Irvine Robbins

When I worked at Disney I used to drive by the headquarters of Baskin-Robbins all the time when driving from one Buena Vista Home Video site to another and I always wondered what they were cooking up inside. With the death this week of Irvine Robbins we no longer have either original partner of the 31 Flavors ice cream empire.

When I was growing up, getting to go to Baskin-Robbins was always a very special treat. Back then I loved the Baskin-Robbins Liquorice ice cream. It was black in color and tasted exactly like Ouzo (or black liquorice, take your pick). It was a rare treat when they had it in stock, as I would guess it was not the most popular flavor, though amazingly I have found a couple of recipies for making Liquorice Ice Cream on the NET.

Liquorice is the only flavor at Baskin-Robbins I ever bought by the gallon. Back then they would slice the bottom off of the carton to the depth of a gallon and then reseal the carton and your slice with another carton top. I remember I used to get a double scoop, Liquorice and Lemon Custard, the black and the yellow contrasting nicely in the cone or cup.

Over the years I've seen the figure of at least one ex-girlfriend go completely to hell because of Baskin-Robbins! Damn you Jamoca Almond Fudge! My personal sin for years has been Peanut Butter n' Chocolate and Pralines and Cream and yeah, I have to have a scoop of each.