Erin Elizabeth
Frozen cocktails are the key to a relaxing summer day. Cocktails are perfect for a long day or night spent socializing. The best cocktail includes a distilled liquor of your choice and one or two mixers expertly crafted to excellence.
The International Bartenders Association recognizes a few classic cocktails as some of the most popular drinks worldwide. These drinks are considered IBA Official Cocktails. A few of them even made our list!
Whether you are hanging out at the pool, relaxing by the ocean, or boating the day away, frozen cocktails are the perfect treat.
Best Frozen Cocktails
We have narrowed down the best frozen cocktails for your summer and beyond. Check out our list for instructions and details!
Strawberry Daquiri
The strawberry daiquiri is iconic in the summertime, especially the frozen variety.
It is an IBA official cocktail and super easy to make. Serve the daiquiri in a hurricane glass with a little umbrella for the ultimate summertime effect.
For your delicious strawberry daiquiri, blend white rum, lime juice, simple syrup, frozen strawberries, and ice cubes.
Follow your desired recipe for how much of each ingredient to add. Garnish with a strawberry or lime wedge, and enjoy!
If you prefer pre-made mixes, you can find them at your local grocery store.
Piña Colada
Nothing makes a tropical getaway or beach day better than sipping a frozen pina colada.
This is another IBA official cocktail, and you can make it in a pinch in the comfort of your own home, beach house, or villa. These are also served best in a hurricane glass.
You will need light rum, pineapple juice, cream of coconut, lime juice, and ice. Blend in a blender until smooth.
Garnish with a lime wedge and maraschino cherry for the picture-perfect summer drink! Again, there is plenty of pina colada mixes available at your local store.
Frozen Margarita
Take yourself to the beaches of Cancun with a refreshing frozen margarita on a hot summer’s day!
Margarita mixes are sold nearly everywhere because it is such a popular drink, it is another IBA official cocktail, but we like to think homemade is the best.
To make a homemade frozen margarita, combine tequila, lime juice, triple sec, agave syrup, and ice in a blender.
Blend until it reaches a slushy consistency. Serve immediately for the best taste! Serve in a traditional margarita glass for the most authentic look. If you want to store the margarita for later, freeze it.
Check out our favorite tequilas for making margs so yours tastes as smooth as possible!
Chi-Chi
A Chi-Chi is a tropical flavored drink made with vodka.
This sets it apart from other drinks on our list because rum and tequila are generally used for summer cocktails.
To make a traditional frozen chi-chi, combine vodka, cream of coconut, pineapple juice, and ice in a blender. Combine until smooth and serve with a pineapple garnish!
If you want a bit more tropical flavor, add in frozen pineapple and lime juice to bump up the taste of this island drink.
The addition of the fruit also gives the drink a more slushy texture. Serve the chi-chi in a hurricane glass or a highball glass.
Frosé
Frose is a little more involved and takes more time to create than the other cocktails on our list. However, it is more than worth it!
Frose is a frozen wine cocktail, so it only requires a few ingredients! All you need is a 750ml bottle of bold rose, sugar, strawberries, and lemon juice.
To make frose, pour the wine into a pan and freeze for at least 6 hours. Boil the sugar and a bit of water in a saucepan for a few minutes until the sugar dissolves. Combine the berries and the sugar water.
Let sit for at least 30 minutes to infuse. Add the frozen rose, lime juice, and strawberries into a blender.
Serve in a champagne flute or white wine glass and enjoy!
Frozen Mudslide
A frozen mudslide is like an adults-only milkshake and we love it! This frozen drink is sure to take your pool party to the next level.
You will need vodka, Kahlua, Irish cream liqueur, vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce, and chocolate shavings for garnish.
Combine the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.
Serve in a tall milkshake glass with the chocolate shavings on top and a little extra chocolate sauce immediately for best taste.
Sex on the Beach Slushies
Sex on the beach is a classic drink that is an IBA official cocktail best enjoyed on the beach!
To make this delicious and cheekily named drink, you will need vodka, peach schnapps, orange juice, cranberry juice, frozen sliced peaches, and ice.
Throw the ingredients into a blender and blend until well combined. Serve immediately.
If you do not like peaches or don’t want to add the frozen peaches in, you can sub with all ice or add frozen pineapple instead.
To get a more aesthetically pleasing look, place a little cranberry juice in the bottom of each hurricane glass before pouring the mixture in!
Frozen Peach Bellini
Another peach-themed drink we love is the frozen peach bellini. This drink is easy to make, requires few ingredients, and always comes out wonderful.
For your frozen peach bellini, combine prosecco, ice, sugar, and frozen peaches. Blend until smooth and serve quickly after blending for best results.
A quick tip is to blend the ice, sugar, and peaches until smooth before adding in the bubbly.
Add the bubbly second and blend until fully combined. Serve in a champagne flute, a wine glass, or a high-ball glass for the most sophisticated look.
Frozen Mojito
The mojito is a classic, IBA official cocktail that tastes amazing both frozen and on the rocks.
To make a frozen mojito, you will need white rum, mint, fresh lime juice, simple syrup, and ice.
Add the ingredients together and blend until smooth for the perfect addition to your summer day!
The frozen mojito is served in a low-ball or high-ball glass, so be sure to serve your frozen mojito in the same manner.
Hurricane glasses are often used for summer and beachy drinks, so that would work just as well.
Frozen Rum Runner
Bring a frozen rum runner to the next summer party you attend and it is sure to be a crowd favorite.
People say the rum runner was made in the 1950s in Florida, but other stories link it back to the days of prohibition!
To make the frozen version of this classic cocktail, you will need coconut rum, banana liquor, raspberry liquor, grenadine, pineapple juice, orange juice, and orange slices to garnish.
Blend the ingredients until smooth and serve in a hurricane glass or other tall glass!
Miami Vice
The Miami vice drink is a Frankenstein mixture of two popular summer drinks that we have already covered here: the strawberry daiquiri and the pina colada.
The creaminess and tanginess of the two mixed create a perfect beach day cocktail!
To make a frozen Miami vice, you will need to make a pina colada layer and a strawberry daiquiri layer. For the pina colada layer, blend rum, pineapple juice, ice, and cream of coconut.
Rinse the blender and set aside the mixture. Then, blend the strawberries, rum, ice, and lime juice.
Pour equal parts of each mixture into a glass, and voila, you have the perfect Miami vice!
Some people prefer to swirl the parts together, others like the layering look. It’s up to you!
Best Frozen Cocktails
- Strawberry Daquiri
- Piña Colada
- Frozen Margarita
- Chi-Chi
- Frosé
- Frozen Mudslide
- Sex on the Beach Slushies
- Frozen Peach Bellini
- Frozen Mojito
- Frozen Rum Runner
- Miami Vice
Final Thoughts
The best part of summer is hanging out with friends, family, neighbors, and whoever else you invite to share the best part of the year with you!
We hope you are inspired by these classic, refreshing frozen cocktails to whip up something on your own. If you prefer to buy store-bought mixers, it is totally up to you, but we love a good summer day project of making it from scratch!
If you like to entertain, many of these frozen drinks are great choices because they are easy to make in bulk quantities. If you prefer a day alone, you can pare down the recipe and make some just for yourself.
No matter what drink or method you choose, summer days are better with one of the best frozen cocktails in your hand!
