Not limited to three—get as cold as you wish—but here is our list to a few coffee drinks you should freeze with this summer.
1) Coffee cocktail popsicles: Yes, you heard it right. No, I don’t know why you haven’t thought of it before now. Summer’s here, bringing record temperatures the perfect antidote: boozy popsicles. They’re the slickest new take on the cocktail (the fun words “drinkcicle” and “poptail have also been popping up), and they’re crazy-easy. One solid option: mix equal parts cream and coffee liqueur (try Seattle Distilling’s recently rebranded coffee liqueur, featuring flavors lifted straight from The Vashon Island Coffee Roasterie next door), pour into popsicle molds and slip them into the freezer for awhile. Skip the vodka—you don’t want these too alcoholic or they won’t freeze well—but voilà, it’s good enough to call a frozen White Russian!
2) Coffee ice cubes: You’re leaving for work in the morning and it’s already sweltering. Cold brewed coffee is the antidote, but how to keep it chilled on the go? Pour some extra cold brew into ice cube trays the night before and freeze. In the morning, pop a few out and add them to your iced latte (try Stumptown’s boxed version, reminiscent of but way more satisfying than the old-school chocolate milks). Temperature and flavor are now maintained, dilution-free. That extra little caffeine kick will help you make it all the way through the long hot afternoon, too.
3) Boozy coffee slushies: The hottest cold thing across the nation right now. While Chicago carries on its blossoming romance with frozen negronis, here in the Emerald City, Marination Ma’Kai is just one place serving up boozy shave ice on the Alki waterfront. While Ma’Kai infuses its house-made flavors with vodka—which in turn would certainly go nicely over shaved or crushed ice with a steady pour of Anchorhead cold-brewed coffee—such offerings also beg the question, why not rum or whiskey? Happy experimenting!
