Hot and cold, sweet and spicey … creamy and boozy?
Haagen-Dazs in Vail is introducing a new line of sweet treats: products from the company’s Spirits Line.
The Spirits Collection consists of six new flavors: Irish cream brownie; bourbon praline cream; rum tres leches; bourbon vanilla bean truffle; stout chocolate pretzel crunch; and non-dairy amaretto black cherry almond toffee. Only Irish cream brownie and bourbon vanilla bean truffle will be available at the Vail Haagen-Dazs store, however, all flavors can be purchased in grocery stores.
Ric Almas, owner of Vail’s Haagen-Dazs, is looking forward to introducing the line, which will be available to purchase beginning in early March.
“Haagen-Dazs had a Baileys Irish Cream flavor that ended up being in the top 10 flavors,” Almas noted. “They got away from (that flavor) for 10 years … because Baileys jacked up the price after they realized how well it was doing.”
According to Almas, it took almost 10 years for Haagen-Dazs to find a recipe that tasted like Baileys.
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Almas expects the line to do well, citing the success of the Baileys flavor in the past, but he already has his favorite picked out.
“Frankly, I like the bourbon (vanilla bean truffle),” Almas noted. However, he expects the Irish cream brownie to be the best seller, also predicting it’ll be popular throughout the summer.
Almas, who has opened several Haagen-Dazs stores over the years (including the first in the state of Florida), has been a bit of a Haagen-Dazs trailblazer since he took over. While most shops only sell ice cream, he’s converted his store into a “dessert cafe,” selling baked goods and coffee. Almas said the Nespresso he offers is particularly popular with European visitors, a market that he thinks will enjoy the Spirits Collection as well.
“(The Irish cream) is so pungent, it tastes so strong,” Almas said. “When it’s mixed with coffee, it takes the bitterness out of the Nespresso.”
Almas is also looking to get into the Uber Eats game. He’d be one of only two stores in the valley taking advantage of Uber Eats, the paid food delivery service, the other being McDonald’s.
Aside from the new flavors, Haagen-Dazs will continue to serve rum raisin, a long-running flavor based on booze.
Arts & Entertainment Editor Nate Day can be reached at nday@vaildaily.com or 970-748-2932.
