Hearing someone order a Black Cow can be a surprising experience to anyone hearing it for the first time. To the well-versed, however, it is common knowledge that it refers to a delectable drink. A most basic drink with nothing more than a root beer float, with rich vanilla ice cream on top of chilled and refreshing root beer, it is indeed a soda-shop classic. While this is the original version, over the years, there have been many variations with flavored ice cream, chocolate syrup, and at times even a shot of coffee!
The OG Black Cow Drink
Originally created by Frank J Wisner, owner of the Cripple Creek Cow Mountain Mining Company in Colorado, it was one of the first in his development of a line of soda waters. Through the vision of the snow on top of the dark peak of Cow Mountain lit up by the full moon one night, he was reminded of a vanilla ice cream scoop. Then, he had the idea of combining it with his children’s favorite soda, that is, root beer. This led to him creating the Black Cow Mountain, which was made using Myers Avenue Red Root Beer and was given the nickname ‘Black Cow’ by the kids who drank it.
How to Make It
Making the classic Black Cow drink is truly child’s play. Using just a few essentials, like root beer (1 cup), chocolate syrup (3 tbs), vanilla ice cream (2 scoops), whipped cream, and maraschino cherries (2), you can make it at home easily using the following steps:
● Take a blender, combine the root beer, chocolate syrup, and ice cream, and puree until smooth.
● Transfer them into 2 chilled glasses.
● Put cherries and whipped cream as garnishing.
And there you go! A refreshing Black Cow, that can as easily be modified with brewed iced coffee, taking inspiration from the drink creator Seo Hyun Kook.
Victor Solomon Has Redesigned the Larry O’Brien NBA Trophy
Shortly after the Milwaukee Bucks were crowned champions of the NBA, Khris Middleton and his teammates held the coveted Larry O’Brien NBA Championship Trophy. Middleton kept holding the trophy for 12 minutes, not knowing that he would be the last one to hold it on a court ever again. This was the case because, at that time, Victor Solomon met with Tiffany & Co. to meticulously review and redesign the Larry O’Brien trophy and five other postseason trophies.
Victor Solomon Had Been Working On the New NBA Trophy for Years
The artist and designer Victor Solomon was called to redesign the 45-year-old NBA trophy, and he will work with the artisans at Tiffany & Co.’s hollowware shop. They will also update the Eastern and Western Conference Finals championship trophies, the Bill Russell Finals MVP trophy, the Eastern and Western Conference Finals MVP trophies: the Earvin “Magic” Johnson Trophy, and the Larry Bird Trophy.
Solomon Spoke On the Revival of the NBA’s Highest Profile Trophies
In a recent conversation, Solomon explained his journey to reviving the NBA’s highest-profile trophies. He also shared how he was obsessed with the game as a child in Boston and how he was getting frustrated with the art world of today. The artist also said he hid an Easter Egg in the championship trophy so that one of the lucky teams that would own it in the future would get to see it for the first time.
Solomon opened his Literally Balling studio in 2013, and his popularity grew over time to the point that today, he’s working with the NBA and Tiffany & Co. He first worked with filmmakers and later got introduced to stained glass art before he started making products as a celebration of sports that meant something to him. The artist shared how he got a lot of momentum through social media.
The NBA Reached Out to Him
Solomon was reached out to by the NBA around 2018 after they noticed him for his work. A year later, he and Christopher Arena met to work on the trophy redesign project. It was then he learned that he would be working with Tiffany & Co., which had been creating the Larry O’Brien and conference trophies since 1977.
According to Solomon, redesigning the trophies was like creating his version of them. Apparently, it was a dream project of his that he had been in pursuit of for a long time. He added that he had to give the NBA credit for taking on something like this and pointed out that together, they have issued over 150 new trophies for this season.