McAlister's Deli introduces ice cream flavor for National Iced Tea Day

Margaret Christopherson, Lafayette Journal & Courier
·2 min read
Pints of Sweet Tea Ice Cream will be available at McAlister's Deli locations starting at 5 p.m. on June 10 as well as on the Creamalicious' website while supplies last
Pints of Sweet Tea Ice Cream will be available at McAlister's Deli locations starting at 5 p.m. on June 10 as well as on the Creamalicious' website while supplies last

LAFAYETTE, Ind. — In honor of National Iced Tea Day on Friday, McAlister's Deli locations throughout Indiana, including in Lafayette, will sell Sweet Tea Ice Cream for a limited time only.

This new flavor comes from a collaboration with the national restaurant ch and Creamalicious, an artisan ice cream brand.

"This year for National Iced Tea Day," Tamara Young, account executive with M Booth communications agency, said, "McAlister’s Deli is taking their beloved famous Sweet Tea to a whole new level with the creation of an exclusive LTO Sweet Tea Ice Cream with sugar cookie and lemon swirl."

This flavor was inspired by the changing seasons as we enter hotter summer weather. According to McAlister's website, the flavor combinations of sweet tea, lemon and sugar cookie were inspired by "no glass of sweet tea (being) complete without a squeeze of lemon" and "life is much better with cookies. Sugar cookies are infused in the ice cream batter to put the 'sweet' in 'sweet tea'.”

McAlister's sweet tea is among the signature items of McAlister's Deli on Dressler Road NW in the Belden Village area.
McAlister's sweet tea is among the signature items of McAlister's Deli on Dressler Road NW in the Belden Village area.

Creamalicious was selected for this collaboration due to their background on southern-inspired ice cream flavors. Some of their ice cream currently available for pre-order includes flavors such as: Thick As Thieves Pecan Pie, Grandma Gigi Sweet Potato Pie, Uncle Charles Brown Suga Bourbon Cake and Porch Light Peach Cobbler.

"Together, we strive to bring the comfort of a refreshing glass of McAlister’s famous tea to life in each and every bite," McAlister's website says. "Why choose between sweet tea and ice cream when you can have both?"

Courtney Bufford, McAlister’s executive chef, worked alongside Creamalicious' executive chef, Liz Rodgers for six months to develop this new flavor.

"Creamalicious is best known for transforming southern traditional desserts into unique ice cream flavors," Bufford said, "so we spent the last six months infusing our famous Sweet Tea into the perfect ice cream treat in honor of National Iced Tea Day. We selected premium high-quality ingredients, and churned natural Black Tea, to create the perfect Sweet Tea ice cream.

"...It evokes the feeling of sipping a freshly-brewed Sweet Tea on an open-air porch during a beautiful summer day."

Sweet tea is a signature item at McAlister's Deli, a national chain that recently opened a restaurant at 5449 Dressler Road NW in the Belden Village Mall area.
Sweet tea is a signature item at McAlister's Deli, a national chain that recently opened a restaurant at 5449 Dressler Road NW in the Belden Village Mall area.

Pints of Sweet Tea Ice Cream will be available at McAlister's Deli locations starting at 5 p.m. on June 10 as well as on the Creamalicious website while supplies last.

Margaret Christopherson is a reporter for the Journal & Courier. Email her at mchristopherson@jconline.com and follow her on Twitter @MargaretJC2.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: McAlister's Deli introduces ice cream flavor for National Iced Tea Day