Milkshakes have been around for over a century, but the first milkshakes were not made of ice cream, syrup and milk. They were similar to eggnog with a generous dose of whiskey! Not really the kind of thing you’d buy at the local McDonalds. As time passed, they evolved into the tasty beverage that everyone is familiar with today. The first retro milkshake maker was introduced in 1911 by Hamilton Beach. They created their mixer at the urging of a nearby malted milk company who wanted to make it easier to mix malted milkshakes.
Their milkshake maker became hugely popular and soon was a standard fixture at soda fountains throughout the country. Hamilton Beach and other companies expanded on the milkshake maker theme and began developing multimixers that could mix multiple drinks at a time, making it easier to supply multiple soda fountain customers with their drinks. Decedents of these appliances can be found at many restaurants that serve better milkshakes to this day, although unfortunately, many restaurants use a less tasty non-dairy goo to make “milkshakes”, but these aren’t considered true ice cream beverages by connoisseurs.