7 BEST Blenders for Cocktails and Smoothies
Looking to buy a blender perfect for cocktail and smoothie making?
See the 7 best picks for blenders designed perfectly for making cocktails and smoothies in 2024. Including my top pick, the best budget smoothie maker, and my top pick for the ultimate cocktail and smoothie blender.
Blenders, not usually considered a home essential, more a “non-essential item”. However, having the ability to make healthy vitamin packed smoothies in the morning and blended Margaritas at night. Pina Coladas and strawberry daiquiris on a summers day and green smoothies the morning after. I’d say that's pretty essential!
Drinks Blenders
When looking for a blender it can be difficult to find the perfect ones for drinks. A Lot of them have a focus on food. Why spend an extra £30 more than you need to for a blender that includes 5 different types of blades perfect for making different purees and sauces if you’re never going to use them?
Buying the perfect blender for cocktails
When it comes to blended cocktails what we are really looking for is something that will blend ice.
Something that isn’t going to just break our ice into little shards that float around our drink. We want something with a bit of power and/or close blades to really blend the ice into our cocktail. Giving us that slushy consistency.
If when you drink a blended cocktail through a straw, your straw keeps getting blocked by ice and by the end you’re left with a glass of pure ice. Then you have the wrong blender.
Buying the perfect blender for smoothies
With a lot of smoothies we also have that element of ice blending in there. Similar to blended cocktails, we want a well distributed consistently and not just a glass of broken up ice and liquid.
So once again, we are looking for the same thing. Power and/or close blades.
This is perfect, it means we can have the balance frozen margaritas, strawberries daiquiris, Pina coladas and Frose with green smoothies, protein smoothies and health smoothies. Result.
However, we also need to keep in mind that when it comes to smoothies, there's a lot more “chunkier” ingredients. With our cocktails it will pretty much have a majority liquid base that we are trying to blend ice into.
With our smoothies we have berries, veggies and maybe even seeds. Little, tiny, seeds. So there is a lot more emphasis on finding a blender that’s going to be able to handle blending small stubborn seeds.
Things to consider before buying a Blender for Cocktails and Smoothies
Just a few things to consider when buying your blender for smoothies and cocktails. Are you going to be making a smoothie in the morning for one or two people? Or are you going to be using it more for serving up large batches of frozen cocktails?
Because if it's the latter, you’re going to need a blender with enough of a capacity to blend higher volumes of liquid at one time. Whilst if you’re only really blending for one then a smaller volume blender will be better suited
7 top picks for smoothie and cocktail blenders
With all that being said, let’s jump right into my list of top blenders for cocktails and smoothies…
#1 NutriBullet Blender
Pros
Cheap
Crushes ice
Comes with 2 cups and a recipe book
Can get a 12 month warranty
Cons
Small capacity
Reviews say that it tends to “act up” after 9 or so months
Not a long term investment
#2 NurtiBullet Rx Blender 1700W
Pros
Large capacity
Crushes ice
Blends quickly
Cons
Few people say it can be quite loud
#3 Ninja 2-in-1 Blender with Auto-iQ 1200W
Pros
2 blenders in 1
Large capacity
Powerful blend
Crushes ice with ease
12 month warranty
Easy to clean
Cons
Loud
#4 Ninja Blender with Auto-iQ
Pros
Good wattage
Auto-iQ
Easy to use
Quiet
Takes up little space
1 Year warranty
Great value for money
Cons
Won’t last a lifetime
#5 Wantjoin Professional Blender
Pros
Professional quality
Powerful, crushes ice with ease
Easy to use
Lasts a lot of uses without breaking or over heating
Amazing reviews
Cons
Bulky. looks great in a professional environment but not so much on a home kitchen counter top.
#6 Original Magic Bullet Blender
The best budget blender
Pros
Extremely cheap
Thousands of good reviews
Great for blending smoothies for on the go
Great first time blender as the price point is so low
Cons
Breaks very easily. Good for a few months
or 20 uses. After that it’s sure to break
Low capacity
Doesn’t blend ice well
Has a tendency to leak
Weak
#7 Vitamix Ascent A2500 Blender
Best of the Best Blender
Pros
Amazing value for money
Will last a lifetime
Great customer service
Highly reviewed as the best of the best when it comes to blenders
Sleek looking
Very powerful
Quietest blend on this list but has the most power
Easy to use and easy to clean
Will blend the thickest smoothies and ice in a matter of seconds
crème de la crème of smoothie and cocktail blending
Cons
None
I was going to mention that the Vitamix is by far the most expensive on the list as a con. However, this really is a long lasting blender. Meaning, that one time payment will keep all your blending needs sorted for years.
Sure the Magic Bullet is a lot cheaper, but that’s going to break after a month of use and you will be right back to buying another one.
That being said, if you’re just getting into blending and you’re not sure if it’s for you, then go for another blender on the list. The value for money is only applicable depending on how much you use it. So get a cheaper one, and if you find yourself using it a lot, then upgrade to something like the Vitamix.
Maybe you’re not sure if the smoothie or cocktail blending life will be for you. In which case, does it really matter if the Magic Bullet is likely to break after a few uses? Probably not.
At that price you can buy it, use it, then when it breaks, if you enjoyed blending enough to buy a proper blender then do so. It’s not a big investment, nor loss when the blender costs less then £50.
Blenders for Cocktails FAQs
What is the best blender for making cocktails?
In my experience of working in bars and making cocktails at home, the best blender for cocktails, especially when it comes to value for money, is the Ninja professional plus blender.
What is the best blender for a bar?
When it comes to blenders for bars, you don’t just want something good, you also want something that will blend quick and will have the ability to be used multiple times day, maybe even multiple times an hour, without overheating or cutting out. For that, you want the Vitamix. And that’s coming from someone who worked in a busy brunch place that did smoothies every 2 minutes and frozen margaritas every 5 minutes.
What is the best blender for pina colada?
My top blender recommendation for Pina Coladas and Frozen Margaritas in a professional bar is the Vitamix For home uses I’d recommend the Ninja plus.
Can you use a blender to mix drinks?
Absolutely. Drinks that require a good hard shake like Whisky Sours and Espresso Martinis can benefit from a quick blend. It sure saves the arm workout. Just make sure it’s a quick blend, otherwise the cocktails texture will be too light. Unless that what you’re going for.
Can you use a hand blender for cocktails?
For drinks that don’t require ice. Yes. But if you’re trying to achieve frozen cocktails, then no. Stick with a regular blender.
Best blender for ice and frozen fruit
For ice and frozen fruit, you want a powerful blender such as the Ninja professional plus blender.
Blenders for Smoothies FAQs
Which is best blender for smoothies?
The best blender for smoothies that will work with any ingredient, blend ice, fruit, and last a lifetime - has to be the Ninja compact smoothie blender.
What kind of blender do you need to make smoothies?
The kind of blender you need for smoothies is something powerful with close blades. Such as the Ninja compact smoothie blender. Or anything from the list above.
What is the difference between a smoothie maker and a blender?
Smoothie makers are designed to be smaller whereas blenders can be any size. In short - all blenders are smoothie makers but not all smoothie makers are blenders.
Which blender is best for frozen fruit?
The best blender for frozen fruit is something powerful like the Vitamix.
Best personal smoothie blender
Personal smoothie blenders are smaller blenders designed for 1 serving. Ideally you want one with a lid so you can pre make your smoothie and have it on the go. For that, I recommend this Nutribullet.
Best blender for smoothies easy to clean
Smaller blenders that are light are the easiest to clean. For that you want this Nutribullet.
Hi, I’m Cameron, guv’nor of Smartblend. If you liked this then you’re in luck, I have a bunch more guides like it. I share only vegetarian and pescatarian food recipes, cocktails, and drink guides with a sprinkling of wellness and mindful drinking. If that sounds like you, then stick around!
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