What are the Best Gourmet Ice Cream Brands in the World?

What are the best quality gourmet ice cream brands in the world? Our correspondent Abbie Martin Greenbaum accepted the extremely difficult assignment of testing, tasting and curating a list of the best premium ice cream treats. Here are our top 10 recommended mail-order artisanal ice cream brands, with the best quality and variety of flavors right now. Spoons in the air, everybody!

Low is the new high luxury: artisanal gourmet ice cream

Summer is officially here, and that means we have only one sweet treat on the brain: ice cream. Everyone’s favorite frozen delight hits the spot on these sweltering afternoons, and whether we’re living in lockdown or by the water’s edge, it’s the only dessert we’re craving.

But even though we do really love a great pint of Ben & Jerry’s, sometimes we find ourselves wanting to expand beyond. 

Which got us to thinking: What are the best quality mail-order artisanal gourmet ice cream brands in the world?

If you’re similarly inclined, we’ve done the research. So all you need to do is taste a scoop (or two) from one of the ten best ice cream brands in the world. These gourmet purveyors ship their unbeatable goodies by direct mail, so you can easily enjoy some of the magic at home.

What are the Best Gourmet Ice Cream Brands in the World?

1. Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream

If you ask an ice cream aficionado about the best mail-order artisanal ice cream brands, they’re definitely going to say Jeni’s. What started as a small, Ohio-based chain is now in fourteen cities across the US, in select grocery stores, and available for mail-order.

What makes Jeni’s so great? They’ve managed to perfect a roster of imaginative flavors, ensuring that every component of every recipe is absolutely first-rate. And with their buttercream base, the texture is smooth enough to melt on your tongue.

If you’re ordering from afar, ship yourself The Virtual Crowd Pleaser Collection, which includes pints of Blackout Chocolate Cake, Brown Butter Almond Brittle, Coffee with Cream and Sugar, Gooey Butter Cake, and Skillet Cinnamon Roll – five amazing flavors, all heading straight to your freezer.

BUY NOW $58.

2. Van Leeuwen

Van Leeuwen began scooping their legendary cones out of a food truck, and has since gone on to become one of the country’s best known and loved brands for both regular and vegan ice cream.

Their goal is the happy reactions of their customers, and to achieve that they blend each batch using only the best ingredients. Two of our favorite flavors are the Vegan Chocolate Oat Milk Cookie Dough Chunk, and their super-special Honeycomb. If you don’t live near one of their operating storefronts, you can still easily ship yourself a pint (or five!).

BUY NOW $12.

3. Salt & Straw

Portland’s iconic Salt & Straw is a destination spot, drawing ice cream lovers from all across the country. Even though they’ve expanded way beyond their first Oregon store, their products have stayed impeccable, using locally-sourced artisan ingredients to maximize taste.

Ordering from home? You can pick your own five pints for delivery. You’re definitely going to want to try the Strawberry Honey Balsamic with Black Pepper, and the Salted, Malted Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. And if you’re feeling extra adventurous, you could even try the Nacho Average Ice Cream, which was made in a partnership with Terry Crews and includes drizzles of real cheese.

BUY NOW  $65.

4. Ample Hills Creamery

Named after a quote from the Walt Whitman poem Crossing Brooklyn Ferry, New York City’s Ample Hills Creamery is known for their inventive and decadent flavors. They are storytellers as much as ice cream makers, and they like to think about the tale told through each and every cone. 

You can “Choose Your Own Adventure” with any four of their crowd-pleasers, writing the ice cream story that works best for you.  They even offer Marvel-inspired pints, so you can buy fictional favorites based on Captain America, Black Panther, and Spiderman. We happen to love Nonna D’s Oatmeal Lace, which blends a cinnamon base with pieces of the best oatmeal cookies you’ve ever had.

BUY NOW $66.

5. Gelato Fiasco

This Maine ice cream shop vows to bring you the best gelato on this side of the Atlantic Ocean. If you’ve ever wondered about the difference between gelato and regular ice cream, here’s a 30-second primer: gelato is made with milk, rather than cream, which allows the flavors to really shine through.

Gelato Fiasco clearly knows this, as well as everything else there is to know about Italy’s favorite dessert – their pints are certainly not a fiasco. You can order a six pack of any of the brand’s flavors, including scrumptious options like Mascarpone Pistachio Caramel, and Torched Marshmallow S’more.

BUY NOW $65.

6. McConnell’s Fine Ice Cream

McConnell’s has been in the business for more than 70 years. And their namesake product is definitely better than just fine. Made sustainably with high-quality ingredients, their super-sweet, great-tasting flavors ship safely in a freezer container to wherever you may live.

Select any four pints. We recommend trying Honey & Cornbread Cookies, which is a limited release. And incredibly tasty.

BUY NOW $48.

7. Morgenstern’s Finest Ice Cream

Morgenstern’s is at the front of the pack when it comes to luxury ice cream parlors. They design the recipe for each flavor to suit its ingredients, meaning that no two are built the same way. They are preservative free, additive free, and prepared in small batches – and you can really taste the difference.

Send yourself a sampler of the shop’s four most popular flavors: Chocolate Oat, Green Tea Pistachio, Raw Milk, and Salt and Pepper Pinenut. You won’t find anything like these anywhere else.

BUY NOW $99.

8. Malai

Brooklyn-based Malai draws inspiration from South Asian cuisine to make some of the best and most flavorful ice cream on the market.

Their master recipe is completely eggless, and uses only local New York dairy. Each pint has a flawless texture and taste. Our favorites are the Rose with Cinnamon Roasted Almonds, and the Sweet Corn Saffron. Order any four pints through Goldbelly.

BUY NOW $79.

9. Capannari

This family-owned Chicago ice cream parlor specializes in small-batch ice cream, blending only four gallons at a time to ensure that each spoonful is a perfect experience. They have won awards for their extraordinary flavors, including the unbelievable Black Raspberry Chip, and Irish Coffee and Pumpkin.

And lucky for you, you can buy their ice cream party for yourself through Goldbelly. Ship any four flavors, anywhere.

BUY NOW $99.

10. Coolhaus

With a scoop shop in Culver City, California, and trucks based in multiple cities around the United States, Coolhaus is one of the best mail-order artisanal ice cream brands out there right now.

They use only cage free eggs, organic cane sugar, and cold-pressed vanilla beans –  since we all know great ingredients make all the difference. Try a pint of their Take the Cannoli, their Aunt Gladys Yellow Cake Batter, or any of their other fanciful flavors. You can order a pack of any six that strike your fancy.

BUY NOW $72.

the Best Gourmet Ice Cream Brands in the World

That’s our top 10 list of the best quality gourmet ice cream brands in the world right now. Which one is your favorite? And did we miss anything?

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Abbie Martin Greenbaum grew up in New York City and currently lives in Brooklyn, where she drinks a lot of coffee and matches roommates together for a living. At Oberlin College, she studied English and Cinema, which are still two of her favorite things, along with dessert and musical theater. She believes in magic.

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