Give Potato Chips A Happy Hour Makeover With Cocktail-Inspired Flavors

The 20-teens were a banner time for creative chip flavors — anyone remember the Lay's lineup that included coffee, wasabi, mango, and bacon?  So, of course, a creative genius at Kettle Brand came up with Moscow Mule chips (which weren't half-bad). A few years later, Aldi offered a similar flavor and upped the ante with Bloody Mary chips. As food fads rarely last long, cocktail flavors no longer seem to be in vogue among chip manufacturers. Still, with a little creativity, you can always DIY your own.

For a Moscow Mule-flavored chip, you'll start with plain chips (or even homemade potato chips) and toss them with a mixture of sugar, powdered ginger, and lime zest. If you omit the ginger, add salt, and use orange zest in place of lime, you could make a margarita-inspired chip. Swapping the dried mint for ginger will give you a mojito-flavored chip. A few drops of rum extract can be added to the mix, although not too much, or the chips will become soggy.

Another approach, which works better for Bloody Mary or dirty martini flavors, is to essentially turn plain chips into cocktail-themed potato chip nachos by baking them with toppings. For the former, top the chips with sun-dried tomatoes, lemon zest, celery salt, black pepper, and cayenne. For the latter, use blue cheese crumbles and chopped green olives.

Technically, the chips described above are more mocktail than cocktail-flavored, since powdered or solid booze is not a thing, and liquid poured onto potato chips makes a mushy mess. A small amount of alcohol can, however, be easily incorporated into a semi-liquid substance like a chip dip. Such a dip could enhance either the embellished chips described above or be used to impart drink-inspired flavors to chips that have been left in their natural state.

As the Moscow Mule and mojito are sweet drinks, your dip could start with sweetened whipped cream cheese to which you'll add lime juice and lime zest. For the former drink, finish with either powdered or candied ginger plus a splash of vodka. For the latter, add chopped fresh mint leaves and a splash of rum. To make a margarita dip, salt the cream cheese instead of sweetening it, then squeeze in both lime and orange juice, along with a tiny bit of tequila.

A Bloody Mary dip could also start with cream cheese, to which you'd add tomato paste or juice, vodka, hot sauce, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and chopped celery. In addition to the chips, it would be fun to serve this dip with cheese cubes, meat sticks, cooked shrimp, and any other garnishes that might be found in a Bloody Mary. A dirty martini dip, however, can be a much simpler affair — simply splash some vodka or gin into sour cream along with olive juice. Chopped olives can also be added for texture, or you could combine the olives and booze by using vodka-stuffed olives (which could be made with gin if that's your preference).