Twick or Twizzlers – 5:00 Fridays

Photo from Hershey’s website.

Mac Daddy is a sweet gent but he does not have a sweet tooth. It works out just fine for him since my sweet tooth is ample for both of us. He’d rather nosh on chips and salsa, while anything with sugar is my cup of tea (Oddly enough, I like my tea unsweetened.). I am the one scavenging the house for sweets after the boys go to bed. Only on a few occasions have I stooped low enough to lick a bar of baking chocolate. If you are a frequent flyer over here you’ll know that my sense of smell drives me to lick things I shouldn’t. Once I licked an orange cream candle because it smelled just like a Creamsicle. I swear I couldn’t contain myself. I opened up that tin lid and sniffed and sniffed and sniffed until my nose told my mouth to take a taste. I was dizzy with memories of second grade and just had to have a lick of that orangey creamy goodness. I took just one tiny lick, thinking no one was watching. And there was Mac Daddy busting me. He might have even peed a little in his pants from laughing so hard. But I digress…now back to our regularly scheduled chocolate. Be warned: baking chocolate is not the same as a chocolate bar (otherwise known as a candy bar, depending where you’re from). Don’t try this at home. B.L.E.C.H. It was good quality chocolate from Scharffen Berger, but made for baking, not late night sweet tooth satiating.

While Mac Daddy munches away on his extraordinarily loud snack, I sit quietly savoring my ice cream/pudding/chocolate/candy corn/insert calories here. Dude, I totally need some pants that say “Insert calories here.” with arrows pointing to my fanny and grade A chicken thighs. Only one sweet snack makes Mac Daddy wrap up the tortilla chips. When he hears the crinkling of the plastic bag and the ever-so-quiet pulling apart of the lengths of twisted red licorice, he starts drooling.

Mac Daddy is a sucker for Twizzlers.

Our pantry always has a supply of the twisted red licorice. We have been known to have cupboards bare of coffee and cereal but we still have Twizzlers. It’s a family movie night staple. Every December we have a family tradition of driving around town in our pajamas on the hunt for Christmas lights. We load up the car with snuggly blankets, mugs of hot chocolate, the dog, popcorn, and a bag (or two) of Twizzlers. Hmmm… sounds an awful lot like famly movie night. Twizzlers are a crowd favorite in our family. Bird and Deal like to nip off the ends and use the Twizzlers twist as a straw. So much better for the environment instead of the accordion bendy plastic straws! And tastier too! While Bird and Deal are years from being 21 and legal to taste test my 5:00 Fridays concoctions, they did inspire today’s drink.

With Halloween just around the spooky fog laden dark corner, I bet you’re expecting something ghoulish today. Instead, I’m forgoing the creep factor for the candy factor. Twizzlers are the star of today’s drink.

Twick or Twizzlers

1 ounce light rum

3 ounces Cranberry juice

1 ounce Demon Ale (anagram for “lemonade”, as my friend John cleverly pointed out when he converted his kids’ lemonade stand to a bar for a party we hosted one year)

splash of Ginger ale

Twizzlers candy (Strawberry twists)

Get yourself a tall glass and fill it with ice. Add rum, cranberry juice, and Demon Ale. Stir and top with a splash of ginger ale. Bite off the ends of a Twizzlers twist and use as the straw. Garnish and straw with no waste (I cannot be held responsible for your waist, however.)!

And despite what Deb on the Rocks says, Twizzlers rock Red Vines right off the bar top. But truth be told, Red Vines rocks the social media scene. We had a Red Licorice Smackdown at the Type A Mom Conference. Red Vines was clearly on the ball, but Twizzlers ended up making a good showing. At the house of Dirt & Noise, we’re Team Twizzlers all the way.

It’s scary how quickly we go through a bag.