The Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Flavor That Was Discontinued For An Obvious Reason

Ben & Jerry's is a company known for its progressive politics, something it has occasionally expressed in the names of its ice creams. In 2018, it came out with a flavor called Pecan Resist, while 2020 saw the release of the election-inspired Justice Remix'd flavor. It comes as a bit of a shock, then, to realize Ben & Jerry's once made a major misstep by releasing an ice cream with a name that offended quite a few people. That ice cream was the brand's Black & Tan flavor.

Yes, those are the names of two colors, and ones that somewhat describe the ice cream's stout and dark chocolate flavor. However, the Black and Tans were also a notoriously violent paramilitary force that the British sent to Ireland during the Irish War of Independence. The force, whose uniforms were actually dark green and khaki, was only active for less than three years, but during this time they were involved in numerous instances of violence. The most notable of these was Bloody Sunday during which the Black and Tans, along with the Royal Irish Constabulary and the Auxiliaries, opened fire on a crowd at a Gaelic football match, killing 14 people.

Needless to say, when Ben & Jerry's was informed that its ice cream's name was deeply offensive to some people, the company was quick to apologize and subsequently discontinued it. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this flavor is not included in the brand's flavor graveyard.

Ben & Jerry's was quick to point out that its Black & Tan ice cream wasn't intended to commemorate historical bloodshed, but the drink that carries the same name. A black and tan consists of stout combined with pale ale, poured in a way that keeps them separate. Interestingly enough, the two types of beer traditionally used to make this drink are Guinness, a product of Ireland, and Bass, a very British beer. While the ingredients may speak to improved Anglo-Irish relations, the name still offends. (If you're ordering one in Ireland, you're advised to ask for a half and half instead.) Ben & Jerry's sought to mimic these flavors by featuring a mixture of cream stout ice cream and chocolate ice cream, topped with a cream stout ice cream "head." 

Though the name black and tan may be off-putting, it isn't the worst example of a drink with political overtones. That (dis)honor most likely goes to the Irish car bomb, which is made by dropping a shot glass full of Bailey's and Irish whiskey into a pint of Guinness. While some erroneously connect the name to a 1998 car bombing in Northern Ireland that left 31 people dead, the drink was created in the late '70s, so it most likely references car bombings that took place in Dublin and Monaghan in 1974. No matter the date discrepancies, none of these horrific events should be used as inspiration for the name of a drink. For that reason, The Irish car bomb has been re-dubbed the Irish shot. Even under the new moniker, we doubt Ben & Jerry's will be quick to use it as flavor inspiration, and, given the brand's history, that can only be a good thing.