Distinctly Montana Magazine

w w w . d i s t i n c t l y m o n t a n a . c o m 53 SWEET PEAKS. Sam Dauen- hauer and Marissa Keenan started Sweet Peaks in Whitefish in 2010. Located at 419 ird St., they offer flavors that vary with the seasons, such as Madagascar vanilla, choco- late love, salty caramel, coconut dream, cupcake, grasshopper mint, honey cinnamon, Montana coffee traders with toffee and chocolate. A concoction called "inversion" combines Earl Grey tea steeped in milk, swirled in house-made lemon curd and a vanilla biscuit. How do they come up with a flavor: "We like to reinterpret classic flavor combinations and use local pro- duce and products to create new and exciting flavors." You can suggest your own ingredient for them to consider. You can pick up a three-gallon container for large gatherings. ey have a fleet of trucks and trailers for Farmers Markets, weddings, and music festivals. According to Marissa, she and her husband are more concerned with brand identity than distribution in general grocery stores. ey special- ize in enticing locations whether in Whitefish or 223 Front Street, Missoula; 628 W. Main St., Bozeman; 343 S. Main St., Kalispell; Spokane. ey want people to enjoy a quality product in a welcoming environment with a staff that provides hospitality, not just service. eir ice cream is made in Whitefish and then trucked to their loca- tions, all of which have large walk-in freezers. eir staff ranges from 30 people to 100 in the summertime. Some started when they were in high school and continued well beyond. GENUINE makes small-batch ice cream by hand in Bozeman. In summer months find them in the trailer parked next to the Lark Hotel on Main Street in the center of town. ey cater wed- dings, corporate events, and take special orders for cakes and pies. At special events they will manage a custom sundae bar. e company may be small but it offers unusual flavors and changes them often because their main goal is "flexibility and fun," as owner Joe Darr says. Aside from the favorites, they like to "flip flavors," creating for example toasted s'mores, honey lavender, brown butter pecan and cat daddy cardamon. e Genuine location on Main Street is in a travel trailer with rivet lines, made by Spartan in Oklahoma City. Joe hauled it up to Montana, gutted and refurbished it to give it its unique look. Some Genuine pints are sold in local groceries. e Roost (a popular chick- en restaurant which Joe Darr founded), Community Food Co-op, Joe's Park- way (no connection to Joe Darr), Town & Country Foods, and Heeb's. For ice cream made the old- time way head to the VIRGINIA CITY CREAMERY on Wallace Street, open Memorial Day to Labor Day. You can watch the ice cream stirred in an antique power maker. e recipes are adapted from an old White House cookbook. "Wedded bliss" is a vanilla swirl with salted caramel and fudge. Among other 20 flavors is double chocolate orange. ey make their waffle cones on the premises. For this and many other reasons it's worth a trip to Virginia City. Owner Mark Weber says there's also a City Creamery in West Yellowstone on Canyon Street. See the process at Genuine www.distinctlymontana.com/genuine193 DISTINCTLY MONTANA | DIGITAL

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