An easy no-churn ice cream with Whisky liqueur, Drambuie for a taste of Scotland. With simply 4 ingredients, this recipe couldn't be easier! Works just as well with a good quality bourbon Whisky or Southern Comfort. Delicious on its own, it's great as an accompaniment to chocolate desserts.
Ice Cream Recipe With Whisky Liqueur
I first tasted this Scottish Whisky liqueur before our dinner guests arrived. A tiny sip of Drambuie revealed its perfect blend of Whisky, honey, herbs and spices - ideal for a French-style Burn's Night!
If you can't find Drambuie, try bourbon liqueur or Southern Comfort for similar spiced notes. If you find other good Whisky Liqueurs, do let me know below.
For a Scottish-French menu, I found the perfect Drambuie ice cream recipe by Christopher Trotter in 'Scottish Cookery'. This easy, no-churn recipe gives a soft scoopable treat straight from the freezer.
Strictly for adults, this whisky ice cream contains alcohol (43%)! Initially, I thought the original recipe's 3 tablespoons seemed too little quantity for me (OK, I'm Scottish).
However, the creamy custard mix needed no more - each bite equivalent to a wee tipple. Adding just an extra tablespoon was indeed too much!
I've slightly adapted the recipe to reduce the sugar, as the liqueur is quite sweet. I recommend 3 tablespoons of Whisky is enough to appreciate the flavours.
What Does Alcohol do to Ice Cream?
Alcohol not only adds a unique flavour, but also affects the texture. It lowers the freezing point, making the ice cream softer and more scoopable straight from the freezer. This is why this Whisky ice cream is beautifully creamy and doesn't need any special sorbetière equipment.
No-Churn Ice Cream with Only 4 Ingredients
There are simply four ingredients to this recipe. Unlike most no-churn ice cream recipes, this is without sweetened condensed milk.
Instead, sugar and water are used to create a syrup which is added to egg yolks and Whisky laced whipped cream. C'est tout, that's it!
Can I make Whisky Ice Cream with Other Liqueurs?
Scottish Drambuie Whisky liqueur has a distinct heather honey and whisky flavour to it. However, this ice cream can be made using other whiskeys or liqueurs to create alternative flavours.
For a French touch, use Grand Marnier with its wonderful hints of orange. This would make a fabulous addition to French crêpes for entertaining, a lazy variation of Crêpes Suzette.
Alternatively, replace with Calvados for an apple flavour, perfect with all kinds of apple desserts, such as a Quick French Apple Tart. For more apple dessert ideas, see the market guide to apples.
What Can I serve with it?
This Whisky Ice Cream is great on its own but it's also a delicious accompaniment to the following desserts (again, for adults only).
- Classic French Tarte Tatin - the caramelised apples with this are just heaven
- Chocolate crêpes - seriously toe-curling bliss together
- Lava Cakes (moelleux au chocolat)
- Orange Caramel Cake with Chestnut
- Tuile cookies - classic French almond cookies are great with this ice cream
No Churn Ice Cream with Drambuie Whisky Liqueur
Equipment
- large bowl chilled to whip the cold cream
- Electric whisk
Ingredients
- 100 g (3.5oz/ ½ cup) sugar
- 6 tablespoon water
- 6 egg yolks organic
- 200 g (7oz/ 1 cup) Heavy cream or whipping cream (30% fat)
- 3 tablespoon Drambuie Whisky Liqueur or other liqueur such as Grand Marnier
Instructions
- In a small saucepan off the heat, stir the water and sugar until dissolved. Bring to the boil for a minute, then set aside.Using an electric whisk, whisk the cold cream until medium peaks.
- Whisk the egg yolks in a large heat-proof bowl over a pan of simmering water (double boiler or bain-marie). When light in colour add the hot syrup and keep whisking until the mixture thickens and forms a ribbon on the whisk (ideally use an electric whisk, or by hand with a balloon whisk for a work-out!) Remove from the heat. If whisking by hand, continue to whisk for about 5 minutes until it's cool.
- Add the liqueur (stick to the 3 tablespoon – believe me, it’s enough!) to the cream or cooled yolk mix (it doesn't matter). Using a good flexible spatula, fold in the lightly whipped cream.
- Freeze for 6 hours or overnight.
Notes
This recipe post was first published February 19, 2019 but is now completely updated. Please note that this post is not sponsored in any way.
William
Now we've got the best of the summer and Scotland in one cup !
Thank you MadaboutMacarons
Celeb Networth
This looks so good! Thank you for the nice recipe.
picaram
The recipe looks so simple to make. Thank you very much for sharing!! And the chocolate tart in the photo is also yummy
Jill Colonna
It is beautifully simple - hope you've enjoyed making it, along with the chocolate tart...
Tonio
That looks good quality of chocolate in the tart - bet it's top with that ice cream.
Thanks for a great post Jill
Jill Colonna
Thanks, Tonio. The chocolate I use is always great quality - it really makes all the difference. For this tart, used 70% cacao solids and mixed it with some milk chocolate. The ice cream just adds that huge wham!
Sylvia Miranda
The ice-cream looks very delicious.
I hope you will like my recipe board on Pinterest:
https://in.pinterest.com/mirandapresence/fusion-flavour/
Kevin Ashton
Hi Jill,
It sounds like a delicious ice cream, well worth a try.
Jill Colonna
Thanks Chef. I love this - as I'm not a liqueur fan this is a great way to enjoy it!
Thomasina
I have Drambuie lurking somewhere in the drinks cupboard among my liqueur collection gathered over time. I need to do something with it. Thanks for the idea Jill.
Jill Colonna
Well I'm so glad to help, Thomasina!
David
I love serving digestifs after a meal - it is so civilized and it really does help aid digestion! I also love serving dessert! 😉 I have very sentimental and romantic memories of Drambuie form my freshman year in college, and I really look forward to making your ice cream. I am also going to make a few other variations... Oh, how my waistline will increase!
Jill Colonna
Hehe - thanks David, I should have said that it's also more of a male thing, I think. Also glad this Drambuie recipe has evoked some lovely memories.
David
Thanks for reposting this. I never made the ice cream and this is a great reminder! Just bought some Drambuie before the holidays! Happy New Year, my friend!
Jill Colonna
Thanks so much, David. Happy New Year to you, too. Cheers to the best of health and happiness for 2018! And glad it's on your recipe list. Always a pleasure!
Liz
Looks heavenly, Jill! I want to come to your house for dessert 🙂
Jill Colonna
You are most welcome Liz. Please come on over!
Parisbreakfast
I'm seriously drunk from just reading about this delish dessert you created at the drop of a wee tipple..
And any ice cream that does not require churning is a dream come true...if I'm still standing that is.
Bravo!
Jill Colonna
Sounds like you need some herbal infusions then, Carol! Thanks x
Kay
would you mind doing the measures in American measures??? ie cups, Tbsp, tsp etc
that would be very helpful.....& garner you more American readers!!!
Jill Colonna
Hi Kay,
I understand that some American readers may be disappointed not to see measurements in cups. I'm not forgetting you! But, in my experience, cups are not an accurate enough measurement (i.e. volume) to enable you to make macarons, patisserie etc. consistently well.
I recommend all readers measure in weight (i.e. grammes I use as we do in Europe) and buy digital scales to ensure that your measuring is as precise as it needs to be for many recipes. Digital scales is a great investment in your kitchen - and not expensive! And with a flip of a button, you can switch from ounces to grammes and we're all speaking the same language.
And for what it's worth, I don't confuse by adding litres or millilitres for liquids, as they measure out the same as in grammes. In this recipe above there are references to tablespoons (tbsp) and 100g is equivalent to 3.5 oz. It's just when translating grammes to ounces it can become untidy with 3 3/4 or 2 1/4 etc.
I think this calls for a blog post on the subject! Thanks for bringing this up, Kay and for popping in. I do hope you'll try the recipes after this explanation.
Christina | Christina's Cucina
This is so funny as just yesterday we took a bottle of Drambuie down to a couple of neighbors (older ladies) for a "wee tipple"! This ice cream would be wonderful, I know it already! I wonder what it'd be like if I did put it in the ice cream maker?
Adding this to my list of "must make" recipes! You've done it again, Jill! 🙂
Jill Colonna
Lucky neighbours you have, Christina! Let me know if you do try it out in an ice cream maker but don't think it would need it since this method is specifically without it. Up to you!