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A dark black drink with a white layer on top stands in a martini glass with a small pumpkin-shaped piece of candy corn peeking out from the drink's surface.
A light blue tropical drink cartoon with a straw and a citrus wheel

"Has a long reach and the ability to deal a string of critical blows."- Description of the Pumpkinhead keyblade from Kingdom Hearts


Inspiration

Halloweentown’s keyhole needed a good locking, and as thanks for Sora doing just that, he gets the Pumpkinhead keyblade. This spooky weapon sports a lil’ pumpkin as a keychain, a reference to the Pumpkin King himself Jack Skellington. As of this writing, Halloween is fast approaching, and I had the mischievous idea of going out of my comfort zone a bit with a sickeningly sweet drink to use as the embodiment of this keyblade. I use as initial inspiration those small pumpkin candy corns that I committed to using as a garnish. The recipe approximates the flavor of candy corn with honey and vanilla and then turns the whole thing on its pumpkin head with some pumpkin spice cream. The drink is mildly terrifying (in my humble opinion).



Workshopping

Candy Corn Shot?

According to the internet, if you combine cream, Galliano, and Orange Curaçao together, it tastes just like candy corn. Well, I bought some of those pumpkin-shaped candies (that taste exactly like candy corn), and made my comparison. They taste nothing alike. I’ve got no flavors in common here. What a ripoff. Now I’m going to try my best to create a pumpkin drink that feels appropriately garnished with the pumpkin candy corn (you made me do this internet).



Pumpkinhead?

Okay, so pumpkin, right? Lucky for me, I’ve got another monstrosity at my XBar tonight (in addition to the pumpkin candy corn and whatever the heck that shot just was). I’ve got me a bottle of pumpkin spice cream liqueur, and I’m determined to use it somehow.


Editors Note here: I stated that the pumpkin spice cream liqueur that I used tasted bad. I’ve learned now that my flavor preferences just don’t vibe well with a lot of cream-based liqueurs. In particular, I dislike Bailey’s Irish cream, and I believe that I unfairly disparaged the bottle of pumpkin spice cream liqueur in this recipe. I try to keep myself from not yucking other peoples’ ‘yum’, and I’ll fess up that I totally did this time. Sorry! - Cameroxn


Maybe it’s possible to make the candy corn flavor with a bit of a pumpkin hint. Also according to the internet (it couldn’t possibly fail me twice, right?) candy corn is a flavor that seems to combo vanilla, honey, and marshmallow. It couldn’t be that hard to recreate it right?


Right! Actually this time it really wasn’t that difficult! Who knew that trying to create a drink that’s disgustingly sweet like candy corn would be so easy? (I’m saying this with a mild case of sarcasm. This did take a bit of effort. Not as much effort as skewering the pumpkin candy corn pieces for a garnish though. That effort physically hurt. This other effort: only mentally.)


Honestly, if you drown a bit of vanilla liquor and Pinnacle whipped vodka in honey, it tastes surprisingly close to candy corn. Your mileage is of course going to vary depending on your honey (mine was just the Raw Honey option from Wal-Mart).


I’ll be upfront when I say that I kind of ruined the mildly appreciable candy corn-like flavor when I added that pumpkin spice cream spirit. Now things taste like spicy candy corn and pumpkin. It’s weird, it’s wacky, but hey, that’s Tim Burton movies. I’d even say it captures a bit of those dark undertones in the way this combo just kind of hurts me—only a little bit.



But, but keyblade!

Fine! The keyblade is black so throw some food coloring in there. It’s also got a pumpkin as a keychain, so take the pumpkin candy corn and stab one of them. You happy now? Now, please leave my XBar and go trick-or-treating elsewhere. That Sora costume is pretty cool though.



Flavor Analysis

It tastes like sweet and spicy pumpkin! But also, like mildly candy corn. A honeyed sweetness with notes of vanilla. And that pumpkin. You won’t forget that there’s pumpkin spice in there too.

Pumpkinhead Keyblade

Pumpkinhead Keyblade

  • 2 oz (59 ml) 1:1 Honey Syrup
  • 1 oz (30 ml) Whipped Cream Vodka (Pinnacle)
  • 1 oz (30 ml) Vanilla Vodka (Disobedient Spirits)
  • 0.5 oz (15 ml) Pumpkin Spice Cream Liqueur (Pennsylvania Dutch)
  • Black Food Dye

Method: Shake & Double-Strain

Garnish: Skewered Candy Corn Pumpkin

More drinks inspired by: Kingdom Hearts

Guided Recipe in 60 Seconds: YouTube

Watch Us Mix this Recipe Live!

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