The best alcoholic mooncakes for a boozy Mid-Autumn Festival treat

If you enjoy alcoholic desserts, then mooncakes spiked with the likes of tequila, rum and yummy fruit liqueurs will be perfect for your Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations. Below, we've rounded up a list of boozy grown-up versions of the traditional pastry to get your hands on.

Brass Lion Butterfly Pea Gin with Pandan and Lemongrass Snow-Skin Mooncake, Raffles Hotel Singapore

For boozy mooncakes, Raffles Singapore has an array of options, whether you're a fan of its popular Champagne Truffle Snow-skin Mooncake, or have a penchant for the heady Macallan Double Cask 12 Years Snow-skin Mooncake.

New this year, the hotel has joined hands with Brass Lion Distillery for the Brass Lion Butterfly Pea Gin With Pandan And Lemongrass Snow-Skin Mooncake ($118 per box) - you get the floral notes of the Butterfly Pea Gin, together with fresh pandan as well as the citrusy aroma of lemongrass.

Also new is the Baileys Chocolate Truffle Snow-Skin Mooncake ($88 per box) that's a velvety blend of fine cocoa, Arabica coffee and Irish cream, with a rich chocolatey centre.

Visit Raffles Hotel Singapore's website to order or for more information. Collection and delivery of the Brass Lion Butterfly Pea Gin with Pandan and Lemongrass Snow-Skin Mooncake will only be available from Aug 9 to Sept 7, 2022.

Origin Bar Cocktail Snowskin Mooncakes, Shangri-La Singapore

Origin Bar's signature cocktail now comes in the form of a mooncake. For the first time, the bar, No. 66 on the Asia's 100 Best Bars list, is presenting an eight-piece mooncake collection ($128 nett), which also comes with a bottle of Moon Tipplers Cocktail (250ml).

You'll get four pieces of the Origin Signature Cocktail Snowskin Mooncakes, which draw on the bar's signature tipple, and are filled with spiced pineapple marmalade, lime zest, white lotus paste, white chocolate gin truffle, dry gin and vermouth.

The other four are inspired by the Negroni, and made with rich dark chocolate paste, spiced chocolate rum, Campari and vermouth.

They're beautifully presented in a blue luggage case-inspired box, which nods to the spirit of train travel and Origin Bar's concept of taking guests on a journey of discovery.

Available for purchase as well as delivery and collection from now till Sept 10, 2022. Visit Shangri-La Singapore's website to order or for more information.

Sake Matcha mooncake, Janice Wong

Janice Wong's Taste of Japan mooncakes are back, and this year, there's a Sake Matcha snow skin one that imparts marries earthy matcha with a floral sake infusion. It's available as part of an eight-piece set, with other unique flavours like Kombu Wasabi Chestnut, Bergamot Sea Salt and Calpis Sakura.

Now $66 (early bird discount of 25 per cent till Aug 15 UP: $88). Visit its website to order or for more information. Also available in Janice Wong Singapore and Pure Imagination boutiques from now till Sept 10, 2022.

Rum & Raisin, and Lychee Martini, Xin Cuisine Chinese Restaurant

Xin Cuisine Chinese Restaurant is turning to a well-loved classic for one of its new mooncake flavours this year Xin Cuisine Chinese Restaurant - Lychee Martini, with the sweet juiciness of lychees married with the kick of vodka.

If rum's more your poison of choice, there's the Rum & Raisin Praline Mini Snowskin Mooncake ($73 for a box of six), studded with plump dark rum-soaked raisins will be right up your alley.

Available for order from now till Sept 6, 2022, for collection or delivery from Aug 8, 2022. Visit its eShop to order. Enjoy up to 35 per cent off traditional baked and mini snow skin mooncakes using promo code "MOONCAKE35" for orders placed before Aug 9, 2022.

Strawberry Tequila, Grand Hyatt

Grand Hyatt's perennially popular Strawberry Tequila Snowskin Mooncake has made a comeback. Inside, you get a sweet and tangy strawberry truffle elevated with a hint of fruity tequila, and encased within a smooth and velvety snow skin.

Other popular booze-filled mooncakes are the Grand Hyatt's signature Champagne and Lychee Martini snow skin mooncakes.

They're part of a box of eight mooncakes ($80) with four flavours - Champagne, Lychee Martini, Strawberry Tequila, and Black Sesame & Ginger.

Visit Grand Hyatt's online store to order or for more information.

Lychee Martini with Jasmine Paste and Irish Coffee Liqueur with Lotus Paste Snow Skin, Paradise Group

Paradise Group's Liqueur Snow Skin Mooncakes ($68 per box of eight pieces) filled with velvety chestnut, jasmine or lotus paste are crowd favourites, and this year, it's added two new flavours to the mix.

The Lychee Martini with Jasmine Paste is a take on the classic lychee martini with lychee puree and a Valrhona white chocolate truffle.

Then there's the Irish Coffee Liqueur with Lotus Paste, which presents a heady combination of coffee and alcohol.

The box of eight also includes two other alcoholic flavours; the Yuzu Sake with Chestnut Paste, and the Martell Cherry with Lotus Paste.

Available for order at participating Paradise Group outlets islandwide. Visit Paradise Group's website for more information.

Liqueur Truffle Snowskin Mooncakes, La Levain

Handcrafted by chef-owner Wythe Soon, bakery-cafe La Levain has introduced a series of liqueur-filled snow skin mooncakes in delightful flavours.

Sink your teeth into a Raspberry Liqueur Truffle that has a Crème de Framboise filling cloaked by mung bean cream cheese, or a Boozy Apricot Passion Fruit Truffle packed with passionfruit cream cheese, Valrhona's passion fruit couvertures and Liqueur D'Abricot.

For a zesty option, there's the Boozy Yuzu Pomme Truffle with Pomme Vert Liqueur.

The last and only non-alcoholic flavour is the Japanese Sudachi Truffle Snowskin Mooncake, which tempts with hojicha burnt cheesecake, crunchy dark chocolate pearls, and a milk chocolate truffle shell filled with a tart sudachi cream.

Now at an early bird discount of $57.40, applicable before Aug 3 (UP $88), for a box of four. Visit La Levain's website to pre-order or for more information.

InterContinental Negroni Truffle Snowskin Mooncakes, InterContinental Singapore

Savour the bold deep flavours of your favourite Negroni in the limited edition InterContinental Negroni Truffle Snowskin Mooncakes ($126 for a box of four). Housed in an elegant floral and butterfly printed box, the new creation has a delicate snow skin with a floral motif enveloping white lotus paste and a negroni truffle centre.

Visit Intercontinental Singapore's website to order or for more information.

ALSO READ: Mid-autumn festival 2022: The best snow skin and baked mooncakes this year

This article was first published in The Singapore Women's Weekly.