Drinks Recipes Reviews

How to Make an Irish Earl Frozen Cocktail with the Zoku Slush and Shake Maker

I recently reviewed the Zoku Quick Pop Maker, and we’re still enjoying healthy homemade ice pops on an almost daily basis. So when Zoku asked if I wanted to review another one of their products, I jumped at the chance to try their Slush & Shake Maker. This nifty gadget makes slushies, milkshakes, smoothies, and even frozen alcoholic drinks in as few as 7 minutes without electricity or ice. In fact, that’s one of my favourite things about the Slush & Shake Maker. If you’ve made smoothies or slushies with a blender before, then you know there’s pretty much nothing louder than ice cubes in a blender. With this I can make a frozen treat regardless of what time it is or who’s sleeping/napping. 

The Slush & Shake Maker stores right in your freezer so it’s always ready. Whenever you want a slushie or shake, just slide the inner core into the outer plastic sleeve, add your ingredients, and use the included spoon to scrape the sides and mix it up. The possibilities are almost endless: blended fruit, fresh squeezed juice, coconut or almond milk, malted or chocolate milk, sweetened tea or coffee, soda, and even energy drinks.

Zoku Shake & Slush Maker

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always loved slushies. I clearly remember walking up to the corner store around age seven, clutching my 25 cent allowance, intent on buying a slushie and penny candy. But I’m not seven anymore. This slushie is for grown-ups!

Irish Earl Frozen Cocktail Recipe

I decided I wanted to transform one of my favourite hot drinks into a cold one. After a long day of toddler wrangling, I love curling up on the couch with a mug of hot Earl Grey tea and half a shot of Irish cream. I wondered if I could translate this into something cool and refreshing for these summer nights after the kids go to bed. The answer is yes! It’s a little more work than just pouring a can of soda in (which I’ve done too), but I think it’s worth it!

The first thing is to freeze the inner core overnight. Zoku recommends 8-18 hours – you want to make sure it’s frozen all the way. I brewed a cup of Earl Grey tea and added a little more than my usual amount of sugar because foods and beverages taste less sweet when they’re cold. Then I stuck it in the fridge for a couple of hours to cool. I poured my tea into the Slush & Shake Maker, scraped the ice off as it formed on the inside of the cup, and mixed the ice into the tea every minute or so. I was worried it might be a little tedious, but I actually thought it was kind of fun watching the tea freeze and transform into slush right in front of my eyes. If you leave it too long before scraping the sides, the ice can build up to the point where it’s difficult to get off. I got the feel for how long to wait after the first couple of times – start at a minute between scrapings.

Here’s my slushie at 3 minutes, 5 minutes, and 9 minutes. You can see by 5 minutes, it was already looking pretty slushy, and at 8 minutes, I had the consistency I was looking for. At that point I added 1-2 tablespoons of Irish cream, a touch of vanilla extract, and stirred it in. The alcohol melted the ice a bit, so I let it sit for a couple more minutes, scraped, and mixed it up again.

Irish Earl frozen cocktail

I don’t think I can explain how delicious this was. I dubbed my new creation an Irish Earl Frozen Cocktail. It’s sweet, creamy, and icy, with a slight kick – perfect for summer! Just try it!

Irish Earl Frozen Cocktail

This West Coast Mommy

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup steeped Earl Grey tea
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1-2 tablespoons Irish cream liqueur
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions
 

  • Make fresh Earl Grey tea to your preferred strength. Add sugar and stir to melt. Put tea in fridge to chill, about 2 hours.
  • Pour tea into Slush & Shake Maker. Scrape ice from sides and mix in about every minute.
  • Once the tea has frozen into stiff slush (8-10 minutes), mix in Irish cream and vanilla.
  • If necessary, allow slush to refreeze, scrape sides, and mix until desired texture is reached.

Notes

For a non-alcoholic version, try substituting the Irish cream with condensed milk and a touch of chocolate syrup and a pinch of instant coffee.

Things to Know

Each Slush & Shake Maker holds about one cup of liquid. That’s enough for one person, so if someone else wants a slushie or shake, you’ll need another maker on hand. The main thing to be aware of is that whatever you’re making doesn’t stop freezing just because you want to eat it. So if you’re a slow drinker like me, it will continue to freeze on the sides and you should give it a quick scrape and stir every once in a while. If you’ve reached the perfect texture and you don’t want it to freeze any further, you could always transfer your beverage into another cup.

I’ve mentioned that the Slush & Shake Maker has two parts – the inner core you freeze and the outer plastic cup. The outer cup is supposed to serve two purposes: so you don’t freeze your hand off, and to stop condensation drips. I found that the outer sleeve worked well to insulate my hand from the frozen core, but it wasn’t 100% effective at stopping condensation drips. It helped, but I still had a few drips. One other thing to know: artificially sweetened beverages don’t work as well and are not recommended.

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Shop

The Zoku Slush & Shake Maker comes in red, orange, green, blue, and purple and retails for $19.99. Buy it at Amazon.com or directly from Zoku.

Want to Win?

Zoku is generously sponsoring a giveaway for TWO Slush & Shake Makers in the Keeping Cool in the Sun Hop. It ends July 30 so GO ENTER NOW!

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Disclosure: I received sample items for review. All opinions expressed are completely honest and my own, based on my personal experience. Your experience may differ. This post contains affiliate links. This West Coast Mommy is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

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