Thanks to perpetual snow storms and a Polar Vortex or two, Winter 2014 has definitely been interesting. Just last night we were hit with yet another storm that dumped around a foot of snow on us (just so you know, I’m writing this on 2/13/14, just before midnight, and guess what? It’s snowing AGAIN!)
Given all of the cold weather nastiness that we’ve had to deal with, you’d think that this post would be about a Hot Toddy, spiked Hot Chocolate, or maybe even an Irish Coffee, but no, I decided that tonight would be a fine time to finally try the Divine Chocolate Bourbon Boozy Shake recipe that’s been in my inbox for a couple of weeks. While a cold beverage on a cold day might be considered counterintuitive, everyone’s favorite US Postal Worker, the great Cliff Clavin, says otherwise…
Here is the recipe for this delicious sounding frozen concoction…
Ingredients:
- For the milkshake:
- 2 ounces Four Roses Single Barrel Bourbon
- 2 ounces Chocolate Syrup (see below)
- 2 ounces Light Cream
- 1 cup vanilla ice cream
- For the chocolate syrup:
- 1 ½ cups water
- 3 cups sugar
- 1 ½ cups Divine Chocolate Cocoa Powder
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Method:
- For the chocolate syrup:
- Bring water and sugar to a boil and whisk in cocoa powder, vanilla extract and salt.
- Stir until blended.
- Store in the refrigerator for use in chocolate milk and hot chocolate, as well as milkshakes.
- For the Boozy Milkshake:
- Put all ingredients in a blender and mix until frothy.
- Serve in a pint glass with two straws, garnished with some chocolate shavings.
Now for the good news and bad news. First, the bad news…
As I was pulling out what I thought were all of the ingredients to make this drink, i.e. Bourbon, cocoa powder, milk, and ice cream, I suddenly realized that I had never read the actual recipe. Once I started reading it, I learned that there was some actual cooking involved. Since I was missing an ingredient or two to make the complete original recipe, I decided that I would modify it a bit and make my own version. Here is what I used to make my version of the Divine Chocolate Bourbon Shake:
- 2 ounces of Four Roses Single Barrel Bourbon
- 2 ounces of 2% Milk
- 1 heaping teaspoon of Divine Chocolate Cocoa Powder
- 3 scoops of Turkey Hill Philadelphia Style Vanilla Bean and Chocolate Ice Cream
Directions: Put everything into a blender and mix until smooth and frothy.
And now for the good news…
While my version may lack the richness of the original recipe (less sugar, no Light Cream, etc.), I was very pleased with the finished product. The bittersweet nature of the cocoa powder and the rich and flavorful Bourbon both came through and complimented the smooth creaminess of the ice cream. I’m sure it’s worth it to go the extra mile to make the chocolate sauce (given all of the delicious ingredients that go into it, how can it possibly be bad?), but in a pinch, my version will do nicely. I’m definitely making this again!
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