Frosé at L.a. JacksonPhoto: Daniel Meigs
A decade ago I lived in Atlanta, in a swank loft complex that I could afford only because the housing market was starting to tank. It had been an old lumber warehouse, I think, turned into condos, and it was populated mostly by couples in their early 30s who hadn’t yet had children, and divorced men in their 40s who got the kids on the weekend. Everyone’s decor seemed straight out of Design Within Reach, and there was a shallow saltwater pool that people used only on summer weekends.
But on those weekends — my Lord, half the complex would be there, trying to escape the sticky Georgia summer, gossiping about the half that wasn’t there, usually with a beer in hand. And then, inevitably, someone would leave the pool and return a short while later with a blender, to be plugged in poolside, and a stack of Solo cups. Daiquiris or margaritas would follow, because there are few things better than getting mildly day-drunk on frozen slush while standing in a pool with the sun bearing down.
I’m pretty sure that if I lived in that condo today, those blenders would be full of frosé, not daiquiris. Since appearing on the cocktail scene a few years ago, the frozen-wine slushies have become ubiquitous in the summer. If chilled rosé is good, then frozen rosé must be better, right?
But even if you don’t have a pool or own a blender, you’re not totally out of luck. Pinewood Social serves frosé (though it’s spelled “frozé” on the Pinewood menu) for $11.75 outside next to its small pools, punched up with a dash of pisco and a splash of grapefruit. Don’t want to get wet? Head to a rooftop. Atop the Thompson Hotel in the Gulch, L.A. Jackson’s frosé ($12) is a classic concoction of wine, strawberries and lime. Rare Bird, the rooftop bar at the Noelle hotel downtown, also serves a sangria frosé ($13).
If you’ve got friends in town determined to go honky-tonkin’, Dierks Bentley’s frosé at Whiskey Row ($11, and also spelled “frozé”) might get you drunk enough to tolerate the Lower Broadway crowd — poblano-infused rum and sherry are added to rosé, and raspberries along with Red Bull, so you’ll have enough energy to fight through all the bachelorettes as you try to order your second one. Don’t want to go downtown? Tenn Sixteen over in East Nashville’s Five Points neighborhood serves frosé ($8) in hurricane glasses — but unlike Dierks’ drink, the tall pour won’t leave you reeling.
Although Taco Bell is testing out a berry frosé (seriously), the option has not hit Nashville locations yet. But if you want frosé by the scoop, head over to Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams. Jeni’s frosé sorbet ($4.50 for two scoops) technically has a trace amount of wine in it — plus strawberry, pear and watermelon — but it tastes basically like regular strawberry sorbet. In fact, it might make a damn fine daiquiri mix. Now if only I can find a pool ...
