Graeter's adding seasonal bourbon flavor that's already sold in Kentucky

Graeter's, the Cincinnati-based ice cream maker, has a new seasonal mystery flavor that is certainly no mystery to Kentucky: Bourbon Pecan Chocolate Chip.

President and CEO Rich Graeter is a bourbon fan but wasn't too sure he'd like this flavor.

"I generally hate nuts in ice cream, and I'm not too crazy about chocolate," Graeter said. "But I love this new bourbon pecan chocolate chip. Together, it's like a little miracle in a pint. Those flavors marry well."

That's something fans of bourbon balls have long known. Ice cream eaters in Lexington, Louisville and Indianapolis are lucky because they already had a version at their Graeter's stores.

Kentucky and Indianapolis have bourbon ball ice cream. Now everyone else is getting bourbon pecan chocolate chip. The difference? The bourbon. "We've been making bourbon ball for 10-plus years, using real bourbon as a flavoring," said Jim Tedesco, owner of the Kentucky franchise.

How did Kentucky get so lucky, to have a flavor nobody else had? The answer is state-by-state food laws. Kentucky is one of the few that allows food to be sold with that much alcohol in it.

Tedesco makes the bourbon ball ice cream sold in the local shops; Graeter's Cincinnati plant makes the product sold in grocery stores and shops elsewhere. But the pints of the new mystery flavor also have real bourbon, just less alcohol, Graeter said.

"We use bourbon to make the flavor, so it's reduced and most of the alcohol is cooked out. The amount is less than half of a percent, similar to vanilla," Graeter said. "Real Kentucky bourbon is used to make that flavor."

(He can't say which brand because of trademark issues. Personally, he's a Woodford Reserve drinker.)

The taste is similar to what Kentucky has had all along, he said. The only difference: Tedesco just pours the bourbon right in.

"Those products are made by the last franchisee — the only one that still makes the ice cream scooped in the stores," Graeter said. "They have always made bourbon ball, because Lexington and Louisville is home to the world's best bourbons."

The new flavor is Graeter's formulation. "Ours has a really nice bourbon flavor that's not too strong, with chocolate chips and pecans," he said.

The new flavor will hit Kentucky grocery stores in mid-April, although it will be available in Graeter's in Ohio immediately.

In Lexington Graeter's stores, the seasonal flavor will be coconut chip instead. The bourbon pecan chocolate chip is going to be available for only a few months, but bourbon ball is a permanent flavor in Lexington, Louisville and Indianapolis.

This story was originally published February 27, 2015 at 5:26 PM with the headline "Graeter's adding seasonal bourbon flavor that's already sold in Kentucky."