Making gummy bears from your favorite cocktail, wine or even beer is easy! With a handful of ingredients and a gummy bear mold you can have these ready to enjoy in under 30 minutes. Just mix up a half cup of your favorite alcoholic drink, add sugar and gelatin, then use a dropper to fill your molds. Want to learn how to make alcoholic gummy bears from scratch? Read on!
The Story Of Barfy Meat Bear:
This is a story of how something that was supposed to be delicious was absolutely disgusting then went all the way around to being beyond delicious. I was reading an online article about how an $8 bottle of rose wine from Aldi had won second prize in some international wine competition. I’ve been toying with the idea of some alcoholic gummy bears and had already ordered the molds (thanks Amazon Prime for fulfilling my every whim). I got pretty excited and started to research wine flavored candies and gummies. Right away I found this recipe, but I had two problems.
Problem the first, they seemed so basic and it is my personal mission to overgild the lily whenever possible. Problem the second, I didn’t want to like, drive to Aldi to get the rose. So I hatched a plan to make my bears with some moscato I had on hand (yum!) and to add some extra yumminess with the real fruit flavor of strawberries. I had powdered some dehydrated strawberries for another recipe so I was good to go. Usually when I start to feel very smug about my superior recipe ideas it’s right about time to make something truly and remarkably unpalatable. And in case that’s not enough foreshadowing for you, I was feeling VERY smug about these Strawberry-Moscato Gummy Bears.
First I cooked everything up according to the directions and added a few tablespoons of strawberry powder right at the end. Then I poured them into the molds, let them set up for awhile and then unmolded them, super excited to see the mini-masterpieces I had just created. The first problem was that the orange-ish red of the strawberry powder combined with the clumpy, gelatinous and mottled texture made these poor bears look like they had been crafted from discarded organ meats.
No biggie, I thought. They are going to taste amazing and that’s what counts. I can work on the appearance. Maybe add some red food dye or use the hand blender to get them smoother. Nope, after tasting them I realized the their appearance was their best feature. By some feat of hellish alchemy, I had perfectly balanced the mustiness of the wine with the acidity of the strawberries and achieved a flavor as close to barf as anything I have ever willingly tasted. Then maybe I ate 5 more just to be sure they really were super-disgusting. Then I made my husband eat some. He is usually diplomatic but simply said, “Those are not good”.
Since I sort of hate being wrong, I uncorked a bottle of rose I found lurking in the wine cabinet and decided to make them just as the recipe recommended. These sure looked a lot better! Pale pink, perfectly clear. But they just didn’t taste that good to me. I guess I just don’t like wine-flavored gummy bears. But I do like fancy cocktails.
Cocktail-Inspired Gummy Bears From Scratch:
So here’s how I’ve atoned for those Meat-Barf Bears: Lovely, boozy, flavorful and fancy gummy bears based on a few of my favorite cocktails. I started with the Aviation ones. An Aviation is a mix of gin, maraschino liquor, lemon juice and Creme de Violette. I didn’t have the latter so I just added a drop of purple food dye to give the bears that iconic Aviation color.
Next up, my personal favorite, Manhattan bears. Whiskey, sweet vermouth, bitters and a hit of maraschino syrup right from the jar. This is the recipe that made it necessary to carry my great aunt Helen down the stairs to the car on multiple Christmas Eves.
And finally, sweet limoncello bears. Straight limoncello, fruity, frosty and a bit bitter. The drink that reminds me of long, relaxed Italian meals served at an appropriately late hour.
How To Make Alcoholic Gummy Bears From Scratch:
All three versions were delicious. I think you could adapt this recipe to any favorite cocktail, spirit, or liqueur. I’m thinking of trying some Chambord ones. And maybe a batch with the new Absolut flavor: Wild Tea and Elderflower. I think the sky’s the limit here. The only special equipment you need to make these are the molds. You can order a set of molds with a dropper here
These are so simple. They really take less than a half an hour from start to finish. You could be mixing these up at 4:30 and popping them into your mouth at 5:00. And it’s got to be five o’clock somewhere. Cheers!
More Alcohol-Inspired Treats From Bakers Brigade:
- Bourbon Barrel-Stout Gummy Bears
- Salted Mezcal Caramels
- Campari Cake With a Negroni and Blood Orange Filling
| Prep Time | 5 minutes |
| Cook Time | 5 minutes |
| Passive Time | 15 minutes |
| Servings |
bears
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- 2 ounces gin
- 1.5 ounces Luxardo maraschino liquer
- 1 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 drop purple food dye (I used Wilton violet)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 3 packets unflavored gelatin Knox brand
- 2 ounces whiskey
- 1 ounce sweet vermouth
- 2 dashes bitters
- 2 tablespoons maraschino syrup from a jar of maraschino cherries
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 3 packets unflavored gelatin Knox brand
- 4 ounces limoncello
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 3 packets unflavored gelatin Knox brand
- 1 drop yellow food dye optional
Ingredients
Aviation Bears
Manhattan Bears
Limoncello Bears
|
|
- In a medium saucepan, stir the gelatin and sugar until well combined. Add the remaining ingredients and stir until smooth.
- Heat over medium-low heat until the gelatin and sugar have dissolved. If you want to keep all the alcohol, use a candy thermometer to keep your mixture under 90 degrees F.
- Once dissolved, use an eye dropper (included with the molds), to fill each gummy bear cavity. This recipe will fill two 50-bear molds.
- Put in the fridge for at least 15 minutes to set, up to overnight. Unmold and refrigerate in an airtight container until ready to serve. Keeps for about a week.
1. Please please PLEASE tell me that you took a photo of that first unfortunate set of gummies. And that you’re willing to send it to me.
2. These sound just amazing, and I will absolutely be making them in the near future.
I didn’t but I should have! So mucilaginous.
Hi Jane!
My future cousin-in-law is vegan, so I’m going to try my hand at some of these using agar instead of gelatin.
Any words of wisdom?
Advice to anyone with 3 year olds: I gave the two sets of gummy molds and little droppers to the twins yesterday with a couple glasses of water, and they were entertained for a good hour. #magic
I have no words of wisdom regarding agar. Except that you should probably google it. And bonus on the toddler magic. Great idea!
How I convert this into a recipe for Coke & whiskey gummies?
Hi Bob! I would do 3 tablespoons of whiskey and 5 tablespoons of coke. If you really want them to have a kick, you could go half and half. Also, consider using Diet Coke because the regular coke might make them a bit stickier than is ideal. Let me know how it goes if you try it! I’ve made gummy bears out of about 20 different cocktails but haven’t tried this combo yet.
How much of each the other ingredients would I use?
I made the gummies today, but I ended up using rum instead of whiskey. (I assume it makes no difference.) I also flattened the Coke before starting. They turned out to be very good, although I think they’d be better if they were just a touch sweeter.
Also, I don’t know if this makes a difference to anyone else, but I used kosher gelatin, and it never seemed to completely dissolve, but I don’t think that it affected the final product.
Hi Bob 🙂 Sorry I’m just now getting back to you. I’m glad the gummies worked out! For any variation, I use 1/2 cup of liquid, 1/4 cup of sugar and 3 packets of gelatin.
I’m confused, your recipes say 3 packets, but he you say 2 .. yikes! What do I do?
I’d say use the coke to hydrate the gelatin, and you want the sugar from the real coke. I’d also suggest adding some glucose syrup to the sugar and heat it to 240f. You can always use agave or honey or whatever too. Also, you can buy flavor concentrate and use that. I’ve actually been making an Avation cocktail gummy for years, and I use gin extract, Bombay Sapphire, & juniper berries to up the gin flavor, lemon, creme de violette, violet extract, citric acid, then Luxardo of course. But if you want shelf stable gummies, you have to dehydrate them anyways, so you might not want to waste your good gin ♂️ Happy experimenting!
Loved reading this, sounds so familiar to thoughts in my own head with a variety of failed attempts . Have my molds and eye dropper ready to go and can’t wait to try these!
Hi! This is a great post! Can you help me with a Champagne and peach schnapps recipe? How much of each liquid should I use?
Hi LishaBeth! That sounds like a yummy combination ❤️ I would probably do half and half. I recommend using a dry champagne as opposed to a sweeter one. The schnapps are very sweet and I’ve found that the gummy bears get a little sticky if there’s too much sugar. But honestly, that’s splitting hairs. These are pretty foolproof!
Hi! I am thinking of making these as an old fashioned. Thinking bourbon, bitters and a touch of grenadine or orange juice. What do you think??
Hi Heather! I think that sounds delicious . If you make them, will you let me know how they turn out? I LOVE an old fashioned.
These turned out perfectly. Ended up making Old Fashioned, Gin & Tonic, Rum Punch, Margarita, Moscow Mule and Fireball!!
You are not messing around! I made some Fireball ones and they were so good ❤️. Thanks for the update, I get a kick out of seeing what other people make 🙂
What were your Rum Punch and Fireball recipes (or did you just use only Fireball)?
Thanks!
The intention was just one flavour but they were so easy to make that I went wild! So pretty too with all the different colours!
Exactly! Once you see how easy it is, you want to try a batch with every bottle in your liquor cabinet.
I tried this recipe using regular Coke and no alcohol. The results were…. 🙁
The gummies were almost flavorless, and they were very hard. Next I tried reducing 2 cups of Coke, then using 2 packets of gelatin, and they came out in between jello and gummies, and the flavor was better, but still weak. Any suggestions how to improve them?
PS All the gelatin I’m using is kosher gelatin (ie fish gelatin). Does that make a difference?
The kosher gelatin shouldn’t matter I don’t think. I think it’s going to be tough to get a really strong cola flavor without using some extract and something acidic. The advantage of the cocktail bears is that the ingredients in a cocktail are already quite intense. But the flavor in cola is not quite as concentrated. You Pils try boiling it down almost to a syrup but then the other ingredients would need to be tweaked. Without experimenting myself, I couldn’t say what the magic combo would be. The alcohol does affect the way they set up so my recipe will be really tough and too gummy with no alcohol. Take a look at this recipe, it might be more of what you’re looking for: https://www.thespruceeats.com/cola-gummies-520894
Hello! This is so fun. I’m wondering if the bears have the effect of or just the flavor of alcohol?
Hello! If you hear it gradually and keep it under 90 degrees they will be just as alcoholic as the cocktail by volume. The hotter and longer you heat it, the more the alcohol will cook out. What flavor are you making? I’m looking for ideas
I’m so excited to make these, but I only have a jar of gelatin, no packets. Do you know how much is contained in each packet of gelatin? Thanks so much for all these recipes and the inspiration!!
.25oz is one packet!
I have the packets they are .25oz each! I am going to try pinapple Malibu ones!
Oooooo. What measurements did you use for the pineapple coconut ones? I would love to try them
I made ciroc apple gummies and they tasted amazing but a bit sticky. Any suggestions?
This is so awesome! I’m so excited to make them. Do you know the approximate shelf life after making them? How long can they be stored before having to eat them?
Those of you who made Fireball ones, did you use only Fireball or did you mix it with something else?
Any other ideas are also welcome! Thinking about doing this for Halloween spiders.
Thanks!
No one else has the problem of the gelatin clumping up as soon as it hits the fluid? I sprinkle it lightly to no avail. The little molecules find each other in the booze and WHUMP…..family reunion.
Cornstarch fisted I to the molds before purging will reduce stickiness and you can toss gummies with a sprinkle of cornstarch I’m a ziplock bag to help as well! I’ve also read that cooking spray can help but that just seems counterintuitive to me. Found this while looking up sparkling jello from my childhood and then thinking to make champagne Jell-O shots but I love this idea so much more because I have these molds sitting in my cupboard. Boozy bears to the Christmas party is a go!
I’m having a girl’s night soon and I just ordered the molds. I had a melty disaster the last time I tried to make vodka gummy bears with store bought bears.
And yes, I have a question – 2 ounces of booze seems light. How much can I use in the bears and still get them to set? I don’t want to sound like a lush, but it’s a sleep over
Sorry I’m just seeing this! I haven’t tried to pack any more liquor into these so I think you’d have to do some trial and error. For what it’s worth, they are actually pretty boozy as is. But maybe I’m a lightweight. I’ve been called worse! Let me know what you discover <3
@jane – is white sugar part of the ‘jelling’ process? Could I substitute Splenda or Truvia?
Hi! Yes, the sugar is part of the gelling process. You can do some research about low-sugar or sugar free jellies and see if there might be a way. But I’ve not tried it myself. Good luck and let me know what you find out!
We are having a pot party (pot luck that is) and dressing up the 60th look. I am making gummy bear shots.
4 packs of gummy bears in casserole dish.
Cover in Vodka and soak overnight covered.
Make jello flavour you like put in fridge till set.
Mix soaked jello bears in with set jello
Put in shot glasses.
So good.
That sounds amazing! I’ve never soaked store bought gummy bears before. Sounds like an excellent short cut. And then to get all meta and suspend it all in another layer of jello? Next level.
I needed your story this morning! You are a very funny person! Though I have had my moments like yours and at the time I know it’s the worst thing in the world!
Thanks Brandon! Gotta break some eggs to make an omelette, right? Truth is that I rarely have a good idea that’s not some version of a really bad idea I had first!
Anyone try it with Hennessy?
I’m extremely confused for the order here am I making a caramel first & then adding the liquor and gelatin??
No, no caramel needed. You just briefly warm the ingredients until the sugar and gelatin has dissolved. Let me know how it goes!
Need to know if you could use flavored gelatin instead of unflavored.
I think that would be fine. But if it has sugar in it, that will throw off the recipe.
I tried to find a question about it already but I may have overlooked- anyone have the measurements for vodka gummies and tequila gummies? I do not drink but want to make these for a friend so I do not want to trial and error with them. Thank you.
You can make these with 1/2 cup of any cocktail. Vodka and/or tequila should be fine. I might add a little lime juice to give it a little more zing <3
Any reason this recipe wouldn’t work with red or white wine?
Nope! Wine should work just fine
I’m thinking about a caramel apple. Butterscotch schnapps and apple cider. Think I would still need to add full amount of sugar?
Ooooo, yum! I would do 2oz vodka, one ounce schnapps and one ounce cider. Tell me how they turn out!
How long do they last after making them?? Can you keep them at room temperature?
These should last in the fridge for about 2 weeks. At room temperature, it depends a bit on the cocktail you use. I’ve found that the “gummier” they are, the better they do at room temp and that varies.
Can you make these without the sugar? How do you think they will turn out? Is the sugar a necessity?
I have never tried them without sugar. There are some good sources online about tweaking the sugar content in gelatin desserts. Let me know how it goes if you try it!
How could i make them with Hennessy???
Hi Yazmin! Just use 1/2 cup Hennessy in place of the other cocktail ingredients
I know you said … 3 packets of Knox but I have the Plastic Jar…. Whats the packets in table or teaspoon?
Hi Griselda 🙂 3 packets of Knox gelatin equals 7 1/2 teaspoons or 2 tablespoons plus 1 1/2 teaspoons. Hope that helps!
Jane, thanks for all your help….I never asked a question but I got some great advise….I hope you know you’re doing a great job helping! Keep it up….we appreciate it!!!
Aw, thanks Marcy! This comment is so kind I had to read it a few times before I realized it wasn’t spam . Have a great day ❤️
Can you vacuum seal them and not have to keep them refrigerated?
Interesting question Linda, I’m honestly not sure. I think that what makes them lose their texture is being warm for an extended amount of time not being exposed to air. But I’ve never tried it, so I can’t be sure!
Hey there Jane – I’m in the UK and only have leaf gelatine (15 leaves / 25g in total) and am unsure how many leaves to use – I am going to try your limoncello bears and some wine bears!!! Genius recipe btw !!!!!
Thanks Clare! One packet is equal to 3 leaves. So this recipe will require 9 leaves :). Let me know how they turn out <3
Is there a way to preserve these?? I made some but a few days later they tasted like rubber. Is there a preservative that can be added??
I’m not sure about a preservative, sorry! I haven’t had that experience, maybe I’m eating them too quickly 😉
Would you say these are more like jello shot shaped gummies? I’m looking for the consistency of a real gummy bear. Any advice? I have gelatin, corn syrup, and soribol. Any help matters…thank you
Yes, these are made with gelatin so they don’t have the exact texture of gummy bears. Good luck, let me know what you find out!
How do you make them more shelf stable? Like able to be packaged for sale?
Hi Sarah 🙂 I don’t know of a way to do that, I wish I did!
LOVED ALL OF IT. your descriptions were so funny! I made the limomcello and manhattan. I also made a mulled wine/apple flavor. 1/4 cup wine, 1/4 cup apple that came out delicious. I still think Manhattan was my fave.
That’s excellent Meg! The Manhattan ones are my favorite too ❤️
Hi so I’m getting into candy making and found out what actual gelatin is and got disgusted. Reason I mention that is because been making own flavors using basic cider technique fruit, water, later adding Suva and spices than once cooled use a little liquid once strained well mix with agar agar and they come out fine. Is there a way to opt gelatin for agar agar in a small batch because that would be awesome I love drinking and making those into gummies sound amazing so many ideas already but gelatin is a no go for me
Sugar and spices**
There is a vegan gelatin mix out there that’s made with carreggan (spelling?) by the modernist pantry I do believe. I’ve been trying with agar powder for a while now and have been having trouble getting it to a good gummy bear consistency. They come out more like jello shots, jelly or chewies but not true gummy bears
Your receipt makes it feel like an actual gummy berry or is the texture different? If so, please advise.
Hi Nidy! The texture of these is more like a very firm jello.
Just tried these tonight, wasn’t sure if the 4oz of alcohol was correct as i seen videos using 1 cup and the rest of the same amount of stuff but i tried it and was pleased it turned out. I used Wave blue raspberry vodka, they taste good but not like alcohol by any means…i used a candy thermometer but i think i still might have cooked away the alcohol or it dissipated as the gummies were firming up, i’m gonna try pumpkin spice liquor ones next maybe use less sugar and low heat instead of med low
How long do these store for?
Some recipes iv seen call for sorbitol, supposed to give a more gummy textue and more shelf life ,
Any thoughts on sorbitol ?
I haven’t used sorbitol. These really aren’t very shelf stable, but they are very boozy 🙂
Have you ever tried making these with the concentrated flavors you use to make hard candy?
I have never tried that but if you do, let me know how it turns out!
I made these as gummie worms as it is almost Halloween and I am doing a graveyard theme. I made them with citron vodka and the recipe worked perfectly. I colored them yellow and they looked and tasted great. I am going back for pumpkin vodka tomorrow and make some orange worms. Great recipe!!!
I made the limoncello gummies for a ladies night. I added a dram/ml of peppermint extract to make a lemon mint flavor profile. They were hit!