Thursday, May 2, 2013

Rummy Bears (because Boozey Bears didn't sound very classy)!

After a rather long absence I return with this:
a post on the wonders of gummy sweets, vodka, and rum (who would've known??)!

In this collaborative Hoyer and Swearingen Experiment (Hoyingen), 
we present you with the all-too-scientific findings of what we currently call, Rummy Bears. 

This experiment was originally hatched with a couple of simple questions:
has anyone ever tried out the Pinterest pin known as Vodka Bears
(See pin here [one of many])
and
is it any good?
(Of course, Pinterest was somehow involved.)

We, of course, decided that getting to the bottom of this quandary
required some of our own scientific exploration.

Before we began:
*We first decided to create two sample groups.
One with vodka and one with rum.
*We chose Stolichnaya Russian Vodka and Sailor Jerry's Spiced Rum.
*We also decided to take a Pinterest suggestion of using Haribo gummy bears
over any other brand. Apparently, other brands get gross.

 We couldn't find a regular sized Haribo bag
so we bought 5 or so snack sized bags.

 Kjersti, modeling with a pack of Haribo.

 Originally, we planned to put all the bears in one container
and with one single alcohol type; but the more the merrier!

Our first alcohol type, Stolichnaya Russian Vodka.

Second alcohol type, Sailor Jerry's Spiced Rum.

We let these babies sit in the refrigerator for a few hours
before testing them.

Upon testing them, we discovered two things:
*A few hours isn't nearly enough time
and
*Sailor Jerry's Spiced Rum and gummy bears are horrid together. Yuck.

After the first round of tastings,
we took the following measures before sticking our bears back in the fridge:
*We replaced Sailor Jerry's with Malibu Coconut Rum.
*We let them sit overnight and didn't try them again until the next evening.


It was worth the wait,
our second tasting the following day was a success!

Conclusions:
The final outcome, after some tweaking, was delicious!
The gummy bears perfectly soaked up their respective alcohols,
making them taste like treats rather than alcoholic booby traps.

Although, we replaced the spiced rum late in the game with the coconut rum,
it worked out well; despite the lingering spiced rum flavor.

I personally preferred the vodka bears;
but overall, it was 3 to 1 in favor of the Rummy Bears.

CHEERS!

-The Hoyingens