Ben & Jerry's Is Bringing Back a Fan Favorite Flavor, with a Mission

Courtesy of Ben & Jerry's

Over 30 flavors can be found in Ben & Jerry's "Flavor Graveyard," the ice cream brand's virtual cemetery where retired flavors are "buried." But Ben & Jerry's isn't afraid to play Frankenstein and bring flavors back from the dead, sometimes in an altered form. They even include a link where fans can request a flavor's return.

Last week, the brand once again exhumed the remains of a deceased flavor to give it a second life, but this time, the booze-inspired offering received a more environmentally-conscious makeover. The Irish cream-tinged ice cream Dublin Mudslide is back, this time using a spirit produced with leftover whey from the cheesemaking process.

Officially billed as "Irish cream ice cream with chocolate chocolate chip cookies and coffee fudge swirls," Dublin Mudslide (which was brought back on St. Patrick's Day, but not touted as a holiday release) launched in 2004 but has been retired since 2007. However, its resurrection comes with a new partnership: Ben & Jerry's has teamed up with Wheyward Spirit which, as the name implies, is distilled using the leftover liquid from making cheese, whey.

Though each pint only contains "a hint" of this liquor, Ben & Jerry's billed the brand as "a natural, values-led sourcing partner" for the company. And they've even included the Wheyward Spirit mascot on the label, which Ben & Jerry's bills as "the first time the Ben & Jerry's bovine has shared space with another cow on the pint."

"Aside from being uniquely delicious, using excess whey as the base for our spirit helps us prevent food waste and creates a more sustainable model of spirit production," explained Emily Darchuk, founder and CEO of Wheyward Spirit, which was founded in 2020 and is based in Oregon. "I am thrilled to partner with Ben & Jerry's to bring back a fan favorite with the same taste and less waste, using our signature spirit."

Ben & Jerry's says that Dublin Mudslide can be found in supermarket freezers across the country with a suggested price of between $5.19 and $5.99.