Don’t be fooled by the rocks that they got. Ice isn’t enough relief during a San Antonio summer. When ghoulish climes threaten to melt your rubber slides right off of your feet, it’s time to order one of Alamo City’s best frozen cocktails.
While a glacial daiquiri will get you down a towering Schlitterbahn slide, city drinking requires a more balanced approach. Skip sugar bombs and aim for these more cosmopolitan sippers. Here are the eight best San Antonio bars and restaurants to hit right now for a frozen cocktail — and what to order.
Anaqua Garden Bar
Think of this bestseller as the boozy equivalent of fajitas. When you order a House of Don Ramon in a pineapple, half the room will furiously change their order. Introverts can order it in a less showy glass. The sizzle comes with aged rum and house coconut cream.
The House of Don Ramon at Anaqua Garden Bar can be ordered with or without a pineapple.
Photo courtesy of Anaqua Garden Bar.
The Cottage Irish Pub
If a regular Irish coffee evokes an afternoon at the pub crying over an old Pogue’s record, the frozen version takes it to a Dublin rave. The Cottage version adds real dairy to the Irish cream for a more velvety finish. Be warned that it doesn’t pair naturally with any of the Broadway bar’s snappy bar grub. Save it to drink with the whiskey bread pudding and power up for the after-party.
Gimme Gimme
For those of us who can’t drink a straight shot without three minutes a headache, the green tea shot is a godsend. This Southtown lounge reinvents it as a frozen cocktail, replacing lemon-lime soda with straight citrus. Yes, brain freeze can look unseemly, but the real ones keep a handy side of duck fat waffle fries to regulate the temperature.
Leo’s Hideout
Nostalgia has revived ‘80s touchstones like scrunchies, synthpop, and Saved by the Bell squiggles but so far has shied away from the decade’s glorious schnapps concoctions like Teeny Weeny Woo Woos and Slippery Nipples. This downtown pizza parlor says that’s all bogus. Shimmy into a power suit, order a slice and check your Cherries in the Snow lipstick in the reflection of a frosty Fuzzy Navel. It’s peach liqueur, orange juice, and all low-ABV Jazzercise.
Lo Cura
Maybe it’s unwise to serve Everclear floats so close to the edge of the San Antonio River, but any stroll through the River Walk throng requires a little liquid gumption. The Bad Life Choices cocktail mixes the famously potent liquor with more oomph from wine and vodka — and watermelon juice to temper the hooch. Think of it as a frosé version on a bender, and be thankful for ride-hailing apps.
The Damn Goode Margarita at Otto's Ice House is frozen perfection.Photo courtesy of Otto's Ice House.
Otto’s Ice House
San Antonio is full of frozen margaritas, some more lurid than others. This new Pearl ice house brings the often saccharine concoctions back to their zippy roots. There are only four ingredients in the Damn Goode Margarita — blanco tequila, orange liqueur, lime, and light agave syrup. If they go down too quickly, try not to start a rousing chorus of “Friends in Low Places” from the patio stage.
Southerleigh Haute South
The devil’s in the details of the Watermelon Diablo, a tequila agua fresca heading on the path to ruin. An agave and sandía base gets a sticky chamoy swirl, a chili salt rim, and a chunk of fruit to quench all that hellfire. Feeling more virtuous? Bless your heart with Peachy Palmer’s blend of frozen vodka lemonade and Southern gentility. Or order both in a frozen cocktail flight.
Tenfold Rooftop
Pineapple and coconut are as summery as 50 SPF sunscreen and toe rings, but keep piña coladas by the pool. Add Amarás verde mezcal and a punch of overproof rum, and suddenly, the ingredients are ready for a glamorous rooftop. The Last Known Oasis is a brilliant mix of desert torpor and tropical malaise. With one in your hand, no one could blame you for camping out.
Tenfold Rooftop's Last Known Oasis climbs new heights.Photo courtesy of Tenfold Rooftop.
