Ted Drewes Frozen Custard of St. Louis won the second annual World Ice Cream Index in a contest run by an Irish marketing firm.
Sool Nua of Dublin reported the Route 66 landmark prevailed over other establishments from 13 countries after more than 30,000 votes. No. 2 was a shop from Slovenia.
According to Sool Nua’s rules, 70 percent of the vote totals come from the public. Thirty percent came from an international panel that judges the effectiveness of the store’s entry. See the Ted Drewes Frozen Custard entry here.
Sool Nua said the leader board shifted around, but Ted Drewes won by more than a 300-vote margin.
According to a report from KSDK in St. Louis:
“SoolNua’s #worldICECREAMindex celebrates and recognises the central role that ice cream plays in defining a destination and highlighting its authenticity and originality. We’re thrilled to see that it has captured the imagination of destinations as far apart as Vancouver and Istanbul” said Patrick Delaney of SoolNua. […]
“With so many great ice cream shops and destinations from around the world participating in this fun (and delicious) competition, it is truly an honor for Ted Drewes, St. Louis and the U.S. to be recognized as the winners of the 2016 #worldICECREAMindex,” said Kitty Ratcliffe, president of Explore St. Louis. “Ted Drewes is an institution in our city and has been serving up amazing frozen treats for visitors and residents along historic Route 66 for generations. We want to give a special thank you to all the Ted Drewes’ fans who voted for them and helped secure this very sweet and special recognition.”
Ted Drewes has enjoyed a reputation as a St. Louis institution because of its concretes — so named because of its viscosity — since the 1930s. Locals know about it. St. Louis expatriates inevitably tell their friends about it. Ted Drewes typically finishes in the top 10 of any list for ice cream.
Ted Drewes’ reputation as a Route 66 stop probably helped with the international vote, as well. Thousands of foreigners travel the Mother Road each year. Some of them surely voted for Ted Drewes once they recognized images of its yellow-and-green cups of frozen custard.
The recipe for Ted Drewes’ concretes remains a secret. However, it revealed one of the key ingredients is honey. During World War II, sugar was in short supply because of rationing. So one day, the stand used honey as a substitute. It turned out the honey improved the frozen custard’s taste and texture.
(Image of a Ted Drewes Frozen Custard pumpkin-pie concrete by Kara via Flickr)