National Chocolate Milkshake Day - Thursday, September 12, 2024

History of National Chocolate Milkshake Day

The history of milkshakes can be accredited to the development of two key concepts, the electric blender, and malted milk drinks. So to understand the origin of milkshakes, you actually have to look further back to medieval Britain when eggnog came about. Back then it was a hot, milky ale-like drink and milk and eggs were foods of the wealthy so it was often consumed in indulgent celebration. It wasn’t until 1885 that somebody had the idea of mixing whiskey, milk, and eggs as an “eggnog type” drink, that milkshakes appeared in history. It originally was a term used for “wholesome drinks” containing chocolate, strawberry, or vanilla syrups.

In 1910, Hamilton Beach introduced the Cyclone Drink Mixer, an electric blender that became a prevalent machine used at public businesses. With the invention of the blender, milkshakes began to take their modern, whipped, aerated, and frothy form. And finally in Chicago in 1922, Walgreens employee Ivar “Pop” Coulson made a milkshake by adding two scoops of vanilla ice cream to Walgreens’ standard malted milk drink recipe. Termed “Horlick’s Malted Milk”, this item was featured by the Walgreen drugstore chain as part of a chocolate milkshake, which became known as a “malted” or “malt” and swiftly rose to one of the most popular soda-fountain drinks of its time.