Grub Guide

Beat the Heat With These Five Boozy Brain-Freezers

Village Whiskey's booze milkshakes
Village Whiskey’s booze milkshakes Photo: J-Nogz

There are a million frigid treats in the naked city that can help you dial back your internal thermostat when summer’s scorching heat is on. But when you need to really chill out, a simple scoop of Little Baby’s Ice Cream, or a cup of sugary slush from Rita’s just isn’t going to cut it. And in those hot and sticky situations only adult-oriented, booze-laden shakes and floats will do the trick. Just a few blissful sips send you somewhere cool and breezy, and bring you back cool, calm and refreshed. Here we present five of our favorite boozy brain-freezes. Feel free to suggest yours.

Percy Street Barbecue
900 South Street, (215) 625-8510

Percy Street’s root beer floats, made with root beer from Yards Brewing Company, are great, but for a boozy upgrade, try the off-menu, spiked version, made with Old Overholt Rye, or the Ten Fidy Float made with Oscar Blues imperial stout.

P.Y.T.
1050 N Hancock Street, (215) 964-9009

Since opening his burger joint in Northern Liberties’ Piazza at Schmidt’s complex, Tommy Up’s been plying guests with some of the city’s most popular booze and ice cream concoctions. Some of the more popular ones are the Bananas John Foster, and the Big Lebowski-inspired The Dude. Still our favorite is the magically delicious Cereal Killer, which is made with vanilla ice cream, vodka, and Lucky Charms-infused cereal milk topped with whipped cream and Lucky Charms.

Village Whiskey
118 South 20th Street, (215) 665-1088

Boozy milkshakes often times get shadowed by the over-the-top selection of rare and small batch whiskeys, and the foie gras-topped burgers at Iron Chef Jose Garces’ popular corner bar, but they’re well worth seeking out. Of course there’s an obligatory riff on s’mores, as well as a rum-soaked strawberry option. Our favorite, though, is the Irish Car Bomb, which is made with housemade devil’s food cake brushed with Negra Modelo, layers of dark chocolate pastry cream that’s spiked with Jameson Irish Whiskey and Bailey’s Irish Creme, and blended with vanilla and chocolate ice creams and topped with cake.

Square Peg
929 Walnut Street, (215) 413-3600

With choices that include riffs on banana splits, rootbeer floats and cherries jubilee, there’s surely no shortage of creativity when it comes to Square Peg’s assortment of “Spiked Shakes.” Of the lot, we prefer the Little Lebowski, which is made with organic vodka, Kahula, ice cream, and a scoop of Stumptown coffee-infused liqueur floated on top.


Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse

1426 Chestnut Street, (215) 246-0533

Del Frisco’s gets in on the booze milkshake bandwagon this summer with its own “adult-only” Del’s Delight. It’s a combination of Nocella Walnut Liquor, crème de cacao, chocolate liqueur and vanilla bean ice cream all served up in a martini glass.

Beat the Heat With These Five Boozy Brain-Freezers