Today we’d like to introduce you to Laura Aidan.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Laura. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My journey with ice cream making began in my kitchen in Austin, Texas, inspired by the nostalgia of my childhood spent baking alongside my mother. I grew up in Iowa and received degrees in Computer Science and English from the University of Iowa.
After many years developing educational software for special needs children and algorithms that helped disadvantaged kids gain acceptance into college, I decided that I wanted to change careers.
My background in science and technology led me to fall in love with the science of ice cream making, so I attended Penn State University’s 120-year-old ice cream program in order to discover everything I could about the many nuances of ice cream. I decided I wanted to share my passion for craft cocktails and alcohol-infused ice cream with the rest of the world so I spent several years mastering the craft of infusing spirits into ice cream for the most delicious flavors imaginable.
My goal is to create the ultimate indulgence, and I want our boozy ice cream to be the best part of each person’s day.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There were definitely some initial challenges with finding the perfect location (we’re housed in a Prohibition-era 1920’s bungalow) and of course the time I spent perfecting how to freeze ice cream with alcohol (it’s one of our trade secrets).
We opened in July at the peak of ice cream season to lines out the door and I immediately ran into issues keeping up with demand. I was running out of flavors every day and had to significantly scale my production, reconfigure my recipes, and work around the clock in order to meet demand. It was a great problem to have, but at the time it was very overwhelming. We had been named in Zagat’s top 15 most anticipated U.S. restaurant openings and I was feeling a lot of pressure to live up to everyone’s expectations.
Once I worked through those initial issues everything started to fall into place and I was able to focus on creating new flavors and a wonderful guest experience. The main challenges these days are really around people understanding the alcohol-infused ice cream concept since it is still pretty new, but once people experience it they are hooked.
Prohibition Creamery – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
We are one of the world’s first boozy ice cream bar-lours, we make everything from scratch using 100+-year-old craft processes and add alcohol to create a wonderful flavor experience. Some of our ice creams are my own creations such as our Mezcal Vanilla flavor. Others are my take on classic cocktails (such as the Old Fashioned) and desserts (such as Bananas Foster).
We currently have a Deconstructed Old Fashioned Sundae which is made with our signature bourbon ice cream, housemade Peychaud’s bitters marshmallows, candied orange peel, bourbon whipped cream and a Luxardo cherry.
We currently have a stunning ash-black ice cream called Black Magic made with activated charcoal that people love so much that the phone rings off the hook with people asking about it. We not only have boozy ice creams and milkshakes, we also have a full cocktail bar with fantastic craft cocktails. One thing that surprises a lot of our guests is that we are all ages, we always have non-boozy flavors plus vegan and gluten-free options.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
It has been extremely flattering making lists of best places to visit and winning awards for both our ice creams and our cocktails, but what really stands out is when guests make a point of telling me how much they love what we are doing. A lot of hard work has gone into it and so it’s extremely rewarding to see someone enjoying something you created.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1407 E 7th Street Austin, TX 78702
- Website: prohibitioncreamery.com
- Phone: 512 992 1449
- Email: hello@prohibitioncreamery.com
- Instagram: @prohibitioncreamery
- Facebook: fb.com/prohibitioncreamery
- Twitter: @boozyicecream
Image Credit:
Robert Lerma, Nicolai McCrary
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