Frozen Gin Fizz

By stancec44

We know, we know. Blender drinks are for sissies–or so you may think. If that’s the case, take a sip of this stiff riff on the gin and tonic. Then get back to us. We’re not typically the type of folks who gush about frozen concoctions. Some of the more common whirred wonders seem more like sweet slushies than classic cocktails, lacking any sass, let alone class. This frozen gin fizz, though, turned our heads. In order to be a fizz, a cocktail needs to have soda water and either lemon or lime juice, explains author Jessie Cross. This frozen cocktail has both soda and citrus—as well as a generous splash of gin.

Ingredients

• 1 cup ice cubes
• 3 ounces gin (make it a good one)
• Juice of 1/2 lemon or lime
• 1 1/2 teaspoons confectioners' sugar (it’ll dissolve more quickly than granulated or superfine sugar)
• Soda water (or, if you have a sweet tooth, lemon-lime flavored soda or seltzer)
• A slice or twist of lemon or lime

Details

Servings 1
Preparation time 5mins
Cooking time 5mins
Adapted from leitesculinaria.com

Preparation

Step 1

1. Toss the ice in the blender. Add the gin, lemon or lime juice, and sugar and blend until smooooooth. (You may need to pulse it several times at the beginning until the ice is properly chopped. And then let the motor whir even if the blender begins to hop a little.)

2. Pour the boozy concoction into a glass. Top with a splash of soda water (or, for a sweeter twist, some lemon-lime soda). Garnish with the lemon or lime.

NOTE:
Caution: These frozen gin fizzes are deadly. They go down easily. And they are strong. Not a good combination, unless you plan to get sloshed, which on this particular Friday, I did.

This recipe is a godsend if you like your drinks strong and dry, as I do, because while on a hot summer day a frozen drink sounds like just the ticket, they are all way too sweet, no? Not this one. As long as you go with the soda water over the sweet soda, you will have an honest-to-God adult drink. The amount of sugar is just enough to balance the lemon, but neither flavor overpowers the gin, which is a good thing if–like me–you like gin. Here you get the wonderful herbal flavors of your gin set off with a hint of lemon and cooled down to an icy slush suitable for the hottest day. A grown-up Slurpee. And it makes me very, very happy.

Did I mention they were strong? [Editor's Note: We heard from Melissa again a little later in the day, when she emailed us to say, "Man, oh man, I was rushing to get the review typed before the full effect kicked in...." Our kinda drink.]