Make sure your ice cream machine is nice and cold before starting, otherwise you will end up with a runny milk shake. This recipe is based on a Cuisinart Automatic Frozen Yogurt-Ice Cream & Sorbet Maker machine (model ICE-20).

In a saucepan, add the vanilla bean and bourbon. Bring this to a simmer then turn the heat off and let it stand a few minutes. Now add the milk, being careful not to let it boil over.

In a bowl add the salt, egg yolks, and the sugar. Whisk it until it becomes fluffy and almost off white in color. While whisking, add the milk, being careful not to scald the yolks. Remove the bean and cut it lengthwise and scrape out the inside of the pod. These are the vanilla specs you see in almost any commercial grade ice cream. Add these to the mixture.

Let this mixture sit in the refrigerator until cold.

Add the chilled egg yolk mixture and the cream to your ice cream machine. Let the machine run for about 20 minutes. Be sure to consult your manual if you need more questions answered. Put your ice cream in a container and place it in the freezer for about half and hour to an hour. This will help it firm up.