Frozen alcoholic drinks make perfect summer sippers. Whether you're trying to beat the heat at home, or you're looking to blend up something special while you're on vacay at your favorite beach rental, frozen mixed drinks will help you chill out with plenty of flavor.
Frozen Alcoholic Drinks: The Classics
There are many classic frozen cocktails the mind immediately goes to when thinking about icy blended drinks. If you're a cocktail purist, you'll love these chilled out classic frozen mixed drinks.
Classic Frozen Daiquiri
Blended daiquiris are traditional frozen alcoholic drinks. Enjoy one any time you want to chill out with the sweet-tart taste of this classic rum sour. It makes one drink.
Ingredients
- 1 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1 ounce simple syrup
- 2 ounces light rum
- 1 cup crushed ice
- Lime wheel and a cherry for garnish
Instructions
- In a blender, combine the lime juice, simple syrup, rum. Blend to mix.
- Add the crushed ice. Blend until smooth.
- Pour into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a lime wheel and a cherry.
Frozen Margarita
If you're more of a tequila lover (and why wouldn't you be?) then enjoy this traditional frozen margarita. It makes one drink.
Ingredients
- 1 lime wedge
- Coarse salt
- 1 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1 ounce orange-flavored liqueur
- 2 ounces tequila
- 1 cup crushed ice
- Lime wheel for garnish
Instructions
- Chill a margarita glass. Run the lime wedge around the rim of the chilled glass and dip the rim in the salt.
- In a blender, combine the lime juice, orange liqueur, and tequila. Blend.
- Add ice and blend until smooth.
- Pour into the prepared margarita glass and garnish with a lime wheel.
Frozen Piña Colada
If you like pineapple and coconut, then you'll love the creamy frozen piña colada. This makes two drinks.
Ingredients
- 3 ounces pineapple juice
- 2 ounces coconut cream
- 2 ounces white rum
- 1 ounce dark rum
- 2 cups crushed ice
- Pineapple wedges and cherries for garnish
Instructions
- In a blender, combine the pineapple juice, coconut cream, white rum, and dark rum. Blend.
- Add ice and blend until smooth.
- Pour into a hurricane glass. Garnish with a pineapple wedge and a cherry.
Fresh Takes on Frozen Alcoholic Drink Recipes
The classics are classic for a reason, but if you have a more adventurous palate, you may be seeking something a little bit different. These fresh takes offer enticing flavor combos.
Raspberry Frosé
Frosé cocktails are having a moment, making these one of the newest modern classics. What is a frosé? It's a frozen cocktail made from rosé wine and other ingredients. It's light, refreshing, and enticingly fruity. This uses a whole bottle of wine, so it makes about 6 cocktails, perfect for a garden party or a summertime girls' night in, if you're looking for girly drinks.
Ingredients
- 2 pints white raspberries
- 1 pint red raspberries
- 1 750 mL bottle of rosé wine
- Juice of 1 lime
- 3 cups crushed ice
- 2 teaspoons superfine sugar
Instructions
- Chill six wine glasses.
- Place the raspberries on a sheet pan in a single layer and freeze them for three hours.
- In a blender, combine the rosé, frozen raspberries, ice, lime juice, and sugar. Blend until smooth.
- Add ice and blend until smooth.
- Pour into the chilled wine glasses.
Grapefruit Hibiscus Margarita
There's a lot to love about this sweet and delicious margarita with tart, light floral notes. It's a refreshing take on a classic. It makes two drinks (or one really big one).
Ingredients
- Lime wedge
- Coarse salt
- ¾ ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
- ¾ ounce freshly squeezed grapefruit juice
- ¾ ounce hibiscus liqueur
- ¾ orange liqueur
- 3 ounces silver tequila
- 2 cups crushed ice
Instructions
- Chill two margarita glasses (or a really big margarita glass). Run the lime wedge around the rim of the chilled glasses and dip the rims in the coarse salt.
- In blender, combine the lime juice, grapefruit juice, hibiscus liqueur, orange liqueur, and silver tequila. Blend.
- Add ice and blend until smooth.
- Pour into the prepared margarita glasses.
Almond Prickly Pear Daiquiri
Prickly pear, also known as cactus fruit, is a sweet, deep purple fruit that tastes like a cross between several types of berries. When combined with the almond notes of amaretto and the tartness of lime juice, this makes a refreshing and flavorful blended cocktail. It makes two cocktails.
Ingredients
- 2 ounces freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1 ounce prickly pear syrup
- 1 ounce amaretto
- 2 ounces spiced rum
- 2 ounces dark rum
- 2 cups crushed ice
Instructions
- Chill two cocktail glasses.
- In a blender, combine the lime juice, prickly pear syrup, amaretto, and spiced and dark rum. Blend.
- Add crushed ice and blend until smooth.
- Pour into the chilled cocktail glasses.
Frozen Banoffee Cocktails
And now for something completely different: a dessert-like, sweet, creamy frozen concoction that's addictively delicious. The combination of bananas and dolce de leche/toffee is a classic British pudding, and this dessert-like drink captures the essence, only in a boozy form. This makes two drinks.
Ingredients
- 1 banana, peeled and sliced
- 2 ounces tawny Port
- 1 ounce salted caramel liqueur
- 1 ounce RumChata
- 2 ounces dark rum
- 1 ounce half and half
- 2 cups crushed ice
- Whipped cream, banana slices, and a mint sprigs for garnish
Instructions
- In a blender, combine the banana, tawny Port, salted caramel liqueur, RumChata, dark rum, and half and half. Blend.
- Add crushed ice and blend until smooth.
- Pour into two cocktail glasses and garnish with whipped cream, banana slices, and mint sprigs.
Frozen Tropical Joy Juice
Enjoy a taste of the tropics with the bite of ginger in this delicious frozen drink. It makes one drink.
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated gingerroot
- 2 ounces pineapple juice
- 1 ounce banana liqueur
- 2 ounces coconut rum
- 1 cup crushed ice
- Pineapple wedge for garnish
Instructions
- In a blender, combine the gingerroot, pineapple juice, banana liqueur, and coconut rum. Blend.
- Add crushed ice and blend until smooth.
- Pour into a collins glass and garnish with a pineapple wedge.
Frozen Cucumber Mint Mojito
This is a refreshing, frozen mojito that bursting with herbal flavors. It makes one drink.
Ingredients
- 1 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1 ounce simple syrup
- ½ medium cucumber, roughy chopped
- 10 mint leaves
- 2 ounces white rum
- 1 ounce club soda
- 1 cup crushed ice
Instructions
- In a blender, combine the lime juice, simple syrup, cucumber, mint leaves, rum, and club soda. Blend.
- Add crushed ice and blend until smooth.
- Pour into a collins glass.
Frozen Guava-Passionfruit Punch
This delightful frozen punch instantly transports you to the tropics with its exotic fruit flavors. It makes two drinks.
Ingredients
- 2 guavas, rind removed and roughly chopped
- 2 ounces freshly squeezed lime juice
- 2 ounces passionfruit liqueur
- 2 ounces pineapple flavored vodka
- 2 cups crushed ice
Instructions
- In a blender, combine the guava, lime juice, passionfruit liqueur, and pineapple vodka. Blend.
- Add crushed ice and blend until smooth.
- Pour into two collins glasses.
Tips for Successful Frozen Drinks
When making frozen cocktails, consider the following.
- Always blend ingredients twice; first before adding the ice, and then once after. This ensures the flavors will be distributed consistently throughout the drink.
- Run your blender on low speed to start and increase the speed as the beverage thickens.
- Use chipped or cracked ice instead of whole cubes so you do not over stress your blender.
- Use frozen fruit and chilled ingredients whenever possible. Use prepackaged frozen fruit or simply place your fresh strawberries or bananas in the freezer for half an hour.
- Keep in mind that most delicious non-alcoholic beverages can be converted to more adult treats with the addition of the appropriate alcohol such as adding rum to a banana smoothie.
Chill out With Frozen Mixed Drinks
Frozen cocktails are delicious any time, but especially in the heat of summer. So mix up these delicious frozen cocktails any time you need to chill out, and don't hesitate to try other summer alcohol drinks when the thermometer makes you wish for winter.