5 mouthwatering turbo soda floats to keep the summer party going

1. Bitter Blueboy

Blueberry sorbet + violet liqueur + prosecco

When I worked at Hix, I played around a lot with violet flowers and fresh blueberries. The combination is a long-standing winner for me.

I’d use a Bitter Truth Crème De Violette and blueberry sorbet, then top the blueberry sorbet with prosecco, which gives a longer finish and a salty, dry edge, to take away from the sweetness of the other ingredients. Garnish it with fresh blueberries.

2. Frigid Espresso

 Coffee ice cream + Campari + vermouth + soda

Everyone loves a negroni, and a lot of bartenders add coffee liqueur because it works well with the sweet vermouth. So I wanted to see what happens if you put coffee ice cream in a negroni.

I’d recommend serving this in a short tumbler because you don’t want to dilute it with too much soda water. Pair with fresh lemon zest, which will lift the sweetness and blend well with the coffee flavour.

3. Elgar’s Enigma

Citrus sorbet + dry gin + elderflower liqueur + lemonade

Floats are quite an American thing, so I wanted to make a very English one with London dry gin, elderflower liqueur, lemon and lime sorbet, and lemonade. It’s fresh and tart.

Everyone loves a gin and tonic, and it goes naturally with lemon and lime, but lemonade complements the sorbet so well. Garnish it with a sprig of mint. It’s like an ice cream version of a gimlet.

4. Cornish Creamer

Cornish ice cream + cherry brandy + tonic water

I love cherry brandy and tonic together, but I’ve always thought it was missing something. Cherries go really well with Cornish ice cream, and the tonic water lifts the sweetness of the ice cream and lets the subtle flavours of the cherry come through. The ice cream is sweet and the brandy is sour.

It’s wicked and looks beautiful, especially if you garnish it with a glacé cherry, as you get on a bakewell tart.

5. Choccy Party

Salted caramel ice cream + bourbon + stout

This is a shot of bourbon, which has a lot of vanilla flavour, topped up with a dark beer and salted caramel ice cream, and finished with grated chocolate. Choose a stout with chocolate flavours, instead of coffee or malty flavours: a milk stout, for instance.

The chocolate goes with the vanilla of the bourbon, and the salted caramel pulls it together. It’s rich, moreish, salty. It’s a dessert, basically.

(Photography: Sun Lee)