Why I love this brandy slush recipe
This brandy slush recipe is just another example of how much we love our brandy in Wisconsin. If you’ve never head of it, brandy slush is a sweet, frozen cocktail that you scoop into a glass and top with soda.
You can make it well in advance, which is great for around the holidays, and it’s traditionally stored in an old ice cream container. We are in America’s dairyland after all, even if we can’t have traditional ice cream in our house.
I thought about buying a pail just for photos, but I subbed a large glass bowl with a lid in it’s place because I didn’t want to be wasteful.
How to make holiday Brandy slush
Make the sweet tea syrup. Heat 2 cups water with 1 cup of sugar oven medium heat. Stir until sugar has dissolved. Add tea bags and allow syrup to steep until cool.
Mix the brandy slush. Once the tea has cooled, discard tea bags and mix the syrup with the rest of the ingredients in a large freezer friendly container with a lid.
Freeze overnight for best results, or at least 4 hours. The high sugar and alcohol content keep the slush from fully freezing, but you should seem fairly solid and you’ll get some pretty crystals when it’s ready.
To serve: place a scoop or two in a cocktail glass and top with seltzer or soda. Garnish with an orange slice and serve immediately.
Frequently asked questions
You’ll want to freeze your brandy slush for at least 4 hours, but I’d recommend freezing it overnight for best results.
If you want your brandy slush to taste like the traditional cocktail, I wouldn’t swap out the juice, but if you’re looking to change things up, feel free to experiment with other frozen juice concentrates.
You don’t need to use anything fancy for this brandy slush recipe. We usually use a bottle that’s about $10-15/liter.
Is there milk in my wine?
Some alcohol, especially wine, is processed with milk products, and it’s unfortunately not required to be labeled. I recommend using resources like Barnivore.com or contacting brands to verify if their products contain milk. You can also check this list of my favorite vegan wine under $20.
Brandy Slush
Ingredients
For the sweet tea syrup:
- 4 tea bags*
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup sugar
For the brandy slush:
- 1 12-ounce container frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
- 1 12-ounce container frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
- 2 cups brandy
- 6 cups water
For serving
- Club soda, seltzer water, or lemon lime soda
- Orange slices
Instructions
- Heat a large saucepan to medium-high. Add 2 cups water and sugar and heat until sugar is dissolved, stirring as needed. Remove from heat and add tea bags. Steep until cooled and discard tea bags.
- Add tea syrup to a large freezer friendly container with remaining ingredients. Stir and cover with a an airtight lid.
- Freeze overnight, or for a minimum of 6 hours.
- To serve, scoop brandy slush into glasses and top with seltzer or soda. Garnish with an orange slice.
Notes
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I grew up in WI and have made almost this exact recipe for several parties in my younger years but we called it Brandy Smash.