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The Boston Cooler, a Detroit Original
In the city where Fred Sanders is credited with inventing the ice cream soda, pharmacist and founder of America’s oldest soft drink, James Vernor, took it one step further with the Boston Cooler. Originally a mixture of sweet cream and spicy, tickle-your-nose Vernor’s ginger soda, the drink eventually morphed into a thick, vanilla ice cream-based blended shake that is still available at Detroit-area Dairy Queens and independent ice cream parlors.
Vernor operated a drug store and soda fountain on Woodward Avenue near what is now known as the Boston-Edison historic district, the main thoroughfare being Boston Boulevard, hence the seemingly disconnected name. Though houses weren’t built and occupied in the area until the early 1900s, the mixture of vanilla ice cream and Vernor’s ginger soda was popular as far back as 1880.
As the name suggests, a Boston Cooler is fantastic on a hot summer day when you might want the weight of plain ice cream balanced out with the mild heat of ginger soda. But it’s plenty good enough as a year round treat. Enjoy one with another Detroit original named for somewhere else – the Coney Island hot dog.
2010.03.02 Todd Abrams at 2:36 am
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11 Responses to The Boston Cooler, a Detroit Original
One of my favorite treats as a kid and still something I get or make every now and again, especially during the summer months. What do other cities do without Vernors? I pity the fools.
"Though houses weren’t occupied in the area until the early 1900s"–do you mean "built"?
Thanks for explaining the etymology of the name. As a former Bostonian, I've been struck by the number of foods and drinks that carry the "Boston" moniker that I never saw in Boston.
Thanks for your copy editing assistance, Steve.
I LOVE me a Boston cooler!
I tried a Boston Cooler many years ago in the Detroit area. We went on a vacation to Key West, Fla. in the late 70′s and the Dariy Queen there never heard of it.
I didn’t have one for quite a while but, saw it advertised at Wendy’s today. I was just a wonderful as ever. I am certainly glad that I got back into it.
As I recall, when we would visit the Vernors’ bottling plant in Detroit we were able to watch the whole bottling process through the big glass walls, while we sipped on our Boston Cooler. We had to buy a strip of tickets (or my dad did), and we could actually get the ginger ale with other flavors, too, even strawberry, but I liked the vanilla ice cream best . . . and still do!! We always went there before or after boat trips to Bob-Lo Island!! Good memories! Thank you for keeping Vernors available in Florida!!! Carol Florida U.S.A.
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Where was a Boston Cooler advertised at Wendy’s??? Have loved the drink since I was a child growing up in the D!!
sounds fantastic on a hot az day…..great mi memories!
Love my Vernors. Takes me back to my childhood in Cincinnati in the 1940′s. We yankees were thrilled when it made its way down south to Houston a few years ago. I never had Boston Cooler but am leaving for the grocery to purchase some vanilla ice cream!