Step away from the fishbowl-size frozen beverage: anything that comes in a martini glass the size of your head is a bad, hangover-guaranteed idea. But a good frozen cocktail is a thing of summertime beauty that, we’re thankful to see, is making appearances at some of our favorite bars year-round.
Below are two of our favorite frozen cocktails, but try your own combinations of booze and juice. You can translate most cocktails into frozen versions by making them more concentrated and then blending them with ice to dilute (versus shaking or stirring them). Each of these recipes makes two cocktails (because blenders do better with more volume), which is all the more reason to have a friend join you to test these out.
The Piña Colada
makes two drinks
- 6 ounces white rum
- 6 ounces pineapple juice
- 6 ounces coconut cream
- 1⁄2 of a banana
- 11⁄2 ounces fresh lime juice, plus 1⁄2 ounce to finish
- 1 ounce dark rum, to finish 2 lime wheels, for garnish
- In a blender, combine the white rum, pineapple juice, coconut cream, banana and 11⁄2 ounces lime juice.
- Fill with ice and blend on high until smooth.
- Pour into frosted glasses and finish with the remaining lime juice and dark rum (they’ll float on top of the creamy, frozen mixture).
- Garnish with lime wheels and serve immediately.
The Fro-Groni
makes two drinks
- 3 ounces gin
- 3 ounces Campari
- 3 ounces sweet vermouth
- 3 ounces fresh orange juice
- 2 half wheels of orange, for garnish Prosecco, for topping (optional)
- In a blender, combine the gin, Campari, vermouth and orange juice.
- Fill with ice and blend on high until smooth.
- Pour into frosted rocks glasses, garnish with orange wheels and, if you’d like, a pour of Prosecco.
- Serve immediately.
