The Grateful Dead and Ben & Jerry’s have shared space in the hearts, minds, and stomachs of music and ice cream fans alike since 1987, when the launch of “Cherry Garcia” opened the floodgates for decades worth of artist-branded frozen treats with far-reaching activism tie-ins. On Tuesday, in celebration of a Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros show as part of the Ben & Jerry’s Concerts on the Green series at Shelburne Museum in the ice cream moguls’ native Vermont, a new prototype flavor entered the chat: a Weir-endorsed, non-dairy “Jack Straw Berry.”
Per a representative from Weir’s camp, Ben & Jerry’s made five pints of the custom “Jack Straw Berry” blend loosely based on ideas provided by Bobby and his wife, Natascha Weir. A photo of the container posted on Weir’s Instagram refers to the flavor as a “Strawberry Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert with Strawberry Pieces, Pretzel Swirls & Marshmallow Swirls.” On the back of the container, the Ben & Jerry’s crew gave its lyrical regards to the visiting musician: “We can share the strawberries / We can share the vegan cream / We can keep on groovin’ along / ‘Cause Bobby’s helping us live the dream.”
The text on the “Jack Straw Berry” carton also features some bad news for all the Deadheads hoping to try the flavor: “Personal gift for Bob Weir & friends,” it reads. “Not for sale.” According to Weir’s camp, however, the novelty batch was such a hit with them that they hope to eventually change that fact. In his post about “Jack Straw Berry,” Bobby gave the flavor his full endorsement: “We think it’s so good let’s make it a permanent addition,” Weir proposed. “What do you say, Ben & Jerry’s?”
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So, what are the chances you’ll get your hands on a heady pint of “Jack Straw Berry” in the future? Stranger things have happened. After all, the original Grateful Dead/Ben & Jerry’s combo, Cherry Garcia, got its start as a modest suggestion on a bulletin board nearly 40 years ago.
The countless people who have enjoyed that flavor in the decades since owe a debt of gratitude not to Ben nor Jerry but to Jane Williamson, the Grateful Dead fan who posted a note at her local Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shop in Maine and subsequently followed up with a postcard sent directly to the company’s Burlington, VT headquarters in the late 1980s. The note read, “Dear Ben & Jerry’s: We’re great fans of the Grateful Dead and we’re great fans of your ice cream. Why don’t you make a cherry flavor and call it Cherry Garcia? You know it will sell because Dead paraphernalia always sells. We are talking good business sense here, plus it will be a real hoot for the fans.”
The suggestion was made anonymously and for a time, the company was unsure of who sent them this million-dollar idea. When they eventually connected the dots and found out it was Williamson, they invited her to a shareholders’ meeting as a guest of honor, where she received a standing ovation along with a year’s supply of ice cream.
According to Ben & Jerry’s website, the company wanted to make sure that Jerry was into the idea before spreading the new flavor far and wide, so they sent the first eight pints they made straight to Garcia, who eventually gave Cherry Garcia his blessing. As he responded to the ice cream makers through his publicist, “As long as they don’t name a motor oil after me, it’s fine with me.”
If that was enough to spark an ice cream craze last time around, Weir’s speedy support of the flavor should carry some weight here. You can also always drop Ben & Jerry’s a line via the company’s “Contact Us” page to let them know you’d like to share some “Jack Straw Berry,” ‘cus Bob done shared all of his. They’ve been known to listen to customer suggestions in the past…
So, we’d like to be the first to throw our support behind an official “Jack Straw Berry” release benefitting one of the many Dead-related charities. In the words of Jane Williamson, the Cherry Garcia visionary, “You know it will sell because Dead paraphernalia always sells. We’re talking good business sense here, plus it will be a real hoot for the fans.” Yep. All of that. We won’t rest until we can enjoy a Jack Straw Berry and Cherry Garcia sundae from sea to shining sea. Ball’s in your court, Ben & Jerry’s.
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