake until well chilled. Pour into your chilled and rimmed glass. Dust with ground espresso beans, garnish with a salted caramel candy and enjoy.
Coconut Caramel Mule
This luscious libation calls for Gubba Rum Silver Coconut Rum infused with McCrea's Candies Ginger Fusion and Classic Vanilla caramels and mixed with pineapple juice and ginger beer for the most delicious Coconut Caramel Mule, our take on a Moscow Mule.
Ingredients:
1 ½ oz caramel-infused Gubba Silver Coconut Rum
½ oz. pineapple juice
3 oz. ginger beer
Ice
Directions:
Once you've infused the rum with 14 pieces of McCrea's Candies Ginger Fusion Caramel and 6 pieces of McCrea's Candies Classic Vanilla Caramel, build all ingredients in a copper mug and stir. Garnish with a lime wheel and McCrea’s Candies Ginger Fusion Caramel.
Caramel-Rimmed
The following recipes call for a caramel-rimmed cocktail glass. This is easy to do using McCrea’s Candies’ caramel and a bit of half-and-half. Put half and half and your choice of one of McCrea’s 15 flavors of caramel in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 10 second intervals, whisking in between, until smooth sauce is created. If sauce is too thin, add more caramels. If too thick, add more half and half in ½ tsp intervals. Use immediately by drizzling onto the rim of a cocktail glass or by pouring into a shallow dish and dipping the rim of the cocktail glass into the caramel. For best results immediately freeze caramel-rimmed cocktail glasses and remove just before use.
Try these caramel-rimmed cocktails for a truly decadent and caramel-icous New Year’s Eve:
This Salted Caramel Chocolate Martini from 3 Yummy Tummies is an absolute dream in a glass. It features a glass rimmed with caramel (we’d use our Black Lave Sea Salt for an extra punch of saltiness) AND crushed pretzel and contains chocolate liqueur and caramel infused vodka. If we’re dreaming this, we never want to wake up.
We love the festive touch of this Salted Caramel Cupcake Shot. The glass is rimmed with caramel and sprinkles. It’s a party in (on?) a glass…ideal for New Year’s Eve.
How does the cookie crumble? Hopefully, right onto your cocktail glass rim! This Oatmeal Cookie Martini takes the idea of cookies and milk to the next level and calls for a cocktail glass rimmed in caramel and oatmeal cookie crumbs.
Planning a cozy get together and want a drink to match? Try this Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate. Rim your favorite mug with caramel and then add mini chocolate chips or another of your favorite sweet treats. Melt-in-your mouth goodness.
Caramel Garnished
The easiest to execute, this category of caramel cocktails uses caramel candy as a garnish. Place several of your favorite caramels onto a cocktail pick and add to your libation or use kitchen shears to snip a small caramel and place directly onto the rim.
Here are some fun and festive caramel-garnished concoctions to jazz up your New Year’s Eve celebrations.
The Kissing Caramel was developed by I Sing in the Kitchen specifically for December 31st. It combines flavored vodkas with a bit of coffee liqueur then adds on whipped cream and a caramel garnish, making for a very happy first night indeed!
My Caffeinated Chaos has perfected the Salted Caramel Martini. It’s the ideal blend of sweet and salty and would be a tasty addition to your party’s drink menu this year. Everyone loves a good vodka martini right?!
Go straight from dinner to dessert with this Caramel Cheesecake Martini from Happy Food Happy Life. Vodka, caramel sauce, and half and half combine perfectly to recreate your favorite dessert in drink form. Cheesecake with a kick!
Continuing the dessert-in-a-glass theme, check out this Butter Toffee Cocktail. Comprised of three different spirits, it's an irresistible and delightful end-of-night caramel treat.
Happy New Years!
P.S. Please drink responsibly.