A scoop of Sanders: Ben & Jerry's unveils 'Bernie's Yearning' ice cream flavor

Bernie Sanders got his sweetest endorsement yet on Monday when one of the founders of Ben & Jerry's unveiled an ice cream flavor for the Democratic presidential hopeful, inviting Sanders' backers to enjoy a spoonful of "Political Revolution."

The flavor named "Bernie's Yearning" is mint ice cream topped with a solid chocolate disk, to reflect Sanders' campaign theme of economic inequality, according to Ben Cohen, co-founder of Vermont-based Ben & Jerry's.

"The chocolate disc represents the huge majority of economic gains that have gone to the top 1 percent since the end of the recession. Beneath it, the rest of us," according to the label, which suggests eaters smash up the chocolate and mix it with the ice cream.

"Nothing is so unstoppable as a flavor whose time has finally come. #FeelTheBern #BerniesYearning," Cohen said on both Twitter (@YoBenCohen) and his Facebook page.

Cohen launched the flavor on his own using "Ben's Best" branding and said it is not an endorsement by Ben & Jerry's, now a unit of Unilever, the Anglo-Dutch consumer products maker. Sanders represents Vermont in the U.S. Senate.

Cohen has made just 40 pints of the new ice cream and is giving 25 of them to the Sanders campaign, he said on social media. The rest will be awarded in a drawing among those who register at www.berniesyearning.com by Feb. 3.

Sanders is polling strongly in Iowa and New Hampshire against rival Hillary Clinton in the bid for the 2016 Democratic nomination. The first voting will take place in one week at the Iowa caucuses.

By late Monday afternoon, #BerniesYearning was a top-trending hashtag on Twitter.

Earl Fando (@earlfando) tweeted: "Ben & Jerry's have released an ice cream flavor named Bernie's Yearning. Needless to say, people are reading the ingredients very carefully."

Christine Odunlami (@christineodun) tweeted: "Not only can you #FeelTheBern, you can now #TasteTheBern."

Others took advantage of the opportunity to take a jab at the Sanders campaign.

Wired-Up Patriot (@ADHDPatriot) posted: "#BerniesYearning ice cream: 1. Must wait in long lines to get 2. Very limited amount 3. Extremely expensive or for short, like #BernieCare."

(Reporting by Gina Cherelus; Editing by Dan Burns and Andrew Hay)