Lemon and Vanilla — A Soft-Serve Twist at Donnelly's

Behind the Scent

A summer ritual at Donnelly's in Saranac Lake — and one of the very first scents I ever made.

There’s a tiny ice cream stand in Saranac Lake called Donnelly’s.

If you know, you know.

It’s small. White. Sits up on a hill. They have an old soft-serve machine that has somehow, against all logic, been making the best ice cream I’ve ever had in my life since I was a child.

Here’s the thing about Donnelly’s: they only do one flavor twist a day.

A couple of times each summer — and only a couple — that twist is lemon and vanilla.

And lemon and vanilla, to me, is the best thing that has ever come out of that old machine.

WHEN I WAS A KID

When I was little, there was no schedule. No website. No way of knowing.

You just drove up the hill, piled out of the car, and looked at the sign.

The flavors were always good. Strawberry. Chocolate. Coffee. Maple. Whatever it was, it came out of that old machine tasting better than any ice cream anywhere else.

But sometimes — rarely — you’d see it.

Lemon and Vanilla.

That was the one I waited for.

The thrill was unreal. I’d order a regular twist. Bright lemon, creamy vanilla, swirled together in that perfect soft-serve curl. The first bite was cold and shocking and sweet all at once. Like summer hitting you in the face.

And the days it wasn’t lemon and vanilla? We’d come back next time. And the time after that. Hoping.

“When it was lemon and vanilla day, the thrill was unreal. That’s the feeling I bottled.”

WHAT THE SCENT IS

That feeling — the anticipation, the brightness, the cold-shock joy of finally getting it — is what I bottled.

Madagascar vanilla for that creamy, soft-serve sweetness. The kind that lingers on your tongue.

Crushed lemon peel for the bright, zesty top note. Sharp enough to wake you up. Sweet enough to make you smile.

And a quiet whisper of coconut underneath. Just a hint. Like sunscreen and lake water and warm pavement on a summer day.

It’s a reset scent for me. The kind that takes a heavy day and lightens it. The kind that smells like freedom.

ONE OF THE FIRST

Lemon & Vanilla is one of the scents I made in year one of Pure Placid — back when this was a card table at a farmers market and a stack of candles I’d poured by hand.

I made it because I wanted to bottle Donnelly’s. I wanted to bottle being a kid at that ice cream stand. I wanted that feeling on a Tuesday afternoon in February when summer felt very far away.

Thirteen years later, it’s still one of our best-loved scents.

(And Donnelly’s, blessedly, is still standing.)

THE THURSDAY THING

Here’s the update.

Donnelly’s now posts the schedule. Lemon and Vanilla is usually a Thursday.

It goes straight onto my calendar.

And I’ll admit it: I may have, on one perfect Thursday, gone twice in a single day.

You can’t un-love this stuff.

Warmly,

Marcy

The Scent Lemon and Vanilla Madagascar Vanilla · Crushed Lemon Peel · Soft Coconut A scent that tastes like summer, feels like freedom, and smells like a Donnelly's twist. Made by hand in Lake Placid, NY. Shop Lemon and Vanilla →