If You Haven't Tried Making a Cocktail With Fresh Snow, You're Seriously Missing Out

If you live in an area that experiences a cold winter, you're probably all too familiar with the cycle of snow emotions. The first snowstorm of the season is magical, and you relish waking up to a winter wonderland. Every subsequent snowfall after that first snowfall loses a little bit of its luster, until it's mid-March and the mere idea of having to scrape off your car before going to the grocery store makes you want to shake your fists at the spewing skies. But what if there was a way to not just tolerate, but actually relish a fresh snowfall? At least for what it can do for your evening happy hour, that is. Making cocktails with a snow base is festive, easy, and truly makes the most of winter's bounty. If you live in a warm climate, have no fear—you can use crushed ice and still enjoy a frosty drink while silently mocking the rest of us in our bulky winter garb.

Snow Cocktail Basics

To start, you'll want to ensure that your snow is as clean and pure as possible. This means you want to capture it right after it falls, before humans, pets, and wildlife have a chance to impart any grime into what you're about to ingest. Freshly fallen snow is also at its lightest and fluffiest texture, which makes it a fun alternative to traditional ice in beverages.

Capture your snow as close as possible to when you will be using it, but you can store it in the freezer until ready if need be. To keep it airy, don't let your haul melt at all before putting it in the freezer to avoid ice chunks. Also, avoid packing the snow down in the container you are using. Instead, scoop it into a large jar or bowl and let it stay light as it sits in the freezer.

From there, depending on the cocktail, you can either pack the snow into little snowball ice cubes or you can keep it loose to create more of a slushy-type texture for your drink. Keep in mind that either way, snow will melt more quickly than regular ice due to the small particles, so this would not be a good time to mix a big batch of cocktails.

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Snow Cocktail Recipes

You can use snow as a base for any cocktail, either packing the flakes down to make cubes or keeping them loose as mentioned. That being said, certain recipes lend themselves better than others to the white stuff. Check out the modifications below to use snow in these delicious cocktail recipes.