Which Ben & Jerry’s flavor, named after a Grateful Dead guitarist, launched in 1987?

Cherry Garcia, named after Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia, launched as a Ben & Jerry’s flavor in 1987.

The flavor combines cherry ice cream with cherries and fudge flakes. Its name is a pun on Garcia’s surname and the Mexican-American dessert flavor “cherry Garcia” became one of the company’s most recognizable celebrity-inspired products.

Ben & Jerry’s developed the flavor after a fan suggested honoring Garcia. It was the first ice cream flavor named for a rock musician and became closely linked with the Grateful Dead’s large touring audience. The company later introduced non-dairy versions using a plant-based base.

Cherry Garcia is sometimes mistaken for a flavor created personally by Jerry Garcia. He did not formulate the recipe. The connection was primarily a naming and marketing collaboration, with the fan suggestion helping start the process. Its success encouraged Ben & Jerry’s to create additional music-related flavors, including Phish Food.