Hollanov/Hudcon as ice cream flavors
As someone whose favorite question to ask anyone is “if you were an ice cream, what flavor would you be?” I feel uniquely qualified to speak on this (and also I have thought about it a little too much). *for context, Little Man and Sweet Action are Denver-area artisanal ice cream shops
Many people won’t even think to try it because it’s “plain” or “boring” compared to other favors (or they don’t know what hazelnuts are), but if you’ve had it you know it’s the perfect level of almost subtly sweet, earthy, grounded comfort-food goodness
Reliable/consistent quality, easy to find but only within very specific contexts, and once you’ve had it you’ll be a diehard fan for life
Gelato = not quite your typical ice cream = Shane’s neurodivergence
Ilya - Kahlúa/Coffee crunch (coffee ice cream with chocolate-covered toffee/Heath bar bits)
Not easy to find (I’ve only seen it in a handful of ice cream shops) and you can't necessarily identify from the outside - it looks like plain coffee ice cream to the untrained eye, but is so much more (aka, more complicated and full of nuance than what you can see on the outside)
The base (coffee ice cream) is very divisive, and you either love it or you hate it
The “crunch" is the hidden sweetness that makes it both addictive and is able to perfectly balance out the strong coffee flavor that might otherwise become overwhelming
Oftentimes people will assume they won’t like it (especially if they don’t like coffee), but once they try it they change their mind and it can even become the gateway drug to drinking real coffee.
Hudson - (Little Man) salted Oreo
Cult classic: started out as hard to find and very exclusive at a specific Denver ice creamery, but now it's the cornerstone flavor of a very popular brand that almost everyone knows and loves (and it can be found all over, as well as often being imitated)
Sounds weird — salt? really? — but once you try a bite you can't stop. The not-as-subtle-as-you-might-guess addition of salt balances out the sweet so that you never get sick of it.
Looks like plain cookies and Creme at first glance, but is so much more, and irresistible once you know how good it is.
Connor - (Sweet Action) salted butterscotch
Also a flagship, cult- classic flavor, but remains exclusive/you have to seek it out more deliberately and try to find it.
More common in other forms of dessert, but rare as an ice cream - butterscotch itself is made of simple, classic ingredients, but when they come together in the right combination it tastes like something out of this world
Very approachable, but able to be made gourmet depending on the context it’s in
Like with the salted Oreo, the salt balances the sweet so that it's endlessly eatable. What you see both is and isn’t what you get, because the complexity sneaks up on you.
What they all have in common:
Never overdone or overwhelming. Perfectly balanced flavors that are complex without being pretentious, and best appreciated by those looking for a more layered taste (not vanilla, birthday cake. etc); on the other hand, snobs will try to hate on them for the sake of being contrarian.
All of the flavors can complement each other in any combination. None of them clash or necessarily overpower the others—they can all hold their own, and/or come together as needed
All of them might be written off or thought to be something they aren’t—but are beloved by those who take the time to appreciate them
thank you for coming to my Ted Talk
pixelskylines
stormborns
theartofmadeline
vaporwave
2087
blakekathryn
