Adult Root Beer Float
Vanilla vodka, root beer, and vanilla ice cream — the 1893 Cripple Creek Black Cow and Hires' 1876 Philadelphia root beer meeting in an adult soda fountain classic.
- 1Add vanilla vodka to a chilled pint glass.
- 2Slowly pour in root beer.
- 3Top with whipped cream.
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The root beer float has its own distinctly American origin story: Frank J. Wisner of Cripple Creek, Colorado is credited with combining vanilla ice cream with root beer in 1893, calling it the Black Cow after the dark liquid. Root beer itself, a soda flavored with sassafras, wintergreen, and other botanicals, was popularized by Charles Hires, who introduced his commercial version at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition and expanded aggressively through drugstore soda fountains. By the mid-20th century, the root beer float had become an iconic American soda fountain treat. The Adult Root Beer Float cocktail translates this dessert into an alcoholic version by adding vodka — and often Irish cream or root beer schnapps — to the traditional ice cream and soda combination. This nostalgic cocktail gained popularity in the 2000s as dessert-inspired drinks became a growing bar trend.
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Everything you need to make a great Adult Root Beer Float at home.
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