Boozy ice cream sodas can really float your boat.
The only thing more refreshing than a traditional float — made with ice cream and a carbonated drink — is one amped up with alcohol.
Thankfully, there are plenty of options available at New York bars and restaurants this summer.
“You can really get creative,” says Flannery Good, who writes the cocktail blog Fashionably Bombed with her sister Katherine. The pair wrote the recently released “Candy Cocktails,” which features recipes like a toffee bar beer float.
“You can combine anything fizzy with any kind of booze and any flavor of ice cream,” Good adds. “The possibilities are limitless.”
From Prosecco with sorbet to spiked root beer floats, there’s a spirit and frozen treat combo to suit every taste.
Stout Float
(Jacob’s Pickles, 509 Amsterdam Ave., jacobspickles.com)
Jacob’s Pickles, which specializes in Southern comfort food, has 25 craft beers and three root beers on tap. While experimenting with floats, owner Jacob Hadjigeorgis decided to kick things up a notch by replacing root beer with beer.
After a few failed pairings, he landed on the perfect complement for vanilla ice cream: Left Hand’s Nitro Stout.
“The beer is carbonated with nitrogen rather than carbon dioxide, so it’s creamier,” Hadjigeorgis explains. “The ice cream and the beer play really well against each other. The ice cream adds creaminess to an already creamy beer.”
Besides the stout float ($12), the Upper West Side spot also features an off-menu option for those in the know: a root beer float spiked with a shot of Sailor Jerry’s Spiced Rum ($13).
Sorbetti Vini
(Davio’s, 451 Lexington Ave., davios.com/nyc)
Midtown steakhouse Davio’s just opened their garden patio, so a light summer cocktail seemed in order, says assistant general manager Jennifer Schubert.
“We thought about what you’d want to drink, and something sparkling and cold would be great,” Schubert says. “But how do you make it even more refreshing? Put cold sorbet in it.”
To make the Sorbetti Vini, bartenders put a scoop of mango, blueberry or moscato d’asti sorbet (all made in-house every day) into a flute glass of dry Prosecco. The drink is normally $10, but you can snag it out on that patio during happy hour for $6, which runs from 2:30 to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, and all day on weekends.
Sexual Chocolate
(Sugar Factory American Brasserie, 46 Ga ns evoort St., sugarfactory.com)
Sugar Factory in the Meatpacking District has pages of their menu dedicated to candy and dessert-inspired cocktails to bring out your inner child.
TTheir Sexual Chocolate float ($16) is named after the band in Eddie Murphy’s “Coming to America,” but also describes the orgasmic goodness of this chocolaty drink. It’s made with Van Gogh Dutch Chocolate Vodka, and fresh strawberry puree which is blended with half-and-half. It’s then topped off with a scoop of strawberry ice cream.
Bourbon Root Beer Float
(Ward III, 111 Reade St., ward3tribeca.com)
Ward III owner and head bartender Kenneth McCoy is considering naming this float the “Dazed and Confused” because it reminds him of stopping at A&W stands on summer road trips in the 1970s during his summer vacations.
The base of the Bourbon Root Beer Float ($16) served at this Tribeca bar is Heaven Hill Bourbon, which comes with a choice of chocolate or vanilla ice cream, and Amaro Averna, a bitter Italian liqueur, which McCoy says gives the cocktail depth and roundness.
Blood Orange Gelato Float
(Sonny’s Soda Shop, 150 Lafayette St., morganshotelgroup.com)
At Sonny’s Soda Shop, a new rooftop cocktail bar and gelateria on top of the Mondrian SoHo hotel, bartender Julio Torres mixes the Blood Orange Gelato Float ($16).
The drink is made with an aged tequila, with vanilla ice cream heightening the vanilla and caramel notes that the tequila gets from being aged in wooden barrels. Blood orange soda makes the drink fizzy, and Chartreuse liqueur gives it herbal depth.
Strawberry Cheesecake Shake
(Brooklyn Diner, 212 W. 57th St., brooklyndiner.com)
Grab a grownup milk shake.
at the Brooklyn Diner, a stalwart in Midtown that attracts celebs like Jerry Seinfeld and Adam Sandler.
The Strawberry Cheesecake Shake ($12.50) is made with the customer’s choice of strawberry or vanilla ice cream, blended with chunks of strawberry blond cheesecake, before it’s jolted with a splash of Bacardi rum.
“Everyone loved a milk shake when they were a kid,” says manager Kate Davidson. “These have a little something extra to make you feel good as an adult, too.”
Oatmeal Stout Float
(Extra Fancy, 302 Metropolitan Ave., Brooklyn, extrafancybklyn.com)
Williamsburg restaurant and bar Extra Fancy is combining locally made Luca & Bosco ice cream with Amaro Montenegro, an Italian herbal liqueur,` to add complexity and floral notes to their beer float ($11), which showcases Sam Smith Oatmeal Stout.
