Whisky & Honey Ice Cream

Update: Click here for the updated Whisky and Honey Ice Cream recipe.

While I insist to not have favourites, this recipe is certainly high on my list.

So when my dad sent me a new one-gallon White Mountain freezer for my birthday, I knew how I had to inaugurate the new machine.

We first made Whisky and Honey Ice Cream when we were cycling in the Outer Hebrides and it was certainly an amazing experience to make and eat it in the Standing Stones of Calanish.

I decided to celebrate by making a big batch of Whisky and Honey Ice Cream that I could keep in the freezer and enjoy over a few days. I soon discovered this is the perfect ice cream for storage.

The recipe for one gallon:

• 600g honey
• 3 eggs
• 800ml double cream
• 4.5 tablespoons of 18-year old Caol Ila whisky
• milk

I used Caol Ila 18-year because it’s delicious and that’s also what we used at Calanish. It has an excellent balance of peat and smoothness, making it an excellent compliment to honey. It’s very important, however, when making an alcohol ice cream to keep the measurement of alcohol just right. If you put in too much, you’ll have trouble freezing the mixture. But you want enough to get the flavour. It’s a tricky balance, but we somehow got it on the Hebrides and I based my measurement on that. It seems that 3 tablespoons of whisky per half-gallon of ice cream is just right. (When we were in France this summer I made the recipe with a bit extra whisky and it never froze properly.)

So we’re basically following the traditional recipe except I replaced the sugar with a larger quantity of honey (since honey is not 100% sugar). Mix it all up and take it out to crank!

Whisky and Honey Ice Cream has an amazing flavour. This recipe has an unbeatable flavour balance and a luxurious texture.

But the most amazing thing about it is that if you store the ice cream in the freezer it stays at eating texture. The alcohol has lowered the freezing point just enough to make it stay ready-to-eat. At any moment if I wanted a spoonful of ice cream I can just open the freezer and scoop it out. You don’t need to let it thaw for 15-20 minutes as with any other ice creams. This makes Whisky and Honey Ice Cream the perfect batch to always have on hand.

And the fact that it is so incredibly delicious certainly doesn’t hurt one bit.