Next Level Ways to Spike your eegee’s

You know them. You love them. The frozen deliciousness known as an eegee is one way to beat the Tucson summer heat. Heck, it’s one way to beat the Tucson spring and fall heat as well. You probably wouldn’t be all that disappointed if you snuck a few in there during monsoon season either.

The chilled beverage goes down so smoothly—it just hits right. It’s like a cool, refreshing pool for your stomach. But you know what makes those eegee’s even better? A little bit of adult beverage goodness.

Yes, while the drink is great on its own, it’s possible to take it up a notch with an alcoholic drink added to the mix. But if you’re going to spike your drink, you need to do it properly. Don’t just pull out some lukewarm handle and pour it in. That’s going to do nothing but melt the eegee. And what do you have then? A delicious but certainly not frozen beverage. As we’d say, not cool.

To help you out, here are some next-level tricks and inspiration to spike your eegee and take it to the next level. Just make sure to do it responsibly.

First, sometimes the best inspiration lives close to home. Why not look to some of your favorite cocktails from a beloved local bar? If there is one Tucson spot we absolutely love, it’s the historic Kon Tiki. The city’s original tiki bar remains the ultimate destination for colorful, juice-forward cocktails that would pair expertly with a variety of eegee’s most popular flavors. (Pro-tip: If you haven’t been to Kon Tiki before, or next time you’re in Tucson, take it from us—it’s always a good time.)

Make a riff on Kon Tiki’s classic Scorpion Bowl, a popular super-sized concoction, making yours with a large helping of the pina colada eegee flavor, a healthy addition of gold and silver rums, orgeat almond syrup (for nuttiness) and ample fresh-squeezed citrus (think lemon and lime for a punch). Locals-in-the-know also call this potent crowd-pleaser the Tarantula Tiki. Tread lightly.

Live closer Phoenix? Peruse the tropical, Asian-inspired craft cocktail menus of Across the Pond to learn how you can give your favorite eegee that exotic global flair. Case in point: ACP’s popular Suntory Sling cocktail, an elevated take on the classic Singapore Sling. Here, assemble a mix of both lemon and pina colada eegee flavors, adding aged whiskey, some fresh-squeezed citrus and a small pour of your favorite herbal liqueur (think Chartreuse or Benedictine) for a refreshing and remarkably sophisticated take of your own at home.

Or, how about a little south-of-the-border flair? Your local Mexican joint can provide a wealth of delicious ideas. Recreate your favorite margarita with a lemon eegee, some fresh lime and orange juice, a nice aged tequila and a salt rim. Or, go the fruit con chile route—a streetside snack of fresh fruit sprinkled with Tajin, a zesty chili-lime seasoning—but, make it a cocktail. For this, mix a scoop of almost any of your favorite eegee flavors with vodka and a few dashes of Tajin to top it off. Easy, breezy, cheers!

Probably the biggest mistake you can make when spiking any kind of frozen drink is pouring in a warm spirit. That’ll kill the frozen part of the drink right then and there. If you had wanted a Kool-Aid mixer you would have just grabbed a packet from the store. But you wanted an eegee frozen treat. So before you pour in the spirit, pop it into the freezer. Better yet, just keep your favorite spirit stored in your freezer at all times so there’s little to no wait time to enjoy that spiked eegee!

Here at eegee’s there are all kinds of fantastic frozen flavors for you to choose from. What makes it next level, though? Combining the flavors of your favorite spirits with the frozen eegee drinks.

You can crack open the coconut rum, or maybe you’d like to add in some refreshing vanilla vodka. Perhaps you’re a fan of peach Schnapps. Give that a try as well. There is so much potential when it comes to spiking your drinks, and that’s all the fun.

You can mix and match and grab different eegees to see what goes well with your spirits at home. If you really want to plan like a boss, go out to your favorite liquor store and look at all the different flavored spirits.

You can always go classic and use a flavorless vodka if you want the full flavor of the eegee to stand out, but if you want to get wild with your spiked beverage, check out everything that’s available and then grab that from the store, pop it in the freezer and head out to your local eegee’s.

Whether it’s a cinnamon whiskey, a sour apple pucker, or you’re experimenting in other ways you don’t need to stick with the basic liquors when combining with an eegee.

The only downside to sitting by a pool on a hot summer day with a spiked eegee in hand is the possibility of a melted drink. Still tasty, but melted. Even if you’re pouring in a spirit straight out of the freezer it will speed up the melting process. What should you do about that? Well, freeze your spirit, of course.

But how are you supposed to just freeze your spirit? Alcohol isn’t going to freeze to the point of turning into ice on its own, and you probably don’t have dry ice sitting around to do that for you either.

So, how do you freeze it? You combine it with water ahead of time. The trick is to get the ABV of each ice cube to around 10 percent (20 proof). This will allow the spirit to freeze, so you can then drop the spiked ice cubes into your eegee. This not only will keep your eegee colder longer, but it will also release the alcohol much more slowly.

If you’ve ever made a drink and forgot to stir the alcohol on top you know that the first sip is anything but pleasant. However, when you make these “alcohol cubes” the alcohol is evenly dispersed throughout the drink, making it much more palatable.

So how do you get your spirit down to 10 ABV? The easiest way will be to grab a spirit that is 20 ABV (40 proof). You shouldn’t have a problem finding a vodka or gin or another traditional spirit that is right around 40 proof. You will then need to cut it in half with water. By going one part water, one part spirit, you’ll cut the ABV in half, getting it down to 10 percent. Mix this up and pop it in the freezer. It will still take longer for the ice cubes to form because of the alcohol, but as long as you give it some time, you’ll be rewarded with fantastic spiked ice for your eegee.

Maybe you don’t want to go too crazy with spiking your eegee. You want a bit of alcohol, but nothing over the top, and you don’t want to add too much extra liquid. In this case, you should spike fresh fruit.

Pick up whatever is in season, like cut watermelon, raspberries, strawberries, or anything else that is porous (a blueberry or apple with the skin will not allow as much alcohol to be absorbed). Add in a flavorless spirit (like vodka) and allow the fruit to sit in the vodka for a few hours. Then, remove the fruit and pop them in the freezer until cold.

These are just some of our favorite ways to spike an eegee. Whether you are craving that afternoon pick-me-up, hangin’ by the pool, or getting ready to chill with friends, a spiked eegee is the perfect alcoholic kick that reminds you of how good things can be when you’re an adult.

You can enjoy a childhood favorite drink while also adding in one of your favorite spirits. Best of all, you can get creative with it. From adding in a bit of coconut rum to making your own gin and tonic with the classic frozen lemonade, there are plenty of ways to have fun. So what are you waiting for? Give it a try! You might just discover a brand-new reason to hit up your nearest eegee’s on your way home.