Things We Saw Today: Expecto Butterbeer Ice Cream

My life is essentially a lie because I’ve never been to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme parks and gotten to taste that sweet, sweet butterbeer. But now Yuengling Ice Cream has announced a new flavor fashioned after the frothy magical drink enjoyed by Harry, Ron, Hermione & Co.

The official press release from Yuengling teases the flavor thus:

Once described by J.K. Rowling “a little bit like less sickly butterscotch,” the Yuengling’s Ice Cream take on the flavor will be made from half buttercream ice cream, half butterscotch ice cream, and twisted with a butterscotch swirl. The result is magical decadence that will transport you to another place and time.

OK, I’m down, and this is for sure brilliant marketing—the ice cream’s been mentioned today everywhere from Nerdist to Entertainment Weekly to, well, us—but I’m not clear whether Yuengling has been cleared for this thing.

Butterbeer™ is definitely trademarked up the wazoo. And there’s already an official Butterbeer™ ice cream for sale at Florian Fortescue’s™ at the Harry Potter™ parks. Can Yuengling claim mere butterbeer inspiration, a la fanfiction? A transformative ice cream work? I know I wouldn’t want to take on J.K. Rowling’s lawyers. Dementors are probably less cutthroat.

Apparating elsewhere…

This is the most unsatisfying video ever made.

You’re welcome.

• J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot productions is pairing up with no less than RuPaul to create a half-hour dramedy. The show will be “a fictionalized version of RuPaul’s rise from club kid to drag queen, gay icon, and global star.”
• Bryan Cranston appeared on The Late Show to chat with Stephen Colbert about Power Rangers, dressed as the Red Ranger.
• Gollum (well, YouTuber Ian Walters) sings Cindi Lauper’s Time After Time. If you’re lost in Mordor you can look and you will find me, trying to get my goddamned ring back.
• Pictures from the Black Panther set in South Korea! There’s a chase! My soulmate T’Challa is poised atop a car, catlike! This movie cannot arrive soon enough.

Well, that’s all from us, folks. What flavor of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Bean™ did you find today?

(image via Warner Bros.)

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