I've always considered a frozen drink a novelty—a treat on a tropical vacation, a pairing with popcorn at a movie theater, or a special-occasion sip at a bar or restaurant. The appeal has always been the experience, so I never really cared about what was actually in the cup (even if it was highlighter-yellow margarita mix).
Making your own frozen cocktails at home has historically been a hassle, especially if you used one of those Jimmy Buffett-branded blenders to make them. I had no frame of reference for what a good frozen drink could be, so I have long settled for whatever frozen drink was on the menu. But at some point, something shifted.
Industry researchers note that the frozen cocktail market has grown significantly over the past decade and is expected to reach a value of nearly half a billion dollars by 2030. This increased popularity has encouraged innovation from all angles.
Bars across the country have developed robust frozen cocktail programs featuring reinvented classics and entirely new ideas. Traditional cocktails like negronis and cosmopolitans have been transformed into frozen renditions even more refreshing than the source material. And at modern tropical bars like New York's Paradise Lost and Sunken Harbor Club, the kitschy cocktail category is evolving with artisanal international spirits and unexpected ingredients like Thai basil and Assam tea.
Technological developments in the consumer market have also driven demand, most notably the launch of the Ninja SLUSHi. Since its release last summer, the home appliance has developed a cult following on social media. The hype has caused the SLUSHi to sell out countless times over the past nine months, despite the $350 price tag.
I was one of the first to test the machine before it became available to the public, and my love for the SLUSHi has not waned. If you want to hop on the frozen drink trend at home, here's everything you need to know about the appliance.
What Is The SLUSHi?
First, let's break down the basics. The SLUSHi uses proprietary RapidChill technology to freeze nearly every type of beverage in as little as 15 minutes. And because the cooling mechanism is a chilling cylinder, you don't have to worry about ice diluting your drink.
And when I say it works with nearly every beverage, I'm not kidding. You can make homemade frappés, mocktails, cocktails, milkshakes, and more in the same machine. Each category comes with a preset button, and you can also customize the texture by adjusting the temperature.
When it first arrived, my first thought was that this machine was heavy. Ninja says that the SLUSHi weighs 24.25 pounds, but it feels much heavier than that. It's also a fairly bulky appliance, which only compounded the difficulty as I hauled it up to my apartment. I doubt that this appliance will stay permanently parked on the average kitchen counter. So if you plan on only pulling it out when you need it, be prepared to use some upper-body strength.
Despite the weight and high volume of liquid it holds, the SLUSHi takes up a relatively small amount of counter space thanks to its narrow dimensions. It is nearly 17" tall, though, so it may not be able to fit under wall-mounted cabinets.
Ninja also advertises the SLUSHi's trademarked Whisperchill compressor, which quietly operates for up to 12 hours. If you're hosting a party and have music playing, the sound of the machine will fade into the background like white noise. However, you shouldn't expect it to be silent. And beware of putting things that should stay cold nearby—the compressor generates a fair amount of heat.
Kitchen tools and appliances always claim that their products are easy to clean. It's normally a lie, but with the SLUSHi it's 100% true. You just need to pull a lever to release the beverage vessel from the rest of the machine, and it's super easy to run under the sink and scrub down with either a sponge or bottle brush.
The machine also offers a rinse cycle for when you want to quickly clean the machine before switching to a different recipe. I was most skeptical of how easy it would be to clean, and I was pleasantly surprised.
How Well Does The SLUSHi Work?
Now that we've unpacked the logistical elements, let's ask the most important question: How well does it work? I'm happy to report that it works just as well, if not better, than described.
With specialty kitchen appliances, there's often a learning curve before you get in the groove, but that does not apply to the SLUSHi. The preset buttons make it especially easy to set and forget it. And if your recipe is off—like if it contains too much alcohol or not enough sugar—the machine can sense it and will set off an alert to adjust your ratios accordingly.
My maiden voyage for the SLUSHi involved simply adding cranberry juice cocktail to the vessel and letting it run. To my surprise, Ninja wasn't kidding when they said it could freeze drinks in as little as 15 minutes. I barely had time to sit down and catch up on Love Island before my slushy was ready to serve. I tried it again with Coca-Cola, which froze in around 20 minutes.
As a self-proclaimed frozen drink fanatic, I can confidently say that the Ninja SLUSHi creates the optimal texture. You don't have to worry about random chunks of ice that your blender missed. You don't have to make drinks to order to prevent them from melting prematurely. You just add your drink and let it run for as long as you want.
The Bottom Line
I can wholeheartedly recommend this product for anybody who enjoys frozen drinks as much as I do. Your piña colada parties will never be the same.
