# Why all the love for the Dairy Queen Blizzard? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 12, 2019, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-love-for-the-dairy-queen-blizzard/829410 "2019-02-12T16:23:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-love-for-the-dairy-queen-blizzard/829410/41 "2019-02-13T07:47:39Z")
My go-to meal at DQ is a Flamethrower burger, double patty no cheese, with a side of cheese curds and a chocolate shake. Maybe if I’m feeling decadent I’ll just get a basket of chili cheese fries instead. If I’m in the mood for a dessert, I usually just go with a banana split. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-love-for-the-dairy-queen-blizzard/829410/42 "2019-02-13T08:39:50Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > I’m 47, and remember when they were new. Probably I was under 10 years old, but greater than seven. They came out in 1985 according to the DQ wiki. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-love-for-the-dairy-queen-blizzard/829410/43 "2019-02-13T10:58:48Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > If you wanted vanilla why did you order strawberry? By default, soft serve ice cream is vanilla or chocolate. That’s been my experience my entire life. Although I’m sure it can be flavored other ways too. I used to buy a cone or sundae from some place almost every week throughout childhood. Now, I save it for rare treats. A vanilla cone on a hot summer day is still wonderful. DQ’s didn’t seem to have any distinguishable flavor. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-love-for-the-dairy-queen-blizzard/829410/44 "2019-02-13T12:32:57Z")
You can turn a cup of standard soft serve upside down and it won’t fall out? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-love-for-the-dairy-queen-blizzard/829410/45 "2019-02-13T12:42:02Z")
On a side note, does DQ still make freshly hand-dipped Dilly bars, or are they all machine-made and pre-packaged now? ---
**Author:** ![txjim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f07891/32.png) [@txjim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/txjim)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-love-for-the-dairy-queen-blizzard/829410/46 "2019-02-13T14:37:53Z")
> [@eulalia](#): > > I haven’t been to a DQ since Culver’s came to town. There are currently 4500 DQ stores in the US, including one in many small towns. There are currently 600 Culver’s located mostly in the upper Midwest with a few locations in other states. In Texas, DQ is ubiquitous with small towns on 2-lane highways and is called the Texas Stop Sign (sad, considering it’s a Minnesota company!) Culver’s is ubiquitous with high-income suburban developments. THATS why the Blizzard is popular! ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-love-for-the-dairy-queen-blizzard/829410/47 "2019-02-13T14:51:21Z")
I’m very happy DQ is making a comeback in Arkansas. They’re all in brand new buildings and clean. I’m not sure why DQ closed here in the mid 1990’s. I sure missed then. Same thing happened with Dennys. We had six locations in the Metro area. By 2004 there was only one left. ---
**Author:** ![AngelSoft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angelsoft/32/440_2.png) [@AngelSoft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelSoft)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-love-for-the-dairy-queen-blizzard/829410/48 "2019-02-13T15:21:19Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > My go-to meal at DQ is a Flamethrower burger, double patty no cheese, with a side of cheese curds and a chocolate shake. Maybe if I’m feeling decadent I’ll just get a basket of chili cheese fries instead. > > If I’m in the mood for a dessert, I usually just go with a banana split. Omg I love that burger. I always get it with onion rings though. I haven’t tried the cheese curds…mostly cause I have no idea wth they are or taste like lol And of course always a Blizzard. Depending on the flavor of the month, I might get one. Someone mentioned the Cotton Candy one earlier and I had forgotten about it. It’s freaking amazing. But lately I like the uhh truffle candy one? I can’t remember what it’s called. That or M&Ms. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-love-for-the-dairy-queen-blizzard/829410/49 "2019-02-13T15:35:51Z")
I’m sort of snobby about frozen custard since I grew up on Milwaukee’s Leon’s (by grandma’s house) and Kopp’s (by our house). Culver’s is subpar on two levels for me. One, the custard recipe ain’t that great, and two, a flavor of the day should have the ‘stuff’ mixed into the custard. A cookies n cream should be vanilla custard with cookie bits mixed throughout. Culver’s makes you a vanilla sundae/cone with cookie bits sprinkled on it. Lame. ---
**Author:** ![MoonMoon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonmoon/32/2959_2.png) [@MoonMoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoonMoon)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-love-for-the-dairy-queen-blizzard/829410/50 "2019-02-13T15:40:15Z")
Oh man, I love Blizzards\*. I used to get a mudslide blizzard (chocolate sauce, coffee flavoring and crushed Oreos) on the regular. Then my peanut and tree nut allergy showed up in my early twenties and has gotten progressively worse (epi-pen territory now), and there’s too much risk of cross contamination. I really, really, really miss Blizzards, though. \*They debuted in my teen years, when I was a whip-skinny athlete, so I could, and did, eat them on the regular. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-love-for-the-dairy-queen-blizzard/829410/51 "2019-02-13T17:33:54Z")
> [@Spud](#): > > Well, it really wasn’t asked as a serious question. I know why corporations would want to protect their trade mark. At the time though (before DQ introduced their version) people couldn’t understand why a big corporation would pick on a small family shop. > > The original shop was opened in 1933 (no idea if they served Blizzards then or not) and became the Penguin when their son took over. It closed in 1983 around the same time that they were notified by DQ they couldn’t use the name. Reopened by the same family a few years later and is now the Chocolate Moose. Looks like they still serve several varieties of “the Blizz.” Actually, as I noted above (#27), DQ trademarked “Blizzard” in 1952 (not 1946), so they weren’t using it in 1933 ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-love-for-the-dairy-queen-blizzard/829410/52 "2019-02-13T17:38:47Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I used to love the coffee Heath Bar blizzards. I don’t think they make them any longer. I’ve never heard of coffee Heath Bar blizzards. While I’m sure that’s what you meant; in case you meant Toffee Heath Bar blizzards, then I saw them at DQ just yesterday. Sadly they don’t have Snickers Blizzards anymore. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-love-for-the-dairy-queen-blizzard/829410/53 "2019-02-13T17:47:34Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > Not sure about your store, but the one I used to frequent would hand them to you upside down…I guess to prove how, like, upside down the ice cream was? Anyway, there were a couple times I ordered one in the drive-through on a 100 degree day, and the panicked look of “For the LOVE OF GOD TAKE THE THING BEFORE IT FALLS OUT!” on the employees face as she held it out the window was priceless. > [@CalMeacham](#): > > I never bought a 1960s’-vintage Blizzard, so I wouldn’t know. Note, however, that it was still so thick they presented it upside-down. > [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](#): > > You can turn a cup of standard soft serve upside down and it won’t fall out? [Why DQ Blizzards are served upside down.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcQ42qKYz28) [Here’s a fun link about when DQ created an upside store to serve their blizzards “right side up.”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwW8zAk6-a8) ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-love-for-the-dairy-queen-blizzard/829410/54 "2019-02-13T18:02:17Z")
Disclaimer: this is not to be construed as an official statement from the USPTO. > [@CalMeacham](#): > > Actually, as I noted above (#27), DQ trademarked “Blizzard” in 1952 (not 1946), The stated first use was in '46, trademark application (#71603440) was filed in '50, and the mark was registered (#559844) in '52. > [@](#): > > so they weren’t using it in 1933 That has to do with The Penguin, or whatever their original name was, not DQ. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-love-for-the-dairy-queen-blizzard/829410/55 "2019-02-13T18:53:17Z")
> [@Enright3](#): > > I’ve never heard of coffee Heath Bar blizzards. While I’m sure that’s what you meant; in case you meant Toffee Heath Bar blizzards, then I saw them at DQ just yesterday. Sadly they don’t have Snickers Blizzards anymore. ☹ Pretty sure these had coffee flavor, but then my memory isn’t what it used to be. ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-love-for-the-dairy-queen-blizzard/829410/56 "2019-02-13T19:10:24Z")
I like their Heath blizzard (and butter finger, and… basically any candy bar I like in pulverized form), but my favorite dessert theirs is the banana split. ---
**Author:** ![MoonMoon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonmoon/32/2959_2.png) [@MoonMoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoonMoon)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-love-for-the-dairy-queen-blizzard/829410/57 "2019-02-13T19:25:05Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Pretty sure these had coffee flavor, but then my memory isn’t what it used to be. Yep, they had several with the coffee flavor option. Mmmmm coffee flavor. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-love-for-the-dairy-queen-blizzard/829410/58 "2019-02-13T19:36:42Z")
Do they still have German Chocolate Blizzards? ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-love-for-the-dairy-queen-blizzard/829410/59 "2019-02-13T20:23:50Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Pretty sure these had coffee flavor, but then my memory isn’t what it used to be. Ben & Jerry’s have a coffee Heath Bar crunch that’s pretty dang good. When I eat ice cream I want quality ice cream, and I’m not a fan of lots of extra bits like cookies and candies in it. I don’t want to have to chew my ice cream. And if I’m in the mood for candy or cookies, I don’t want them made soggy by sitting in ice cream. Guess I’m not the target audience for the Blizzard! Best “shake” I ever had was at a small chain in the L.A. area called Clancy Muldoon’s. It was their cappucino shake. Chocolate ice cream with tiny bits of coffee candy (small enough that you didn’t have to bite very hard), coffee syrup and whipped cream. My sister and I once went to get one when it was raining like the dickens in her VW bug with a doxie and a beagle in the car with us. Our craving was strong! ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-love-for-the-dairy-queen-blizzard/829410/60 "2019-02-13T22:19:21Z")
I remember when the Blizzard first came out. They were selling them as a new treat at the New Mexico State Fair. I was 10-12, so it would have been 1985 or thereabouts. I seem to recall that they only had a couple of flavors, M&M being the primary one. And yes, it was unusual, because it was like having a sundae, but instead of toppings, it was mixed in. Doesn’t seem like much now, but back then, it was the “bee’s knees”. Funniest Blizzard story: I ordered one at a drive-thru, and the girl making it apparently accidentally punched a little hole in the cup. So, she put that cup inside another one so it wouldn’t leak. Just before she handed it to me, as is standard procedure, she turned it upside down. And of course the inner cup slid neatly out of the outer cup, which she was holding, and it plopped onto the windowsill. She made me another one. My favorite flavor, which I probably haven’t had in about a year and a half, is “French silk pie”. The chocolate flavor isn’t as “in your face” as with other chocolate Blizzards, and it had chocolate shavings and bits of pie crust. Nice. They usually have the stuff to make it, even if it’s not on the menu. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-love-for-the-dairy-queen-blizzard/829410.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-love-for-the-dairy-queen-blizzard/829410.md?page=4)