A couple months back, we published an April Fools article about an official Goose x Ben & Jerry’s ice cream flavor, Madhuvanilla, and the response was tremendous. Fans were quick to express their disappointment that it was only a joke, with many commenting that they wanted an actual Goose-themed ice cream. Well, it seems like someone may have heard your cries, because now the band actually does have its own ice cream collab with Jeni’s Ice Creams set for release later this month.
Named “Goose Tracks,” the new flavor is described as “fragrant and lush blackberry and raspberry ice cream with a clash of bittersweet chocolate chips.” We sampled it and can confirm, it tastes even better than our imaginary Madhuvanilla (probably).
Goose Tracks will be available on June 24th at noon ET online and at Jeni’s scoop shops while supplies last. Click here for more information.
Goose Tracks is the latest in a series of jam band ice cream collabs that began in the late ’80s when Jane Williamson, a Grateful Dead fan living in Maine, posted a suggestion on the bulletin board at her local Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shop and subsequently followed up with a postcard to the company’s Burlington, VT headquarters reading, “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 flavor she suggested was soon launched and has been among the company’s most popular ever since. It also helped pave the way for other artist-oriented ice cream flavors from Ben & Jerry’s including another top seller, “Phish Food,” and limited-time flavors tied to Bob Marley, Dave Matthews Band, and many more. For many musicians—like Brandi Carlile—getting a Ben & Jerry’s flavor is a major career goal.
This is not the first time a L4LM April Fools joke became reality, either. Last year, we published an article about a virtual reality concert series harnessing the power of Sphere’s state-of-the-art video, audio, and 4D sensory technologies to transport audiences from the Las Vegas Strip to the pristine, natural environs of Red Rocks Amphitheatre. As it turned out, Dead & Company’s Sphere visuals actually did include a virtual Red Rocks—alongside other iconic venues from Grateful Dead history.
And back in 2015, we joked that The String Cheese Incident was planning an all-dubstep set at Electric Forest inspired by Skrillex. Percussionist Jason Hann even played along, posting a full setlist with phony song titles like “Really Big Drop”, “Drop Them On Their Face”, and “Banger Banger Banger”. Sure enough, Skrillex ended up joining the band during its headlining set—not to drop the bass, but to play guitar on a medley of songs by The Doors.
We are still holding out hope that the Cher-ing in the Groove Trey Anastasio/Cher collab will come true, too.
