Nina Smiley and Eric Gullickson of Mohonk Mountain House. (Photo by Lauren Thomas)
Founded in 1869 by the Smiley family, Mohonk Mountain House is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year. And what better way to honor a family tradition than with the most family-friendly dessert there is: ice cream. This summer, the resort hotel commissioned its very own signature ice cream flavor, available up at the mountain and at scoop shops all over the region. Mohonk Mountain Crunch features a rich vanilla base with chocolate-covered pretzels, dark chocolate fudge and a salted caramel swirl.
“Mohonk Mountain Crunch came about as we were thinking of fun ways to celebrate our 150th anniversary,” says Eric Gullickson, president of Mohonk Mountain House. “Since ice cream has always been a staple at our Old Fashioned Soda Fountain in the gift shop and served in all of our dining venues, we decided to commemorate Mohonk with our own ice cream flavor.”
With colors and textures that evoke the mountain trails and lush scenery surrounding the Victorian-era castle, Mohonk Mountain Crunch was created in a collaboration between the hotel’s culinary team and another family-run business in the Hudson Valley, Jane’s Ice Cream.
“We wanted to partner with a local vendor who embodied the same values as us, and we found that in Jane’s Ice Cream,” says Gullickson. “They’re a family-run business based in the Hudson Valley, just like us, and they also source from local purveyors and use all-natural ingredients. We had such a great time experimenting with flavors and doing tastings – it was an exciting and harmonious partnership in every sense.”
Jane’s Ice Cream is an established local creamery known for making its product using hormone-free milk from New York State cows and using no artificial flavors or colors.
No word yet on whether this will be a limited-edition flavor available only this anniversary year or whether it will be produced for years to come.
Mohonk Mountain Crunch is available in the hotel’s gift shop and dining venues and at ice cream shops in the Hudson Valley that include the Frozen Caboose in Highland, Bittersweet in Catskill, Kingston Candy Bar in Kingston, Beacon Creamery in Beacon, Hudson Creamery in Peekskill, Suzy’s Sips and Scoops in Harriman, Homestyle Creamery in Cold Spring, Pie Lady in Nyack, Village Pizza in Rhinebeck, Cherries in Stone Ridge, Mama’s Boy in Tannersville, Nine Cakes in Hudson and the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck.
