Boozy Ice Cream Shop Tipsy Scoop Is Opening in Portland

Have you ever been drinking a beer but wish you could have an ice cream instead? Have you ever been frustrated by licking a soft serve cone because it didn’t even get you a little bit drunk? If so, you’ll be excited about the new ice cream parlor opening in Boise on May 2.

It’s called Tipsy Scoop, and it’s a burgeoning chain that began in New York City and expanded to Washington, D.C., in 2023. In May it will open not just in Portland but also in Nashville, with four other locations to open around the country soon. Liquor-infused ice cream is here, and it’s spreading.

Flavors range from the subdued and classic, like vanilla bourbon, to the truly outre: One has banana ice cream swirled with peanut butter and infused with Elvis Whiskey’s Midnight Snack (which is whiskey flavored with peanut butter, banana, and bacon). Tipsy Scoop also offers regular, non-boozy ice cream for kids (or someone who just wants some mint chip), as well as mocktail flavors for people who’d like their ice cream to taste a bit like liquor, but don’t want to consume alcohol.

Founder Melissa Tavss says that the most popular move at her “barlours” (get it?) is for people to order ice cream “flights” of four apiece. “I recommend a flight with marionberry vodka ice cream, raspberry limoncello sorbet, spiked mint chip ice cream, and the dark chocolate whiskey salted caramel ice cream,” she said in an email. The marionberry flavor is exclusive to Portland and features Wild Roots marionberry vodka; it’s also vegan and gluten-free.

So how drunk will this ice cream get you? The ice cream is 5 percent ABV maximum, which means “one scoop is around the equivalent of a light beer,” said Tavss. If you’re in a more drinky mood, the shop will also serve regular, liquid, cocktails. It also will sell takeaway pints of boozy and nonalcoholic flavors. (You obviously can’t take scoops of boozy flavors to go.)

There will be 45 seats at the barlour, which is at 3987 North Mississippi Avenue, and Tavss said the vibe will be more “ice cream parlor” than bar. On May 2 at 4 p.m., Tipsy Scoop will be holding a grand opening party with $1 scoops for the first 25 people in line, raffles, and tequila-based flavors to commemorate Cinco de Mayo.