Leopold’s Ice Cream: A Savannah Tradition

There ought to be a law against visiting Savannah, Georgia, and not getting a scoop of ice cream at Leopold’s. The famous ice cream shop is often ranked as one of the very best in the world. And for good reason, speaking from experience. It’s incredible. 

The Savannah tradition was founded more than 100 years ago by three brothers from Greece. For years, George, Peter, and Basil Leopold would utilize the French Pot process to make five- and ten-gallon batches of ice cream made in-house with fresh cream, milk, and eggs sourced from the local dairy farms.

The devastatingly delicious secret recipes have delighted generations of Savannahians. Leopold’s signature flavor is Tutti Frutti, which is rum ice cream with candied fruits and roasted Georgia pecans. They’ve been making it fresh since 1919!

Butter Pecan is another original from 1919 and was former President and native Georgian Jimmy Carter‘s favorite.

The peanut farmer and I have something in common. Butter pecan is also my favorite and exactly what I ordered during my first visit to Leopold’s. My wife had an incredible hot fudge sundae.

Leopold’s makes more than 20 flavors of ice cream in-house. The Rum Bisque has been a local favorite for 100 years. It‘s rum ice cream with chunks of in-house baked almond macaroons. The Lemon Custard has been the same since the beginning. I also really enjoyed that. 

Yes, we visited twice.  And if you are in the Savannah area, you will too!  If you can’t visit anytime soon but would still like to try it, they have got you covered. Leopold’s ships nationwide. 

In addition to ice cream, the shop has an old-fashioned soda fountain that is super fun and tasty.