Alcohol & Ice Cream’s Indulgence Play
Published 02 September 2025
With more consumers now choosing to drink more moderately, alcohol brands, retailers and bars are reframing drinking occasions with fruity and decadent frozen creations that tap into Little Treat Culture.
- Ice Cream Pairing Menus: British gin brand Bombay Sapphire has collaborated with bars across the UK to create limited-edition cocktails paired with one of ten gelato flavours inspired by the spirit’s signature botanicals. At The Dome (Edinburgh), guests can try the Seaside Herb Garden gelato, blending fresh lime, coriander seed and juniper berry, alongside a Gin-a-Colada, featuring homemade pineapple and coconut cordial, Bombay Sapphire Gin, and slimline tonic.
Meanwhile, Tokyo ice cream parlour Kasiki pairs scoops of Japanese herb-inspired seasonal hand-churned gelato with its selection of organic wines. Similarly, Mexico City ice cream parlour-cum-bar Club Sorbet serves its ice cream with natural wines. Other new parlours following a similar playbook include Bar Chenin (Detroit) and The Dreamery (London). Based on this principle, UK grocery retailer Waitrose has suggested which of its ice creams to pair with which wines on its website.
Bombay Sapphire
Bombay Sapphire
Bombay Sapphire
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Bombay Sapphire
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Kasiki
Club Sorbet
Bar Chenin
The Dreamery
Kasiki
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Club Sorbet
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Bar Chenin
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The Dreamery
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Waitrose
- Beer on Ice: In July, Italian beer brand Peroni Nastro Azzurro served beer-infused lemon Italian ice from a truck outside Baby Luc’s Pizzeria in Brooklyn, NYC. The 5% ABV frozen treat was developed with Italian-American chef Giada De Laurentiis and US frozen dessert brand Tipsy Scoop, known for its cocktail-inspired ice creams and sorbets.
Tipsy Scoop has also collaborated with Wisconsin brewer Leinenkugel’s to create a limited-edition shandy-infused ice cream sandwich. Inspired by the flavours of a Midwestern summer, it features a sweet 4.2% ABV shandy custard, cheese fudge swirls, brandied cherries and Kringle pastry layers between corn shortbread cookies.
Elsewhere, the LuLu’s Public House food stall at the 2025 Minnesota State Fair sold cones of non-dairy beer soft serve, made using a mix of Minneapolis-based brewery Pryes Brewing’s Royal Raspberry sour ale, stabiliser and sweetener.
In July, the makers of Irish stout Guinness and US ice cream brand Van Leeuwen’s unveiled the Lovely Day for a Guinness ice cream, combining the stout with chocolate chunks.
For further alcohol innovations geared towards Gen Z’s sweet tooth, see Gen Z Alcohol Trends: 25/26. Meanwhile, Meet the Food Flexers explores the most covetable food and drinks among young foodies.
Peroni Nastro Azzurro
Leinenkugel’s x Tipsy Scoop
LuLu's Public House
Van Leeuwen x Guinness
Leinenkugel’s x Tipsy Scoop
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LuLu's Public House
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Van Leeuwen x Guinness
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