Blender
A bar blender is a motorised jug, usually holding between one and two litres, with blades that break ice and fruit down as they mix. It makes two kinds of drink: frozen drinks blended smooth and thick, such as the Piña Colada or a Strawberry Daiquiri, and flash-blended tiki drinks given a quick burst with crushed ice, such as the Zombie and the Jet Pilot.
About the Blender
Two Jobs: Frozen and Flash Blended
A frozen drink is blended until the ice and fruit are smooth and thick, then poured into a chilled glass. Our Piña Colada and Banana Daiquiri take a cup of crushed ice and 10 to 15 seconds.
A flash blend is a burst of a few seconds on crushed ice, enough to chill, dilute and froth it while the ice keeps its texture. The Zombie and the Jet Pilot are made that way and poured in unstrained.
Ice Is an Ingredient in a Frozen Drink
In a frozen drink the ice sets the texture as well as the dilution. Too little gives a thin, cold juice; too much gives a stiff slush that tastes of very little.
Measure it. Our recipes give a cup of crushed ice, or about 150g in the Banana Daiquiri, and less where the fruit is already frozen.
Stop When It Is Smooth
The blades warm the drink as they turn. A minute in the jug melts the ice you measured and leaves a watery drink however much you used.
Blend in short bursts and stop once the texture is even. For the El Floridita Daiquiri, stop sooner still, while the ice is fine snow rather than slush.
Blending against shaking for tiki and frozen drinks
Frozen blend
- Ice
- A cup of crushed ice
- Time
- 10-15 seconds
- Result
- Smooth and thick; Piña Colada
Flash blend
- Ice
- Half a cup of crushed ice
- Time
- Up to about 5 seconds
- Result
- Cold and frothy, poured unstrained; Zombie
Hard shake
- Ice
- Cubed, or crushed as a fallback
- Time
- 10-12 seconds
- Result
- Cold and aerated; strained or poured in
Spindle mixer
- Ice
- A scoop of crushed ice
- Time
- A few seconds
- Result
- Frothy with the ice intact; Don's Special Daiquiri
| Method | Ice | Time | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frozen blend | A cup of crushed ice | 10-15 seconds | Smooth and thick; Piña Colada |
| Flash blend | Half a cup of crushed ice | Up to about 5 seconds | Cold and frothy, poured unstrained; Zombie |
| Hard shake | Cubed, or crushed as a fallback | 10-12 seconds | Cold and aerated; strained or poured in |
| Spindle mixer | A scoop of crushed ice | A few seconds | Frothy with the ice intact; Don's Special Daiquiri |
Buy for Ice, and Keep Fingers Clear
Buy a blender the maker says will crush ice, with a pulse button and a jug that narrows towards the blades. Crushed ice suits almost any blender built for ice; whole cubes need a stronger motor.
Keep fingers and spoons out of the jug while it is plugged in. Unplug it before you clear a jam or wash the blades.
Using the Blender
Usage
Frozen drinks such as the Banana Daiquiri, the Strawberry Daiquiri and the Piña Colada, each blended with a cup of crushed ice for 10 to 15 seconds until smooth but still thick. Flash blending: our Zombie and Jet Pilot, given no more than about five seconds to chill and froth, then poured in unstrained. Also fruit purées, such as the strawberry in a Rossini.
Pro Tip
For a frozen drink, chill the glass and use dry crushed ice from the freezer, not ice that has sat in a bowl. Wet ice is already part water, so the drink comes out thin before the blades have done their work.
Professional Tips
- Liquids in first, crushed ice on top, then the lid.
- Measure the ice: a cup for a frozen drink, half a cup for a flash blend.
- Stop once it is smooth; longer warms and thins it.
- Rinse the jug straight away, before sugar dries round the blades.
Alternatives
Budget Alternative
A shaker, for the flash-blended drinks. Our Zombie and Jet Pilot recipes name it as the fallback: shake hard with a little crushed ice for 10 to 12 seconds, then pour everything in. A frozen drink has no real substitute.
Premium Option
A commercial bar blender with a powerful motor and a sound cover. It crushes cubes as easily as crushed ice and runs drink after drink; a sturdy domestic model rated for ice does the same at home, more slowly.
Specifications
Material
Glass or plastic jug with steel blades on a motor base
Capacity
Jug of one to two litres, by our guidance
Details
A motor the maker rates for crushing ice, a pulse setting, and a lid that seals firmly
More to explore
Common Questions
Can I make frozen cocktails without a blender?
Crushed or cubed ice for a frozen cocktail?
Why is my frozen cocktail watery?
What should I look for in a blender for cocktails?
What is flash blending?
How long should you blend a frozen drink?
Can a blender crush ice for a julep?
Sources.
Correct as of 20 October 2026.
- The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails (Richard Boccato), “frozen drinks, blender drinks” (secondary source: Poplawski’s electric mixer of 1922 (US Patent 1,480,914); Osius’s Miracle Mixer of 1933; the Waring Blendor of 1937).
- The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails (Jeff Berry), “The Zombie” (secondary source: created in 1934 by Donn Beach; the original recipe blended at high speed for no more than five seconds).
- Google Patents, “Beverage mixer, US patent 1,480,914 (S. J. Poplawski, filed 18 February 1922)” (primary: Stephen J. Poplawski, beverage mixer, priority 18 February 1922).
Made with the Blender
Used In These Cocktails
Related Equipment
Related Ingredients
Guide by Jerry Can Spirits · Updated 20 October 2026