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The best ice-cream topping? Try these liqueurs

Read time 4 Mins

Posted 25 Sep 2025

By
Evan Jones

Pouring liqueur onto ice cream in a bowl

Skip the sprinkles – we have the ultimate adults-only upgrade to this all-time dessert.

Have you heard of Matt Whiley? Matt’s a proper cocktail genius, famous for his ultra-sustainable bar Re in Sydney and a legendary place called Scout in London before that. Anyway, he’s just come up with some new cocktails for a special menu in Melbourne, and one of the cocktails is ice cream. It’s literally ice cream. The cocktail comes to the table in liquid form, all creams and sugars and various spirits, and a whack of liquid nitrogen turns it into a boozy solid. Magic.

For those of us not named Matt Whiley, this is all just some theatre, but the whole thing has us thinking about how sublime a little liqueur can be when poured over ice cream. It’s a bit like an adult upgrade on the toppings we had as kids (although, sadly, none of these liqueurs will set hard like Ice Magic) and the flavour combos are just about endless. Here are 10 ideas to get you started, but if you disagree with our picks at any stage, just remember that everything goes with vanilla.

Limoncello – Italy’s famous lemon liqueur

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1. Limoncello di Capri L’Originale Liquore

Limoncello – Italy’s famous lemon liqueur – is having a real moment on the dessert scene, popping up in everything from tiramisu and ricotta cake to cheesecakes and cookies and plenty more. And honestly, we love it, because limoncello is the best. When it comes to ice cream, you could add limoncello to a scoop of vanilla along with a splash of prosecco and you’ll basically have a bowl of Sgroppino but, personally, we’d be drizzling limoncello over any ice cream full of macadamias. The balance of sweet, zesty lemon and creamy, nutty macadamia? Unbelievable.
$59.99 each

2. Tipperary Road Salted Caramel Country Cream

Sometimes, subtlety is not the answer. This is one of those times. This liqueur from Tipperary Road is already a little over the top, dialling up the classic sweet and creamy Irish-cream vibes with a healthy dose of salted caramel, so we reckon you may as well take things further. Find a rich chocolate ice cream, heavily laden with brownie chunks (hello, Ben and Jerry’s) and crown your king with a healthy swish of salted caramel cream.
$17.99 Each
This liqueur from Tipperary Road

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The hazelnut liqueur

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3. Frangelico Hazelnut Liqueur

If you’ve never had the hazelnut liqueur Frangelico served over ice with a big squeeze of lime, you’re missing out. There’s some sort of magic at play with the combo of sweet, nutty Frangelico and bright, zesty lime; it just works so well. That’s why we’re all about dressing up some fresh, summery lime sorbet with a splash of Frangelico. Trust us, hot nights were made for this one.
$46.99 each

4. Chroma Lab Banana

If you’re ever on Bake Off, the way to Paul Hollywood’s heart is by making banoffee-flavoured anything. For whatever reason, everyone’s favourite judge and blue-eyed baker can’t resist the combination of banana and toffee and, honestly, we’d never disagree with that man’s judgement. In fact, we’re inclined to take it a step further, combining the candied banana flavour of Chroma Labs’ liqueur with a toffee ice cream. Or, if you’re feeling fancy, find yourself some dulce de leche ice cream, like the one from Messina. Now that’s worthy of Bake Off.
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$29 per bottle Non-Member: $35.99 Each
Banana flavour of Chroma Labs’ liqueur

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Flavours Bangin' Boysenberry

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5. Vodka Cruiser Flavours Bangin' Boysenberry 20%

You know what’s weird? You never see anyone eating boysenberries out of a punnet, but boysenberry ice cream is just about everywhere. It’s all good, though, because the juicy, sweet and tart berry is perfect when swirled through vanilla ice cream. We’re not going to suggest vanilla, though, because you may as well just drop by your favourite ice cream shop and grab a boysenberry double scoop in a waffle cone. Instead, we’d be delicately slathering the sweet, candied boysenberry flavours of this Cruiser liqueur all over your favourite white chocolate ice cream – ideally something with white choc chunks.
Member Offer
$29 per bottle Non-Member: $35.99 each

6. Sour Monkey Sour Apple Spirit Cooler

Sour Monkey, our old friend. This zippy little number is usually there to add a sour pop to cocktails but, softened by the richness of ice cream, we reckon it’s all about the apple confectionary flavour. The obvious pairing here is with toffee ice cream (ideally chunk-style, like hokey pokey) for a toffee apple sort of thing, but if you can find it, cinnamon ice cream gives you a sour apple pie flavour that is definitely worth a try.
$29.99 Each
Sour Monkey

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Craft Chocolate Liqueur

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7. Little Fat Lamb Craft Chocolate Liqueur

Chocolate liqueur is the ultimate all-rounder when it comes to boozy ice cream toppings – there’s barely a flavour it wouldn’t work with. For our part, though, this indulgent liqueur is just crying out for a mocha-minded mix-up, doing its thing in tandem with a coffee flavoured ice cream. The richer the better here, so go all out.
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$15 per bottle Non-Member: $17.99 each

8. Paesano Pistachio Liqueur

Pistachio is one of those absolutely classic gelato flavours, imparting a gentle nuttiness and pleasant green tinge. It’s one of those yardstick flavours – if a gelateria can’t get pistachio right, it’s probably not worth exploring the rest of the range. In liqueur form, like this rich, creamy version from Paesano, we’d be inclined to keep things equally simple and traditional. Drizzle it over the top of a creamy gelato like fior de latte or stracciatella – the latter is threaded with fine ribbons of chocolate that will add just enough flavour without overpowering your pistachio.
$44.99 each (in-store)
Pistachio Liqueur

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Honey & Wattleseed Coffee Liqueur

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9. Seven Seasons Honey & Wattleseed Coffee Liqueur

Sometimes, liqueurs are the main event, and that’s very much the case with this creative and flavour-packed fellow from Seven Seasons. Additions of sweet honey and nutty wattleseed to the coffee liqueur add a depth and deliciousness that we think works best over simple ice-cream flavours like vanilla or chocolate. But, since we know you’re all waiting for the OTT version, if you head to your local gelato shop (like Piccolina) and grab a peanut butter gelato studded with dark chocolate chunks, we reckon you’ll just about clock this liqueur-and-ice-cream game.
$42.70 each

10. Cocolada Coconut Liqueur

Growing up, it seemed like every ice cream flavour was made for kids, except one – rum and raisin. Was it the unfamiliar taste and boozy nature of rum? Or was it that raisins seemed old-fashioned and (whisper it) almost a little healthy? Maybe it’s the fact it was Dad’s favourite flavour? Whatever the reason, we definitely slept on this creamy combo when we were young, but now that we’re old and wise, it’s time to revisit. Ideally, we’d be adding a little extra Caribbean flair with a dash of Cocolada’s coconut liqueur. Sure, it’s grown-up, but that doesn’t make it any less enjoyable.
$16.99 Each
A Coconut Liqueur

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Shop related products
Limoncello di CapriL'Originale Liquore 700mL
L'Originale Liquore 700mL
$59.99 each
 
Tipperary RoadSalted Caramel Country Cream 700mL
Salted Caramel Country Cream 700mL
$17.99 Each
 
FrangelicoHazelnut Liqueur 700mL
Hazelnut Liqueur 700mL
$46.99 each
 
Chroma LabBanana 700mL
Banana 700mL
Member Offer
$29 per bottle Non-Member: $35.99 Each
 
Vodka CruiserFlavours Bangin' Boysenberry 20% 700mL
  • product badge
Flavours Bangin' Boysenberry 20% 700mL
Member Offer
$29 per bottle Non-Member: $35.99 each
 
Authour image
Evan JonesEvan Jones is a Melbourne-based writer who believes that enlightenment can be attained with nothing more than a sour beer, a good sandwich and sunshine.
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Hit ListFood pairingsSpiritsLiqueurs
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