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Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Sunday, May 20, 2012
Hot Licks tops list of local ice cream favorites Winning the News-Miner’s readers’ choice award for Best Ice Cream and Milkshakes isn’t anything new for Hot Licks. In fact, co-owner Geoff Wool doesn’t ever remember not winning it. Despite that, he said the annual announcement that his business has claimed the top spot is always greeted as good news. “I’m appreciative that we get recognized for something we work so hard to do,” Wool said. Coldstone Creamery and McDonald’s claimed the second- and thirdplace spots on the list, respectively. Wool, who runs Hot Licks with his wife, Dorothee, attributes its ongoing popularity to a focus on quality ingredients and a willingness to try new flavors. He said tried-and-true ingredients make the product what it is — milk, cream, egg yolks, and a policy to avoid artificial colors or flavors. When
someone orders a pistachio or mint chocolate chip cone, they don’t arrive with a typical bright-green hue, just a focus on delivering the best flavor possible, Wool said. The vivid colors in the Hot Licks products come from natural ingredients, like cranberries, coffee or blueberries. Hot Licks ice cream is produced at its Van Horn Road factory, and is distributed to restaurants, businesses and the company’s signature stores around Fairbanks. Hot Licks’ busiest summer spot is a popular neighborhood ice cream hut along College Road, along with stores along Chena Pump Plaza and the Old Steese Highway. Its products also are offered at a variety of restaurants and stores in Fairbanks and Anchorage. The company is in its 26th year of operation, growing from a part-time hobby to a regional mainstay. “We just did this on a lark, really,” Wool said. “We had fun with it and it just kind of got out of hand.”
Eric Engman/ News-Miner
Hot Licks Homemade Ice Cream was voted Best Ice Cream for the 2012 Readers’ Choice Awards.
Through the years, Wool has kept the business interesting by constantly developing new flavors alongside traditional favorites like chocolate and vanilla. This season’s offerings
include ginger sesame almond, malted grapenut and flavors made with Silver Gulch beer. Please see HOT LICKS, Page 12
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