Azucar Ice Cream Has a Florida Panthers Tribute Flavor

Last week, Azucar Ice Cream's owner, Suzy Batlle, was so inspired by the Miami Heat she and her team created an ice cream as a tribute to the team.

The "White Hot Heat" ice cream features a sweet cream ice cream base with layers of sweet and spicy cinnamon Red Hots candies swirled into the mix. The result is a treat that truly represents the Magic City's home team, from the white-and-red colors to the bold flavor.

But Batlle's team spirit extends beyond basketball. With the Florida Panthers having one of their best seasons, the ice cream maven set to create a flavor that would imbue the spirit of Panther Pride.

The shop owner has created some exotic flavors in the past, including a bourbon and cherry ice cream named "Willy Cherino" and the now-iconic "Burn in Hell Fidel," a chocolate ice cream with cayenne pepper. Somehow, a Florida Panther ice cream eluded her — until a customer named Jacqueline came into the shop and made conversation. "She just said, 'Why not collaborate with Panther Coffee?' and I was floored."

Batlle says that Panther's Joel and Leticia Pollock are her old friends, and Joel especially wants to do a collaborative flavor. In keeping with her shop's Cuban-American roots, Batlle tended to use Cuban coffee in her ice cream — until now. "I've been in business for 12 years, and I've never done business with Joel and Leticia. It took the Panthers to win for me to do this."

Batlle chose Panther's East Coast coffee and let it sit in milk for about 24 hours for the ice cream to have a rich flavor. She then added chocolate chunks to make Azucar's new "Go Panthers" flavor. Batlle says she liked how the ice cream turned out and that it will stay on the menu long after hockey season.

The "Go Panthers" flavor is available at Azucar's flagship Little Havana location and the newer Pinecrest ice cream shop.

Batlle says she enjoys coming up with new flavors that are true "Miami" and that the way she creates ice cream allows her the freedom to experiment with new ideas. "We make ice cream in very small batches. I get about four or five one-liter bins from each batch."

The ice cream is always handmade, which is super important to Batlle. "Everything is made by humans, not by machines. Hard workers from Little Havana are alongside me making ice cream. To me, that's more important than making large quantities to put in grocery stores. That makes the ice cream special."

Azucar Ice Cream. 1503 SW Eighth St., Miami; and 11429 S. Dixie Hwy., Pinecrest; azucaricecream.com.