BALTIMORE — It’s not just ice cream, it’s boozy ice cream. Tipsy Scoop is celebrating its grand opening this weekend.
“I’m a regular vanilla girl, so when they put the bourbon in there, and I love bourbon too, I was like, ‘Oh my God, you’re speaking to me,’” said co-owner Bianca Cropper.
It’s not your typical flavors. Think tequila Mexican hot chocolate, cake batter, vodka martini, dark chocolate whiskey and salted caramel and more.
The shop is part of a growing brand, with 13 existing and opening locations from Dallas to Washington, D.C. to New York, and now Baltimore is one of them.
“Baltimore was definitely lacking something like this, infusing alcohol with dessert so we see this more as a delicacy,” said co-owner Brandon Bennett.
Running the shop is a family affair. Husband and wife Brandon Bennett and Bianca Cropper operate the Baltimore location alongside Cropper’s twin sister Briana.
“It’s actually family and Black-owned based, come support your neighbor,” Cropper said.
But it’s not just this location that’s rooted in family. The company was founded in New York in 2014 by Melissa Tavss. She came up with the idea while perfecting her homemade ice cream, adding a dash of alcohol to keep it from getting too icy, which sparked the concept of boozy ice cream.
Her family’s connection to the industry goes back generations. Starting with her great-great-grandfather, relatives made and sold ice cream, bringing it from Italy to Scotland. One of her ancestors even served as president of the Ice Cream Alliance trade association in Great Britain.
Bringing it back to present day, Tipsy Scoop Baltimore owners say, you won’t be stumbling out of the ice cream shop. Each scoop contains up to 5% alcohol, comparable to a wine cooler or light beer.
“So nothing crazy, you won’t be like, ‘I’m about to get drunk at Tipsy Scoop,’” Cropper said.
Every city has its own signature flavor and in Baltimore, it’s the “Blood Orange Crush-sicle,” a spin on the city’s iconic orange crush cocktail made in partnership with Sagamore Rye Whiskey.
And if you’re skipping the alcohol, there are options for that too, including mocktail flavors like the Amalfi Spritz.
Plus, you don’t have to leave the kids at home. The shop also offers classic scoops like vanilla, chocolate, cookies and cream, and cookie dough, something for the adults and something for the kids.
Tipsy Scoop officially opens Saturday, March 21 at 1 p.m. at 209 Key Highway in Federal Hill, where the first 25 customers can score $1 scoops and enter to win a free boozy ice cream sundae class.
