The Pro-Tip For Making Frozen Cocktails That Don't Melt Instantly

Frozen cocktails are perfectly sweet and frosty drinks that almost any imbiber can appreciate. Not only are these endlessly fun to drink, but the refreshing mix of sweet juice, warming alcohol, and chilled textures makes it an ideal beverage for almost any occasion. Still, these novelty beverages do come with one big drawback, and that is that they melt fast. We can't sip them much quicker or we'll end up with a brain freeze, so how do we prevent this treat from turning into a chilled, chunky mess? There are a few different ways to get a perfectly blended cocktail, but one of the best is to slightly tweak your drink's recipe to include less alcohol.

Before you balk at the idea of lowering the ABV of your frozen margarita or lemon vodka slush, hear us out. Alcohol freezes at a much lower temperature than juice or water. That's why spirits don't freeze in traditional freezers. This isn't a problem for cold cocktails that aren't frozen, but it is why alcohol might be the reason behind your frozen cocktails quickly disintegrating into a liquid mess. 

To stop your chilled drinks from turning into lukewarm soup, start using slightly less alcohol in your recipe than you would in a standard drink. A little adjustment can go a long way but try to keep the ABV no higher than 15%. With the silky texture and sweet, fruity flavors of these cocktails, you will probably won't even notice the difference.

To make this ABV adjustment, and preserve the delicious frostiness of your frozen drinks, you have two options. One, you could add less alcohol into your recipe than you normally do. And two, you can simply add more of those non-alcoholic elements. The choice is up to you. The effect will be the same.

If you're not keen on the idea of lowering the spirt content of your drink, remember that you can always order something else for the next round. Spirits don't just change the flavor and alcohol levels of our drinks, they also play a big role in the texture of beverages too. While this might be a lesser-known job of alcohol, it's especially important when thinking about temperature-sensitive cocktails that are extra-cold or hot.

To further protect the integrity of your frozen cocktail, you could also consider switching to a more insulating vessel for your drinks such as using glasses meant especially for frozen drinks. This could keep your beverage cool while protecting your hands from a sweaty glass, so it's a win-win. Whatever you choose to do, good luck. (And for more tips for better-frozen drinks, read this.)