Host an Ice Cream Cocktail Party with Kahlúa

Want to make your cocktail party an affair your guests would be crazy to miss? Sweeten the deal with an ice cream bar! Not only will you stimulate lively, nostalgic conversation and create an interesting centerpiece in your home, you’ll create a fun atmosphere that can’t be topped.

The flavors in both the ice cream and alcohol need to be subtly highlighted, so choose dynamic and complementary ingredients of different colors and textures to keep the display interesting. When possible, decant and/or transfer ingredients to containers you already own and love, as opposed to displaying tired store packaging.

An ice cream cocktail bar features at least three spirits, such as rum, bourbon and a liqueur like Kahlúa, which blends coffee and rum flavors that go naturally with dairy products. There should also be two ice cream choices (vanilla and cherry, for example), two bitters (orange, rhubarb, mint and coffee bitters work well), and three toppings and garnishes. When serving floats, serve root beer and other sodas from a small punch bowl immediately before mixing so that they remain carbonated.

Since you don't want to get stuck playing bartender all evening, encourage guests to prepare their own shake, float or sundae with suggested recipes displayed on a table near the kitchen, which allows traffic to flow smoothly, but doesn’t fill the kitchen with guests. Keep a blender at the table for blended drinks, and ensure this table located away from the area where guests will be chatting, as blenders are noisy. The sky's the limit on the creations they'll come up with when given inspiration with finely curated ingredients and sample recipes.

Choose a theme to guide the décor. Interested in an old-fashioned soda fountain theme? Drape your ice cream cocktail bar with a pink and white striped tablecloth and serve concoctions in milkshake glasses and pair with lollipops. Or maybe you're going for a bright and bold expression of Latin culture? Choose bright sherbets and flavored ice creams accompanied by alcohol-filled decanters of various colors and sizes. Serve snacks like our Churros or Tres Leches Cupcakes!

Ice cream bars don't have to be messy, either. Here are two simple, big-hit, ice cream-based cocktail recipes for your next fiesta:

Kahlúa Coco Colada

• 2 parts Kahlúa
• 1 part Malibu Rum
• 1 part Evaporated Milk

Click here for the full recipe.

Tip: A balanced cocktail is the best cocktail. Flavors should complement each other, not dominate. Keep that in mind when mixing milk products, which can dull flavors when overdone.

Kahlúa Root Beer/Kahlúa Root Beer Float

• 2 parts Kahlúa
• 3 parts root beer

Click here for the full recipe.

Tip: Taste Kahlúa on its own and determine the subtle coffee notes that guide the flavors with which you mix it. Sometimes simply adding one complementary ingredient like root beer is enough to let its true characteristics shine.

Drinking Responsibly is Muy Delicioso
KAHLÚA ® Rum and Coffee Liqueur. 20% Alc./Vol. (21.5 Alc./Vol. available only in Ohio).
Product of Mexico. © 2012 Imported By The Kahlúa Company, Purchase, NY.
Enjoy KAHLÚA responsibly