WASHINGTON -- PS 7's is the latest eatery to cash in on the alcoholic cupcake trend with its new "Cuptail" menu, which features alcoholic renditions of seasonally-themed cupcakes.
When it comes to baked goods, alcohol usually burns off in the oven. But these cupcakes pack a punch that's not just a flash in the pan: Fully baked, each contains one and a half ounces of alcohol, Washingtonian reports. Eat two, and that's the equivalent of drinking a standard vodka martini.
In honor of Halloween, this month's flavor is Headless Horseman, a pumpkin walnut cake pumped with bourbon and topped with spice cream cheese frosting. Other fall and winter flavors include Newton's Nip, an apple spice cake made with Scotch and frosted with brandy-infused whipped creme, Midas Touch, a toffee pear cake pumped with rum and topped with almond creme, and Coconut Pie, a coconut cake made with gin and a meringue marshmallow creme frosting.
To date, PS 7's may offer the booziest cupcakes in the region. Coming in a close second is Crunkcakes, an outfit from cupcake mavens Raychel Sabath and Faith Alice Sleeper, which sells treats with an ounce of alcohol each -- the same amount in roughly one shot. Crunkcakes doesn't have a brick-and-mortar location and instead sells its wares in establishments with liquor licenses, like The Pug, Rock & Roll Hotel and Asylum.
Other spots, like Sticky Fingers Bakery in Columbia Heights, have gained fame for spiked baked goods. The bakery nabbed a $10,000 by winning the Food Network's "Cupcake Wars" with alcohol-laced treats, including a chocolate cinnamon cupcake filled with a bourbon caramel sauce and topped with a bourbon vanilla frosting. However, downing one won't get you drunk anytime soon -- since Sticky Fingers doesn't hold a liquor license, its cupcakes' alcoholic components must comprise less than 10 percent of their total ingredients.
That may soon change: Sticky Fingers announced in September that it was seeking a liquor license. Sticky Fingers proprietor Doron Petersan told Washington City Paper that once it comes through, the bakery would sell organic beers and wines, among other things.
"When we do get our liquor license, that's when we might get a bit more risque with the alcohol cupcake," she said.