u/MrRon23

The Colonel's Creamery in Florence, KY is worth a special trip. It won the "Iron Scoop" award for flavor innovation at the National Ice Cream Retailers Association convention, which is about as legit as it gets in this industry.

Founder Don Lambert isn't running day-to-day operations anymore, but the current owners still stay in close touch with him and lean on his standards. It's hard-packed ice cream, not soft serve, with rotating flavors that get pretty inventive alongside classics done right. High butterfat for a really creamy texture. The whole shop has an Americana feel, waffle cones baking, old radio music, a photo booth for families.

5.0 rating on a place most people outside the immediate area have never heard of. Small towns in this state hide some real gems.

Somehow lived here my whole life and just found out about this. The Rookwood Ice Cream Parlor is tucked inside the Cincinnati Museum Center rotunda. It's a Graeter's, but the room it's in is the original 1933 Rookwood Tea Room — floor to ceiling handcrafted Rookwood Pottery tile, Art Deco everything, the whole deal.

During WWII it served coffee and treats to soldiers passing through on trains. Now it scoops ice cream. Wild that more people don't know about it.

Open Mon–Sat 10–5, Sunday 11–6. You need museum admission to get in, so worth pairing with a visit.

Anyone else been? Feels like one of those Cincinnati things that's hiding in plain sight.

Most of us think of Covington for the food scene on Pike Street or a night out in MainStrasse Village. But if you haven't crossed the river specifically for ice cream, you're missing out.

Two independently owned spots that couldn't be more different from each other:

Golden Gelato on W Pike St is doing authentic Italian hot-process gelati made from scratch in small batches every day. The menu rotates constantly based on what's seasonal and local. Their sorbettos are 100% vegan, the coffee is from Deeper Roots, and there's actual lounge space to sit and enjoy it. Rated 4.9 across nearly 400 reviews — that's not luck.

Piper's Soft Serve Bar in MainStrasse Village plays a completely different game. 70+ soft serve flavors with thousands of possible combinations. Signature sundaes, snowstorms, waffle bowls. They also have a vegan oat vanilla option and their regular soft serve is lactose free. Their tagline is "a world of ridiculous possibilities" and it delivers.

The two shops are about a mile apart in the same walkable stretch of Covington. Ten minutes from downtown Cincinnati and completely worth the trip.

Anyone else been to either of these?

Starting to think Cincinnati might have more independent ice cream shops per capita than any city in the Midwest. Creamy whips alone are basically their own food category here.

Put together a Yelp collection of 58 locally owned spots — NKY included. Would love to know if I'm missing anything obvious.

Stumbled into uGOgelato on Elm St recently and I'm kind of mad nobody told me about this place sooner.

The owner Maria placed top 3 at the North American Gelato Finals in LA over Labor Day weekend and is now a confirmed finalist at the World Finals in Italy this spring. Like an actual World Finals. From a walk-up spot at Findlay Market.

The flavor that got her there is called Mandorland. Fully vegan, built on three types of Sicilian almonds with a blood orange swirl and dark chocolate flecks. I know that description sounds like a lot but it completely works. You can try it at the shop or order a pint online.

Saturday at Findlay Market seems to be the move based on when they're busiest. Hours are Tuesday through Thursday 2-8pm, Friday noon-8pm, Saturday 11am-8pm, Sunday 11am-6pm. Closed Mondays.

Anyway. Who else has been here and what did you get?

I live way out of town and recently made a solid hour's drive just to hit up Putz's Creamy Whip — and I have zero regrets. If you haven't been, it's one of those places that earns the trip every time.

It got me thinking: what other shops in the greater Cincinnati area are people genuinely driving for? Not just "it's pretty good," but the kind of place where the distance is part of the experience.

I've been putting together a list of Cincinnati-area ice cream spots for a while now and I'm always looking for the ones that have real cult followings outside their immediate neighborhood.

Drop your picks below — I want to know where you're willing to put miles on the car for a scoop.

Btw I didn't take this pic (too busy eating creamy whip), its from Putz's web site.

Photo came from Cincinnati Magazine. One I took was too blurry

#1 Puts's Creamy Whip - Mt Airy

Putz's Creamy Whip - Cincinnati Ice Cream Guide

#2 Zip Dip - Bridgetown

Zip Dip - Cincinnati Ice Cream Guide

#3 Whipty-Do - Maineville

Whipty-Do! - Cincinnati Ice Cream Guide

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