Take Frozen Drinks for a Spin
Modern twists make icy beverages so cool, they’re hot.
By Allison Perlik, Senior Editor -- Restaurants and Institutions, 7/28/2008 1:03:00 PM
Ultra-refreshing, often fruity and always fun, frozen drinks are a welcome treat on beverage menus both at the height of summer and throughout the year. Witness Seattle-based Starbucks’ new Sorbetto line (currently available only in Los Angeles), Irvine, Calif.-based Taco Bell’s Frutista Freeze and the host of creative frozen cocktails cropping up in restaurant dining rooms and on patios across the country. Even the coolest customers—the ones who turn up their nose at classic daiquiris and margaritas—can be tempted with the right blend.
“I don’t care who it is; everybody likes a frozen drink,” says Paul Westerkamp, beverage director at STIX Restaurant and Lounge in Boston. “You may say you don’t, but you do,” To whip up contemporary frozen concoctions such as Ginger-Mango Margaritas (silver tequila with mango purée, orange liqueur, and ginger- and Thai-chile-infused simple syrups) the clubby bistro even went so far as to install custom cabinets that insulate its blenders so that the machines’ sound never reaches the dining room.
The show really starts when Westerkamp whisks frozen drinks tableside, using liquid nitrogen poured from a stainless-steel coffeepot. For one recent quaff, he piped a layer of meringue over frozen lemon-flavored vodka and then lightly caramelized the fluffy topping with a brûlée torch.
“The meringue acts as an insulating blanket for the drink because it’s so hot in Boston in the summer,” he says. “I try to create drinks for not only form but function.”
Cold Fusions
Miami-based Lime Fresh Mexican Grill doesn’t have a full liquor license, but the three-unit fast-casual concept needed something to tempt customers expecting to see margaritas on the menu. The answer for the tequila-free concept? Frozen sangria (r.), of course.
“It was a hit from the very beginning,” says founder and CEO John Kunkel. “We serve it year-round, because with the heat of South Florida, it works anytime.”
The process is simple: A ready-to-drink sangria product, which helps promote consistency and reduce labor, is poured into countertop frozen-drink machines that create a cool, slushy beverage that’s easy to dispense and serve. The everyday offering is a citrus-red-wine flavor, but for specials, Kunkel’s team infuses the mix overnight with fresh-cut fruit such as apple, pineapple, lemon and lime.
Lime Fresh Mexican Grill also uses the machines to create three additional frozen blends: a margarita-flavored malt beverage, hard lemonade and a nonalcoholic fruit-punch-and-lime-juice selection that’s especially popular with kids and families.
All-Around Refreshment
For Taco Bell, the recently introduced Frutista Freeze offers broad menu appeal: The fruity, slushy beverage, topped with strawberries, can be destination item that drives visits, a beverage complement to meals or even a dessert. Such versatility is one reason the company chose the ice-based concoction over dairy products such as smoothies and milkshakes, says senior marketing manager Stephanie Perdue.
“When we did research with consumers, time and again one of the No. 1 beverages they were asking to be put on the menu was frozen drinks,” she says. “There’s definitely a spectrum with frozen drinks. When you go all the way to milkshakes, that’s the most indulgent. This is more of a refreshing treat, and a lot lighter.
Taco Bell also touts the fact that the Frutista Freeze is sweetened with natural sucrose rather than high-fructose corn syrup. The drink, a permanent menu addition, currently is available in strawberry and mango-strawberry flavors, and the chain plans to introduce at least three limited-time flavors annually.
Beyond the Blender
Not all operations have frozen-drink machines and blenders, and even fewer stock liquid nitrogen, which is why creative thinkers such as manager Seth Yaffe at Restaurant Dante in Boston dream up nontraditional approaches.
Inspired by granite—the fruity, icy dessert often used as a palate cleanser—Yaffe created a line of slushy summer drinks centered around spirits such as bourbon and limoncello. The biggest challenge, he says, is finding the right ratio of alcohol to other liquids so that the mixture will freeze. The bourbon-granita recipe calls for about 40% bourbon and 60% nonalcoholic liquids that complement the liquor’s flavor without overpowering it: unsweetened iced tea, orange and lemon juices from concentrate, and fresh lemon juice. Yaffe also mixes in chunks of fresh lemon.
Yaffe pours the mixture in half-hotel pans (plastic pans work, but metal ones promote faster freezing, he notes) and freezes it overnight. The next morning, he scrapes the granita into flakes using a fork and then freezes it again so that the crystals become fluffy. Scoops are served in 6-ounce glasses; most guests start with a spoon but end up drinking the granita like a cocktail once it starts to liquefy.
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