These Black Velvet Floats are a heavenly mixture of stout, champagne, and vanilla ice cream that’s perfect for St. Patrick’s Day. An irresistible bubbly, creamy concoction you absolutely need to try!
St. Patrick’s Day is hands-down one of my favorite holidays of the year. My father’s side of the family is a strong mix of Scandinavian and Irish so it is a fun opportunity to indulge in traditional dishes. I especially love introducing my Latino husband to the family recipes I grew up with.
He loves a hearty Irish stew and pint of stout. But I have a confession to make…up until recently that particular beverage was not at the top of my list. I prefer a lighter, fruitier beer and stouts are just too over-powering for me. Until we came up with these Black Velvet Floats!
My favorite part of blogging is that inspiration can come from anywhere. I have been researching St. Patrick’s Day cocktails for the last month and somewhere in my mind I had an idea for a green velvet martini but couldn’t quite nail it down. While cruising drink sites, I kept seeing a Black Velvet cocktail pop up and was intrigued to see it is stout floated over champagne. But I just wasn’t sold yet.
Enter my favorite social media platform. I know a lot of people rely on Pinterest for food/beverage inspiration, but I am in love with my Instagram feed. While stalking one of my fave foodie accounts, I noticed the strawberry Prosecco floats they made for Valentine’s Day. A little bubbly poured over strawberry ice cream and *BAM* you have a holiday-ready cocktail.
I immediately knew if I added a simple vanilla bean ice cream to the Black Velvet cocktail I kept seeing, we would have a winner… And I was right! These Black Velvet Floats are rich, creamy, and bubbly! The sweetness of the ice cream balances out the bitterness of the stout while the champagne lightens the drink and makes it extra festive.
You could even try chocolate or coffee ice cream for extra richness. I added ice cream to the glasses first, then popped them back in the freezer for about 20 minutes to chill. It really helps the floats from melting too fast. Plus the bubbles from the champagne and stout will swirl, freezing slightly for a really cool effect!
- 2 tablespoons vanilla ice cream
- 2 ounces champagne or sparkling white wine
- 2 ounces stout
- Place ice cream in a champagne flute. Chill 20-30 minutes.
- Pour champagne over ice cream.
- Slowly pour stout over champagne so that it floats and doesn't mix.
- Serve immediately.
We hope you love these Black Velvet Floats from SoFabFood Contributor, Loriann from Thyme for Cocktails, as much as we do. If you enjoyed this cocktail recipe, be sure to find more like it in our Cocktails section. For daily recipe inspiration, like us on Facebook, follow us on Pinterest, and stop by our Google+ Community to see all of the amazing recipes our community members are sharing. Enjoy!
Disclosure: Message intended for our readers 21+ only. Please drink responsibly!
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