Cool treats for the summer season

The sun’s out, you’re feeling mellow. What better way to cool down without taking the chill off, than by enjoying a sweet, boozy treat?

Don’t be put off by the Margarita premixed sugar-bombs of old, the new vanguard of frozen cocktails prove to be an altogether more sophisticated affair. The key to making a top quality frozen cocktail is using top quality ingredients. At Gastown’s Wildebeest and Supermarine in Kitsilano, a rotating menu of drinks are mixed in what’s considered the Cadillac of frozen machines, a Frosty Factory. The challenge for bartenders is that the correct consistency can only be achieved by hitting a certain level of sugar. To counteract the sweetness, Wildebeest and Supermarine bring bitters and over-steeped teas into the mix. This summer, look for their new Sangria slushy.

A fun twist on that British summer classic, the Pimm’s Cup, can be found on award-winning gelato master, James Coleridge’s “gelatini” menu at Bella Gelateria. A zesty scoop of the house made lemon sorbetto is added to a glass containing Pimm’s stirred with ginger syrup, mint and cucumber and a dash of Fentiman’s ginger beer. A float never felt so sexy.

Don’t want to drink your frozen boozy treat? Then how about a scoop of artisanal ice cream flavoured with a shot of alcohol? Sound good? Then head to Earnest Ice Cream for a scoop (or two) of seasonally-driven fare with rotating flavours that could include whiskey, bourbon, rum or cognac. Later in the year, look out for their S.O.V. Amaretto that utilizes the soaked apricots that are a byproduct of the delicious liqueur produced by North Van distillery Sons of Vancouver.