Philly is getting a boozy ice cream shop near Rittenhouse Square

Finally: a place where you can drink your booze and eat it too.

Tipsy Scoop — the growing national chain of boozy ice cream parlors — is opening their first Philadelphia location on Saturday at 119 S. 18th St. The so-called “barlour” (a portmanteau of bar and ice cream parlor) is sharing space with the small-batch spirits purveyor BOTLD.

Tipsy Scoop founder Melissa Tavss started the brand in 2013 after discovering that adding a tablespoon of alcohol to her homemade ice cream recipe was the key to getting creamy, gelato-like batches out of her Kitchen Aid stand mixer.

From there, the brand of booze-infused ice cream grew gradually in New York City. Tavss started selling Tipsy Scoop from a pushcart at events before expanding to an online store that ships pints nationally. When a BuzzFeed video of strangers trying samples of Tipsy Scoop’s vodka-spiked cake batter ice cream and tequila-infused mango sorbet went viral in 2016, Tavss said foodies started showing up to her East Harlem production facility thinking it was a real ice cream shop.

» READ MORE: Where to find soft serve margaritas in and around Philly

Tavss opened the first brick-and-mortar Tipsy Scoop in Manhattan in 2016 with a bouncer checking I.Ds, followed by another location in Brooklyn and a third on Long Island.

Now, Tipsy Scoop is on a franchise-fueled expansion tear with locations in Baltimore, Portland, Florida, and the Bahamas, plus Dallas and Boston on the way.

Tipsy Scoop’s Philly location, however, is not a franchise, but instead a partnership between Tavss and BOTLD founder Andrew Auwerda.

Tavss told The Inquirer that she had been eyeing Philadelphia as a potential Tipsy Scoop city because — well — she had the data to prove that Philadelphian actually love booze mixed with ice cream in a distinct way: Philly is one of Tipsy Scoop’s largest markets for online orders, second only to New York City.

Still, opening a barlour in the city proved tough, said Tavss, who would’ve had to procure a limited distillery license in order to mix and serve the ice cream in one place. Tavss was looking at a location across the street from BOTLD when Auwerda offered her a portion of his storefront. In exchange, he said, Tipsy Scoop infuses its products made on site with spirits sold at BOTLD.

Tipsy Scoop “is a proven success story, [and] something Philadelphia — or the state of Pennsylvania — doesn’t have. It’s so unique," Auwerda said. “And we want to be the source of interesting alcohol and side products.”

The barlour and bottle shop flow together seamlessly to transform the space into a wonderland for spirits (and ice cream) enthusiasts.

Tipsy Scoop is repurposing roughly half of BOTLD’s storefront, space Auwerda once envisioned would become a cocktail bar similar to the 117 S 13th St. location. Now, rows of Bird Gang sprits and BOTLD’s signature frozen cocktail machines give way to an ice cream fridge and two tables in Tipsy Scoop’s signature mint green with a prep area in the back.

In a word: no.

“It’s not gonna get you drunk,” Tavss said with a laugh.

A single scoop of Tavss’ booze-infused ice cream is 5% ABV, she said, or the equivalent of a light beer. A sundae with three scoops, Tavss said, is closer to a glass of wine that was poured with a heavy hand. Everyone will get carded before imbibing off so much as a sample.

For Tavss, then, the goal of Tipsy Scoop isn’t so much about giving people a fun way to get liquored up, but rather to highlight the distinct flavors of spirits — something, she said, is hard to do when cooking or baking with alcohol.

Tipsy Scoop’s Philly location will serve 10 alcoholic flavors, from bourbon-spiked vanilla bean to tequila-infused Mexican hot chocolate and a trio of sorbets with names like Mango Margarita, Strawberry White sangria, and Raspberry Limoncello Sorbet.

Also on offer: An exclusive-to-Philly cherry water ice spiked with vodka, which Tavss said is ode to South Philly institution John’s. The texture is spot on and smacks of maraschino cherries, with a fire-engine red color that stains your lips. It comes topped with chewy cherry gummies for the “Philly Phreeze,” a $14.00 sundae in a novelty cup that comes with a chilled vodka shooter for $5 extra.

» READ MORE: The best water ice and gelati in Philadelphia and the suburbs

Tipsy Scoop serves six other sundaes, including the Tequila Sunrise (Mango Margarita and Raspberry White sangria sorbets topped with gummy cherries, strawberry syrup, and a smiley sunshine lollipop); the Boozy Breakfast (hazelnut coffee and Mexican hot chocolate ice creams served in a glass rimmed with Cookie Crisps and topped with a doughnut); and the Birdz Blitz, another Philly exclusive that layers Dark Chocolate Whiskey Salted Caramel ice cream with brownie bits, whiskey fudge, and caramel sauce in a cup rimmed with frosting. Despite the decadence of it all, the chocolate ice cream isn’t too rich, with a texture that verges on custard.

Tipsy Scoop will also serve its own version of the viral soft serve margarita, plus cocktail floats, and $18 ice cream flights with your choice of four flavors. Virgin options are also available, including espresso martini and piña colada-flavored ice creams made with non-alcoholic spirits from the brand Lyre’s.

Tipsy Scoop (located inside BOTLD), 119 S. 18th St., 917-388-2862, tipsyscoop.com/pages/philadelphia. Hours: 1 - 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday; 1 - 10 p.m. Friday through Sunday.