Photo Credit - iStock/dias46
Are we in the renaissance of the frozen cocktail? An “golden ice age” of cocktails - redesigned, fresher, tastier, and colder than before? The trends of the past few summers would say yes.
Now before you get a sugar rush thinking about it, these aren’t your typical frozen cocktails. They are a far cry from the powder mix, and grain alcohol concoctions typically associated with frozen cocktails. Admit it though, there’s something fun about walking into a New Orleans daiquiri shop and seeing a row of bright colored windows, the frozen liquid inside spinning in a slow mesmerizing dance. It’s like walking into a Wonka Land of alcohol and questionable decisions, a crashing wave of artificial color and Everclear that never quite pulled back.
With the resurgence of bartenders putting more care into what goes into your cocktail, they have finally worked their way back to improving the frozen drink - giving new twists on classics, revitalizing frozen classics, and creating their own unique concoctions. You can get a frozen Hurricane made with passion fruit puree at Nickel City in Austin, TX. In San Antonio, Rumble makes a great rum, mango & chamoy cocktail that I can’t ever get enough of. Even the rosé trend has worked its way into frozen cocktails with the Frosé. We know where frozen cocktails are heading, but where did they come from?
You could say every culture has had an affinity for ice in some form. In Asia, shaved ice has been consumed since the 7th Century. In America, the snow cone was invented at a Texas State Fair and has been around since the early 1900’s. Turkey has their own form of ice cream in dondurma, a “fork and knife” moldable ice cream stabilized by powdered orchid root. You can see how our affinity with frozen treats would eventually carry over into cocktails.
In comes the blender. In the 1920’s the blender was invented, however, it was a loud and dangerous machine in its early form. Waring eventually creating the iconic beehive shaped household version in the late 1940’s, just in time for World War II. At that time convenience in the kitchen became highly sought after, and the blender began to rise in popularity. This reiteration of the blender was responsible for the revolutionary blended daiquiri cocktail in Cuba, where Hemmingway would consume them by the dozens. The pina colada was probably invented in a Waring.
In comes the frozen Margarita, which became popular right along with the blender. This drink was hot, and outpaced the martini in 1970’s as America’s bestselling drink, and hasn’t stopped since. The issue restaurants had, however, was creating a consistent mix from a blender, and getting them out fast enough. A restauranteur by the name of Mariano Martinez fixes this, and starts selling frozen Margarita’s out of a modified soft serve machine. Now a frozen machine needs a little bit of added sugar to get the consistency right, but this is where we probably took it too far. And then on top of that, we decided to make them easy. “Anyone can do it!” is probably what the packaging said, as you poured a sugary gloopy mess into a blender. How do we make this cheaper? Let’s make a powdered mix. Choose your flavor. Just add water and cheap grain alcohol.
Thankfully, the bartender has brought the frozen cocktail back, and it’s not uncommon to see fresh citrus and unique cordials being used. There really is nothing like a properly made frozen cocktail, and even the blender deserves a place in the modern cocktail bar. You really haven’t lived until you have had a freshly made Miami Vice, a layered mix of a fresh strawberry daiquiri and a coconut cream based pina colada. I have a rule when I go to a bar and see that metal machine and it’s swirling circular window of modern magic; “Always order the frozen cocktail”. If bartenders keep doing what they are doing now, it’s a rule I’ll always live by.
