Today's post comes to you courtesy of my cousin, Kim.
Kim asked me last night to create a cocktail featuring chocolate ice-cream.
On the way back from picking the ice-cream up this morning, I bumped into my neighbors, Steve and Sue.
Sue said she was enjoying my cocktail posts, so I told her about Kim's challenge.
Sue said I should add chocolate syrup, maraschino cherries and sprinkles.
Hell yeah, I thought. A party in a glass.
Boozy ice cream has been having a moment for a while now. Back when I was writing my Bartender's Best column for the Sun-Sentinel, I featured a spiked milkshake from a local restaurant.
My niece, Sommer, was thrilled recently to receive a half dozen spirit laced pints of ice- cream as a gift.
An internet search turned up quite a few recipes for spiked floats. Floats are ice- cream mixed with some kind of soda, like the classic vanilla ice cream and root beer.
While all of these are nice, I didn't think they were what Kim had in mind
Milkshakes and floats tend to be large drinks, and can be quite filling.
I thought something along the lines of an ice-cream martini might work, but I wasn't sure if I should use the ice-cream in scoops, or blend it with the liquor.
Scooped, it turned out to be a mess. If you like to drink shots, then this may be the way to go, since it would have to completely melt for the ice-cream to blend with the liquor. But this definitely wasn't for me.
Especially because I was using bourbon for my first attempt. Bourbon, I thought, would marry well with chocolate ice-cream and stand up to chocolate sauce and sprinkles.
Next I dumped the drink in the blender and blitzed it. Not bad, but I felt like something was missing.
There was half a banana on the counter, because the experiment had started with a make your own sundae for Rory.
After adding the banana and blitzing again, I tasted. I loved it. It was like drinking a banana split.
Since not everyone is a fan of bourbon, I wanted to do at least one more drink for Kim.
This time I brought out the Bailey's and vodka. There were some beautiful strawberries on the counter also, so I threw one in.
I also added a larger amount of ice-cream since I wanted to put this drink in a Champagne coupe.
Having already melted chocolate for the other drink's chocolate syrup, I decided to garnish with a chocolate covered strawberry.
I really, really loved this one.
Both are perfect as a sweet aperitif or dessert.
Finally, I dumped the second drink into a Ball jar and topped it with sparkling water and sprinkles. A float!
This, I thought, would be really nice to have while lounging around the pool.
Do you have a favorite cocktail utilizing ice- cream? If so, I'd love to hear about it. Please drop me a line in the comment section below.
Cheers!
Banana Split Martini
3 ounces neapolitan ice cream
2 slices banana
1.5 ounce Bourbon
Chocolate syrup, sprinkles, one slice banana and a maraschino cherry for garnish
Whiz the ice cream, banana and bourbon in a blender.
Drip a little chocolate syrup into a chilled martini glass if desired.
Add the ice cream mixture. Top with a little more chocolate syrup and sprinkles. Garnish the side of the glass with the additional banana slice and the maraschino cherry.
Serves One
Kickin' With Kim
5 ounces of chocolate ice cream
1 ounce Bailey's Liqueur
1 ounce vodka
1 strawberry, leaves removed
1 chocolate covered strawberry and chocolate shavings for garnish, if desired.
Add ice cream, Bailey's, vodka and strawberry to a blender. Blend well.
Pour into a chilled glass and garnish with a chocolate covered strawberry and chocolate shavings.
Serves One
Kickin' Float
Pour above drink into a larger glass or jar. Add 3 ounces sparkling water or club soda to turn into a float.
Garnish with sprinkles and a strawberry.