Ketchup and fries. Liver and onions. Biscuits and gravy.

Scotch and ice cream?

In the grand tradition of famously paired menu items, Bardenay owner Kevin Settles and distiller Josh Malone think they may be on to something.

Scotch, ginger rum cocktail, hot buttered rum, and nonalcoholic vanilla are now available at Bardenay in Downtown Boise for $3 for a five-ounce serving.

"My hope is that it becomes a good solid part of our menu," Settles said. "It's a reason for people to go to our restaurant."

Settles' wife, Lisa Fraser, sometimes makes the frozen treat at home. When Settles was looking for a way to build on the popularity of the restaurant's cocktail menu, he thought ice cream desserts using those flavors might work. Fraser's ice cream was a hit among the staff when he brought it in for a taste test.

Bardenay, on the Basque Block, bills itself as the nation's first distillery restaurant. The owners say the name is a term loosely used by sailors for a cocktail.

Settles sees the desserts as a way to innovate without a large capital investment in difficult times for the restaurant industry. Increased efficiencies in the distillery freed time for Malone to work on the project.

He put Malone to work for three weeks, spending about 20 hours a week perfecting the mix of ingredients and the timing for blending them.

On Tuesday night, the first night Malone's four flavors were available, patrons purchased three ginger rum cocktail ice creams and four scotch ice creams.

"I'm quite happy with that," Settles said.

Malone starts with flavored homemade custard that is refrigerated for 24 to 48 hours. He freezes it in an ice cream maker for about 45 minutes. Halfway through, he adds the alcohol. He uses the rum distilled at Bardenay for the drinks that require rum. Each serving is then portioned out individually and frozen.

Alcohol has a lower freezing temperature than other liquids, making for a creamier and less-solid texture than regular ice cream. Malone describes the product as a mix between soft-serve and conventional ice cream. Settles estimates the alcohol content at 2 percent to 3 percent.

If the desserts do well Downtown, Settles hopes to offer them at Bardenay's other locations in Eagle and Coeur d'Alene. Other flavors are planned, and Malone hopes to roll out a mojito ice cream soon.

"I'm really excited for the future of this," he said. "It's going to be fun."

Joe Jaszewski: 377-6414