The point of eating ice cream is to surrender to euphoric indulgence. You can embrace the creamy comfort of nostalgia while floating blissfully along on a sugary comfort food-high that rewards you with stress-reducing endorphins and mood-enhancing dopamine. However, to reach that ultimate level of rapturous satisfaction, you can’t settle. You have to go all in and get the best. If that’s your quest, then Graeter’s is your Holy Grail.

Graeter’s began way back in 1870 when Louis Charles Graeter started selling his hand-crafted ice cream out of two carts on the streets of Cincinnati, Ohio. He made his delectable treat in a spinning container surrounded by a freezing element. The French Pot-method slowly froze Graeter’s high-butterfat ice cream mix without adding extra air, allowing Louis to produce a premium, dense, rich, and creamy final product in small, 2.5-gallon batches.

While this process was once common, in the early 1900s, many manufacturers turned to mass-production to create larger batches with cheaper overhead. These profit-centric methods added air to a partially frozen slurry before pumping it into containers and blasting it with cold to quickly solidify the product.

Graeter’s has remained true to its hand-crafted approach for over 150 years to ensure the premium quality was never compromised. The company is currently owned and operated by the fourth generation of the Graeter family, who promise to stay dedicated to family traditions (with a little help from the fifth generation).

Graeter’s taste test

Graeter’s has a large enough variety for you to enjoy a fresh pint of ice cream every single day for a month and still not get to taste every flavor. To get a broad sampling of what the company has to offer, Entertaining Options tried the limited edition Backstretch Bourbon Cherry, Original Salted Caramel, Mint Chip, Black Raspberry Chip, and Madagascar Vanilla flavors.

Limited-Edition Backstretch Bourbon Cherry
Golden Tempo may have already won the iconic Garland of Roses, putting the 2026 Kentucky Derby in the past, but there’s still time to grab a pint of the event’s officially licensed, limited-edition ice cream: Backstretch Bourbon Cherry.

Richard Graeter, fourth-generation president and CEO of Graeter’s Ice Cream, stated, “We’ve long believed a collaboration between Graeter’s and Churchill Downs was a natural fit. When the Churchill Downs team visited Cincinnati late last year, they experienced our factory tour and tasted ice cream straight from our French Pots — and we introduced them to what is now Backstretch Bourbon Cherry. The flavor and name were developed by Graeter’s with their input, and Churchill Downs approved it on the very first bite. From that moment, we knew we had a winning flavor.”

This collaborative effort is a wondrous whirl of luxurious bourbon ice cream, tantalizingly tart black cherries, and delightfully sweet and crunchy pralines. The flurry of fulgent flavors provides a thoroughly satisfying rush of posh thrills and chills that have been ingeniously crafted to represent the pageantry and prestige of “The most exciting two minutes in sports.” This premium flavor is a winner for sophisticated palates. Get it before it’s gone.

Original Salted Caramel
Admittedly, this was not what we were expecting. The packaging featured enticingly salted cubes of caramel, so the expectation was a chunky, chewy mix of ice cream and candy. Instead, the Original Salted Caramel was an immaculate blend of brown sugar and cream with just a hint of salt. As with every offering from Graeter’s, the flavor was not passive. It bounded around the mouth with untethered jubilance, stimulating the senses to deliver a magnificently rich yet nuanced rush of joy. While it doesn’t have the bells and whistles of added textures, this was the most fun flavor of the samples we received. Highly recommended. 

Mint Chip
When you put that first spoonful of Graeter’s Mint Chip in your mouth, you experience a magnificent blossom of flavor that tingles on your tongue as the aroma rises up through your nose to deliver a refreshing wash of invigorating minty freshness. But that’s not all. There’s the chips. Those one-of-a-kind chocolate shavings that are only possible through Graeter’s unique French Pot process. When the melted premium Peter’s Chocolate is poured into the batch, it hardens instantly. Graeter’s mixing paddles crack the chocolate, creating a wonderfully silken crunch that delights with a burst of flavor and a caress of texture. Graeter’s Mint Chip is a revitalizing blast of comfort.

Black Raspberry Chip
While the focus on Graeter’s is usually the French Pot method that creates premium quality ice cream, it’s the robust flavor from the highest quality ingredients that make this company a top choice for Entertaining Options. There’s a bigger picture going on here, especially with the Black Raspberry Chip. This culinary masterpiece has everything the discerning palate desires. It’s sweet, silky, vibrantly colored, satisfyingly rich, and the signature chips are the perfect complement to the fruity base. What an extraordinary recipe. There’s a reason the description of this flavor reads, “This is our signature and most beloved flavor!” It’s an instant favorite.

Madagascar Vanilla
Vanillin is the organic compound that provides the familiar aroma and flavor we call vanilla. Madagascar vanilla beans contain the highest levels of vanillin, making them widely recognized as the best in the world for flavoring. For the intoxicating taste of Madagascar Vanilla, Graeter’s uses both ground vanilla beans and pure vanilla extract from Madagascar. When mixed with cream, cane sugar, milk, and eggs, the buttery texture and potent flavor combine to make one of the best vanilla ice cream treats you’ve ever experienced. Greater’s Madagascar Vanilla is the “little black dress” of ice cream. It is timeless, essential, and versatile.

So many other flavors!

Backstretch Bourbon Cherry, Original Salted Caramel, Mint Chip, Black Raspberry Chip, and Madagascar Vanilla are just a handful of the flavors available at Graeter’s. You can also get Banana Chocolate Chip, Birthday Bash, Buckeye Blitz Chocolate Chip, Cookie Dough Chip, Cotton Candy, Dark Chocolate Brownie, Lemon Meringue Pie, Mango Sorbet, Midnight Snack, Mocha Chocolate Chip, S’Mores, Vienna Coffee, and so many more. Additionally, the company has limited-edition products, such as Marrakesh Coffee and Skyline Spice, and seasonal flavors, such as Peppermint Stick, Peach, and Pumpkin.

Whether you are chasing nostalgia, love childlike wonders, or prefer a more refined flavor profile, Graeter’s has something for you. If you are lucky enough to have a local store in your vicinity — Graeter’s is available in over 3,000 grocery stores — call ahead to make sure your favorite flavor is in stock. If it’s not, that’s okay because all of Grater’s current flavors are available through the company’s website.

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