The Tootsie Roll Cocktail

The Tootsie Roll Cocktail is a black candy cocktail fit for Halloween. Made with root beer and coffee liqueur, it tastes just like the candy. Even though it’s spooky and dark, it is refreshing and sure to satisfy any sweet tooth! What’s in a Tootsie Roll drink and how do you make it? Let’s find out!  

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Sure, there’s ghosts and monsters, costumes and masks and jack-o-lanterns, but we all know that Halloween is about one thing and one thing only:

CANDY.

Candy, candy and more candy. Right?!

When I was a little kid, I loved dressing up, but to be honest the candy was a huge draw. Such a typical kid, I know!

It was just SO fun dumping out a bag of colorful, sugary loot all over our living room floor just to see what all I picked up!

It was a great way to try new types of candy, too. A future foodie in the making, I guess!

It should be no surprise that now, as an adult, I have taken my love of Halloween candy and turned it into a fun Halloween cocktail in the form of a tootsie roll drink.

TOOTSIE ROLL DRINK

This Tootsie Roll drink is a candy cocktail that looks like a poisonous, dark potion. A trick! But also a treat!

It’s a sweet and fizzy root beer-based drink that’s spiked with smooth, velvety Kahlua.

This is definitely one of those taste-bud trickers. It seriously tastes exactly like a classic Tootsie Roll candy. I’m not kidding ONE bit.

Candy-lovers will adore it.

WHAT’S IN A TOOTSIE ROLL DRINK?

Like this bourbon and ginger ale cocktail, the Tootsie Roll Cocktail is genuinely one of the easiest drinks you’ll ever make.

All you need are TWO ingredients to mimic that classic tootsie roll flavor.

Yes, you read that right.

Only two ingredients: Kahlua and root beer.

HOW TO MAKE A TOOTSIE ROLL DRINK

To make a Tootsie Roll Cocktail, grab your favorite pint glass and fill it up with ice. This is a drink that you’ll want to enjoy ice-cold.

Pour two ounces of Kahlua over the ice, and then fill the glass up to the top with your root beer of choice.

Ta-da! Add a cute black-and-white straw and your tootsie roll drink is now ready to serve.

How I Met Your Mother cocktail

Remember that episode of HIMYM Season 1 where Ted meets “the Slutty Pumpkin” at a Halloween party? She’s a character we later learn is named Naomi, played by Katie Holmes.

And her favorite drink to make? It’s the Tootsie Roll cocktail, of course.

I hadn’t seen the show when I made this for the first time, but now HIMYM is a favorite. If you’re here because of this drink, welcome! I hope you’ll suit up and stay for some awesome drink recipes.

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How to make the best tootsie roll cocktail

Since this drink has such a simple ingredients list, make sure you use a really good root beer. The fewer ingredients are in a recipe, the more the quality of the ingredients matters!

The best coffee liqueur

Coffee liqueur can either give the root beer more sweetness or it will add a deeper flavor to give the Tootsie Roll drink some more complexity.

Kahlua is probably the most popular brand out there, but you have some other options:

• If you make your own homemade coffee liqueur, you can bring in the flavor of your favorite coffee beans.
• Try Mr. Black’s Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur which, thanks to the cold-brew process, has a smoother, less bitter coffee flavor.
• Patron XO Cafe is a coffee-flavored tequila that is deliciously balanced between sweet and dry. I like sipping this one solo.

The best root beer

Using a high-quality craft root beer will make all the difference.

Good root beer will have that signature sassafras flavor. Sassafras is a strong, fragrant spice with an earthy flavor that has notes of anise and lemon. Root beer can also have flavors of cinnamon, birch, vanilla and wintergreen.

• Check your favorite local breweries to see if they make and bottle their own root beers.
• Maine Root’s root beer has a powerful flavor that is made the old-fashioned way. I also really love their spicy ginger beer.
• I also love Boylan’s root beer which is made with real cane sugar.

If you want to make your tootsie roll drink extra boozy, you could make this cocktail with a hard root beer, AKA alcoholic root beer. I certainly won’t tell anyone!

Tootsie Roll Cocktails are so easy to make, they’re perfect for serving at a Halloween party.

There is no need to spend a lot of time behind the bar shaking up a complicated cocktail.

No party this year? Sip one of these Tootsie Roll Cocktails as you wait around for those trick-or-treaters to ring the doorbell.

Regardless, the question of the night will certainly be, “How many sips does it take to get to the bottom of a Tootsie Roll cocktail?”

If you’re looking for more Kahlua cocktails, try my Kahlua Coke Float, Baby Guinness Irish Coffee Jello Shots, or Black Russian.

Cheers! // susannah

This cocktail is part of a big Halloween blog hop. From invitations to party favors and everything in between, we have lots of inspiring ideas for a classy, black and white, grown-up Halloween party. (My favorite kind!)

Be sure to hop over to all the creative blogs who are part of this Black + White Halloween Party Blog Hop:

• Halloween Party Invitation // Designs by Miss Mandee
• Spooky Floral Centrepiece // Lemon Thistle
• Design Your Own Pumpkin // Michelle’s Party Plan-It
• Halloween Bracelet DIY // Cupcakes & Cutlery
• Skull Candy Favors // Not Just A Mommy

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