When life gets busy— and boy, has it been lately— we do a lot of repeats at our house because I don’t have as much time (or energy) to be creative. But I’m discovering that an easy way to keep things interesting is to change up just one little thing here or there, so that it seems like we’re having something new, but with minimal extra effort involved. When this clever twist on a classic cocktail jumped out at me from my Instagram feed, I was all for it! What could be better in the blazing heat of summer than a frosty cold adult beverage? 

Love at first sip!

This drink is like a grown-up, boozy version of the 7-Eleven Slurpees I loved as a teenager. There was one year of high school that my stepbrother, one year my junior, lived with me, my mother and her boyfriend (his dad). Our favorite thing to do in those days was get the hell out of the house, and it was incredibly convenient that we had a 7-Eleven just down the street. Cary and I would skip down there together to play video games— I slayed at Ms. PacMan and Asteroids back in the day, thank you very much— and we almost always came home with snacks and Slurpees. My favorite was cherry (though I know it was fake). 

Fast forward 40+ years. The sweet cherry flavor is still a favorite, and a real-fruit version of it shines through prominently in this cocktail. Big cheers to The G & M Kitchen for this idea that had me asking, “Why in the world didn’t I think of this one?” It’s all the flavors of a bourbon old-fashioned, zhuzhed up with frozen orange wedges, cherries, brown sugar syrup and cocktail bitters.

All that, plus a cup of ice whizzed together in the blender until the mixture is frothy, frosty and way beyond refreshing. With the added fruit and all that ice mixed in, there’s also a hydrating element to this cocktail which isn’t a bad thing when the heat gets intense. Plus, it’s easy to whip up several drinks at once for summer entertaining. Yep, this little number will be in hot rotation at our house!

This whole situation has me thinking about throwing other favorite cocktails in the blender. After all, frozen margaritas, daiquiris and piña coladas have been a thing for decades. Now, I’ve got my eye on Manhattans, Negronis and Moscow Mules, to name a few, and summer is just getting started.

What favorite cocktail would you like to see frozen? Let me know in the comments, and until next time, “cheers!”

Frozen Old Fashioned

• Servings: 2 cocktails
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Difficulty: Easy
• Print

The slushy texture of this classic cocktail makes it the ultimate refresher for the summer ahead!

Ingredients

• 4 oz. favorite bourbon
• Frozen segments from 1/2 seedless orange (membranes are OK, but no peels)
• 5 or 6 frozen cherries or cocktail cherries, plus juice if you wish (NO PITS!)
• 1 oz. brown sugar simple syrup (see note below)
• 4 quick shakes cocktail bitters (Angostura, orange or ginger work nicely)
• 2 cups ice (preferably crushed or pellet)
• Orange slices and/or cocktail cherries to garnish

Note: For the brown sugar syrup, combine equal parts (by weight) brown sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir until sugar is dissolved, then cool and transfer to a jar or bottle. Keep refrigerated for up to two weeks. Wanna save time? Swap in maple syrup for the brown sugar syrup. You won’t regret it!

Directions

1. Combine bourbon, oranges, cherries, syrup and bitters in the container of a blender. Add ice and pulse a few times to break down the frozen fruit and ice. If your blender has a crushed ice setting, that would be perfect here.
2. Blend continuously once the ice is broken down, until the drink is nice and slushy to your liking.
3. Pour into chilled rocks glasses and garnish each drink with an orange slice and a fancy cherry.
4. Repeat as desired to beat the summer heat!