4 DIY Frozen Drinks to Risk a Brain Freeze For
On a hot summer day— when time is marked by the beads of sweat that roll down your neck as freely as children down a waterslide— the best poolside (or, uh, roofside, or patio-side, etc) thirst quencher is not something stiff and spirit forward. Break out your blender (or maybe even that Margaritaville® Bahamas™ Frozen Concoction Maker® your parents got you on sale) and keep things light and easy with these slushy drinks. Beware of the brain freeze.
Scotch Ginger Colada
Just like a pool, a frozen cocktail should transport you away from the stresses of life. “Something that helps you forget your 9 to 5 and reminds you of how amazing it is to be enjoying this particular drink,” says Dave Newman, co-owner of Pint + Jigger and Harry's Hardware Emporium in Oahu, Hawaii. Try Newman’s new summer drink of choice, the Scotch Ginger Colada. “Tons of fresh ginger, lime juice and a good blended Scotch like Dimple Pinch 15—add this to a traditional Piña Colada and you get this spicy and much-less-sweet version of the poolside classic.”
Scotch Ginger Colada
2 oz Dimple Pinch 15
1/2 oz lime juice
1 oz fresh pineapple juice
1 oz Cream of Coconut
3/4 oz ginger simple syrup (See note)
To make ginger simple syrup: heat equal parts water and sugar in a small saucepot with a few big slices of peeled fresh ginger. Bring to a boil, turn off the heat, and let cool.
To make the cocktail: Combine all ingredients in a blender with ice and blend until smooth consistency is achieved. Garnish with a lemon wedge and Luxardo cherry skewer.
Funky Monkey
At the new Broken Shaker LA, head bartender Christine Wiseman is constantly tempted by summer’s most alluring flavors. “I have to stop myself from creating a menu that only has banana and coconut,” she says. Her perfect poolside cocktail is the Funky Monkey, a potassium-filled gin drink garnished with dehydrated banana chips. “I am a rum and gin kind of gal during the summer,” she explains. If you’re blending this in a frozen drink machine, add about 30% water to get the perfect creamy texture and dilution.
Funky Monkey
1 1/2 oz Fords Gin
1/4 oz Tempis Fugit crème de cacao
1 oz banana puree
1 1/2 oz coconut cream
Blend ingredients together with ice. Serve with a chocolate swirl on the inside of a glass and garnish with dehydrated banana chips.
Cast Away
Stevie Wynne, head bartender at 9 Below in Dublin, Ireland, drinks according to a helpful rhyme: tequila and rum you want the sun, vodka and gin for a nice night in. “When summer rolls around it's all about the tropical cocktails, frozen drinks, and fresh fruit concoctions. The smell of the sea in the air and sun-cream always reminds me of fresh, natural, and clean cocktails,” says Wynne. “The goal is to take some fresh ingredients and not over-complicate the drinks.” His recommendation for poolside blended imbibing is the Cast Away, a take on a piña colada with apricot instead of coconut.
Cast Away
1 3/4 oz white rum
2 oz fresh pineapple juice
3/4 oz of fresh lime juice
1/4 oz sugar syrup (see note)
3/4 oz apricot liqueur
1 pinch of salt
To make sugar syrup: add 1/2 cup boiling water to 1/4 cup sugar, and stir until you get a clear syrup.
To make the cocktail: Blend all ingredients together with ice and serve garnished with a pineapple leaf.
The Bee's Freeze
Don’t have a blender? Neither does The 18th Room, a new environmentally-conscious bar in New York. The Bee’s Freeze will impress your friends, nonetheless. “It’s a lavender variation of the well-known classic The Bee’s Knees,” says 18th Room’s Joseph Boroski. “It’s presented in a semi-frozen slushy format without the need of a blender.”
The Bee's Freeze
1 1/2 oz gin
1 1/2 oz fresh lemon juice
1 1/4 oz thinned lavender vanilla honey (2 parts honey to 1 part hot water with half a vanilla pod and 2 stems of dried lavender added, stirred well and cooled)
5 drops of ume extract [Ed note: yes, you can skip this in a pinch]
1/2 oz water
A pinch of sea salt
Stir all ingredients well and then pour into a sealable plastic bag. Seal watertight and put in the coldest part of your freezer. After freezing for several hours, dump out the colorful slushy contents in your choice of glass and serve with spoon and a straw (or no straw at all).
