Anyone familiar with the 1992-1993′s The Late Show would know the loveable unlovable Bargearse; the overdubbed and corpulent cop who knows takeaway food and toilet humour better than any other. They would also know that his beverage of choice is a breakfast beer, followed closely by his evening tipple: the beer daiquiri.

I’ve attempted to replicate the beer daiquiri on numerous occasions, however, the closest I’ve come to reproducing it is a yeasty frozen sludge after leaving a beer too long in the freezer in order to chill it rapidly. Aside from being largely unappealing, there’s something unsavoury about a savoury iced drink. However, this got me thinking: How could you successfully execute a summery beer drink without the beer taste? Then it dawned on me—ginger beer. Alas, someone else had the idea, someone with a lot more power, product development resources, capital and a team of individuals literally working 24 hours a day under fluorescent lighting: 7-Eleven.

So it’s pretty exciting that this summer there’s a ginger beer Slurpee available; and given that we aim to be highbrow and a little elitist, we thought we’d have a little fun with it. By matching Slurpees with a dinner menu and providing you with some tasting notes. How revolutionary! Here’s our tried-and-tested selection for Slurpee connoisseurs:

Ginger beer with lime leaf and chilli chicken skewers
Sweet ginger beer requires a heavier and meatier style to dish to complement its flavour. Asian flavours are the order of the day with lime leaf and chilli the ideal supplement to the ginger flavour.

Pink grapefruit with Sichuan beef with bean sprouts and mint
Pink grapefruit needs a dish with robust flavours. In this case, a savoury salad with Sichuan spice matches perfectly, offering an exotic version of grapefruit to harmonise the flavours.

Orange mandarin with Vietnamese rice paper rolls with mint and cucumber
Orange is a classic pairing with Asian flavours. The refreshing cucumber and mint flavours really heighten the orange and mandarin tang.

Passionfruit  with passionfruit and peach trifle with Sauvignon blanc jelly
Passionfruit is difficult to pair with savoury food but is extremely well suited to desserts. Passionfruit and peach are ideally paired and a good Sauvignon blanc can heighten the passionfruit aromas, offering a slightly acidic palate.

Tropical mango with coconut and sesame tartlets
Ripe mangos offer a fresh counterpoint to the nuttiness of coconut and the sesame crunch.

Lemon, lime and bitters with seared Atlantic salmon
This sparking and summery combination matches fresh salmon with pepper and the zesty lime flavour balances the citrus rush.

Of course, any discerning devotee to the cause knows that there is one thing that goes with every Slurpee: booze. Keep that hip flask handy and summer will become about nine times more fun!

We have passes for free Slurpees to give away. Simply follow us on Twitter and find the tweet with the competition details to enter. Sorry, dear friends, this one’s for Australian residents only.

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