I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a cocktail kind of gal. Sure, I love hard cider and I’ve supported my fair share of Northwest wineries over the years, but cocktails are most definitely my preference. As a dedicated sipper, I tend to swap out drinks with the seasons. I order a Manhattan in the winter and switch to something more refreshing in summer—the sweet thickness of a bourbon-based martini is too heavy for a warm night. Thankfully, creative bartenders and mixologists have several offerings for anyone craving an icy, boozy treat.
SLUSHIES
The boozy slushy—a summer indulgence that crosses a snow cone with a cocktail—is made with a spinning slushy machine. You can see the wheels at work behind the bar at Ba Bar in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood with two cocktails for cooling down this summer. The “Hoa Dao” (a peach flower gifted on Vietnamese new year for good luck) is made with peaches, grenadine and rum, while the “Faire le bec” infuses lychee juice with shochu and fresh thyme, along with a “little kiss” of Pastis. Both are served in short glasses with cocktail straws for sipping.
The British Columbia-based restaurant group JOEY ups the slushy ante with their menu of “super drinks” at its BC and Washington locations. At this independent chain, they offer traditional bar drinks like gin and tonics or rum and Cokes spiked with a heaping spoonful of lemon-lime slush.
SHAVE ICE
While a slush machine offers a loose and icy beverage, pouring boozy concoctions over shaved ice makes for a more labor intensive cocktail. Shave ice is light and flaky, like a bowl full of snow, not slush and requires a spoon. I’ve always thought about starting my own shave ice franchise! Wouldn’t that be amazing though? In the summer months, I can see this taking off and see so many happy faces. I mean, I love shaved iced whether it is an alcoholic version or something fruity. You can’t go wrong with this, which I what I love about this. Located on the shores of Alki Beach in West Seattle, Marination Ma Kai serves booze-soaked shave ice in the Hawaiian tradition. With an imported machine and a secret mix including a variety of light, dark and spiced rums, pineapple juice and coconut, Marination’s Mai Tai is served in a bowl and poured over a dense pack of shaved ice. While you eat it with a spoon, they add a straw for the melted bits that pool in the bowl’s bottom.
Shaved ice is getting so popular—this summer you can serve it in your own backyard barbecue. Portland Shave Ice brings the party to you by offering a mobile shaved ice machine for private events. This team of two uses Portland’s Eastside Distilling to serve a series of refreshing and crisp shaved ice options like their bourbon-lemon-fennel infusion, or the vodka-pear-lavender. A small company hoping to expand to a retail location later this year, they are currently for hire.
Like a grown-up snow cone, shaved ice takes well to all things syrupy, though the addition of cream is a welcome touch. Bloom Ballard in Seattle rotates their shave ice selection, based on the chef’s whimsy. Chef Jason Harris recently featured a play off a White Russian called the “Sochi Surprise,” a combination of vodka and Kahlua topped with sweet condensed milk.. At Bloom, they play with traditional Asian flavors, adding honeyed azuki beans or condensed milk to their shave ices, which then teeter on the edge of ice cream.
SHAKES
For a truly creamy splurge, a boozy milkshake can be had up and down the Northwest. In Portland, Pepe Le Moko pays homage to the traditional ice cream cocktails found in the Midwest like mudslides and Brandy Alexanders by adding a bit of hipster Americana fun to the bar menu. A tapas and cocktail spot located below the Ace Hotel, their popular Grasshopper blends vanilla ice cream with Crème de Menthe, Fernet Branca and sea salt.
In Seattle, Hot Cakes in the Ballard neighborhood serves up several boozy milkshakes year-round at their dessert-focused outpost. There, chocolatier Autumn Martin smokes her own chocolate, and uses it liberally in shakes. The Laphroaig Single Malt Whiskey and smoked chocolate shake, made with vanilla ice cream from nearby Bluebird Microcreamery and Brewery, should not be missed. She loves these drinks so much she wrote the book “Malts & Milkshakes” which has recipes for boozy shakes that can be made at home.
In the event that boozy frozen drinks don’t appeal (as if that is possible), in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle, Poquitos offers a handful of popsicles spiked with hooch that are perfect for ending a meal or anyone in need of an afternoon chill down. Playing off traditional Latin cocktails, they make crowd-pleasing flavors like strawberry margarita or raspberry caipirinha, but also mix in creative blends such as their “El Dude,” a vanilla tequila, kahlua, horchata and cream combo that will satisfy any sweet tooth.
Whatever your ilk, hot days demand cool drinks. With the influx of icy adult beverages on the rise, we expect to see more options and creative combos this summer. Whether it’s a thick shake, utensil-friendly shave ice, slushy made for slurping or a popsicle, there’s an icy cocktail with your name on it.
