Much as I might crave one during summer, I won't order a frozen drink at a busy bar. It just feels a little sadistic toward the bartenders. Blenders crushing ice are noisy. The tops tend to fly off if you're not paying attention. They use up a bar's ice supply fast. They require more babysitting and more cleanup, and they get sticky, especially when they're blending drinks that have a sugary, fatty component like a strawberry syrup or gooey Coco Lopez, the sine qua non of the pina colada. A busy bar is going to get even more in the weeds if its team is having to blend drinks. So I try not to make anyone's life harder.
This is a rule I follow as a customer, but making drinks at home is another situation entirely, and while crafting a good blender drink requires a little finesse, there's no reason you can't nail it with some tips and tricks.
In fact, if you like pina coladas, and getting freeze in your brain, you can use a set ratio of spirit to sour to sweet to ice as a starting point to make a good frozen daiquiri, margarita or virtually any other slushy cocktail in the sour family — spirit, a sweetener (syrup, a liqueur or both) and a sour citrus like lemon or lime. Once you've got the basics down, you can complicate the situation as much as you choose, adjusting it as needed for new flavors.
THE FORMULA
The basic formula for two frozen drinks is 10:5:2:2. That's:
- 10 ounces of ice
- 5 ounces of spirit
- 2 ounces of sour (lemon, lime or other fruit juice with a similar sourness)
- 2 ounces of sweet — an intensely sweet syrup, liqueur or both.
For blender daiquiris: Here's what that looks like for two basic blender daiquiris: 10 ounces of ice, 5 ounces of rum, 2 ounces of lime, 2 ounces of rich simple syrup.
If making syrup, I recommend a 2:1 sugar-to-water (aka "rich") simple syrup rather than the 1:1 ratio that's standard. This is for two reasons — to reduce the amount of water going into your drink, since you're already getting a lot via the ice, and to compensate for the dulling effect that cold has on your taste buds' ability to taste sweetness.
For margaritas: A slightly more complex one, which gets the orange note into margaritas: 10 ounces of ice, 3 ½ ounces of tequila, 1 ½ ounces triple sec, 2 ounces lime juice, 2 ounces of rich simple.
Depending on how sweet your palate leans, you can count liqueurs as part of the spirit measure or part of the sweetness — your mileage may vary, but I recommend starting with a liqueur as part of the spirit measure, given the way cold depresses the perception of sweetness.
For a more complex variation on the formula: In a drink I'm calling Red Sky at Night, I counted 1 ounce of Aperol as part of the 5 ounces of spirit rather than part of the 2 ounces of sweet. Final formula: 10 ounces of ice, 4 ounces coconut rum, 1 ounce of Aperol, 2 ounces of lime, 2 ounces of passion fruit syrup.
KEYS TO GOOD SLUSH
Other tips to help you achieve a slushy sublime:
◼️ Chill out: This is the season of frozen drinks! They've been waiting, like Olaf, to experience this golden moment. A frozen drink is basically a snowman in a glass; it will immediately start doing what frozen things do in summer. You can slow that melt: Put your glassware and spirits in the freezer a few hours before making the drinks. Chill the citrus and the syrups in the fridge as well. Don't take the ice out of the freezer until you're really ready to blend and serve.
◼️ Be kind to your blender: Your drinks will come out better and smoother (and your blender will spend less time plotting its revenge) if you crush your ice cubes before putting them in to blend. If your fridge doesn't make crushed ice, you can go with an old school tool: Get a mallet and Lewis bag, or a kitchen towel in a pinch, and work off some stress with a little smashing.
◼️ Listen to the ice: It's hard to associate a frozen drink with relaxation when making one sounds like running gravel through a thresher. Crushing the ice first will help, but if your drink still sounds "crunchy" in the blender, it needs a little more time. Use the blender pulse function and raise the speed gradually until the blend sounds smooth — then serve immediately. The line between a too-crunchy frozen drink and a too-liquidy one can be just a few seconds in the blender.
◼️ Save your leftovers: If you have a blender full of melted drink at the end, it doesn't have to go to waste. Bottle it and stick it in the freezer. It may freeze solid, but because of alcohol's lower freezing point, it'll slush up again nicely with only a few minutes thawing. You can shake it up right there in the bottle.
TROUBLESHOOTING
How to fix the primary problems with most blender drinks
Problem: Uneven texture; big pebbles of ice remain in the drink.
Solution: Blend longer and at a higher speed. If you're still hearing a crunchy sound in your blender, keep going until it sounds and looks smooth.
Problem: Drink is too liquid right out of the blender; already seems melted.
Solution: Too much liquid and not enough ice (refer the 10:5:2:2 formula), OR your non-ice components aren't as cold as they should be.
Problem: Drink seems weak and lacking flavor.
Solution: Probably an issue of over-dilution. There's a lot more ice in a blended drink and it's going to melt quickly, so you'll need to increase your non-ice (flavoring) components.
Problem: Drink is all over the walls and all over you.
Solution: Try putting the blender lid on next time, Einstein.
Problem: Brain freeze ow ow ow.
Solution: Stop drinking the slushie, drink or eat something warmer, and press your tongue against the roof of your mouth to warm it up.
THE RECIPES
Rich simple syrup needs to be prepared about 1 hour before you plan to serve cocktails, and refrigerated.
It will keep refrigerated for up to 2 months.
Rich Simple Syrup
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup water
In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the sugar and water and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Once the sugar has dissolved and the syrup has been boiling for about 30 seconds, remove from the heat and let cool completely. Transfer to a clean bottle, cover and refrigerate until needed.
Makes a scant 2 cups.
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This recipe is a formula that you can adapt to make a good frozen daiquiri, margarita or virtually any other slushy cocktail that follows the basic sour model — spirit, a sweetener (syrup, a liqueur or both) and a sour citrus like lemon or lime.
Adjust this spec for the specific drink and your particular tastes. If you like a tarter drink, for example, you may want to consider any liqueur you add to be part of the "sweet" ratio rather than part of the "spirit." If you like a drink a little sweeter, count a liqueur as part of the spirit measure, while keeping the syrup amount the same. Keep in mind that frozen drinks need to have more sweetness, to compensate for the ice's effect on the palate. We recommend using a 2:1 rich simple syrup for that reason, and also because it allows you to add more sweetness without adding more water.
Customizable Frozen Cocktail Formula
- 10 ounces ice (approximately 2 cups depending on cube size)
- 5 ounces spirit such as tequila, rum, gin, etc.
- 2 ounces rich simple syrup, chilled
- 2 ounces sour, such as fresh lemon or lime juice, preferably chilled, or other citrus
At least 30 minutes before serving drinks, chill your glassware and ingredients — sweetener and juice in the refrigerator; glassware and spirits in the freezer.
Crush your ice in advance, if possible — if you have a refrigerator that makes crushed ice, the smaller pieces will be easier on your blender and your drink will reach proper consistency faster with less melt.
In a blender, combine the ice, spirit, sweetener and sour and process just until it doesn't sound "crunchy" anymore and you don't hear any big chunks of ice hitting the blades. (The "smoothie" setting on more advanced machines works well, but you may not need to let it finish its cycle. Stop the blender as soon as the mixture reaches the right consistency to reduce melting prior to service.)
Remove the glasses from the freezer, divide the mixture between them and serve.
Makes 2 servings.
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A classic of summer sipping, this frozen margarita recipe follows the template of our Customizable Frozen Cocktail Formula. We recommend chilling all your ingredients and using richer simple syrup to reduce the amount of added water and help keep your slushie slushy.
A silver (blanco) tequila is best suited here. You don't need to garnish the glass, but Tajin spice or any chile-lime salt on the rim would be a delicious and colorful addition.
Classic Frozen Margarita
- 10 ounces ice
- 3 ½ ounces silver/blanco tequila
- 1 ½ ounces triple sec
- 2 ounces fresh lime juice
- 2 ounces rich simple syrup
At least 30 minutes before serving drinks, chill your glassware and ingredients — sweetener and juice in the refrigerator; glassware and spirits in the freezer.
Crush your ice in advance, if possible — if you have a refrigerator that makes crushed ice, the smaller pieces will be easier on your blender and your drink will reach proper consistency faster with less melt.
In a blender, combine the ice, tequila, triple sec, lime juice and rich simple syrup and process just until it doesn't sound "crunchy" anymore and you don't hear any big chunks of ice hitting the blades. (The "smoothie" setting on more advanced machines works well, but you may not need to let it finish its cycle. Stop the blender as soon as the mixture reaches the right consistency to reduce melting prior to service.)
Remove the glasses from the freezer, divide the mixture between them and serve.
Makes 2 servings.
Red Sky at Night Cocktail (For The Washington Post/Scott Suchman) A frozen drink to create sailors delight, this slushy cocktail follows the template of our Customizable Frozen Cocktail Formula for a bright, sweet, sunset colored sip. A touch of Aperol adds just a hint of bitterness to the tropical scene. You'll get the best results if you chill your ingredients in advance.
Red Sky at Night Cocktail
- 10 ounces ice
- 4 ounces coconut rum
- 1 ounce Aperol
- 2 ounces fresh lemon juice
- 2 ounces passion fruit syrup
At least 30 minutes before serving drinks, chill your glassware and ingredients — sweetener and juice in the refrigerator; glassware and spirits in the freezer.
Crush your ice in advance, if possible — if you have a refrigerator that makes crushed ice, the smaller pieces will be easier on your blender and your drink will reach proper consistency faster with less melt.
In a blender, combine the ice, rum, Aperol, lemon juice and passion fruit syrup and process just until it doesn't sound "crunchy" anymore and you don't hear any big chunks of ice hitting the blades. (The "smoothie" setting on more advanced machines works well, but you may not need to let it finish its cycle. Stop the blender as soon as the mixture reaches the right consistency to reduce melting prior to service.)
Remove the glasses from the freezer, divide the mixture between them and serve.
Makes 2 servings.