Milkshakes were once alcoholic

A drink name outlived its first recipe

“Milkshake” once described a different kind of drink from the sweet, frosty one most people picture today. Early versions could combine whiskey and egg, producing something rich and warming rather than an ice-cream dessert. The egg gave the mixture body; the whiskey made it an alcoholic drink.

The method stayed, the ingredients changed

The word’s durable clue is “shake”: it described a drink made by shaking ingredients together, not a fixed recipe. As milk-and-ice-cream versions became familiar, the name could carry over even as the drink’s character shifted from a whiskey-and-egg mixture to a cold, sweet treat.

That kind of change is easy to miss because the label remains stable. Order a milkshake today and you get a dessert; encounter the word in an older context, and it may point to a very different drink.