Ghost Ride the Whipahol

Finally, for those of you sick of just drinking your cocktails (so cliché), I have discovered yet another way to shove booze into your bodies!

My friend Dayna and I were spending a leisurely Saturday afternoon perusing a giant liquor store (you know, just the normal weekend activities) when we stumbled upon something that simultaneously delighted and horrified us: Whipped Lightning, aka whipahol, aka whipped cream alcohol! To be clear, I’m not talking about whipped cream flavored vodka (although, full disclosure, I have treated myself to that before and it is more delicious than I would like to admit). No, this was honest-to-god whipped cream infused with booze. To be more specific, as the can informs us, infused with “grain neutral spirits with natural and artificial flavors and artificial colors.” Oh good, grain alcohol and artificial colors, the cornerstones of any healthy diet.

Why the delight and horror? Well, obviously alcoholic whipped cream is hilarious. But also, scary, because it could be a slippery slope. The world doesn’t really need to make it more convenient for us to slip some booze into our everyday activities. Regardless, we decided the good outweighed the bad, so we selected our flavor (a simple “spiced vanilla” seemed like the safest bet) and trotted on home to spend some time with our new friend.

First version of the taste test: The classic squirt of the can directly into the mouth, a tried-and-true whipped cream consumption method. How was this? Intense. It was intense. I was hoping it would feel like I was eating some normal whipped cream with a slight hint of booziness, but nope. It was very clear I was imbibing some strong, flavored liquor. This was basically like taking a shot of overly vanilla-y grain alcohol. Except instead of liquid, it was abnormally thick and creamy grain alcohol. Appetizing, eh?

Never one to admit defeat, I went back to the drawing board, determined to find a way this Whipped Lightning would be palatable. Aha! What about using it as the topping on a nice root beer float? There was a slight setback when I realized we had no root beer, but we decided Dr. Pepper would have about the same effect. I was excited and optimistic about my new “recipe.”

But alas! What looked like a boozy dessert delicacy turned into a disgusting, gloppy mess. The initial product was encouraging, but once I actually tried to drink my concoction, I sadly realized the whipahol did not want to mix in with my soda, and instead of creamily dissolving into the Dr. Pepper like ice cream or Cool Whip would, it floated on the top like an angry, alcoholic iceberg.

Attempting to mix the whipahol into the soda only caused a visually unappealing result:

We tried to choke it down anyway, but it was really difficult. Between two women, both no strangers to creative alcohol-fueled endeavors, we just could not make it happen. Despite our struggles, we agreed that the whipahol was entertaining, and our hour spent with it was not in vain. We got a slight buzz, played with a new toy, and performed fun food experiments. There are worse ways to whittle away an afternoon.

So, is it worth it? I say, sure, for the novelty’s sake. I can see topping some Jell-o shots off with whipahol, or perhaps using it as a festive garnish on your pumpkin pie this holiday season. When considering if thick, creamy, potent alcoholic whipped cream is for you, consider the same question this can of aerosol alcohol asked me: Are you feeling whipalicious?