Trend Watch: Boozy Ice Creams Are on the Rise
Sometimes, on a hot summer day, when you’re in the mood to indulge yourself, you may find yourself debating whether to pour yourself a cool glass of wine or a brisk cocktail or to scoop up some ice cream. Nowadays, however, you really don’t need to choose.
Alcohol-infused frozen treats have been around for a few years (we told you about wine ice cream more than a year ago), but, Money magazine declares, boozy ice pops, sorbet and ice cream are “hitting their stride in 2016.”
The alcohol-ice cream combo is challenging from a both a legal point of view (alcohol regulations differ from state to state) and a logistical one (alcohol freezes at a much lower temperature than we set our home freezers at). Yet more and more companies are managing to melt the obstacles in their path and bring treats to market on a national — or at least multiregional — scale.
In addition to New York state-based Mercer’s Wine Ice Cream, now available at retail establishments around the country, Money points to BuzzBar alcohol-infused frozen treats (“a Delicious, Artisanal and Refreshing cocktail on a stick,” its site boasts), SnoBar (which promises “a full cocktail in every serving”), Tipsy Scoop ice cream (current limited-time-only seasonal flavors include the beachworthy Spiced Mojito sorbet, Spiked Root Beer float and Mai Tai sorbet), and Las Vegas-based Momenti Spirited Ice Creams, which Money says may be “the next national brand to watch.”
White Russian ice cream? Vanilla Vodka Cookies & Cream? That’s the spirit — and the scoop.
Want to make your own icy treats with a boozy twist? Try making these unexpected floats, a grown-up snow cone bar or an Ocean Blue Boozy Milkshake.
Photo courtesy of @MomentiSpirits