“Skittles got banned in California,” my friend wrote.
This, following a text I sent about the recipe I’d be making for today’s Cooking & Eating section.
I had a few other ideas up my sleeve, but while reflecting on past Halloween-season columns, I recalled one from The Year of Our Pandemic 2020, where I tried three recipes for leftover Halloween candy. Three.
I had more time in 2020. We all did, didn’t we?
Now, it’s 2023, and life has resumed. With a vengeance. So, this year, I’m not just recycling our kids’ collective stash. I’m adultifying it.
Sort of.
There’s nothing “adult” about a Skittles vodka slushy save the drinking age requirement.
And yet, every single grown-up I polled positively lit up when I shared my idea.
Except for this one friend, who first notified me about this supposed ban, then agreed to come over and taste test.
The information hardly deterred me. I figured a California Skittles ban would probably make Floridians even more eager to watch them dissolve into candy-colored jars of makeshift moonshine. But a quick Google search Snopes’d out the truth. California did not ban this popular confection, but rather, four of the additives in its current ingredient list.
The new law, which does not go into effect until 2027, became known as the “Skittles ban” when it was still a bill. Because people love catchy, potentially inflammatory sound bites.
“This is what happens when you only read the headlines, lol,” my friend wrote when I informed her of the facts.
And this is the sort of response that makes me (and virtually any journalist reading this, I’d wager) need a Skittles vodka slushy.
If you like frozen cocktails, this could be a win. If you like frozen cocktails and Skittles, it’s a no-brainer. And for everyone else who’s willing to roll with the whimsy of a garish garbage drink every now and then: hop on the fun train with me for a recipe that’s part science experiment, part edible arts and crafts.
The rainbow jars of booze are reminiscent of dyeing Easter eggs. The process is an interesting reminder, between the painfully unnatural colors and the speed with which these sugar pellets dissolve away into flammable liquid, that neither Skittles nor vodka are things you should be putting in your body on a regular basis.
The most labor-intensive part of the process is separating the Skittles by color/flavor. I’m not a Skittle eater. If, like me, you lean toward the chocolaty items when stealing from your kids’ stash, you’ll enjoy sampling to decide which to parse into pantry jars generally designated for sliced onions and mustard seeds. (Okay, confession: I do have one filled with rum and local strawberries.)
Of the original flavors, I went with lemon, lime, orange and strawberry, the latter a superior version to the one found in the Wild Berry flavor mix. From that package, I chose melon berry and wild cherry. The rejected flavors were sent home with the handyman, who visited the next day to do some odd jobs. I also gave him a shot of the melon berry before he left. He was among the aforementioned grownups eager to sample.
Unfortunately, my generosity was premature. I’d forgotten I’d need some Skittles for the photo-ops. Sigh. After noting the $1.25 price at Dollar Tree (the name lies!) and finding them completely out of Skittles (how are these so popular?!) I grabbed a couple of small bags at Wawa, only to discover the Smoothie flavors! I wish I’d known because the strawberry banana and peach guava are *chef’s kiss,* so if you plan on making these, look for ’em.
Most flavors are color-distinctive, but I’d recommend labeling anyway. Lime and melon berry are the same color. The candy dissolves quickly, especially if you shake the jars a few times during the process. If you’re doing this around the dinner hour, as I did, your candy booze will be ready for brunch the following day if your needs are pressing. The recipe calls for a quick combine strain through a coffee filter and fine-mesh sieve. I used cheesecloth since I had no coffee filters. Bonus: It can be rinsed and reused several times. Easy peasy.
The recipes you’ll find online are all much like the one I used here and employ either lemon-lime soda (I used Sprite Zero to keep the sugar load at just barely nonlethal) or lemon juice and club soda. After a few combos, I decided the Sprite with the fresh lemon and/or lime juice was the best of both worlds. A fruit garnish — mine was pink grapefruit and raspberry, but whatever you have on hand will work — makes for a festive presentation.
“This needs more booze,” I said, sampling a cocktail with about three ounces (two standard shot glasses) of the hard stuff.
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I’d made a bunch and set them in the freezer while preparing for the photo shoot, doling out the leftovers to my friend.
“Yeah, I’ve been sipping on these for a while now and I don’t feel anything,” she observed.
Take this to mean that the ratios in the recipe are “suggested.” You do you, Boo. Just do it while precluded from driving. Or operating any machinery that’s heavier than your blender.
Amy Drew’s notes: I used the below recipe as a guideline, purchasing family-sized bags of Skittles, then separating out the entirety of each color into eight-ounce jars and filling them with vodka. Proportions are better for sharing with friends and family, which is the best way to enjoy technicolor frozen cocktails!
Teetotalers, designated drivers and kids can enjoy Skittles Slushies, too, via this alcohol-free recipe from Today.com (today.com/recipes/skittles-slushies-recipe-t139738).
Find me on Facebook, TikTok, Twitter or Instagram @amydroo or on the OSFoodie Instagram account @orlando.foodie. Email: amthompson@orlandosentinel.com, For more foodie fun, join the Let’s Eat, Orlando Facebook group.
Skittles Vodka Slushies
Recipe by Lauren Miyashiro, courtesy of Delish.com (delish.com/cooking/recipes/a47250/skittles-vodka-slushies)
Ingredients
15-ounce bag Skittles
750 mL vodka
1-liter lemon-lime soda (such as Sprite)
Ice
Directions
1. Separate Skittles by color.
2. Measure out about 1/4 cup of each color. Pour Skittles into five small mason jars so that each jar is filled with a separate color.
3. Pour about 150 ml (a little less than 2/3 cup) into each of the mason jars. Cover with lids and shake to mix the colors. Set in the refrigerator overnight.
4. The next day, line a fine mesh strainer with a coffee filter, then strain one Skittle-vodka mixture. (You’ll need five coffee filters in order to strain all five colors separately.) Discard the coffee filter. Transfer the strained vodka mixture into a clean jar or bottle. Repeat the process four times.
5. Make the slushies! For each drink, pour two ounces of the desired flavored Skittles vodka, 1 cup of Sprite and ice in a blender. Blend until combined and reach the desired consistency, adding more ice if the mixture is too watery.
