I’m one of the lucky few who has their hands on a Ninja Slushi, the latest viral gadget from SharkNinja entered a waitlist almost instantly after being announced. This countertop appliance promises to turn all sorts of liquids into servable slush in as quickly as 15 minutes thanks to the brand’s proprietary RapidChill technically. As a self-proclaimed “fun drink” connoisseur, I couldn’t wait to get my first concoction churning.
I’m no stranger to Ninja appliances, so the unboxing and setup process was familiarly straightforward. That said, I always figured that those slushie machines at Tiki bars were super pricey and complicated, so I didn’t expect to have the $269 Nina Slushi and its couple of parts running within minutes.
@tomsguide ♬ original sound - Tom’s Guide
After giving the auger and vessel a thorough clean, I prepped my drink mixture. You could just dump a bottle of Coca-cola or creamy Starbucks coffee inside, but the Slushi comes with a recipe book with inspiring drink ideas. More importantly, the book breaks down the importance of sugar contents required for turning liquid into slush, especially when making a Spiked Slush, like I wanted to on a hot summer evening.
Ninja Slushi first use and impressions
Ninja recommends letting your drink mixture chill beforehand to help speed up the slush-ification process. I left my batched lime margarita in a measuring bowl in my refrigerator for a few hours to hopefully help me start happy hour faster. When I was ready to start, I poured the mixture slowly into the intended section on top of the vessel, selected Spiked Slush from the collection of 5 total options, set the slush level to the max out of 10, and the auger started turning.
I was able to track the progress using the stacked slush level lights as an indicator. As much as I wanted to stare at the machine and its RapidChill technology in action, a watched pot never boils. While I waited, I prepped my corresponding cocktail hour snacks of corn dip and guacamole.
30 minutes later, the Ninja Slushi chimed, telling me my drink had reached the optimal slush level. The machine can continue spinning and keep drinks frozen for up to 12 hours, so I didn’t fret about getting my drink poured right away. That said, I was eager to try, so as soon as it hit 5 'o'clock on Saturday I tilted back the spout and unleashed my frozen margarita into a frosted glass.
The machine has a max fill of 64-ounces. I used about 55 ounces of liquid total and it resulted in 4 generously-poured drinks. Now, I'm not going to lie, after my first sip of limey-icy goodness, I debated started the entire process over again to prep for a second round.
Instead I opted to clean the machine up as recommended after each use. I saw some videos lamenting the cleaning process, so I was a bit worried it would interrupt my evening. I used a clean bowl of water to run the rinse cycle, removed and washed the vessel and auger in my sink, and took a washcloth to the condensation catcher. The whole thing took just a few minutes, which was definitely pleasant surprise.
Needless to say at this point, the Ninja Slushi is worth the hype. It's really no surprise the machine has sold out, although I tried not to feel too smug as I enjoyed my drink. I think it'll be interesting to see how it holds up over time, and also how it handles different drink types. I'll be trying out a few more as part of my review, but as far as first impressions go, the Ninja Slushi has made a strong one (no seriously, my margarita was STRONG.)
