Courtesy of HI-CHEW

HI-CHEW Cocktails Are Your Sweet Tooth’s Dream Come True

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If you were a discerning child who looked beyond the standard issue Nerds and Skittles and discovered the joys of Japan’s beloved soft candy, HI-CHEW, congratulations. You are a candy eater of superb taste. While HI-CHEW has been around for over a century, it’s still not as popular in America as Starburstβ€”you can only get seven out of the 113 flavors(!!) in the U.S. But it certainly deserves to be.

Because unlike the many hyper-sugary candies you’ll come across, HI-CHEW candies are chewy blocks that incorporate actual fruit flavor into each bite. The cherry flavor, for example, actually tastes like cherryβ€”not cough syrup.

Courtesy of HI-CHEW


Sadly, society deems it unacceptable for adults to chow down on a pile of sweet, sweet HI-CHEW candies. But it is 100 percent socially acceptable to go to a bar and drink the sugary equivalent. Realizing this, HI-CHEW is bridging the gap between the bar and the candy store, enlisting bartender Allison Kave, co-founder of Butter & Scotch, to create HI-CHEW-infused cocktails.

β€œI approached working with HI-CHEW candies just as I would any other ingredient,” Kave says, which is to say, she tried every single one: strawberry, grape, green apple, mango, banana, cherry and kiwi. β€œThey use real fruit juices and purΓ©es in all their candies, which really shine through.”

Courtesy of HI-CHEW


The next step? Figuring out which flavor profiles worked best with which spirits. β€œFor example, I found that HI-CHEW’s mango flavor has tropical notes that are enhanced when infused with reposado tequila,” she says. β€œThe smooth and natural taste of the mango really complements tequila of this age and quality, and creates something new and interesting.”

Rather than attempt to muddle the candy into a cocktail or boil it down into a syrup, Kave opted to infuse the HI-CHEW directly into spirits. The trick was achieving the perfect ratio, which is typically one piece of candy per ounce of liquor.

Courtesy of HI-CHEW

β€œAll you need to do is cut the HI-CHEW piece into smaller pieces and let the infusion take place until the candy is fully dissolved,” she says. β€œThe soft, chewy texture makes HI-CHEW ideal for infusing, as it really melds with the spirits it’s paired with.”

Kave created six Hi-Chew-infused cocktails in total. The Banana Chocolate Delight, a hot chocolate spiked with dark rum infused with Banana Hi-Chew, is definitely a solid choice for anyone looking to warm up. Fans of the Old Fashioned will love the Fizzies Fashioned, a nostalgic throwback with a twist (Cherry HI-CHEW-infused whiskey). Then there's the Grapefruit Sours Sparkler, made with sparkling wine in combination with sour Grapefruit HI-CHEW. The Kiwi Dreamsicle blends Kiwi HI-CHEW with herbaceous gin, the Mysterious Mezcal is a smoky, coconutty libation made with HI-CHEW Mystery Flavor. And finally, there’s the Mango Chile-rita, made with Mango HI-CHEW-infused tequila.

Courtesy of HI-CHEW

Here, Kave’s recipe for the spicy Mango Chile-rita. Make it at home and never be ashamed of your sweet tooth again.

Matthew Kelly / Supercall

The Essentials

Tequila
Orange Juice
Mango HI-CHEW

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