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New from Ben & Jerry's: Willie Nelson's Country Peach Cobbler
You'd think Stephen Colbert would be a happy man in 2007 because Ben & Jerry's gave him his own ice cream flavor, Stephen Colbert's Americone Dream, but instead he's hopping mad—accusing country music legend Willie Nelson of stealing his time in the spotlight by launching his own Ben & Jerry's flavor. Called "Willie Nelson's Country Peach Cobbler," it's peach ice cream with cinnamon-sugar shortbread pieces.
Rolling Stone's Irina Ageyeva talked to a Ben & Jerry's spokesman about Willie's new ice cream and asked how the company chooses whom to bestow custom flavors on. Apparently "artists are deemed flavor-worthy on the basis of their humanitarian efforts. The more do-good, environment-friendly, help-the-kids-in-Africa stuff you have on your resume, the better the chance that the folks at B&J will consider you for your very own ice cream."
They have flavors thought up before approaching potential collaborators, but honorees always have the final say on it as well as the name: "Stephen Colbert thought he was more of a waffle cone kind of a guy when he vetoed a cinnamon bun flavor for his American Dream ice cream. When Jerry Garcia was asked how he felt about cherry for his flavor, he allegedly said, 'As long as they’re not naming a motor oil after me, I'm fine.' Willie’s flavor took after the Southern style peach dessert because, according to Greenwood, 'Willie is a downhome Texan Americana guy.' When they floated the peach idea by Mr. Nelson, his response was appropriately laid-back: 'Groovy!' he reportedly drawled."
(Stephen Colbert and Willie Nelson faced off on the March 20 episode of the Colbert Report. If you missed it, no worries—Comedy Central has put the video online.)
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