7 Cocktails That Should Get the Freezer Martini Treatment
In the past decade, no cocktail has grown quite as ubiquitous as the Martini. Though a Martini is typically made with gin, vermouth, and a lemon twist, variation after variation has emerged in recent years, with bartenders seemingly in an arms race to craft the most inventive cocktail possible. Despite this endless string of riffs, there seems to be general agreement about one thing: Martinis need to be served ice cold. One of the best ways to achieve that? Pre-batching and freezing.
Freezer Martinis are characterized not only by their frigid temperatures, but also by their lush, viscous texture that can’t be replicated via shaking or stirring. The ease of making the drink paired with its impressive mouthfeel and quality begs the question: What other cocktails should get the freezer Martini treatment?
Here, we’ve identified seven that deserve to be pre-batched and stored in your freezer, with commentary on the best tips and tricks to do so from celebrated Portland, Ore.-based bartender Jeffrey Morgenthaler. In what likely comes as no surprise, each of these drinks is spirit-forward, with high ABVs that prevent them from transforming into slushies as they chill. That said, one shouldn’t necessarily shy away from freezing cocktails that incorporate ingredients generally avoided in batched drinks like citrus. As Morgenthaler argues, as long as the remaining ingredients are boozy enough, your cocktail will freeze beautifully.
“The first thing I always encourage people to do is to turn their freezer all the way down, crank it as low as it will go,” he says. “Some of them have temperature controls, but you need to ensure your freezer is as cold as possible. This is beneficial for more than just cocktail storage; it will help protect both your food and drink from spoilage.” Once your freezer is properly chilled, it’s imperative to make sure that everything — food or otherwise — is properly sealed to prevent any transfer of flavors. From there, you’re good to start batching your drinks.
Another gin-based cocktail that makes for a wonderful batch frozen drink is the Negroni. Not only is its three-equal-parts composition conducive to easy math, but all three parts are booze, meaning the cocktail’s ABV is high enough to prevent your Negronis from freezing. If gin isn’t your preferred spirit but bitter drinks are right up your alley, consider making a Boulevardier by swapping in bourbon to complement the Campari and sweet vermouth.
On the topic of whiskey, both the Old Fashioned and the Manhattan are excellent choices for freezing, with the cold imparting the same textural benefits as it does to a Martini. Despite the simple syrup and Angostura bitters in the build for an Old Fashioned, bourbon (or rye, should you prefer it) makes up the vast majority of the cocktail’s contents. Manhattans are similar, with rye whiskey joining forces with sweet vermouth and Angostura bitters. The spirit-forward nature of both classics pushes their ABV into the 30- to 40-percent range, preventing them from freezing solid or turning to slush.
While booze-heavy cocktails tend to perform best in the freezer, Morgenthaler argues that cocktails made with citrus can still be frozen, despite fears of oxidation or spoilage. Take drinks like the Paper Plane as an example. The cocktail is made with bourbon, Aperol, Amaro Nonino, and lemon juice, all in equal parts, meaning lemon juice accounts for just 25 percent of the drink, not enough to tip the scales.
It’s a similar situation for cocktails like the Last Word, which served as the template for the Paper Plane, and the Naked and Famous, a riff featuring mezcal, Aperol, yellow Chartreuse, and lime juice. “Only a quarter of those drinks is fresh citrus. You mix that up, put it in a very, very cold freezer, and I swear it will last indefinitely,” Morgenthaler explains. “There’s enough alcohol to keep that juice from spoiling.”
When it comes to actually making each cocktail, it’s important to ensure proper ratios as you scale everything up. To make things as seamless as possible for those seeking to pre-batch, Morgenthaler actually developed an app, Bevnap, which is able to scale any cocktail recipe to batchable proportions. For those not interested in using the app itself, he has a website that functions the same way, allowing users to enter recipes, ingredients, and number of servings to determine the best spec.
The last thing to keep in mind when batching your cocktails for freezer storage is dilution. While it might be tempting to batch the cocktail at full proof, doing so will result in very boozy cocktails that likely won’t be enjoyable to drink.
“If you’re going the freezer door route, you should always dilute your cocktails first. If you don’t and you just pour it over ice or stir it at full strength, that drink is the same temperature as the ice,” he explains. “You’re not going to get much dilution, if any at all, and your drinks are going to be extremely strong.”
Instead, Morgenthaler recommends going for 18 percent dilution by volume for every freezer cocktail, regardless of its contents, arguing that this level is the sweet spot for balanced tipples. If you’re trepidatious about doing the math yourself, the online BatchAlc calculator factors dilution into the recipe, making everything as straightforward as possible when it comes time to prep.
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