The Surprising Rock And Roll Origins Of One Of Ben & Jerry's Most Popular Ice Cream Flavors

Ben & Jerry's is one of the most popular ice cream companies in the United States and has a wealth of unusual flavors with fun names, ranging from Karamel Sutra to Americone Dream. One of the most famous flavors, however, is Cherry Garcia. While it originally had a vanilla base, it now consists of cherry ice cream, whole bing cherries, and chunks of chocolate. The flavor inspiration was to recreate the taste of cherry cordial candy, but the flavor gurus at Ben & Jerry's wanted to kick it up a notch, which they clearly did. Its creation all originally stemmed from a clever, rock and roll pun.

While it might seem obvious to music fans, some people might not know this confection was named after a famous rock star. The late, great rocker in question was the guitarist and front man of the Grateful Dead, Jerry Garcia. Upon its creation, the first pints ever made were shipped to Jerry Garcia himself, who approved the flavor, as did his publicist and wife. According to the Ben & Jerry's website, he said, "As long as they don't name a motor oil after me, it's fine with me."

After its creation in 1987, Cherry Garcia quickly rose to stardom. It sat pretty as the highest-selling Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavor for a full decade until 2013, and is still one of the biggest money makers in the company's arsenal. Over the past four decades, Ben & Jerry's has come out with Cherry Garcia frozen yogurt, ice cream bars, and Pint Slices. There's even a chocolate version of the classic treat.

Naming ice cream after a rock legend with a clever pun may seem like a stroke of genius for Ben & Jerry's, but it actually wasn't their idea. Instead, the flavor's origin goes back to a woman named Jane Williamson, who was a fan of both ice cream and the Grateful Dead. She wrote a note and pinned it up in a Maine Ben & Jerry's shop, suggesting both the name and flavor as a way of immortalizing the icon in food history. She followed the handwritten note up with an anonymous postcard saying it would sell well to Deadheads (the name given to Grateful Dead fans). Ben & Jerry's agreed with that assessment, spending the next year trying to create the flavor. 

On February 15, 1987, it at last came to be. Williamson then sent in a signed message thanking them for creating her flavor. In appreciation of her contribution, she was flown out to the next shareholder's meeting, where she was recognized as a guest of honor.

Sadly, Williamson passed away in 2010, but she remained a fan of both ice cream and the Grateful Dead right up until the end. According to a Facebook post made by her husband, she ate free ice cream for life. Her flavor creation lives on, unlike the beloved discontinued Ben & Jerry's flavors. To quote Jerry Garcia, "Without love in a dream it will never come true." It's clear that Jane's love for the Grateful Dead helped realize her ice cream dream for all of us to enjoy.