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Two vanilla milkshakes with whipped cream, cherry, and rainbow sprinkles on the rim of the glass sit on a table in a shiny red booth in a sleek diner setting.
Milkshakes at Rosebud in Davis Square.
Rosebud American Kitchen & Bar

Where to Find Boozy Milkshakes and Floats in Greater Boston

A refreshing treat on a hot day

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Milkshakes at Rosebud in Davis Square.
| Rosebud American Kitchen & Bar

Temperatures are about to be unrelentingly hot, so it’s a good time for boozy milkshakes — or boozy frappes, if you prefer the correct regional terminology. For the purposes of this map, we're including beverages that include (1) ice cream and (2) booze, regardless of what the restaurant calls it on the menu. In addition to frosty blended beverages, we're also throwing in boozy ice cream floats and similar items for good measure.

Consult this map to track down these sweet adult dessert-drinks around the Boston area.

This map was originally published on May 24, 2016; the date of most recent update appears above.

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Rosebud American Kitchen & Bar

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Specializing in whiskey, pies, and Southern-inspired cuisine, Rosebud offers bourbon-spiked milkshakes in chocolate, vanilla, coffee, and a rotating flavor of the week. The same flavors of shakes are also available without booze.

The Hourly Oyster House

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This Harvard Square seafood spot, part of the restaurant group that includes Russell House Tavern, offers a variety of adult milkshakes that rotate monthly, such as a chocolate soft serve, rum, and Amaro di Angostura concoction called Bittersweet Symphony. An affogato martini (espresso martini with vanilla soft serve) is also available.

Boston Burger Company

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With locations in Boston, Cambridge, Somerville, and Salem, Boston Burger Co. offers over-the-top burgers with “freak frappes” to match. One of the currently available frappes is boozy — the Hard Apple Pie a la Mode (hard cider with vanilla ice cream, caramel, cinnamon sugar, and a graham cracker rim). Watch for monthly specials, too.

Earnest Drinks at Gracie's Ice Cream

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Somerville ice cream shop Gracie’s has expanded to Cambridge, and the newer location includes a robust array of boozy and non-boozy beverages. There are adult frappes and floats aplenty: a pandan whiskey frappe, a lambrusco float, an ube coconut rum frappe, and even a build-your-own option. You could, for example, order Twinkies ‘n jam ice cream blended with rum, rainbow sprinkles, and Fritos. Choose your own adventure wisely.

A&B Kitchen & Bar

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This full-service, burger-focused restaurant — with locations up in Beverly and in Boston’s West End — offers several “adult milkshakes,” including chocolate salted bourbon, peppermint Oreo, and more.

Mamaleh's Delicatessen

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This Jewish delicatessen in Kendall Square has served a whole lot of fun drinks, boozy and otherwise, over the years, from egg creams to slivovitz. There are a few adult milkshakes on its current menu, including the malted brandy Alexander milkshake — cognac and creme de cacao blended into a malted vanilla milkshake and garnished with whipped cream, grated nutmeg, and a cherry.

At Downtown Crossing bar and arcade Versus, patrons can spike any of the milkshakes, which come in chocolate chocolate chip, vanilla churro, and strawberry candied strawberry.

The Fed at the Langham, Boston

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The cocktail bar at the Langham hotel downtown offers an orange creamsicle float with optional rum alongside food options like customizable seafood towers, truffle lobster mac and cheese, and “glizzy sticks.”

High Street Place

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New downtown Boston food hall High Street Place has a plethora of boozy options across its 19 vendors, with a couple in the ice cream territory. Burger favorite Wheelhouse, for example, has rotating flavors of adult milkshakes, such as sea salt caramel bourbon or chocolate peanut butter whiskey. And at Gorgeous Gelato, there’s an option to add a shot of booze (such as fernet or grappa) to an affogato.

The Capital Burger

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The Capital Burger, an offshoot of steakhouse chain the Capital Grille, features several spiked shakes alongside its fancy burgers, including the Stoli Doli, a vodka-spiked vanilla shake with candied pineapple.

Nash Bar & Stage

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This Nashville-inspired restaurant and live music venue serves a couple boozy, dessert-y options to cap off a meal of a crispy chicken skin B.L.T. or pulled pork sliders. There’s the hummingbird cake shake, for one: vodka, vanilla, banana, pineapple, cinnamon, milk, pecan, and whipped cream, with an optional Skrewball peanut butter nip. Or try the cotton candy mimosa, featuring the soft-serve of the day with cotton candy and prosecco.

Crazy Good Kitchen (Boston location only)

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Burger-and-shake joint Crazy Good Kitchen, which originated in Malden, serves booze at its newer Newbury Street location, and diners can add it to any of the shakes, which come in classic flavors like strawberry and more elaborate options like “make it rain Nutella.” Boozy add-ons include chocolate whiskey, vanilla vodka, hazelnut liqueur, and more.

Citrus & Salt

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Alongside flavored margaritas, frozen cocktails, and optional souvenir palm tree and bikini bottles, Citrus & Salt has a mimosa float on the brunch menu, pairing the soft-serve sorbet of the day with a split of cava or rosé.

Blossom Bar

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Popular Brookline Village cocktail bar and Sichuan restaurant Blossom Bar features its take on a boozy Dole Whip — Duan’s Whip (named for owner Ran Duan). Pineapple soft serve is enhanced with Havana Club Añejo Blanco, Martini Fiero, lime, and acerola. Try it with some spicy dry hot chicken.

A boozy dole whip sits in a Blossom Bar branded glass, with a pineapple in the background.
Duan’s Whip at Blossom Bar.
Blossom Bar

Wahlburgers

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Boozy frappes have always been a staple at this rapidly growing international burger chain with Boston roots. Birthday cake and mud pie are on the currently flavor list, each spiked with vanilla vodka. Wahlburgers also has plenty of non-boozy shakes. There are Massachusetts locations in Boston (Fenway, Dorchester, and the airport), Hingham, Lynnfield, and Springfield.

Closeup of a chocolate frappe with a chocolate syrup swirl. There’s a green circle on the glass with a white “W” in it.
A frappe at Wahlburgers.
Wahlburgers

OddFellows Ice Cream Co.

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The Chestnut Hill offshoot of this New York-based group of ice cream shops is a local rarity: a boozy ice cream shop. There are a variety of boozy floats, adult milkshakes, and liqueur-spiked affogati available.

A bulbous glass with a scoop of ice cream inside has red wine poured onto it
OddFellows combines booze and ice cream in a variety of ways.
OddFellows

Rosebud American Kitchen & Bar

Specializing in whiskey, pies, and Southern-inspired cuisine, Rosebud offers bourbon-spiked milkshakes in chocolate, vanilla, coffee, and a rotating flavor of the week. The same flavors of shakes are also available without booze.

The Hourly Oyster House

This Harvard Square seafood spot, part of the restaurant group that includes Russell House Tavern, offers a variety of adult milkshakes that rotate monthly, such as a chocolate soft serve, rum, and Amaro di Angostura concoction called Bittersweet Symphony. An affogato martini (espresso martini with vanilla soft serve) is also available.

Boston Burger Company

With locations in Boston, Cambridge, Somerville, and Salem, Boston Burger Co. offers over-the-top burgers with “freak frappes” to match. One of the currently available frappes is boozy — the Hard Apple Pie a la Mode (hard cider with vanilla ice cream, caramel, cinnamon sugar, and a graham cracker rim). Watch for monthly specials, too.

Earnest Drinks at Gracie's Ice Cream

Somerville ice cream shop Gracie’s has expanded to Cambridge, and the newer location includes a robust array of boozy and non-boozy beverages. There are adult frappes and floats aplenty: a pandan whiskey frappe, a lambrusco float, an ube coconut rum frappe, and even a build-your-own option. You could, for example, order Twinkies ‘n jam ice cream blended with rum, rainbow sprinkles, and Fritos. Choose your own adventure wisely.

A&B Kitchen & Bar

This full-service, burger-focused restaurant — with locations up in Beverly and in Boston’s West End — offers several “adult milkshakes,” including chocolate salted bourbon, peppermint Oreo, and more.

Mamaleh's Delicatessen

This Jewish delicatessen in Kendall Square has served a whole lot of fun drinks, boozy and otherwise, over the years, from egg creams to slivovitz. There are a few adult milkshakes on its current menu, including the malted brandy Alexander milkshake — cognac and creme de cacao blended into a malted vanilla milkshake and garnished with whipped cream, grated nutmeg, and a cherry.

Versus

At Downtown Crossing bar and arcade Versus, patrons can spike any of the milkshakes, which come in chocolate chocolate chip, vanilla churro, and strawberry candied strawberry.

The Fed at the Langham, Boston

The cocktail bar at the Langham hotel downtown offers an orange creamsicle float with optional rum alongside food options like customizable seafood towers, truffle lobster mac and cheese, and “glizzy sticks.”

High Street Place

New downtown Boston food hall High Street Place has a plethora of boozy options across its 19 vendors, with a couple in the ice cream territory. Burger favorite Wheelhouse, for example, has rotating flavors of adult milkshakes, such as sea salt caramel bourbon or chocolate peanut butter whiskey. And at Gorgeous Gelato, there’s an option to add a shot of booze (such as fernet or grappa) to an affogato.

The Capital Burger

The Capital Burger, an offshoot of steakhouse chain the Capital Grille, features several spiked shakes alongside its fancy burgers, including the Stoli Doli, a vodka-spiked vanilla shake with candied pineapple.

Nash Bar & Stage

This Nashville-inspired restaurant and live music venue serves a couple boozy, dessert-y options to cap off a meal of a crispy chicken skin B.L.T. or pulled pork sliders. There’s the hummingbird cake shake, for one: vodka, vanilla, banana, pineapple, cinnamon, milk, pecan, and whipped cream, with an optional Skrewball peanut butter nip. Or try the cotton candy mimosa, featuring the soft-serve of the day with cotton candy and prosecco.

Crazy Good Kitchen (Boston location only)

Burger-and-shake joint Crazy Good Kitchen, which originated in Malden, serves booze at its newer Newbury Street location, and diners can add it to any of the shakes, which come in classic flavors like strawberry and more elaborate options like “make it rain Nutella.” Boozy add-ons include chocolate whiskey, vanilla vodka, hazelnut liqueur, and more.

Citrus & Salt

Alongside flavored margaritas, frozen cocktails, and optional souvenir palm tree and bikini bottles, Citrus & Salt has a mimosa float on the brunch menu, pairing the soft-serve sorbet of the day with a split of cava or rosé.

Blossom Bar

Popular Brookline Village cocktail bar and Sichuan restaurant Blossom Bar features its take on a boozy Dole Whip — Duan’s Whip (named for owner Ran Duan). Pineapple soft serve is enhanced with Havana Club Añejo Blanco, Martini Fiero, lime, and acerola. Try it with some spicy dry hot chicken.

A boozy dole whip sits in a Blossom Bar branded glass, with a pineapple in the background.
Duan’s Whip at Blossom Bar.
Blossom Bar

Wahlburgers

Boozy frappes have always been a staple at this rapidly growing international burger chain with Boston roots. Birthday cake and mud pie are on the currently flavor list, each spiked with vanilla vodka. Wahlburgers also has plenty of non-boozy shakes. There are Massachusetts locations in Boston (Fenway, Dorchester, and the airport), Hingham, Lynnfield, and Springfield.

Closeup of a chocolate frappe with a chocolate syrup swirl. There’s a green circle on the glass with a white “W” in it.
A frappe at Wahlburgers.
Wahlburgers

Related Maps

OddFellows Ice Cream Co.

The Chestnut Hill offshoot of this New York-based group of ice cream shops is a local rarity: a boozy ice cream shop. There are a variety of boozy floats, adult milkshakes, and liqueur-spiked affogati available.

A bulbous glass with a scoop of ice cream inside has red wine poured onto it
OddFellows combines booze and ice cream in a variety of ways.
OddFellows

Related Maps