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With temperatures in the upper 80’s in July, boozy floats may just be the best thing since sliced bread. I mean, who wouldn’t want a fizzy cocktail topped with a touch of silky ice cream? I don’t know about you, but I think sipping on a boozy float by the pool might be my new summer tradition.

Speaking of traditions, the Guinness float is a classic ice cream cocktail with a surprisingly simple recipe: Guinness beer and vanilla ice cream. It is bittersweet, creamy and pretty tasty, but we thought it was also a little predictable. We want you to impress your guests at your next pool party, so upgraded this classic by stirring in some high-quality spirits and adding just the right amount of bitters and chocolate to the equation.

We modified the Guinness base by adding bourbon to kick start this project and make the cocktail boozier. For this recipe, I used one of my favorite Italian liqueurs, Ramazzotti, to cut through all the smokiness of the Guinness and a chocolate note to the concoction. (If you don’t have Ramazzotti, a sweet Amaro like Averna will work too). And last, we used a few drops of orange bitters to unite all the flavors into one strong, yet easy to drink cocktail with plenty of pizzazz behind it.

The perfect summer treat and another bar quality cocktail you can make at home!