How Much Liquor Can You Add To Homemade Ice Cream?

You're probably well aware that certain states have restricted the sale of alcohol on Sundays. But did you know that the ice cream sundae was invented because of similar "blue laws" restricting the sale of soda on Sundays? This was back in the late 1800s. Fast forward several decades to the end of Prohibition, and people began mixing ice cream and alcohol in creative ways, from the invention of rum and raisin to the rise of the mudslide. All that to say, ice cream is by no means a kiddie-only treat, and alcohol-infused ice creams remain a popular way for the 21+ crowd to indulge.

But let's say you want to make your own boozy ice cream at home. Alcohol famously has a lower freezing point than water, which is why you can keep a bottle of vodka in your freezer without it becoming solid, and why a splash of vodka can actually improve the texture of no-churn ice cream.

"Alcohol affects both the flavor and freezing point of ice cream," Yoonjung Oh, the executive pastry chef of Hive Hospitality, tells Chowhound exclusively. "Generally, you can add around 15 to 30 grams of liquor per 1 liter of ice cream base without compromising texture." This translates to about ½ to 1 ounce of liquor per 33.8 fluid ounces of ice cream base. Add too much, and your ice cream won't freeze properly, Oh notes: "The texture can become icy, grainy, or soupy — more like a frozen cocktail than scoop-able ice cream." Oh recommends adding the alcohol immediately before spinning the ice cream base to ensure even distribution.

Now that you have a good idea of how much alcohol to use, it's time for the fun part: thinking about flavors! There are a myriad of ways to go about this, and of course you can take inspiration from your favorite cocktails. Are you wanting something bright, fruity, and tropical — along the lines of a piña colada? Try adding rum along with coconut and pineapple, Yoonjung Oh suggests. On the other hand, if you're in the mood for something richer and 100% indulgent, Oh recommends adding coffee liqueur to chocolate ice cream (perhaps with some chopped, chocolate-covered espresso beans for texture), or flavoring a brown butter pecan ice cream with bourbon.

One way to bring even more flavor into your ice cream — without adding additional chunks or bits or artificial flavorings — is to infuse your alcohol before mixing it in. For example, you could level up mediocre vodka by infusing it with rosemary and lemon. Simply add your flavorings to a sealed container of vodka and let them sit for three to five days before straining. Add the infused vodka to your ice cream as usual for a delicate rosemary-lemon flavor. You can, of course, add additional chopped rosemary and lemon zest or juice. However, Oh cautions, "If you're infusing spirits with ingredients, do that well in advance so the flavor is complex but smooth by the time you add it to your base."