Temperatures are soaring, and so, too, are your desires for a well-made, icy cold beverage. Before you start piling ice into a blender to craft your favorite boozy recipe, you may want to show some restraint. More isn’t always more, particularly when it comes to the ratio of ingredients you’re hoping to mix, pour, and serve at your next house party. When it comes to making frozen cocktails, a heavy hand in the ice department gives each gulp the potential to become a watered-down disappointment instead of a perfectly blended drink; the ingredients you carefully measured out can become diluted as the blender turns, ice melts, and the party carries on.
Whether you’re planning to pour frozen strawberry daiquiris for your friends or impress houseguests with a creamy frozen watermelon cocktail, you want to nail the recipe so that the first serve isn’t an offending offer but is instead a well-received welcome. Some recipes may call for a smoother, creamy texture that can be slurped slowly, but your frozen creations shouldn’t be something that gives a batch of homemade sweet tea serious sipping competition. The goal is to make a drink that looks like a boozy slushy: Thick and not too runny.
Setting yourself up for serving success
While you can always add more ice to the batch of booze you’re pulverizing in your blender, it can be difficult to come back from a too-thin mixture that requires a revisit to the various juices and alcohols you have already splashed into the mixer. If you are stressed about accommodating a large group or a very thirsty and demanding set of friends, batch-make cocktails in advance to freeze and melt. Then, when you’re ready to serve, you can simply blend the pre-made drinks and get pouring without the hassle of remembering recipes and ratios.
To help facilitate your strategic frozen cocktail-making efforts, cut and prepare an assortment of garnishes to gussy up each glass with an aesthetically placed dried rose petal or sprig of rosemary. With this kind of prep work and attention to presentation, you’ll have a drink that can rival one poured by a professional and is nearly guaranteed to spark appreciative murmurs from your next party guests.
