http://www.columbiatribune.com
by Chris Boeckmann
With his warm demeanor and many contributions to the farming community, Willie Nelson has developed a reputation as a sweet man. In 2007, Ben & Jerry’s matched that sweetness when it debuted Willie Nelson’s Country Peach Cobbler ice cream. As both a tribute to Nelson’s charity work and Ben & Jerry’s support of community farming, a portion of the profits are given to the not-for-profit Farm Aid, the organization Nelson helped establish in the 1980s.
“There’s a lot more than just music to him,” Ben & Jerry’s spokesperson Sean Greenwood said of Nelson. “I think it”s the same thing when you look at our history.”
The idea for peach cobbler ice cream started in the Research and Development Department, where researchers had been fielding requests for the return of Georgia Peach ice cream. Once the flavor was perfected, Ben & Jerry’s pitched the idea to Nelson.
“He tasted it and loved it from the beginning,” Researcher and ‘Flavor Guru’ John Shaffer said of Nelson’s reaction. “It really made it easy for us; we don’t always get that lucky.”
There are no set rules on celebrity flavors, but to the farm-supporting company, Nelson seemed like an ideal candidate who could gracefully deal with the fame that comes with flavorhood.
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Willie Nelson fans came up with some other ice cream flavors:
1 Bloody Mary Sunday
2. On the Rocky Road Again
3. Whiskey River
4. Milk Cow Bluesberry
5. Willie Nelson’s Crazy for Chocolate
6. Rainbow Connection Sherbet
7. Turn Out The Lights, Dark Chocolate
8. I Gotta Get Drunk Pina Colada Sherbet
9. Yesterday’s strawberry wine
10. Moment of Forever Marshmallow Swirl
11. Worry B Gone Butter Pecan
12. Gravedigger Mudslide