Cocktails can do it all. They can kick off happy hour, toast to a party or harken to a bygone era. They can be an aperitif before dinner, or double as dessert at meal’s end. In the long lexicon of mixology classics, dessert cocktails run the gamut from ice cream-infused libations to caramel-kissed espresso martinis and boozy after-dinner coffee. Across OKC, bars and restaurants put their own stamp on dessert drinks. From odes to classics to potable novelties, here are OKC’s must-drink dessert cocktails, and where to find them.
The Hamilton Supperette & Lounge
Perhaps the best dessert cocktail destination in town, The Hamilton Supperette & Lounge features one of the most robust after-dinner drink lists in OKC. Along with a bevy of classic cocktails (e.g., Vespers, Sazeracs), you’ll find an array of dessert drinks, including a vanilla-scented Espresso Martini drizzled with caramel; a Brandy Alexander with creme de cacao and half & half; and a rum-based Chocolate Old Fashioned splashed with chocolate bitters. Don’t miss the Grasshopper, a Kermit-green blend of creme de menthe, chocolate and cream.
Cheever’s Cafe
A dining icon, Cheever’s Cafe is known for its show-stopping desserts, like its six-layer Giant Carrot Cake and its Roasted Pecan Ice Cream Ball. The dessert cocktails, though, are just as striking. The bar makes an exceptional Brandy Ice, a quasi-milkshake often found in steakhouses and supper clubs in Oklahoma. In this case, it’s a blend of brandy, creme de cacao and vanilla ice cream, all frozen just enough to ensure a silken, rich consistency. Then there’s the All-Nighter, an original creation of coffee-infused bourbon, cinnamon-vanilla syrup, black walnut bitters and cream.
R&J Lounge and Supper Club
Dessert-worthy drinks come in a kaleidoscope of color at Midtown’s beloved R&J Lounge and Supper Club. Leaning into the mid-century kitsch of cocktail culture, you’ll find sweeter drinks that are rare to come by in most bars, including pineapple-splashed Blue Hawaiians and Harvey Wallbangers, made with vodka, Galliano and orange juice. The standout is the Grasshopper, a boozy mint chocolate milkshake that perfectly matches the nostalgic atmosphere.
Junior’s
Another classic supper club, Junior’s has been slinging shrimp cocktail, escargot and filet mignon since 1973. It’s also been making its own Brandy Ice since the beginning. Rather than freeze the drink in a machine, the recipe is a hand-blended concoction of vanilla ice cream, cacao liquor and brandy, which gets placed in the freezer after lunch service to let it set. Before it’s served, it gets a sprinkle of nutmeg.
Stock & Bond
Dessert options are not in short supply at Stock & Bond, a ritzy new(er) steakhouse in the First National Center downtown. There’s cheesecake draped with blueberry sauce; blackberry and peach cobbler with a cinnamon cookie crust; and a whopping 16-layer chocolate cake gilded with edible gold leaf. The cocktails, though, hold their own. There’s a housemade Brandy Ice, a Chocolate Martini and a Carajillo, a kind of Spanish-style Espresso Martini variation made with citrusy Licor 43.
While most spots on this list skew old-school, or at least harken to classics, one Plaza District bar is putting a distinctly modern spin on after-dinner cocktails. Good For A Few, which was recently named one of the best bars in the country by USA Today, offers its own decadent version of a Carajillo, made with tequila, Licor 43, coffee brandy, banana liqueur, coffee and tres leches cold foam. The Mr. Rogers is another dessert-worthy original: Made with rum that’s infused with Pie Junkie key lime pie, along with lime, macadamia nut liqueur and Caribbean pineapple, it tastes like vacation in a glass.
