From boozy slushies to adult milkshakes, alcohol-infused frozen desserts and beverages are a big hit on the tradeshow circuit this year. Leading soft serve machine manufacturers, including Electro Freeze, Spaceman USA, and Taylor Company, have been offering spiked beverages and desserts from their tradeshow booths. Just this year, Taylor introduced the Zamboozy, a new frozen adult beverage machine.
Spaceman USA reports seeing “an uptick towards more adult beverage shakes and smoothies. Frozen beverages like Red Robin’s Bailey’s shakes, spiced slushes at Dosa by Dosa in the Bay Area, and WineCream, available at several wineries, which essentially is ice cream and fruity wine added to soft serve machine, are buzzworthy drinks that resonate with customers. Making a great frozen margarita can be as easy as going to Costco, purchasing their Kirkland Premium Golden Margarita ready to drink mix, and pouring it directly into the Spaceman frozen beverage machine.”
According to Technomic’s 2017 Dessert report, “48% of consumers ages 18- to 34-years old find desserts with alcohol ingredients appealing.” Euromonitor International’s report on beverage trends at the National Restaurant Association Show 2019 found that consumers were interested in low and no alcohol drinks with functional benefits, e.g., matcha, acai, and dragonfruit flavors were popular. Based on Google Trends, current interest in boozy ice cream is greatest in New York, New Jersey, and Texas, but it shows signs of spreading throughout the country. Like frozen yogurt, interest is seasonal, peaking during the summer.
From Boozy Ice Cream to Boozy Froyo
Multiple ice cream shops specializing in liquor-infused frozen desserts have opened in the US, including Tipsy Scoop, Buzzed Bull Creamery, The Ice Cream Bar, Boozy’s Creamery & Craft, and The House, Boozy Ice Creams and Brews. At Buzzed Bull Creamery, customers can choose buzzed or non-buzzed options, flavors, bases (ice cream, frozen yogurt, sorbet), buzz level, toppings, and mix-ins. The treats are made to order using liquid nitrogen.
The trend has hit the mainstream ice cream market. Earlier this year, Haagen Dazs launched a line of boozy ice cream flavors called the Spirits Collection in the US. Their boozy ice cream contains less than 0.5% alcohol per volume. The collection includes five dairy-based flavors, one non-dairy flavor option, and Irish Cream Cookie Squares. The Spirits Collection was launched in Canada last year.
Some frozen yogurt shops have offered boozy flavors or boozy drinks. Suzy’s Swirl, a frozen yogurt shop in Lake Bluff, Illinois, is currently focused on a national retail rollout out of adult beverage flavored fro-yo and sorbets featuring adult beverage flavors. Their products with flavors like Pink Champagne, Caramel Bourbon and Moscow Mule, contain less than 2% alcohol. The Island Frozen Yogurt in St. Louis offers frozen liqueurs like frozen daiquiris, mudslides, and margaritas to those 21 and over. The new Pass Daq & FroYo Shoppe in Pass Christian, MS offers alcoholic daquiris, pina coladas and other frozen drinks and frozen yogurt.
There are also cocktail inspired frozen yogurt, gelato, and sorbet flavors that do not contain alcohol. For example, Dannon YoCream offers Raspberry Lime Mojito sorbet, Tiramisu gelato, and Irish Cream no sugar added frozen yogurt. Honey Hill Farms has Egg Nog, Amaretto, and Pina Colada CustomBlendz flavorings. Nanci’s Frozen Yogurt offers Pina Colada, Jamaican Rum, Irish Cream, Kahlua, Strawberry Colada, and Strawberry Daquiri flavors. Rainbow’s End has White Russian gelato. Since these flavors contain no alcohol, they can be safely sold and consumed to everyone.
Laws for Selling Boozy Ice Cream/Froyo
Once frozen yogurt is made with alcohol, the legality of who can sell and consume the product needs to be considered. The laws concerning the sale of alcohol in the US are complex and involve different regulatory agencies depending on the type of product and the volume of alcohol content. Food and beverage laws differ. For example, while federal law does not consider any beverage with less than 0.5% alcohol by volume to be alcoholic, laws that regulate alcohol in food vary by state. In Ohio, alcoholic ice cream may only be sold by an A-5 permit holder for on- or off-premises consumption. It cannot be delivered or sold to other retailers with liquor licenses.
To be safe, check your local laws before selling anything made with alcohol. Special permits may be required.
