The Business of Making Alcoholic Ice Cream With Clementine | Eater

"Known for its maple bourbon ice cream that captures all the flavor of bourbon without the bitter, boozy finish while still containing alcohol, this shop makes purpose-built alcoholic ice creams that can reach up to 18% ABV using a patent-pending infusion process developed over six months with product scientists. Owner Tamara Keefe runs both alcoholic (“naughty”) and nonalcoholic (“nice”) lines from a 5,000-square-foot microcreamery outside St. Louis and sells out of neighborhood storefronts—the first 500-square-foot shop opened in May 2015 on the edge of Lafayette Square—with two locations operating and a third opening in the fall. The brand follows a “cow to cone” approach using high–butterfat, grass-fed, pasture-raised dairy, rotates adventurous flavors (examples include St. Louis–inspired gooey butter cake, pandan, and grasshopper), offers vegan options like cashew salted caramel and coconut chocolate fudge, and built its reputation by supplying influential restaurants. Cautious about retail food-safety risks, the owner prefers growing by opening more scoop shops—aiming for about 25 over the next five to seven years—and has equipped her factory to scale when ready." - Monica Burton