** ~ Ice Cream Eating Now Thread -- Round 4 ~ **

[Tyler2106]

"The Cold, Hard Reality of Running a Celebrated Ice-Cream Shop"

http://www.grubstreet.com/2017/08/wh...ream-shop.html

Interesting info from some of the greats.

This was a fun read, thanks for sharing. I hopefully will have my own ice cream shop someday, so it was fun to read real life issues that these companies run into. Lucky for me, living in Nebraska, rent and space is not so expensive like it is in NYC. It did make me laugh when they thought going into an ice cream business would be an easy day to day thing. I would love to visit NYC someday to try all of the great ice cream they have there.

[ugasar]

Häagen-Dazs Vanilla, Blackberry & Crispy Belgian Chocolate


I have not scooped Häagen-Dazs in quite some time and this is my first experience out of the "Trio" lineup. This one, as well as the Triple Chocolate flavor are the two I was most interested in scooping.



I am a huge fan of Häagen-Dazs' vanilla ice cream. It is a classic flavor with a creamy and milky richness. However, it definitely takes a back seat in this pint. If you don't get a big spoonful of vanilla, it is easily overpowered by both the blackberry and chocolate flavors.



The blackberry ice cream has no tartness or sourness to it at all. It is fruity and sweet, but not too sugary. I'm not a huge fan of fruity ice creams in general, but this was a nice surprise. The taste was reminiscent of an extremely ripe blackberry with its sweetness, although not quite as bold and deep in flavor as the actual fruit.



I wasn't expecting that much from the chocolate, but it was probably my favorite part of the pint. The texture reminded me of the shell of a dipped cone from Dairy Queen. It was thin, but very sturdy. It provided a nice crunch with every bite or spoonful. It may sound basic, but it was well executed and I loved it.



The flavor of the Belgian chocolate is definitely a dark chocolate, although not incredibly dark. I would call it a fairly good balance between milk and dark chocolate. However, it does have a bit of tanginess, as well as a dry cocoa aftertaste that favors dark chocolate. Overall, the balance of chocolate with the vanilla and blackberry bases was a great combination of flavors.



I wasn't expecting much from this pint of Häagen-Dazs, but I was fairly impressed. I do wish the vanilla base was stronger and stood its ground against the other flavors. However, the blackberry base was sweet enough to make up for it. The Belgian chocolate has a great dark cocoa flavor, and also provides a unique crispiness to each bite. More impressively, each component of this ice cream was distributed and layered perfectly. This pint is definitely scoop worthy! B

[ugasar]

Ample Hills Cookie Au Lait


Unfortunately, the winner of this year's Flavor Frenzy was Cookie Au Lait. Yes, there were a lot of frustrated customers when it was announced. Nonetheless, I needed a pint to fill out an order so I gave it a scoop.



This pint was definitely denser, than the few previous pints of Ample Hills that I recently scooped. They've been inconsistent lately, but this pint was definitely better. It was creamy, milky and slow to melt, just like a premium ice cream pint should be.



The dark coffee base is pretty strong and this is coming from someone who enjoys dark coffee. Although it isn't overpowering, there are hints of espresso in it as well. The flavor is still sweet, but very bold, rich and the little kick of espresso definitely draws your attention.



Many people aren’t fans of Ample Hills’ "Back to Nature" creme cookies, but I like them a lot. Their texture is basically like an Oreo that has been dunked in milk. The chocolate cookie is soft and chewy, while the creme on the inside is slightly stiffer. Not to mention, they are huge and this pint was absolutely loaded!



As you might expect, the taste is exactly like an Oreo as well. The cookie has a deep, almost bitter chocolate flavor that gives way to the sweet cream filling. The chocolate cookies are a perfect pairing for the dark coffee base in my opinion.



I think Ample Hills made the right move by using a dark coffee base. A mild coffee flavor would have made this ice cream too sweet. The bold, espresso flavor helps cut the overall sweetness from the chewy chocolate sandwich cookies, but the chocolate and coffee combination is still a great pairing. It's a simple flavor that was executed very well and I thoroughly enjoyed it. However, a flavor this basic should have never won the 2017 Flavor Frenzy. B

[Partyrocking]

Most of the options in the Flavor Frenzy were poverty IMO.

[Tyler2106]

Those cookie pieces are enormous!

[ADD61]

http://littlegicecreamco.com/the-sco...need-your-help

[SOH11]

http://littlegicecreamco.com/the-sco...need-your-help

Voted for S'mores obviously

[ADD61]

Voted for S'mores obviously

This could be good discussion in here. I'm running around so I haven't looked in details but I'm voting for flavors I think they can execute without her there.

[lazymuchacho]

Most of the options in the Flavor Frenzy were poverty IMO.

https://www.amplehills.com/blogs/new...eid=b3f17712d5

When Spuds Attack!...I Wanna Mary This!...A Lovely Day...You’ll Shoot Your Eye Out!

Any of those I would have ordered over Cookie Au Lait tho.

[ugasar]

Most of the options in the Flavor Frenzy were poverty IMO.

This is true! I was very unhappy with the weekly results!

Those cookie pieces are enormous!

So basic, but when they load it up like that, it makes a huge statement! I'm becoming such a mixin junkie

When Spuds Attack!...I Wanna Mary This!...A Lovely Day...You’ll Shoot Your Eye Out!

Any of those I would have ordered over Cookie Au Lait tho.

You took the words right out of my mouth.. Soooooooo disappointing!

[ADD61]

Ended up voting for:

Returning
Cowboy Cookie
Mint Chocolate Cookie
Go Bananas
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup

New
S'Mores
Strawberry Shortcake
Pumpkin Cheesecake
Coffee & Donuts 2.0

[lazymuchacho]

Cowboy, Fluffer, Mint, Movie, PB Cup.

S'mores, Shortcake, Brownie Batter, Monkey Mash.

Passed on pumpkin because no cheesecake chunks, Joy because her brittle reminds me of PayDay (poverty candy bar), and Donuts because the first version was a dud. Shortcake almost fell out because it is too dependent on good cake execution but left it in as a matter good faith given that this is a relaunch.

[ADD61]

Cowboy, Fluffer, Mint, Movie, PB Cup.

S'mores, Shortcake, Brownie Batter, Monkey Mash.

Passed on pumpkin because no cheesecake chunks, Joy because her brittle reminds me of PayDay (poverty candy bar), and Donuts because the first version was a dud. Shortcake almost fell out because it is too dependent on good cake execution but left it in as a matter good faith given that this is a relaunch.

I see the vision there. Fluffer Cookie didn't hit that upper ranking. I didn't have the toasted marshmallow version. I love Movie Night but it was worth letting go IMO.

After further review Monkey Mash could be outstanding. Felt the same as you on Shortcake

[ugasar]

All of you guys are missing the sleeper pint.... SNACK ATTACK!!!!!!!

[Partyrocking]

All of you guys are missing the sleeper pint.... SNACK ATTACK!!!!!!!

I didn't like that one tbh. I gave it to my mom instead of finishing it.

[ADD61]

All of you guys are missing the sleeper pint.... SNACK ATTACK!!!!!!!

I only had it once which was my inital order Christmas of 2015 I think. It was just okay but I don't think she hit her stride at that point IMO.

Also the munchies is my go-to in that realm because of the pretzel base.

[lazymuchacho]

I see the vision there. Fluffer Cookie didn't hit that upper ranking. I didn't have the toasted marshmallow version. I love Movie Night but it was worth letting go IMO.

After further review Monkey Mash could be outstanding. Felt the same as you on Shortcake

Wasn't wowed by Fluffer either but willing to give it another go based on potential. Was a big fan of the base on Movie...also worked well with the cheap candy.

Respect all opinions tho.

All of you guys are missing the sleeper pint.... SNACK ATTACK!!!!!!!

Not sure if srs or trollin...but we both know it is a very very poverty version of Munchies which is only ~$10 through Prime...basically no reason to even buy Snack Attack again imo.

[ugasar]

Not sure if srs or trollin...but we both know it is a very very poverty version of Munchies which is only ~$10 through Prime...basically no reason to even buy Snack Attack again imo.

Oh I'm dead serious! I'm not saying it competes with The Munchies because I do have that ranked higher, but I love Little g's vanilla bean base, and it was one of the best sweet & salty combos I've had in quite some time!










Ben & Jerry's Truffle Kerfuffle


Venturing into the second pint of the new Ben & Jerry's releases for 2017 is Truffle Kerfuffle. Due to Little g and Salt & Straw's salted ganache, this pint had some big shoes to fill.



The vanilla isn't anything to write home about. Yes, it's basic, but still creamy, sweet and slow to melt. I would certainly consider it a premium ice cream. I will also say that I think vanilla was the right choice of base for this pint. It was a smart move to let the mixins do the talking with a pint like this. The only question was could they deliver?



Let's get the fudge chips out of the way. Yes, they are the usual thin chocolate flakes. I will say, however, that the little crunch was a nice addition texture wise. There's a little bit of chocolate flavor from them, but it is definitely overpowered by the swirl.



The roasted pecans have a nice chew to them that isn't quite as hard as the fudge chips. I will give props to Ben & Jerry's for adding these to the ice cream and not allowing them to get rock hard while being frozen.



The pecans had an average flavor at best. They taste like a plain-shelled pecan, but there is nothing roasted about them. The nutty pecan flavor pairs extremely well with the vanilla though. I certainly didn't mind the pecans, but I don't think they helped or hurt the pint.



I was looking forward to the salted chocolate ganache swirl the most. The texture was a little off. It was not near as thick as I was expecting. It was more like a sauce that was fairly runny. This wasn't a problem by any means, it just wasn't as thick and sticky as a typical Ben & Jerry's swirl.



The flavor was both good and bad. The good was that it was rich and very chocolatey in flavor. The bad, which was a major letdown, was that it was not salty at all, not even a hint. If you weren't reading the label, you would have thought this was a simple chocolate or fudge swirl.



Let's cut to the chase here. Ben & Jerry's tried to get fancy and it was just mediocre. The chocolate flakes and pecan added nice textural changes to the pint, but don't do much for the flavor. The vanilla base was fine and I enjoyed it. It's simple, sweet and the perfect background for the mixins. However, the chocolate salted ganache swirl had no saltiness to it at all. I would pass on this pint, especially with a 340 calorie serving that includes 24g of fat. B-

[crpav]

Wasn't wowed by Fluffer either but willing to give it another go based on potential. Was a big fan of the base on Movie...also worked well with the cheap candy.

Respect all opinions tho.



Not sure if srs or trollin...but we both know it is a very very poverty version of Munchies which is only ~$10 through Prime...basically no reason to even buy Snack Attack again imo.

I found Snack Attack decent but against The Munchies it isn't even close.

[Partyrocking]

Rescooping Rainforest Mist ... feels good.

Also ordered a Munchies 4 pack ... yeah!

[bestellenpreis]

Personally Magic Bar is the one I would be most interested in. It was one of favorite Blue Bell Flavors. With her quality I'm interested to see the results

[SOH11]

Magic Bar would've been really good if the texture wasn't grainy/crumbly.

I actually got a strong put of Sticky Cinnamom Bun. MASSIVE cream cheese frosting swirl. Candid pecans were clutch. Only negative was the sticky dough pieces were dry and crumbly.

Hopefully she gets her shipping back up by Sept 1 but I doubt it.

[KalElLoco]

I had a Magnum pot yesterday after dinner, tasting it for the first time

It's the one with the chocolate shell to crack before eating, and I ate the almond one

This stuff is incredible, guys

[ADD61]

Magic Bar would've been really good if the texture wasn't grainy/crumbly.

I actually got a strong put of Sticky Cinnamom Bun. MASSIVE cream cheese frosting swirl. Candid pecans were clutch. Only negative was the sticky dough pieces were dry and crumbly.

Hopefully she gets her shipping back up by Sept 1 but I doubt it.

If it hasn't been announced by now I can't imagine the company would have anything ready to order by 9/1.

Also would it even be worth trusting an order that quickly? Rhetorical question....

[Tyler2106]

If it hasn't been announced by now I can't imagine the company would have anything ready to order by 9/1.

Also would it even be worth trusting an order that quickly? Rhetorical question....

I know you said rhetorical, but I won't place any orders with her when, or should I say if, she offers nationwide shipping again. I'll wait to hear reviews before making a decision. Anything less than perfect QC and I won't order.

Good thing for us it's almost September and S&S is going to come out with good flavors.

[ADD61]

I know you said rhetorical, but I won't place any orders with her when, or should I say if, she offers nationwide shipping again. I'll wait to hear reviews before making a decision. Anything less than perfect QC and I won't order.

Good thing for us it's almost September and S&S is going to come out with good flavors.

I don't disagree but the issue is that there aren't many people I would trust their feedback right now that would order and review fairly quickly. Eric and Bob are likely to only two. I get the sense in reading comments on her recent posts that people are eager to have her back and short of the QC being terrible that reviews will skew more positive.

[Tyler2106]

I don't disagree but the issue is that there aren't many people I would trust their feedback right now that would order and review fairly quickly. Eric and Bob are likely to only two. I get the sense in reading comments on her recent posts that people are eager to have her back and short of the QC being terrible that reviews will skew more positive.

She still has a following that will buy her ice cream without thinking twice about it. She made fun, creative flavors that people really enjoyed. Brand loyalty is strong. I think she's going off to college soon, maybe even there already, and training(ed) her replacements. While in theory they could make the same great ice cream, I have my reservations about it.

[ADD61]

She still has a following that will buy her ice cream without thinking twice about it. She made fun, creative flavors that people really enjoyed. Brand loyalty is strong. I think she's going off to college soon, maybe even there already, and training(ed) her replacements. While in theory they could make the same great ice cream, I have my reservations about it.

I feel like it's impossible to tell. On one hand I assume she was disconnected on the last pack or the orders were too large for her to catch the debacle. I would hope that the flavors she put up for voting could be replicate easy enough. I don't remember QC issues with most of those. For anything new I would have strong doubts.

[ugasar]

Hopefully she gets her shipping back up by Sept 1 but I doubt it.

If it hasn't been announced by now I can't imagine the company would have anything ready to order by 9/1.

Also would it even be worth trusting an order that quickly? Rhetorical question....

SOH11, I am with ADD61 on this one.. I am betting AT LEAST 6 weeks! I'm thinking early October for the next shipment!

[lazymuchacho]

Rescooping Rainforest Mist ... feels good.

Also ordered a Munchies 4 pack ... yeah!

10/10 decision making.