There’s no better way to conclude National Ice Cream Month than by celebrating its final days with this spiked root beer- and ice cream-based libation—a specialty of Nios Restaurant and Wine Bar in New York City. The restaurant’s Master Mixologist, Jacques Bezuidenhout, is famed for playful cocktails, such as this riff on a classic summertime favorite.
Sarsaparilla Soda Float
Courtesy of Nios Restaurant and Wine Bar, New York, NY.
2 ounces Tuthilltown Hudson Baby Bourbon Whiskey
6 ounces Hansen’s Sarsaparilla Soda
3 ounces chocolate ice cream
2 ounces Guinness Stout, floated on top
Bing cherry, soaked in Bourbon, for garnish
Pour the Bourbon into a frosty beer mug followed by the chilled Sarsaparilla soda, adding the soda slowly until it reaches about 2 inches below the rim. Using an ice cream scoop, place two rounds of vanilla ice cream on the rim of the glass, allowing the soda to foam beneath. Insert a drinking straw and a long-handled spoon between the ice cream scoops, and then top-off with the Guinness Stout. Garnish with the Bourbon-soaked Bing cherry.
Mixologist’s Tip: The ice cream must be positioned on the glass just right: If it’s resting too deep in the glass, the foam will overflow; if it’s situated too high on the rim, there won’t be enough foam produced to call it a true soda.
For Jacques Bezuidenhout’s Zin Cup cocktail recipe, click here.
