I can think of several cocktails sweet enough to be considered dessert. The chocolate-rich Brandy Alexander immediately comes to mind, quickly followed by tropical, coconut pina coladas or sweet-tart, candied lemon drop shots. But this frozen mudslide recipe stands in a league of its own. To make it, vodka, Irish cream and coffee liqueur are blended with ice cream to create a thick, creamy, boozy adult milkshake.
The original mudslide cocktail recipe was a riff off of a white Russian, a cocktail made with vodka, coffee liqueur and cream. As the story goes, a customer ordered one at Wreck Bar in Rum Point Club on Grand Cayman Island. The bartender didn’t have fresh cream and swapped in Irish cream liqueur instead. The substitution created a rich, sweet concoction that tasted a lot like a melted milkshake. Somewhere along the way, ice cream was added to embrace the drink’s dessert-like character.
Mudslide Ingredients
- Vodka: Vodka is the base spirit in our easy mudslide recipe. You won’t be able to taste it amongst all the sweet ingredients, so there’s no need to use an expensive vodka brand here.
- Irish cream liqueur: Bailey’s is probably the most popular Irish cream liqueur, but you can use any brand. This rich, decadent liqueur is made with cream, whiskey and flavorings like coffee.
- Coffee liqueur: Use any brand of coffee liqueur, including the rum-based Kahlua.
- Vanilla ice cream: Ice cream and ice cubes combine to give the drink its milkshake consistency.
- Chocolate syrup: A chocolate syrup-coated glass is the iconic way to serve mudslides. It puts the “mud” in “mudslide,” so to speak. Use dark chocolate syrup to lean into the bitter-sweet notes or milk chocolate syrup to revel in caramelized sugariness.
- Garnishes: To celebrate the desserty nature of this mudslide cocktail recipe, garnish the drink with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.
Directions
Step 1: Blend
Place the ice cream, ice, Irish cream liqueur, coffee liqueur and vodka into a blender. Process, covered, until smooth.
Step 2: Prepare the glass
Drizzle chocolate syrup into a chilled hurricane or highball glass.
Editor’s Tip: For a classier look, try rimming the cocktail glasses with a chocolate-coated rim. Add the chocolate syrup to a plate. On a separate plate, combine cocoa powder and granulated sugar. Dip the rim of the glass into the syrup, then into the chocolate sugar.
Step 3: Garnish
Pour the blended drink into the glass. Garnish with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.
Mudslide Variations
- Classic mudslide: Skip the blender and make a classic mudslide using a cocktail shaker. Fill a cocktail shaker half full with ice. Add the vodka, Irish cream liqueur and coffee liqueur. Instead of ice cream, add 1 to 2 ounces of heavy cream. Cover and shake until condensation forms on the outside of the shaker, 10 to 15 seconds. Strain the contents into a coupe or martini glass, and garnish with chocolate shavings.
- White Russian milkshake: To turn the mudslide into a white Russian milkshake, skip the Irish cream liqueur.
- Bushwacker cocktail: The Bushwacker cocktail tastes like a combination of a mudslide and a pina colada. Turn this recipe into this tropical cocktail by using rum instead of vodka and dark crème de cacao instead of Irish cream liqueur. Add a splash of cream of coconut, or use dairy-free coconut ice cream.
How do you make frozen mudslides for a crowd?
Our frozen mudslide recipe makes a single serving, but you can easily scale the recipe to serve a crowd. Simply multiply the ingredients by the number of people you plan to serve. If you can’t fit all the ingredients in the blender at once, process the mudslides in batches.
Can you make this mudslide drink recipe in advance?
We don’t recommend preparing this recipe in advance. You can store the blended drink in the freezer in a pinch, but it will become icy and lose its smooth texture. It’s best to make mudslides just before you plan on serving them.
Mudslide Tips
When do you serve a mudslide?
Enjoy a mudslide anytime you need to satisfy your sweet tooth. It’s a perfect after-dinner drink in lieu of a more formal dessert course.
Does a mudslide cocktail have caffeine?
Coffee liqueur and Irish cream liqueur contain small amounts of caffeine, so mudslides are not caffeine-free. You can make homemade Kahlua with decaf coffee, and it’s easy to skip the coffee granules when making homemade Irish cream. There are caffeine-free alternatives—like chocolate liqueur, amaretto or hazelnut liqueur—but they’ll significantly change the drink’s flavor.
