When you were a child, a milkshake was a pretty special treat. Sweet and cold, the choices were usually vanilla, chocolate or strawberry. Banana was a bit exotic. Mango or coconut, at least where most of us grew up, unheard of.
A milkshake made at home was never quite the same as one in a restaurant. Perhaps the malt powder was missing, or there was no ice cream in the fridge, or your mum didn’t think the recipe called for anything other than powdered chocolate and milk. Perhaps your home kitchen didn’t have a shaker, except you and a spoon whipping around in the glass to try and create froth.
Then you grew up, and started ordering beer or a glass of wine at restaurants. A G&T or a fancy cocktail with an umbrella and a swizzle stick might be as close as you’d get to re-living your childhood. Milkshakes are for kid’s right?
WRONG!!!! WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG!!!!!!
In restaurants and bars around the world ‘adult’ themed milkshakes are all the rage. Now by ‘adult’ I don’t mean this milkshake will take its top off and, for a little extra, sit on your lap. But trust me, after a couple of these babies you might consider removing some of your own restrictive clothing and breaking a few of those vows you hold so dear.
Boozy milkshakes combine dessert things (ice cream, flavours, colours) AND the most delicious of treats from behind the bar.
Win/win
Take, for example, a Peanut-butter Bourbon Milkshake. 5 easy ingredients and a blender and this is all yours.
You need 2 shots of bourbon whiskey, a tablespoon of maple syrup, 1/4 cup of chunky peanut butter, 1 cup of vanilla ice cream, and 1 cup of ice cubes. Throw them into a sturdy blender and wizz them for 2 minutes. Pour into a glass, sink into oblivion.
Or if fruit is more your thing, a Peach Bomb Milkshake requires 4 peaches (if fresh they should be firm with the pit removed and cut into quarters, you can leave the skin on, or if tinned, just open the tin and throw them in), plus 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter, 1/4 of a cup of light brown sugar, 4 generous cups of vanilla bean ice cream, 2 tablespoons of whole milk, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and….and here is the BOMB bit, ¼ of a cup of southern Comfort. Once again, into the blender for 2 minutes and BAM!!! No, it’s not lo-cal. But it IS divine peachiness in a glass.
In Hong Kong’s famous ‘Flying Pan’ restaurants, you will find an entire section of the beverage menu devoted to ‘Buzz Shakes’.
A Lemon Meringue Pie Buzz shake combines lemon vodka and crème de cacao with all the usual delicious milkshake ingredients to produce a mouth-watering adult treat that owner and creator Tammy Greenspon says “tastes just like a slice of pie, but in a glass.” It is one of their best sellers along with the After 8 Chocolate Mint Buzz Shake, featuring Crème De Menthe and crème de cacao, and the sublimely chocolaty Black Forrest Cake Buzz Shake which blends Oreos, Kirsch and Bailey’s Irish Cream into a traditional milkshake recipe that tastes like NOTHING your mother used to make.
One of Tammy’s favourites is the Tutti Fruitti with its heady combination of strawberry, Midori and Lychee Liqueur. It looks just like a strawberry milkshake, goes down like a glass of sunshine, but it kicks like an angry mule. By the time you get to the bottom of one, you’ll wonder why anything ever bothered you about anything anyway and the only concern you’ll have is whether or not to stick with this particular drink, or to try a different flavour next round.
Boozy Milkshakes are to the F&B business what Dita Von Teese is to Burlesque. Tempting, exotic, luscious, probably bad for you in anything more than moderation, but worth it anyway.
Naughty but nice. Which is what treats are supposed to be.
Whether whipping one up at home, or ordering one at the bar, the thought of a creamy cold decadent dessert in a glass reminds us of a fun time when all it took in life to make us happy was frothy flavoured milk.
With thanks to The Flying Pan Hong Kong. For more details head to www.the-flying-pan.com
