Editor’s Note: Sadly, Boss Rambler closed in 2025. Please let us know if you know of other locations serving boozy frosés.

Few beverages embody the summer season more than an icy cold slushy. Best slurped down with a big, colorful straw, slushies bring back a bit of childhood nostalgia on hot summer days. Add a little alcohol, and the slushy becomes all grown up, and a favorite choice for warm weather visitors to Bend’s Boss Rambler Beer Club.

“When it’s ninety degrees outside here, it’s definitely a nice thing to help cool you down,” said Kate Molletta, who co-owns Boss Rambler with her husband, Matt Molletta, and brewer Jacob Bansmer. A few months after opening the beer club in 2019, the team rented a small slushy machine to do frosés for Fourth of July. “It was a single barrel machine, and it would sell out quickly, and it would then take an hour to do a new batch,” Kate said. After the holiday, the team invested in a two-barrel machine of their own, and then an additional three-barrel machine to meet the growing demand for the drink. Having five barrels going at the same time allows Boss Rambler to offer up a variety of flavors, including the traditional rosé-based wine slushies, POG (pineapple, orange, guava) rosé and champagne-based varieties such as the margarita-flavored, slush-a-rita. Those who prefer one of Boss Rambler’s award-winning beers can also partake in the fun by adding a slushy beer foam topper to their brew. Slushies come in a festive hurricane-style cocktail glass or in a group-sized pink flamingo bowl to enjoy with friends. For those on the go, slushies are packed up in a zip-top bag that holds a straw, like an “adult Capri Sun,” Kate said. Just remember not to slurp it down too fast, or else—brain freeze.

Boozy Slushy at Home

• Pour one bottle of rosé wine into a baking pan or ice cube tray and freeze overnight. The wine will not freeze solid because of the alcohol. 
• Create strawberry simple syrup by combining 1/2-cup water and 1/2-cup sugar and microwaving until bubbling, about 90 seconds. Stir until the sugar dissolves, add 1 cup freshly chopped strawberries and refrigerate overnight. Strain through mesh strainer. 
• In a blender, mix the (mostly) frozen wine, 4 tablespoons of the strawberry syrup, 3 tablespoons of lemon juice and blend. Pro tip: Add 1/4-cup vodka for an extra kick. 
• Add a straw and enjoy slurping the slush!

For more of our imbibe recipes, click here!