Cotton Candy Shot
Vanilla vodka and raspberry schnapps — the spun sugar candy popularized at the 1897 Tennessee Centennial, cotton candy garnish creating the visual spectacle.
- 1Place a puff of cotton candy over an empty shot glass.
- 2Slowly pour vanilla vodka through the cotton candy.
- 3The cotton candy will dissolve into the shot.
- 4Add a splash of lemon-lime soda.
- 5Serve immediately while still magical.
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The Cotton Candy Shot captures the flavor of spun sugar carnival candy — the airy, dissolving sweetness of cotton candy that has been a fairground staple since it was popularized commercially by William Morrison and John C. Wharton at the 1897 Tennessee Centennial Exposition and later the 1904 World's Fair. Cotton candy's distinctive flavor is essentially pure sugar with a faint vanilla and caramel edge from the heating process, a profile that cocktail bartenders replicate using cotton candy vodka or vanilla vodka with raspberry and peach schnapps. The garnish — actual cotton candy placed in or over the glass — creates a visual spectacle that matches the shot's playful, nostalgic character and proved particularly popular in bars seeking Instagram-friendly presentation during the social media era.
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Everything you need to make a great Cotton Candy Shot at home.
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