The Red Wagon Creamery used to look out of place after sunset. Located in the hub of downtown Eugene’s bustling nightlife scene, this artisanal ice cream parlor didn’t appear to be the likely destination for the masses of boisterous individuals stumbling through the streets.
However, not anymore.
Now, the Red Wagon Creamery packs a formidable and logical punch of its own: a punch that’s spiked with booze and ice cream.
“I mean, really, who doesn’t love ice cream mixed with booze?” said Red Wagon’s Meghan Coleman.
After 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, the Red Wagon Creamery transforms from a simple ice cream parlor, to a laid-back haven for adults with a hankering for desserts infused with boozy courage. The Red Wagon now has a full menu of ice cream-based cocktails —served after 10 p.m. only— to complement its existing practice of serving “beer floats,” which are available all day.
But this isn’t a matter of tossing some hard alcohol into a cup of ice cream. Red Wagon after hours features its own bartender and a wide variety of unique, as well as common ice cream flavors like Smoked Salt Caramel, Lemongrass-Thai Basil Sorbet, and a variety of others.
A fan favorite: The Frozen Goat Latte, which features a mixture of Wandering Goat coffee ice cream, vanilla ice cream, and Kahlua with whipped vodka. According to the menu it’s, “guaranteed to beat the rain.”
As spectacular as that sounds, that’s just one of many similar dessert cocktails one can find at Red Wagon Creamery after hours.
“The spiked milkshakes are really good,” said Red Wagon’s Lia Thorpe, a statement which seems to speak from firsthand experience.
The spiked milkshakes formula includes your choice of ice cream flavor spiked with Jack Daniel’s, rum or Burnside Bourbon. If you switch out the hard alcohol with your choice of local craft brew, you’ve got a Red Wagon beer float.
For those individuals who can’t stomach the rigors of ice cream and booze mixed together, Red Wagon also features a contingent of “regular” cocktails. For example, the Hawaiian Volcano features house-infused pineapple Habanero vodka, pineapple juice and blue Curaçao
And if that doesn’t do the trick, Thorpe adds, “We’ve got $2 Rainer tallboys every day, all day.”
According to Coleman, the foray into ice cream cocktails has been pretty well received, especially with the youthful, college-aged crowd, but it’s still relatively underground. “More people will come,” adds Coleman. “They just need to hear about it.”
The Red Wagon Creamery is located on 55 W. Broadway in downtown and and serves cocktails on Fridays and Saturdays from 10 p.m.-12 a.m.