Boozy Cherry Coke Floats

It’s Friday!! Finally. It seemed like it might never get here.

Have you ever had one of those days or weeks when nothing huge happens but by the end of it you’re completely and utterly sapped of energy and good humor. That’s been my week, and I’m exhausted. This week was the last week of summer holidays for kids and it rained a lot, which meant the museum was full of soggy, stressed, and tired adults and hyper children. I did have some great interactions where parents were appreciative and kids drew me pictures and wanted to play and talk about science. But, also there were many times when adults are rude, when kids were bored and acting out, and babies vomited on the floor. Thank goodness it’s finally Friday. But enough moaning, I bet a lot of us have had long weeks so now it’s time we look forward and treat ourselves for a job well done.

A boozy Cherry Coke float is perhaps a perfect end of the week treat because it has alcohol, ice cream, and fizzy-ness. All of that screams indulgent celebration. Most importantly though, a boozy soda float is crazy easy to make. After a long week the fun needs to start right now. For a float all you have to do is poor stuff in a glass, suck it down, and the relaxation has started.

I’m particularly into floats right now because I recently bought two glass Coca-Cola glasses from a charity shop. I love the shape, the light green glass, and they were only £1 each! I bought one that says 1899 and one that says 1994. I don’t know what those dates signify, but hopefully not the date they were made. Shortly after drinking a float from the 1899 glass, I put it in the dishwasher and it broke. At least it gets to be immortalized forever in these photos. RIP Coca-Cola glass, RIP.

The classic float combination is root beer and vanilla ice cream, but my research (ok, fine not research so much as what I read on Wikipedia) implies that it can really be any combination of soda and ice cream. I like root beer a lot but it’s hard to find here (although if you’re in the London area you can find it at Partridge’s). Anyway, Robert McCay Green is credited with inventing the float in 1874 after on a busy day in his Philadelphia shop. He said he ran out of ice and used ice cream instead. Some other people have also claimed to be the inventor, included some of Robert’s own employees. Whoever invented it, I salute you.

I used Cherry Coke in my float because I don’t use like plain Coke and I think the cherry flavoring is a nice overall addition. I also thinking using Cherry Coke (or regular Coke) is a good choice because it’s an easy mixer and goes well with whiskey. Jack Daniels and Coke is another classic combination. So why not take combine a classic float with a classic cocktail? It’s perfection. With this recipe you’ll taste all the best parts of the whiskey with none of the burn, you’ll get loads of sweetness, and you’ll still have the creamy foam on top.

As a BONUS I also wanted to tell you I created a second kind of boozy float (photo below). It’s Strawberry Pimm’s, Lemon Fanta, and vanilla ice cream. It’s gorgeous and tastes like a strawberry-lemonade creamsicle. Lemon Fanta is hard to find so I would substitute San Pelligrino Limonata or any orange soda. This combination is epic and looks really happy. To make this use the ratios from the recipe below, just use these ingredients instead.

Ok so, we’re done talking now. It’s time to go make a float. Go out and treat yo self.

Messy level: If zero spoons was an option this would get zero spoons. The only thing you’ll dirty is an ice cream scoop and the cup you use. This really is the perfect I-am-exhausted treat.