The Best Ice Cream Sundae In Kentucky Is An Ode To Bourbon

In a feat of distinctly delicious work, Tasting Table writers worked diligently to compile a list of the absolute best ice cream sundaes in every state. From Alabama to Wyoming, there are at least 50 great places to get your sundae fix (amongst other ice cream-based treats), but one sundae in the Southern U.S. caught our attention for its inclusion of a famous local liquor. Kentucky's winner was the Bourbon ball sundae at Crank & Boom Craft Ice Cream in Lexington.

Unlike some of the other winners in each state, which have only a single location, Crank & Boom Craft Ice Cream has two locations in Lexington, as well as a pop-up location in the summer along the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, which is home to a wealth of incredible distilleries. Crank & Boom's bourbon ball sundae features its bourbon & honey flavor, made with local honey and Buffalo Trace bourbon, topped with chocolate sauce and candied pecans for a perfectly Southern-inspired dessert. If you're unfamiliar with the term bourbon ball, it's a chocolate-covered, boozy candy invented in Kentucky in the late 1930s, featuring a creamy center spiked with bourbon and topped with a whole pecan. 

Made from scratch in Lexington, Craft & Boom uses ingredients from local farms and producers, like strawberries from VanMeter Family Farm in Clarkson, Kentucky. The ice cream business grew out of a family-run Thai restaurant almost fifteen years ago when the owners purchased a small ice cream maker to add a dessert option to the menu. Crank & Boom's signature sundae menu also has non-boozy options like a salted caramel brownie sundae, a strawberry butter cake sundae, and a dirt cup sundae, all made with the brand's popular ice cream flavors.

Other unique ice cream flavors found at Crank & Boom include blueberry lime cheesecake, Kentucky blackberry & buttermilk, and coffee stout, along with classics like gooey butter cake, cookie dough, and salted caramel. There are even a couple of vegan and non-dairy options as well, and the stores offer small-batch flavors every month that are available for pre-order. 

For customers really looking to lean into the spiked aspect that Crank & Boom offers, there are ice cream cocktails that feature ice cream, various alcohols and liquors, and sundae-like toppings like torched marshmallows. Additionally, the menu features boozy floats like a bourbon & root beer float or a barefoot bubbly, which pours sparkling wine over strawberry balsamic sorbet. All of the floats can also be made without any alcohol. If you're not feeling quite up to a whole sundae or a boozy root beer float, Crank & Boom offers a spiked scoop on its menu, which is one scoop of ice cream and one shot of alcohol.