Scoops, sprinkles and sweets galore: Crazy Mason serves over-the-top dessert experience

The Crazy Mason Milkshake Bar sells extravagant milkshakes adorned with candy, cookies, and whole slices of cake among other toppings. (Photo courtesy of The Crazy Mason Milkshake Bar)

Within less than a week of opening its doors, The Crazy Mason Milkshake Bar has already established itself as a dessert destination in Wilmington. Crowds of people have flocked to the new business daily, with lines often extending out the door, in pursuit of its towering ice cream creations topped with candy, cookies and entire slices of cake.  
 
The intriguingly indulgent milkshakes are only part of the draw, according to Danielle Malcomb, chief operations officer. The business also attracts customers with a fun experience in a family-friendly environment, she noted.
 
“Not only can you come in and have fun with your family, you can get a crazy Instagrammable master creation,” Malcomb said. 
 
The menu is stacked with 32 elaborate milkshakes with fun names, collectively called Crazy Masons. Each milkshake is served in a keepsake mason jar that has been swirled, rolled and adorned with various confections ranging in size from rainbow sprinkles and Reese’s Pieces to whole waffles and slices of pie.
 
According to Malcomb, a consistent top seller at all of the business’s locations is the Build Me Up Buttercup, a peanut butter milkshake poured into a mason jar swirled with chocolate syrup and peanut butter. The rim of the jar is rolled in peanut butter and mini Reese’s Pieces, and atop the jar sits a mound of whipped icing, peanut butter sauce, chocolate sauce, more Reese’s Pieces and two Reese’s peanut butter cups.
 
Another top seller is the Sweet Cheesus, with a strawberry cheesecake milkshake served in a strawberry-swirled mason jar with a rim rolled in vanilla buttercream and crushed ice cream cones. Whipped icing, strawberry sauce, graham cracker crumbs, fresh strawberries and an entire slice of homemade cheesecake lend the finishing touches.
 
The showstopping selection of sweets included in each milkshake is not just a gimmick designed to lure in customers, Malcomb noted. Each item was intentionally crafted with an eye for appearance and enjoyment by Sherri Steele, who founded the original Crazy Mason in Myrtle Beach with her husband Bo Steele less than three years ago.  
 
“Every inch of the jar is heavily decorated, and there’s thought in each layer of it,” Malcomb said.
 
Each Crazy Mason weighs between one and two pounds, and Malcomb said it isn’t uncommon for customers to be caught off guard by the heft of the final product and accidentally drop it.
 
“It happens all the time,” she said. “It’s not going to be the first or the last time, and we just remake it.”
 
In addition to pre-made picks (including two specials each month), guests can also create a customized Crazy Mason by picking an ice cream, jar swirl, rim base, rim roll and toppings. With more than two dozen flavors of ice cream from Blue Bell Creameries plus dozens of sauces, frostings, fruit, candy, cereal and baked goods to choose from, the customizable choices are nearly endless, Malcomb noted.
 
“As far as mix and match, your combinations are pretty infinite,” she said.
 
A pared-down, but still decadent, option is the Crazy Cup, which substitutes the milkshake in each Crazy Mason for three scoops of ice cream in a color-changing keepsake cup. Even that, it turns out, is a lot of dessert.
 
“Crazy Cups are great, but we kind of missed the mark for making a smaller option because they are still so big,” Malcomb said.
 
New to the Wilmington store and soon to expand to all locations is an even smaller offering, dubbed the Little Less Crazy, with closer to two scoops of ice cream plus accompaniments. A single scoop of ice cream is also an option, Malcomb said, and the slices of cheesecake, pecan pie and red velvet cake that top some of the creations can also be ordered a la carte. For those who opt for a Crazy Mason or Crazy Cup, sinks are available to wash the keepsake mason jar or cup and take it home.
 
Located at 3608 Oleander Drive, Crazy Mason is open 3-9 p.m. on weekdays and 1-9 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.