In this week’s episode of CuriosiD, where WDET answers your questions about Detroit and the region, Dan Golodner from Huntington Woods asks:

“I moved from Washington, D.C. to Detroit in the mid-’90. And I’ve always loved the root beer float and people said, ‘You have to try the Boston Cooler.’ So, I tried it and was like, ‘What’s the deal here? Why’s it called a Boston Cooler and not a ginger ale cooler or something like that? I’m just curious.”

Dan Golodner, Huntington Woods

The Short Answer:
The term “Boston Cooler” has a complicated history dating back at least as early as 1889. The way the drink was made and what it consisted of went through a few different iterations before it settled on the Vernors and vanilla ice-cream combination that we know today. At some point in the 1920s, Boston Cooler could refer to any sort of soda-pop and ice cream combination. For instance, Hires, a root beer company, promoted their own version of the Boston Cooler.