The Dirty Snowman is a dessert and cocktail in one! This indulgent adult hot chocolate combines rich cocoa, creamy ice cream, and liqueurs like Kahlua, crème de cacao, or Bailey’s for a cozy twist. With a chocolate syrup-coated rim and a generous topping of fluffy whipped cream, this boozy treat is the perfect way to forget the winter chill!
Adult Hot Chocolate Drink!
My kids can’t get enough of hot chocolate when it comes to wintertime. Every time I watch them as they sip on a warm mug of this delicious chocolatey drink, I have instant nostalgia for when I was a young girl and could drink hot chocolate by the gallons! So, I decided that this classic drink needed a serious adult upgrade.
Cue the Dirty Snowman cocktail. This is the grown-up version of hot chocolate that we all need in our lives! Now as the kids sip on their own hot cocoa, overflowing with mini-marshmallows and whipped cream, I can enjoy my very own adult drink, complete with a chocolate-coated rim, and my favorite type of liqueur!
This is the perfect drink for those that are not huge fans of strong drinks. Don’t get me wrong, this drink packs a punch! Word of caution… you won’t taste a lot of liquor going down, but it will warm you up, if you know what I mean!
What Is the Dirty Snowman Drink?
The Dirty Snowman drink is an adult version of hot chocolate on steroids. It’s a classic cup of creamy, rich hot cocoa with a boozy twist.
It can be made in various ways using any type of hot cocoa, ice cream, and your liquor of choice. This yummy cocktail can also be made using liqueurs such as Kahlua, creme de cocoa, Bailey’s, or any type of chocolate vodka.
Dirty Snowman Ingredients
- Chocolate syrup
- Chocolate sprinkles
- Vanilla ice cream (½ cup)
- Kahlua
- Dark creme de cacao liquor
- Hot chocolate
TIP: you want to use a nice quality hot chocolate – I use the hot cocoa recipe on Hershey’s cocoa powder container. - Whipped cream, mini chocolate chips, coarse sanding sugar, and/or additional chocolate syrup and chocolate sprinkles for garnish
How to Make a Dirty Snowman
- Place chocolate syrup on a small plate and dip the rim in the chocolate syrup and then into a shallow tray of chocolate sprinkles.
- Place a scoop of ice cream into the glass.
- Add Kahlua and creme de cacao to the glass.
- Pour hot chocolate over the ice cream and liquor.
- Top with any of your desired garnishes.
- Serve immediately.
Variations & Tips
- LIQUOR: Feel free to mix things up and use your favorite liquors in this drink. You could use rum, coconut rum, or Bailey’s. All of these would be fabulous. A chocolate vodka would also work. If you want to go for a peppermint-flavored hot chocolate, you could even use peppermint schnapps or a mint-flavored vodka.
- ICE CREAM: If you are a chocolate lover, you could swap out the vanilla ice cream for chocolate ice cream and make this double chocolatey!
- GARNISH/TOPPINGS: As listed in the ingredients, you can use any number of garnishes and toppings to make your drink look beautiful and taste delicious! Whipped cream, sprinkles, chocolate chips, syrups, and sanding sugar are all fabulous ways to decorate your final drink.
- This drink is pretty rich. I found that the liquor taste is present but not overpowering. So, you could add more alcohol to it if you’d like. The hot chocolate and ice cream are heavy enough to support a more potent drink.
- The ingredients listed will yield 1 drink. However, this recipe can easily be doubled or tripled to make multiple drinks for a group.
Making Ahead and Serving
You should prepare this drink just before serving it. However, the hot chocolate and liquor can be stored and used to make another serving later.
You can even double or triple these ingredients and combine them in advance when storing. However, when making your drink, you should pour the mixture over individual glasses with an ice cream scoop just before serving.
More Of Our Favorite Drink Recipes
- Hot Chocolate Bombs
- Homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte
- Harry Potter Hot Butterbeer
- Frozen Hot Chocolate
- Whipped Hot Chocolate
- Grinch Punch
Dirty Snowman (Adult Hot Chocolate Recipe)
Video
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon chocolate syrup
- 1 tablespoon chocolate sprinkles
- ½ cup vanilla ice cream 1 scoop
- ¼ cup Kahlua
- 1 tablespoon dark creme de cacao liqueur
- 1 cup hot chocolate
- Whipped cream mini chocolate chips, coarse sanding sugar, and/or additional chocolate syrup and chocolate sprinkles for garnish
Instructions
- Place chocolate syrup on a small plate. Turn glass upside down and dip the rim in the chocolate syrup.1 tablespoon chocolate syrup
- Dip the syrup-coated rim into a shallow tray of chocolate sprinkles until it is coated.1 tablespoon chocolate sprinkles
- Place one scoop of ice cream into the glass/mug.½ cup vanilla ice cream
- Add Kahlua and creme de cacao to the glass.¼ cup Kahlua, 1 tablespoon dark creme de cacao liqueur
- Pour hot chocolate over the ice cream and liquor.1 cup hot chocolate
- Top with whipped cream and any garnish/toppings.Whipped cream
Jenn’s Notes
- Prepare drink just before serving.
- Hot chocolate, and liquor amounts can be doubled, tripled, etc. and combined in advance, but pour over individual glasses with ice cream scoop just before serving.
- You could really mix things up and use your favorite liquors in this drink – rum, coconut rum, or Bailey’s would all be yummy. A chocolate vodka could also work. You could also substitute chocolate ice cream or use a combination.
- This is a pretty rich drink. The liquor taste is present, but not too overpowering; you could add more alcohol if you’d like – the hot chocolate and ice cream are heavy enough to support a stronger drink.
- Use a nice quality hot chocolate – I use the hot cocoa recipe on the Hershey’s cocoa powder container.
I’m partaking in this delicious drink now! Having a hard time falling asleep so hoping it will help. If not, I will have to try another!
Thank you for sharing this . . Awesome
Did you use milk for the hot chocolate or water?
I prefer milk, but you can do either.
What size (in ounces) mug did you use?