Name: Drunk Rudolph Milkshake
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Ingredients: 1.5 quarts vanilla ice cream; ¼ cup Kahlua; ¼ cup RumChata; ¼ cup chocolate liqueur; 2 tablespoons hot chocolate mix; whipped cream (garnish); maraschino cherries (garnish); Candy eyes; colorful straws; rosemary sprigs (garnish)

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Decorate your spiked milkshake with whipped topping and Rudolph’s face this holiday season! This Drunk Rudolph Milkshake is an adorably festive, thick, and creamy cocktail and couldn’t be easier to make. All you need is vanilla ice cream, 3 kinds of liqueur, and a hot chocolate mix!

Rudolph Cocktail

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This drunken Rudolph milkshake is such a fun way to get into the Christmas spirit. Pun intended. Gone are the days when the fun and festive drinks with little reindeer faces are just for the kids!

This milkshake has vanilla ice cream and combines Kahlua, RumChata, and chocolate liqueur into a thick, creamy shake.

It’s then topped with a whipped topping, maraschino cherries for the red nose, a pair of candy eyes, and rosemary antlers.

This decorative, boozy, holiday beverage is an adult version of a creamy milkshake. It is the perfect signature drink!

Whip this up in just 5 minutes and have some extra fun while you sip and wrap gifts by the fire.

You can serve it at parties, while you’re watching Christmas movies, or just enjoy a bit of indulgence at the end of a long day. Who says it always has to be hot chocolate?!

However and whenever you enjoy yours responsibly, you’re going to love it!

Why you’ll love this Drunk Rudolph Milkshake Recipe

Festive holiday cocktail – There’s no denying this is a showstopper! The little reindeer face can be left off if preferred and just served in festive mugs, but it does add character to the holiday cheer!

Easy recipe – With just 5 minutes and a blender, you can whip up enough to serve up to 4 people. Easily double or triple the batch for more.

Customizable – This recipe isn’t written in stone. Make yours just the way you like it. Change the consistency, use different flavored liqueurs, and you could even swap the vanilla ice cream for chocolate if you wanted!

milkshake topped with candy eyeballs, cherry, and straw antlers.

Things you’ll need

Blender – It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, just a decent blender.
Measuring Cups & Spoons – These are my favorite.
Ice Cream Scoop – It really does making scooping easier.
Candy Eyeballs – These can be found in the baking section, but if not, simply order them!

Ingredients for a Drunk Rudolph Milkshake

Below is a list of the ingredients you’ll need to gather to make this recipe. Scroll all the way down for the full recipe card.

Vanilla Ice Cream – Just plain and simple vanilla ice cream. Use what you’ve got or run out and pick up your favorite. French vanilla, vanilla bean, or just vanilla will all be great.
Kahlua– A creamy, dreamy, coffee liqueur.
Rum Chata – This is also a creamy liqueur with an undertone of sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. So good!
Chocolate Liqueur – We love Godiva’s dark chocolate liqueur in this recipe, but use whatever kind you like.
Hot Chocolate Mix – A dry mix that turns into a chocolate drink when combined with a liquid. It won’t be a hot chocolate this time around because there’s no hot water, but it adds a rich chocolatey element either way. Either use a pre-made packet or try my homemade hot cocoa mix.
Garnish – I used whipped cream as a decadent topping to the drink, but it also acts as a way to hold up the face! I added a maraschino cherry for the nose, a pair of candy eyes, gold straws, and sprigs of rosemary for the antlers.

overhead shot of labeled ingredients laid out to make drunk rudolph milkshakes.

How to make a Drunk Rudolph Milkshake

STEP ONE: Place the ice cream, all 3 liqueurs, and hot chocolate mix into a blender and blend until smooth.
STEP TWO: Grab your glasses and divide the milkshake evenly into each one. I like to use tall glasses as shown, but mason jars would also be cute.
STEP THREE: Top with whipped cream, a maraschino cherry nose, candy eyes, and two straws to hold the antlers.
STEP FOUR: Then, finish off your drunk Rudolph milkshake with a sprig of rosemary in each straw. Enjoy immediately!

collage of 4 photos showing the process of making a milkshake in a blender.

What to serve with this cocktail

Depending on how thick your drunk Rudolph milkshake is, you may want to provide everyone with spoons! The straws are cute and all, but you may need some backup.

If you’re setting up a bar at your next holiday gathering, you might want some more festive cocktails, I highly recommend including these yummy cranberry prosecco spritzers or Christmas morning cocktail mimosas which are generally reserved for brunch, but what’s a party without them?

Of course, you have to have some treats too right? Serve up some simple reindeer bark, reindeer sugar cookies, reindeer “poop” cookies, chocolate shortbread cookies, or a slice of this delicious hot chocolate poke cake.

Possible Substitutions/Additions 🦌

For extra frost, chill your glasses first. It’ll keep your drunk Rudolph milkshake cold just a bit longer.
Swap the vanilla ice cream for chocolate ice cream. You can omit the hot chocolate mix in this case, if preferred. You can also keep it for extra chocolatey goodness.
This makes a thicker milkshake. If you like it thinner, you can add more alcohol or whole milk to the mix.
If you don’t like one of the liquors in this, you can sub more of the one you like.
Use your favorite whipped cream recipe or top it with canned or even whipped topping.
Keep the idea for Rudolph’s face for all your drinks this season. Top your hot chocolate, smoothies, and your fancy frappuccino!
Additional garnishes could include a candy cane, cinnamon sticks, or even chocolate sauce.

How to store it

This cannot be a make-ahead recipe due to the ice cream melting. You want to make it just before serving.

Can I freeze it?

If there is any of this drunk Rudolph milkshake left, you can keep it in the freezer. Once you’re ready to enjoy it again, blend it once more.

FAQs

Can I make a non-alcoholic version?

The flavor of the liquor is what stands out in this recipe, otherwise, it’s blended ice cream! To give it the Kahlua effect, you could add about 3 times more hot cocoa mix and 1/2 cup of coffee. If it’s for the kids, use ice cream, hot cocoa mix, and milk instead!

What other liqueurs can I add?

Other yummy liquors to add are Baileys Irish Cream, Vodka (vanilla, whipped, or caramel), white chocolate liquor, spiced rum, regular light or dark rum, and fireball cinnamon whiskey.

Can I make this dairy free?

I haven’t tried it, but by all means, let me know if it works. If you can find a good vegan vanilla ice cream you like that has a flavor that won’t overpower anything, a vegan whipped topping, and stay away from any of the creamy liqueurs, you could very well have a dairy-free version.

Need more adult drink recipes? Try these:

Berry Sangria Recipe

Ranch Water Cocktail (a Tequila drink)

Fuzzy Navel Cocktails

Click here for my entire collection of Fall Cocktail Recipes.

More Christmas drink recipes

Christmas Morning Punch

Boozy Grinch Milkshakes

Rudolph’s Tipsy Spritzer

Butterscotch Schnapps Spiked Hot Chocolate

Christmas Jello Shots