Dez's Hall of Fame, Pt. I

I haven't decided how regular this feature will be, but from time to time I will induct a new inductee into Dez's Hall of Fame. What is the criteria for being inducted into the DHOF? As you will see, DHOF inductees will come from a variety of areas...historical figures, great companies, favorite bands, favorite movies, sports figures. The only criteria is that Dez must have admiration for you.

Dez Hall of Fame Inductee #1: Blue Bell Creameries


ABOVE: Blue Bell Ice Cream's flavor of Homemade Vanilla is the leading single flavor of ice cream sold in the United States.

If you grew up in Texas like I did, then you probably grew up eating Blue Bell ice cream. As a serious ice cream connoisseur, I can unequivocally state that Blue Bell is the best ice cream around.

Blue Bell started in 1907 as The Brenham Creamery Company. Brenham, Texas is a small town not too far outside of Houston that is known for two things: Blue Bell ice cream and dangerous, gun wielding orphans. For most of its history, Blue Bell ice cream was sold exclusively in Texas. The company has been controlled by the Kruse family, first E.F. Kruse and then his sons, Ed and Howard, for almost 100 years. In 1989, Blue Bell started to sell its ice cream in other states, and it currently sells ice cream in 17 states, mostly in the South. Blue Bell accounts for over 50% of all ice cream sold in Texas, and it is the 3rd most popular selling ice cream nationwide, which is quite impressive considering that it is only sold in 17 states whereas its competitors sell their ice creams nationwide. What this means is that wherever Blue Bell is sold, it beats its competition. The key to Blue Bell's success is quality control and consistency. They have their own cows from which they get their milk, and the cream used in making the ice cream is never more than 24 hours old. All aspects of the ice cream making process is performed in Blue Bell's four facilities and is strictly monitored to Blue Bell's high standards.

In 1969, Blue Bell first sold its flavor of Homemade Vanilla, which still stands as the company's foundation. It is hard to explain the greatness of Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla. The perfect balance of freshness, texture, sweetness and flavor. There is a small but devoted cult (to which my wife and I proudly belong) that prefers Blue Bell's Natural Vanilla Bean flavor for our vanilla of choice. It has a sharper and bolder vanilla flavor to it, and is less creamy. (French Vanilla is their third basic vanilla flavor).

While the claim is somewhat disputed, Blue Bell is supposedly the first creamery to offer Cookies 'n Cream. In recent years, Blue Bell has greatly expanded their flavor choices with a dizzying array of new flavors. They also have a habit of rotating fun flavors in and out of production. Two more recent summer flavors include Delta Blues (Vanilla mixed with blueberries and pie crust) and Southern Blackberry Cobbler. While all of these flavors may be fun, you just can't beat their basic flavors that have stood the test of time. One of my faves is called The Great Divide, which is a swirl of their Homemade Vanilla and their other standby, Dutch Chocolate. I pity the fools who do not have access to Blue Bell ice cream. George W. Bush was so devoted that he had Blue Bell shipped in to Camp David and The White House during the length of his presidency.

Therefore, we here at GNABB proudly induct Blue Bell Creameries into the Dez Hall of Fame, for consistently living up to their high standards in ice cream making, for creating a Texas business institution, and for living up to their tagline of "The Best Ice Cream in the Country."