Tuesday, December 18, 2007

A Travesty

Baskin Robbins and I go way back. When I was just a wee lad in St. Joseph, MO, my family would go to the Baskin Robbins on Frederick Blvd. After Little League games, after church, or on a hot summer night, Baskin Robbins was the perfect treat.

My favorite flavor was Daiquiri Ice. From day one, this pale blue sherbet concoction was what I ordered. While my sister went with the Mint Chocolate Chip, I stayed with the Daiquiri Ice. Through my adulthood, I never wavered from the D.I.

Sometimes it was difficult to find. Baskin Robbins would put my flavor on hiatus, calling it a "seasonal flavor." Whatever. It would soon enough creep back into the 31 flavor rotation.

That is until tonight. My wife wants a little yogurt. She is a Golden Spoon junkie (and five months pregnant). They are having their annual $3.99 quart sale. So, for the second time in three nights, I head over to the Golden Spoon.

A tasty treat, no doubt

After picking up the quart of 1/3 Chocolate, 1/3 Peanut Butter, and 1/3 Heath Bar, I decided to make my own dessert stop. The pit stop is made at the RSM Baskin Robbins (it's totally empty, save the one employee talking on the phone). I ask, "Do you have Daiquiri Ice?"

"Yes," the guy replied.

"Sweet sauce. I need a quart." If April is getting a quart of yogurt, then I am getting a quart of the best ice cream on the planet, dammit. He puts it into the carton, and I am off.

I get home. I do the ice cream dance for Caden. He is now excited for some ice cream. There is no apparent problem with the fact that it is the middle of December and it is raining out. We start the "Cream! Cream! Cream!" chant. All is right with the world.

Now here is where The Travesty part of the story kicks in. I take the first bite of my Daiquiri Ice. It is wrong. It is not the right flavor. It tastes almost soapy to me. Something is amiss. I look at the color. It is a pale green. It is not a pale blue. I hear Leo Getz in my head.


You know what they do at the drive-thru

I have lime sherbet. The Baskin Robbins guy is wicked retarded. I specifically asked for Daiquiri Ice. He gave me lime sherbet. I debate. It is only a five minute drive back to the store. I get in the car (but before I left, I scooped a smidge more for Cade. He apparently likes Lime Sherbet).

I return. Same empty store. Same guy on the phone. I say, "You gave me Lime Sherbet."

He replies, "Yes. Lime Daiquiri Ice."

It is then I realize the apocalypse is upon us. Baskin Robbins has changed the one holy thing in this world. The Daiquiri Ice that I have grown up with has gone the way of New Coke.

Probably the worst disaster in marketing history.

Here is what we are left with:

Lime Daiquiri Ice: Created in 2007, we blend lime ice with a splash of rum flavoring for a refreshing delight
More like a refreshing piece of poo. Why would you tamper with perfection? Blasphemy. A travesty. This will not stand.
I don't know what my actions will be at this point. Does anyone know the CEO's phone number? Apparently, Baskin Robbins is under the same umbrella as Togo's and Dunkin Donuts.
I think that is your first problem right there. Put down the 6" turkey and avocado and return Daiquiri Ice to its rightful place on the throne of all ice cream flavors.
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A quick p.s. -
After a thorough and painstaking research project I have found this:
My husband's favorite Baskin-Robbins item is the Daiquiri Ice. Unfortunately, the last time we were there, we learned that the recipe had changed. It is now LIME Daiquiri ice, and has a LOT more lime flavor, and is WAY too tart. The recipe below is pretty close to the original Daiquiri Ice. It is a very refreshing dessert for a hot summer day.Hope whoever reads this tries it and enjoys it.

HOME CLONE VERSION OF BASKIN-ROBBINS DAIQUIRI ICE(this is NOT Lime Daiquiri Ice)
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 cup sugar
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • 1 tsp imitation rum extract
  • 1 tsp citric acid powder – you may need to go to a health food store or online for this, but it is a necessary ingredient
  • 1 drop green food coloring.

Heat sugar and water just until sugar melts. Remove from heat and add citric acid. Stir until dissolved. Let mixture cool until lukewarm, then add rum extract, lime juice and food coloring. Refrigerate until chilled. Churn in an ice cream machine for 25 minutes. Spoon ice into freezer-safe bowl, and move to the freezer for an hour before serving.

Note: The recipe only makes a little over 2 cups, so you may want to double the ingredients.

30 comments:

Unknown said...

Perhaps this is ultimate proof our blood relation -- the Baskin connection. Just as you knew my favorite scoop, I could recount yours as well. In a spirit of solidarity, I'll observe a moment of silence today to mourn the untimely demise of the DI.

Don Metzler said...

I found your blog doing research about the demise of the original daquiri ice. I recently wrote a letter to Baskin Robbins asking that they bring back the flavor, and also started an online petition: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/daquiri-ice/index.html

Unknown said...

I too was sorely disappointed at the "new" daquiri ice! :(

Thanks for the recipe tho! Will have to give it a shot since freakin BR had to go and change it...

kgray0630 said...

I too agree that it is a travesty that the original Daiquiri Ice flavor is gone! I have been vising BR since i was a young child (i'm now 31)and DI was the only flavor I looked forward to! Frankly, that is the sole reason i visit BR over Cold Stone or Bruesters - or any other ice cream place. I have written the company and expressed my concern along with providing them the link of the petition as well! There are now 165 signatures!!

Go Cubs said...

i feel your pain. where is the outrage! i thought the daq ice outage was isolated to my local store (SLC, UT), and that once i informed corporate the franchise would get its store revoked. aside from signing don's petition, i urge you to also call your congressman.

Stephen said...

I just go home from a fruitless trip to Baskin Robbins. My mouth was watering for a taste of tart and tangy Daiquiri Ice when I was glibly informed by the kid behind the counter that they no longer sell it. I vow that I shall not step into a Baskin Robbins until they bring Daiquiri Ice back!

HaleyNL said...

I completely agree with everything everyone has said. When I was little my grandmother would take me to BR and we would always get DI. Now that she is gone anytime I missed her I would go and get a scoop of DI and remember how wonderful she was.

Now this crap Lime Daiquiri Ice appears and I am ready to cry. I have written to BR and complained repeatedly. I refuse to go to a single BR store until DI is back.

Possible good news, I recently went in to a BR (my friend had to have something) I asked the lonely girl behind the counter about DI and she said that word had it DI was coming back with the original recipe. I will believe it when I see it. We can always hope.

Ouch_no_DI said...

OMG! I have had DI as a relief during pregnancy. I ordered my two scoops in a waffle bowl got home to chow down and went INSANE!!! WTH i called to complain that i was given the WRONG product. I found out the original is HISTORY. I cant drive by BR with out cursing. This is my third child 13 weeks in i hope they bring back the original SOON.

Anonymous said...

Wow, I didn't know there were others like me! I too have enjoyed the cool slightly tangy taste of DI since I was about 5 years old (30 short years ago).

Unknown said...

It is the only flavor my son would eat. We actually had his birthday cakes made from it...(Imagine the pucker looks but it was his birthday.) Let me know if it returns

Unknown said...

We don't even have BR around anymore. I was just online in search of where to get DI. I am now in mourning.

maryaileen said...

I am so sad! I no longer live near a BR, but when I would be near one, I would always try and stop for a DI. That has been my flavor for as long as I can remember, well over 30 years! As a child, I was not able to eat ice cream or sherbet so I had to choose from the "ice" ice cream as I called it. There were always 2 or 3 flavors, but if Daiquiri was there, it was no chice at all! And now that I have tried different flavors of regular ice cream, I still prefer my DI! I will have to try the clone recipe and see how close it comes to the original!

Dana Wilson said...

We're a race of aliens, clones, strangely addicted to DI.

How disappointed I was when the BR employee told me "We don't have any, they're working on the recipe". How the mighty have fallen; how could they f**k with perfection?

Grieving for DI in Utah

Anonymous said...

Houston, we have a problem----I am just glad to know I am not the only person just as angry about the change. I will write as many letters to them as needed.

klingwoman said...

I just signed the on-line petition as well. I was happy there are other commisserating with me...

klingwoman said...

I just signed the on-line petition as well. I was happy there are other commisserating with me...

Amanda Catherine said...

WHY does Baskin Robbins always mess with this flavor?!?! Does anyone else remember how it has disappeared in the past only to reappear a few years later? It's near cruelty!! I hate you, Baskin Robbins!

BRING BACK DAIQUIRI ICE and stop retiring it! I signed the petition and spoke with my local Baskin Robbins people. They said that it would be coming back in the next few months, but there was also a language barrier and I'm not convinced. I want it NOW!

Redfish 1 said...

It's back, it's back!!! I went in to BR three days ago and I'll be damned at what I saw. That blueish mixture of pure delight. I bought the biggest container of DI. I've been eating the stuff since I was a kid and I'm 37 now. I have only had two flavors in 35 years DI and Jamocoa. A little advice. Put DI and Jomacoa in the same bowl and you are in for a treat! Welcome back DI!!!!!!

Valancy said...

It's back in Massachusetts where it's listed as a "flavor of the month," and my family in Texas says it's back there too. Happiness!

Jessica knorr said...
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Jessica knorr said...

found this blog doing a search for daquiri ice. It is my favorite flavor too and we dont have it at all here in central florida. In fact when I ask about it the people look at me like Im crazy and just invented this flavor in my head LOL. I miss it and want it back!!!

Unknown said...

I was getting DI locally for the last several months. Then a week ago it wasn't there! I asked tonight and the told me it was discontinued! What is going on?

Unknown said...

Well it looks like I'm not alone. I've been without DI for years since there isn't a BR anywhere close to Minneapolis that I can find. However, I'm 3 months into my pregnancy and went on a quest only to discover this terrible, terrible news. I am willing to fly anywhere, or find family to ship overnight with dry ice. Has anyone spotted the real DI lately?

Unknown said...

I am shocked to hear that BR change the recipe for DI. I grew up on BR but did not discover DI until I was older but it quickly took it's spot in the top 3 for me. I was so upset my first year living in my current location when I learned the closest location was over 30 miles away. I would make a special trip to the closest town that had a BR just to get a hand-packed quart of DI when I knew it would be in or request it as a birthday gift since it's availability always coincided.

I plan on trying the recipe posted to see how similar it is. I tried another copy-cat recipe many, many years ago before such things were posted on the net and it was no where near what the original DI's flavor.

purefusion said...
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purefusion said...

The original "Daiquiri Ice" recipe is still around. The "new" recipe you're talking about either was a mistake or was the "Margarita Ice" flavor that floated around several years ago (this post is over 3 years old, after all). Haven't seen Margarita Ice around lately, but Daiquiri Ice still certainly exists.

Just be advised, it's a seasonal flavor. Recently it was substituted for "Pink Grapefruit" which was also nice and tarty, but certainly no Daiquiri Ice.

Also, why has no one posted whether this recipe is authentic tasting? I hate when people say they'll try it, but never return to share how nice it was. If I do try it, I'll be sure to return and share my thoughts, but as of now, I have no rum extract.

purefusion said...

I finally got a chance to pick up some rum extract today, and wanted to come back and share my thoughts, as I said I would. Well, the recipe is pretty darn close. Not perfect, but nearly spot on. I did add two drops of blue coloring, which makes it the more accurate blue-green color.

Unknown said...

I have been trying to figure this out too! I'm so sad...Prego and wanting my favorite...I learned of the change the last time I was pregnant...Maybe all the DI lovers can ban together and make BR fix this!!

Anonymous said...

I personally have never tried DI. I have never lived near a Baskin Robins. My husband on the other hand loved it. Everytime we take a drive he asks me to look up a Baskin Robbins because there are no longer any close to where we live. They have all closed. Thank you for posting this recipe hopefully my husband will enjoy this as much as he used to be able to enjoy the original.

Anonymous said...

Apparently I’m a little behind on the news, but I just ordered DI tonight and was totally disgusted by the terrible flavor. So sad.