Tipsy Scoop serves boozy ice cream and sparks questions in Federal Hill

A new shop mixing alcohol and ice cream is hoping Baltimore loves its liquor-infused treats, but some have expressed concern about how the desserts will be regulated.

Tipsy Scoop opens Saturday at 209 Key Highway as part of a growing nationwide franchise of alcoholic ice cream shops, or “barlours,” across the country. The business will serve exclusive Baltimore flavors of ice cream, such as a spiked lemon peppermint and an orange crush creamsicle infused with Sagamore Spirit Rye, as well as alcohol-free and mocktail flavors.

Popular flavors for the chain in other cities include a tequila-infused “hot” chocolate ice cream, a cake batter vodka martini and a vanilla bean bourbon. There are also spiked versions of classic treats like mint chocolate chip ice cream, and sorbets on the menu include a mango margarita and strawberry white sangria. Customers looking for less of a kick can choose from options such as a virgin piña colada or hazelnut espress-no martini.

The trick to the dessert is churning the liquor in with the ice cream, since alcohol cannot freeze on its own, Tipsy Scoops owner Melissa Tavss told Authority Magazine in 2019. The result is an ice cream that’s almost “gelato-like” in texture, she said.

Tavss has battled misconceptions about the boozy treats in her 12 years operating the business. But “this is not a bar or a place that’s going to be open late-night,” she told The Banner. The store will stay open until 9 p.m. on weeknights and 10 p.m. on weekends.

The ice creams contain up to 5% alcohol per serving, which Tavss compares to a light beer. One pint is about four to six servings, she said, and feeling that buzz depends as much on a customer’s stomach space for ice cream as their alcohol tolerance.

Tavss said Tipsy Scoop falls under a provision of Maryland law that states confectionary or sugary products with under 5% alcohol content do not require a liquor license. The owner said the business has also been approved by the federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, which issues permits for the manufacturing and wholesaling of alcohol.

“If I start another business, it’s going to be nonalcoholic crackers,” Tavss said. “State-by-state, we’ve went through it.”

Baltimore’s Board of Liquor License Commissioners does not often see businesses sell liquor-infused foods, though the shop’s franchisees have also expressed a desire to Federal Hill community members to eventually sell cocktails and wine, too. That would require a liquor license with a 75-person minimum seating capacity, which Tipsy Scoop does not currently have.

“If they are to sell liquor [on its own] in any capacity, they will need a liquor license,” said Matt Achhammer, a spokesman for the board, who has been looking into the business.

Nearby residents voiced concerns about the shop and its boozy offerings at a Feb. 12 Federal Hill Neighborhood Association meeting, said the group’s president, Locchanan Sreeharikesan. He said since the pandemic, neighbors have become increasingly distrustful of liquor establishments and skeptical of the liquor board’s ability to regulate them. Sreeharikesan said there’s already a perceived lack of safety along the retail stretch of Key Highway where Tipsy Scoop is located because people congregate on dirt bikes and do circles in the road in front of the shops.

Tavss and her ice cream went viral on social media in 2016, which inspired the founder to move from catering and wholesale into brick-and-mortar locations, according to an interview with CNBC. Her first store in Manhattan’s Kips Bay did more business in a month “than we anticipated for the rest of the year,” she told the television station. The business now has more than 350,000 followers on Instagram.

Some of the desserts are already being sold at Maryland retailers, including the More than Java Cafe in Laurel and Gonce Marine in Sparrows Point.