As a boy growing up in Kentucky, Ryan Langley’s family had a tradition. His father, J.B. Langley, would churn peach ice cream in their basement to pass the time during thunderstorms.
“There were no iPads or iPods,” Ryan Langley said. “That was our entertainment. He had an old crank machine. He would chop up the peaches really fine and put a little bourbon in it, but we’d have to eat it right away because it would melt quickly.”
The family relocated to Spartanburg after Ryan was accepted to Wofford College in 1998.
In 2008, economic chill forced J.B. to shutter his construction business. And that’s what piqued his interest in turning a family pastime into something more.
“He started trying to figure out this whole alcoholic ice cream thing,” said Ryan Langley, now an attorney in Spartanburg. “He wouldn’t stop talking about it. I bought him a subscription to the Wall Street Journal just so we’d have something else to talk about.”
J.B. began working with a Midwest dairy to figure out the perfect ice cream mix and the “stabilizers” that allow alcohol to freeze. He finally got the recipe just right.
In August, Ryan and his wife, Leigh Anne, who he met in 2005 while in law school at the University of South Carolina, launched the company JB’s Pr%f (a play on “Proof”) out of a facility in Columbia.
“We had a rule that [J.B.] wasn’t allowed to talk about ice cream at the dinner table,” Leigh Anne said. “Now, it’s all we talk about.”
The company’s repertoire includes about a dozen flavors, including vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, peach, coconut, caramel, mocha and butterscotch, mixed with a range of premium liquors, such as bourbon, moonshine and rum.
The Langleys introduced a new tequila flavor at an event at Willy Taco in Spartanburg on Monday, May 2.
Each flavor is about 7 percent alcohol by volume per each four-ounce serving.
The Langleys said that South Carolina law has enabled them to produce their alcoholic ice cream without a liquor license because it is classified as a food product. Customers, however, must be 21 to purchase the product.
But it does mean that JB’s Pr%f can be purchased and sold at events that are not licensed to sell liquor, which is one area Leigh Anne said she hopes to focus on going forward.
The company’s first large tasting event was this past weekend at Spring Fling in downtown Spartanburg.
JB’s Pr%f products are currently only available in South Carolina at about 200 retailers and restaurants across the state, according to the owners.
The Langleys said they have two full-time employees and six contract employees. They anticipate they will sell a record $50,000 worth of their alcoholic ice cream in June.
The couple said they have assembled a crack team of local business leaders to serve as their advisors. Jennifer Randall-Collins is the company’s CEO.
While they would like to grow into North Carolina and Georgia, the couple said their next step could be into New York, but they are exploring all of their options.
“Things are moving rapidly,” Ryan said. “There are all sorts of markets out there … We have even entertained interest from overseas.”
Rebecca Fite, store manager of Chastain’s at 104 Garner Road in Spartanburg, sells JB’s Pr%f for $8.79 per pint, or less if a customer buys in bulk. Fite said the company’s alcoholic ice cream is one of the store’s best sellers.
“It sells itself,” she said. “Once people taste it, they’ve got to have it.”
The Langleys have two children: Lilla, 6, and Jack, 4. The couple said it has taken a lot of teamwork to maintain a healthy work-life balance, but they hope their efforts will pay off in the long term.
“My dad was an entrepreneur,” Leigh Anne said. “He used to say, ‘Dream bigger, set your goals high, count your blessings and never give up no matter what people say.’”
Ryan said his father is still involved behind the scenes. He said the company’s story is a testament to J.B.’s entrepreneurial spirit.
“There were many times that I questioned him,” Ryan said. “It’s still scary. You wonder, ‘Are they going to like it?’ Many entrepreneurs let fear stop them. You have to set that fear aside and just go for it. Seek out good mentors and be prepared to work harder than you ever have before.”
For more information, visit jbsproof.com
