Growing up, I remember the chokehold that rum balls had over teen friend groups. There was always that one cool mum who would let their kid have a liqueur chocolate or two. The stories of how bitter, how potent (lies), and how adult the experience was would run far and wide across school lunch breaks. The “ooo” and “aaah” to follow made the absolute travesty of swallowing hard-to-eat chocolates so worth it.
At 27, I still feel hints of that adrenaline flood in when I order a penne alla vodka. There’s something about stumbling upon alcohol where it’s not meant to be that carries rebellion. Today, however, many adults are recreating this allure by taking old-school edible alcohol treats to the next level. Imagine the wackiest combination of flavours dancing upon your tongue, then pour a shot of mezcal on it. That sting you feel? That’s the sensation these recipes chase.
Just look at Shreya Sood, better known online as Baba Sood, who runs an Instagram series of “cocktails as cakes” and “eat your alcohol” videos. Recently she recreated Tom Cruise’s infamous coconut cake mix, only this time it was topped with tequila frosting. Sood has also made vodka popping boba (!), boozy grilled cheese, and kahlua barfies. Scroll down her profile long enough and you will find a dirty martini chip dip hidden somewhere. It’s peak gastronomy if chefs loved pouring spirits into the pan as much as they love olive oil.
But edible alcohol recipes aren’t always as molecular; some are easy enough for you to make at your next house party. Mumbai-based food creator Anushka Rawat, 29, makes chatpate tequila grapes, where the fruit is marinated in chilli powder, Hajmola, Pulse candy, and some tipsy spirits. “My audience knows me for approachable recipes,” she explains. “So, when I present a familiar flavour in a creative way, it feels exciting and brings the wow factor without intimidation.” The grape video alone attracted 3.7m views and over 130k likes, signalling a desire for experimental combinations.
There’s endless chat about how millennials are one step away from a drinking problem, while Gen Z keeps changing their mind about alcohol being in or out. If edible alcohol treats are proof, both gens intersect at intrigue. The space seems most popular with zillennials, who consume this content and test out recipes of their own. See Noida-based food and drinks creator Ruchita Sahni, 29, who makes margarita popsicles, boozy gummy bears, and whisky Biscoff sundaes.
Truth is, instead of serving whiskey in an Old Fashioned, distil it over miso udon noodles and the takers will queue up. We all just want a quick hit of novelty, whether it’s in our drink, on our plate or how we date. Having grown up in a world where liquid nitrogen, colour-changing tea, dancing ice cream, and weird fusion food is the norm, people are happy to up the ante by giving the usual suspects a vibe shift. “Now consumers are increasingly experience-driven rather than category-driven. They’re less concerned whether something is technically a cocktail or snack and more interested in whether it’s fun, shareable, and surprising,” says Jeet Rana, co-founder of Delhi’s Barbet & Pals and Mumbai’s Punchline.
Most bar menus already blur the line between food and drink with rasam-, gongura- or kokum-infused tipples. Rana insists that the future will lean into edible alcohol further, where chefs will think like bartenders and bartenders will borrow from chefs.
This bevs evolution also aligns with the internet’s favourite buzzword: whimsy. Picking every ingredient left over in your fridge and whipping up spirit-infused sandos slates right into the whimsy-maxxing calendar du jour. It serves as a reminder that you don’t need a Michelin star when you can just give yourself a star sticker for being silly and joyous over serious and structured.
Just like every other aspect of life in 2016—sorry, 2026—the quest for frivolity inevitably finds its way to nostalgia. “As kids, food was fun candies and popsicle treats. I wanted to bring that playfulness into adult experiences. That’s how I landed on edible alcohol treats,” says Sahni. “It’s changed how I drink. It’s not about how much alcohol is in it but more about curiosity and experimenting with flavours.”
Meanwhile, Ankush Mantoo, a certified expert in wine and spirits, is looking to make edible alcohol with desi favourites like kala khatta, paan, and Mango Bite. “These combinations bring our childhood into the world of cocktails,” the Chandigarh-based creator says. “If I can turn a drink into something you can eat, suddenly people stop scrolling and become curious.” Whether you’re icked or excited, you have to admit, the hyper acceleration of edible alcohol is a unique consequence of our times. Even though Instagram will have you believe every strange flavour has already been combined together, the space is rife for more trials and errors. And people have no plans to slow down.
Part of this is because on social media, we ask more “what if” questions than before. Mind you, it’s not just an insatiable wonder but also a desire to see what happens if you take a safe flavour a little too far and insert the evil laugh emoji. There’s undoubtedly an element of rage bait in these no-holds-barred recipes. Once upon a time people were terrified to be the odd ones out. Now it’s a badge of honour that says you’re innovative and have creative functioning in the time of Claude. The promise of more engagement online is a fringe benefit.
All this to say, you now have adult money and free will. Pour the tequila in your dosa batter. Soak your apples in soju. Marinate your steak in mezcal. The sky is the limit, and there’s Aperol in your oyster.
