A McKinney ice cream shop that specializes in alcohol-infused ice cream has found a new home: Cocktail Creamery, which has been serving "boozy ice cream" in McKinney for four years, is moving to a prime location off McKinney Square, inside a former antique shop at 205 E. Virginia St.

Cocktail Creamery is from husband-and-wife Ted and Sharyn Lindblad, who moved to Texas 12 years ago when Sharyn was recruited by an employer.

They came here from the Northeast, where great ice cream is common, and saw opportunity in Texas. But they decided to do theirs with a twist: infusing it with alcohol, an idea inspired by Ted's childhood memories of his mother and grandmother mixing their ice cream with Kahlua or Bailey's Irish Cream.

They initially opened in McKinney in July 2019, right before the pandemic. Not having a pre-pandemic gave them an unusually optimistic perspective.

"Because we hadn’t been in business that long, we did not see ourselves as losing business," Sharyn says. "We learned how to do to go, and when everything opened back up, business bloomed."

Making alcohol-infused ice cream is different from regular ice cream because alcohol lowers the freezing point. The benefit is that the addition of alcohol makes ice cream smoother and creamier, with less ice crystals than regular ice cream.

"It is a science, but Ted is very science-minded, so he leads the creation process," Sharyn says.

The shop has 107 boozy flavors, all offered daily. Favorites include:

• Salted Caramel Crazy: Caramel ice cream with Heath bar crumbles, Baileys, salted caramel cream liqueur, and Smoky Joe caramel bourbon whiskey
• Irish Coffee Buzz Buzz: Coffee ice cream made with ground espresso, chocolate0covered espresso beans, and Jameson Irish Whiskey
• Butter Bourbon Pecanator: Butter pecan ice cream with bourbon and butterscotch
• Double Dark Goodnite Chocolate: Dark chocolate ice cream with dark chocolate flakes, walnuts, dark cocoa liqueur, and whipped cream vodka
• Killer Vaniller: Vanilla ice cream with Madagascar bourbon vanilla extract, bourbon whiskey, and Bailey’s vanilla cinnamon cream liqueur

They also offer seven non-boozy flavors, as well as vegan options including sorbet and three flavors made with coconut milk: boozy Vanilla Coffee Colada, and non-boozy chocolate and vanilla. They even have two flavors for dogs: Peanut Butter Banana and Pumpkin.

In addition to the shop, Cocktail Creamery has a popular catering option where they bring ice-cream carts to weddings and corporate events. They also host live music on Fridays and Saturdays, and have a fun social media presence, where Ted regularly posts his new flavor inventions and inspiration, as well as updates on their current renovation.

They anticipate opening in mid- to late-summer. Meanwhile, they've been camped out at 214 E. Lousiana St., in the space that was previouly The Pantry, which closed in January after 40 years.

Not to worry, the alcohol-infused ice cream won't get you tipsy, Sharyn says.

"We liken it to a beer," she says. "The ABV is 5 percent, but you'd have to order a very large cone to get that effect. There are many better ways to get a buzz - it's really more about the wonderfully creamy texture."

"People come by, they bring visitors and families, because you can't get this type of ice cream many places," she says.