Sarsaparilla Floats with Bourbon Vanilla
When I was 12, I fell in love with sarsaparilla. For those of you not familiar, it is an old-timely soda made from birch oil and sassafras root. It's consider the sharper, more complex cousin to root beer.
I spied it on the shelf of my parent's general store in New Hampshire, sporting an aged apothecary type label and evoking every romantic ideal I'd ever gleaned from Hollywood westerns.
One sip and I was hooked. I've always been a girl who likes the sweet with the bitter, the cream with a bite at the end. So when I saw this bottle at the liquor store, I knew I was in need of an old-fashioned good time.
Jeremiah Weed makes an infamous sarsaparilla whiskey with a delicious, spicy profile that pairs perfectly with ice cream.
Top it off with a bit of root beer and you get a boozy, adult float that'll have you saddling up to the bar for another.
Garnish these whiskey cocktails with seeds from bourbon vanilla beans for a finishing touch that's worthy of a showdown at the OK corral.
Normally, I'd tell you the whole story of this recipe, lovingly crafting a step by step guide. But this one, folks? Ain't no hand holding happening here.
About the root beer. Yeah, about that. Don't buy shit. None of that Barq's or A&W crap. Get the real goods. I recommend Virgil's or our personal favorite, Henry Weinhard's. That way there's a chance your root beer might have something other than high fructose corn syrup and artificial flavors.
Also, get some good quality ice cream. Haagen Daz is the best vanilla on the planet. There's pretty much no argument about that.
Scoop ice cream into your jars and get ready. Your cup is gonna runneth over.
Worthy of note- these adult-only floats are completely adaptable. Sunday afternoon? Perhaps just one shot of Jeremiah Weed. Sunday evening with the in-laws? Probably calls for two shots of Jeremiah.
Once you've got the cream and the whiskey, you're ready to pour. This is the awesomest part of any float. All that frothy goodness.
So lift your glass, friends and enjoy a bit of a break from adulthood with these boozy sarsaparilla floats.
When you reach the bottom of the glass, you'll be a sorry sonofabitch.
Sarsaparilla Floats with Bourbon Vanilla
1 scoop vanilla ice cream
1 12 oz. bottle root beer
1-2 oz. Jeremiah Weed's Sarsaparilla Whiskey
1 bourbon vanilla bean, seeds scraped
Directions:
Put one scoop of ice cream in bottom of mason jar or tall glass. Add 1-2 shots of sarsaparilla whiskey. Fill with root beer. Sprinkle with bourbon vanilla bean seeds, or use the pods as stirrers. Sip and savor. Repeat.