It’s a little bit of after-school nostalgia spiked up with the type of tipples you said you’d never go back to after that night on the Black Russians back in the 80s. It doesn’t quite match the urbanity of an Irish Coffee, but it’s a long way from grandpa’s hot toddy. It’s not good for you, but, well, everything in moderation and all that.
Bye bye, kale. Hellooooo boozy milkshake.
This is what they're about.
Piggy-backing off the burger-slider-diner trend that's been, well, everywhere, forever, they combine the most wicked of ingredients with the most rosy-cheeked wholesome (aka milk and fruit): salted caramel and bourbon; warm butter and rum; coconut, banana and vodka; bourbon, peanut butter, toffee and chocolate.
You can see why they're a bit of a stagger step up from your average strawberry thickshake from Maccas.
And thank the good lord we're catching on in Australia. Because even though we want to be good and just sip something green and clean and vitamin-y, boozy milkshakes are just a whole lot more fun.
Sam March, the owner of Sydney's CheekyBurger, saw them when he was travelling and reckons they're our next tippling trend.
“We have been serving adult shakes from the get-go - they are one of the biggest drawcards of our business,” he said.
“I went travelling to do some research, and was really inspired by the food in New York, and this boozy milkshake thing was trending over there. There is going to be a big market for them in Australian cities now.
“Our patrons can decide which liquor takes our fancy and we add it- but we usually recommend bourbon."
In Melbourne, Brother Burger is known for its house-made marshmallow vodka and chocolate shake and offers a Shake-a-holic menu.
In Brisbane, Cowch is totally focused on dessert-style drinks and business is booming. One of their most popular is the Apple Crumble dessert concoction - apple schnapps, butterscotch schnapps, cinnamon infused vanilla vodka, lemon and apple juice.
“Typically people have their dinner and then come to us for a hit of dessert and beverages in one,” said manager Nathan.
“People usually pair the drinks with a nice cheese platter.
“People could definitely make them at home. There's an art to choosing all the right ingredients though and picking the best chocolates and liqueurs."
So picture this. The kids are tucked up. You and hubby are ready to binge on House of Cards or Games of Thrones or some other grown-up show you can't watch, well, hardly ever. You want chocolate; he wants bourbon (because it's Friday and it's been a long week, not because he has an ever-so-tiny drinking problem). Finally, a combo for everyone (until you both fall into a blissful, bourbon-ish sleep about 15 minutes in).
All in all, the boozy shake trend gives us some feel-good, 50’s-style nostalgia. It could have made this scene from Grease very different.
Or maybe not.
(We've included a recipe below the video - sample and enjoy.)
Eggnog (not strictly a shake, but give it a froth and see what happens):
- 4 Fresh eggs
- 1/2 Cup of sugar
- 1/2 Cup of white rum
- 1 and 1/2 Cups of whole milk
- 1 and 1/2 Cups of whiskey
- 1 Cup of heavy whipping cream
- Ground nutmeg
Directions
Separate eggs into yolks and whites in separate bowls.
Beat egg yolks, add half the sugar and set aside. Beat egg whites until stiff then mix in the other half of the sugar.
Poor the yolks into the whites and mix together slowly. Stir in the white rum slowly.
Stir in milk slowly, followed by the whiskey. Then stir in half the cream and whip the rest separately before folding in also.
Serve in glasses sprinkled with nutmeg.
Have you ever tried a boozy milkshake? Let us know in the comments.
