I’m a lifelong lover of ice cream. But until recently, I never knew where ice cream flavors go when they die. Now I’m dreaming of a trip to Waterbury, Vermont. Here’s the scoop.
In 1978, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield opened an ice cream parlor in a renovated gas station in Vermont. The business was fueled by a $5.00 correspondence course on ice cream making, $12,000 and a great deal of wit. Cherry Garcia, one of their first concoctions, remains a top seller to this day. But not all their imaginative flavor combinations have been hits.
In 1997, Ben and Jerry killed off four flavors but wanted their memories to live on. So they created The Flavor Graveyard on a hill overlooking their factory in Waterbury, Vermont. Four granite headstones with rhyming epitaphs were erected to commemorate the fallen flavors which were Dastardly Mash, Economic Crunch, Ethan Almond and Tuskegee Chunk. Since that bittersweet start, many more flavors have melted into the earth including Wavy Gravy, Holy Cannoli and Cool Britannica. To date, 44 banished flavors have been put to rest, and around a quarter million visitors come to pay their respects each year.
Ben and Jerry have even staged a funeral for one of their departed flavors, What a Cluster. The somber event was filmed and posted on YouTube.
And, finally, here is some sweet news. Flavors can be resurrected from the dead. Ice cream fans can go to Ben and Jerry’s website and click on “Resurrect My Favorite Flavor”. That is how Dublin Mudslide rejoined the living on March 22, 2022.
Here is a sampling of the humorous tombstones.
There ain’t NUTHIN’, Nuthin’ I tell you, like a Cherry Garcia Hot Fudge Sundae! On Death Bed Day, when the Doc sez “Nothing to eat, it will be bad for him”…….lock the guy in the closet and bring me one of those sundaes!! Better yet, Supersize it! You may not make it to Mecca, the creamery, but get to Burlington, Vermont, on Church Street, locate the B&J shop, then wander on down to the Community Boathouse Marina docks for Fish & Chips at the Splash restaurant….then go back up the hill to B&J for dessert! Give a wave to the folks on the good ship Tarnhelm…we’ll be there!
Jean and I also visited “Ben and Jerry’s” in Vermont.
How sad to hear about the death of a flavor. ( I eat
ice cream almost every day.)
Amen.