This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser, Dr Pepper/Seven Up, Inc. All opinions are my own. #SummerOfFloats
Longtime readers (hi Mom!) may remember I’m from a small town in northern Arizona. It’s been…uh…several years since I lived there, but I have family there and still claim it as home. When we visit, I’ve always got a handful of nostalgic things I like to do: go visit the animals on the farm, check out Grandpa’s woodworking shop, and swing by the root beer stand for one of the best root beer floats in the world.
It’s a tiny little whitewashed stand just a short walk from the old high school that sells delicacies like chili cheese fries and taco tangles. My friends and I would often walk there at lunch (hooray for open campuses!) or after school for a cheap, delicious treat. It was always good luck to share a fry or two with my friend Bubba’s dogs across the street.
Reading what I just wrote, I realize it sounds like I grew up on the set of “Now and Then.” I promise I’m not a total hick…although we did spend a lot of time at the ballpark watching Little League games, and we did drive a lot of pickup trucks, so…yeah. Maybe I am.
ANYWAY, my point is that root beer floats were a big part of my teenage years. I took the girls last summer to visit my parents and they got to try their very first root beer floats. My small-town heart was feeling all the feels (and my very pregnant belly was happy to scarf down some cheese fries). So many happy memories there. It was like coming full circle.
Since we can’t just drop in at the root beer stand whenever we feel like it, sometimes I have to satisfy my root beer stand cravings with a homemade float. I know they use A&W® root beer, so it’s almost the same when I make it at home. Almost.
I still live in Arizona, although we’re in the suburbs now rather than small town. This is where my kids are growing up and, hopefully, making their own happy memories. While root beer floats will always remind me of the ‘slow, I thought it’d be fun to create a float to represent our home here. And what better representation of this place that a beautiful Arizona sunset?
Orange Sunkist® fades to red strawberry syrup. Throw some ice cream in there and you’ve got the perfect summer drink for a triple digit summer day. It’s cold and refreshing, really easy to make, and it tastes like a creamsicle. Yummmm.
Come on over! I’ll make you an Arizona sunset float and we can watch the real sunset together.
Arizona Sunset Float
Ingredients:
Sunkist® orange soda
Canada Dry® ginger ale
Strawberry syrup*
Vanilla ice cream
Fill a clear cup or glass one-third full with Sunkist®. Add Canada Dry® till about two-thirds full. Pour in desired amount of strawberry syrup. Add one or two scoops of vanilla ice cream. Serve immediately.
*Store-bought is fine but homemade tastes better, in my opinion. Here is a great recipe for strawberry simple syrup if you choose to go that route. You could also use grenadine, as I think that’s traditionally what’s used in an Arizona sunset. I just prefer strawberry to cherry. You do you.
From June 26th to July 30th, you can get 5% OFF 2L or Mini Cans of A&W®, Sunkist®, 7UP®, Canada Dry®, Dr Pepper®, and more through Target’s Cartwheel app. During that time you can also buy any two Archer Farms 48 oz Ice-Creams and get a FREE 2L or 6PK Mini Cans A&W®, Sunkist,® 7UP®, Canada Dry® and more. You can make your own Arizona sunset float or go here to find even more ways to celebrate the Summer of Floats!
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