First there were hard shakes, then ice cream cocktails. The latest development in the craze is alcoholic slush puppies, which have been an easy win this summer. They’re ice cold, fun, colourful, and laced with nostalgia.
Pubs and bars have been quick to jump on the bandwagon and include the drink as part of their cocktail menus.
Seaside Slushy
The Parlour in Canary Wharf, owned by London-based bar and restaurant group Drake and Morgan, offers two concoctions. Seaside Slushy is made from El Dorado rum, poppy liqueur and passion fruit, while the Cool As A Cactus slushy contains Mezcal, agave, homemade lemonade and peach bitters. Both are on sale for £9.95.
But most of the venues cottoning on to the trend are making the most of the trend for gourmet fast food and selling the ice cold drinks alongside ribs, burgers and pulled pork.
Queen of Hoxton has been selling alcoholic slushies on its rooftop since 2012, and currently has two on rotation each night for £6 each, alongside its barbecue menu. Flavours include Hurricane, Tommy’s Margarita, Paloma, Mojito and Daiquiri.
Heather Lawton, creative director of QoH owner Mothership Group, said: “They fly out. More so on the hotter days, but our customers also enjoy the childhood memories that come flooding back – although ours are a bit tastier than the old school cherry or cola flavours.
“We lace them with rum or tequila and mix up the recipes with new trending ingredients each season for a bit of a twist”.
Miami Vice
Big Easy in Covent Garden also sells five different slushies – a strawberry daiquiri, sazerac, pina colada and margarita, each for £8.50, and king of cocktails Miami Vice, which is a strawberry daiquiri on top of a pina colada for £14.50.
Big Easy executive bars manager Nathan Dixon-Jones said the slushy cocktails are their best-selling alcoholic beverages, with the strawberry daiquiri slushy the biggest single seller.
“Most of the customers really love them. We enhance the flavour of the traditional cocktail recipes with additions of St Germain and Green Chartreuse which provide herbaceous and floral notes.
“We will very shortly launch the Mojito slushy which I am sure will be very popular,” he said.
Bar and rib joint Cane and Grain in Manchester offers an Old Fashioned Slushy consisting of Tincup Bourbon, sugar, Angostura Bitters and frozen water for £7.50.
Another draw for bars is that the colourful drinks are a great hit on social media.
Ale House Rock
Lynda Whyte, general manager and mixologist of The Blues Kitchen in Camden, which sells a frozen raspberry margarita its own creation called Ale House Rock says: “The Ale House Rock was a particular success on our social media, with lots of people coming in and asking for it off the back of our instagram post.”
It contains 2/3 of a pint of Camden Pale Ale, topped up with a frozen head made from Camden Pale Ale and a neutral base syrup for £5.