Turn Your Summertime Piña Coladas Up A Notch With This Freezer Staple

Summer stories are often written with the slow sizzle of a backyard grill, the juicy bite of a ripe peach, and on particularly memorable days, the sunshiney breeze of a piña colada. It's sweet. It's creamy. It's tinted with that tropical brightness that takes your taste buds right to a seaside paradise. Add a scoop of ice cream, and this cocktail gets even better. When the sweltering heat starts to melt the days into one another, this is one of those boozy ice cream float ideas that will cool you off and chill you out in an instant.

Normally with piña coladas, you get rum, cream of coconut, and pineapple juice. This classic combination is either ice-shaken or blended into creamy swirls of sweetness. Now, just think about how much more delicious it will be when topped with ice cream; a cocktail adorning the indulgence of a beloved dessert. Your drink will have another layer of flavor, paving the way for the tropical vibrancy that's about to come. The already rich base becomes more luscious than it already is, just the kind of backdrop that will highlight the rum's toasty sweetness.

It's piña colada we're talking about, so there's no surprise that coconut ice cream comes first on the list. In fact, the ice cream can even replace the cream of coconut in certain cases, especially if you don't want an overwhelming richness. Maybe even add a splash of sparkling coconut water for a fizzy contrast to the ice cream's smoothness. Once you've got the piña colada float of your dream, a pinch of coconut flakes or shredded coconut will complement the drink perfectly.

Vanilla ice cream is another foolproof choice that guarantees to deliver no matter what else you use to make a piña colada. It's familiar, adaptable, and unfailingly sweet with a milky, floral undertone — a delightful balance to the pineapple's tartness and the rum's burnt notes. Rum ice cream, while a little less common, is a great pick if you can't get enough of the liquor's molasses-like sweetness. Depending on the variety you use, some also come with raisins or salted caramel, adding more nuances to the cocktail.

On the lighter side, a piña colada sorbet — put together from the same ingredients as the cocktail — will be excellent for doubling the flavor fun. That said, even just pineapple ice cream or sorbet can still work a miracle. Other tropical fruits with a similar taste profile, such as mango and passion fruit, are also worth a try when you're in the mood for something just a smidgen different.