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Fernie’s Frozen Espresso-tini Bar

Fernie’s Frozen Espresso-tini Bar

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State Fair of Texas, 2026 Big Tex Choice Awards Sweet Finalist

A funnel cake stand is not where you’d expect to find a cocktail.

This one has been serving one for years, frozen, on a stick.

What This Thing Actually Is

Cold brew espresso gets blended with Fernie’s own Funnel Cake Cream Cocktail, then frozen into a bar. Inside: layers of deep coffee flavor with hints of vanilla.

The whole thing gets drizzled in ribbons of chocolate shell coating that hardens into a crackable shell on the outside.

Dessert, coffee, and a cocktail, frozen onto one stick, sold at a fair stand.

Christi Erpillo and Johnna McKee built it.

The Part That’s Actually Funny

This isn’t a family trying something new. Erpillo and McKee are the daughters of Wanda “Fernie” Winter, who’s run concessions at the Fair for close to fifty years and is still involved at 92.

Their operation has been nominated for a Big Tex Choice Award 15 times over 14 years. That’s more nominations than anyone else at the Fair.

They’ve actually won twice: Fernie’s Deep Fried Peaches and Cream took Best Taste in 2009, and Fernie’s Hoppin’ John Cake with Jackpot Sauce took Best Taste, Savory in 2018.

Fifteen nominations, two wins, and a mother who’s watched every single one of them from the fairgrounds.

This year’s entry didn’t add a third win. It still made the sweet finals against a record field, which for a family this decorated is closer to routine than upset.

Why Texas Keeps Doing This

Everything is bigger in Texas, including the resume behind a single frozen bar on a stick.

A funnel cake stand could have stayed a funnel cake stand for fifty years and nobody would have complained. This one kept entering new ideas into a blind judged contest instead, year after year, because staying in the game mattered more than any single trophy.

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