The Black Cow was my mom’s favorite dessert! I think she had one every night, especially as she was older with progressing Parkinson’s Disease and could only swallow soft foods. With the difficulty of her illness, that nightly Black Cow brought her great joy!

Ice Cream Floats are nostalgic. Last weekend we had a BBQ and when I announced root beer floats for dessert, everyone got super excited! With that in mind, here are a few of the best ice cream floats, both old and new, alcohol and non.

Photo from A Better Happier St. Sebastian

If you’re a fan of peach and grapefruit flavors, try this Peach and Fizzy Grapefruit float from Bon Appetit. Sunshine in a glass! 

For the adult crowd, forget the root, this one’s just beer. Combined with Sea Salt Caramel, this is the most sophisticated float I’ve found. Bourbon Barrel Aged Stout Floats with Sea Salt Caramel Gelato comes from A Better Happier St. Sebastian blog. A must try!

Summer too hot for heavy apple pie? Try this Apple Pie Float from How Does She. This recipe combines vanilla ice cream, ginger ale, and apple cider for an American classic float. I just might need do-over on my BBQ to try this one out!

Here’s another one for adults only, it’s the over 21 float version of the classic dreamsicle. Combining vanilla ice cream, UV cake vodka, and orange soda, tastes deliciously like the childhood pop.

For the chocolate lover, this float is a little like a chocolate Sunday. The Brown Cow float from Martha Stewart is a slightly fancier version of the traditional that my mom used to love.