Scotchy Scotch Scotch

Since I am unable to do this blog weekly, due to the inability to logically accept eating a pint of ice cream a week, I stock up on pints. This pint has been in my freezer for two weeks and has been waiting for tasting.

Scotchy Scotch Scotch Verdict:

The memory for this pint is simple… Cameron. Cameron and I spent MANY hours on the couch watching TV and movies. What was one of the movies we watched a lot? Anchor Man. Not going to lie, I had never seen the movie before then. Now that has changed. But if you knew Cameron you would know it was rare to start a movie and finish it. This was no exception. I still haven’t seen it from beginning to end. Maybe I will finally do so in the future.

Butterscotch Ice Cream with Butterscotch Swirls

Butterscotch is a tricky flavor to master because at times it can be over powering. If you like butterscotch in those situations then this flavor is for you. If you’re like me and don’t like it so prominent then this flavor isn’t for you. Being the sweet addict that I am one would easily assume that I would like Scotchy Scotch Scotch because it, itself, is sweet to the limits. Biting into the butterscotch ice cream was refreshing, but when you hit the swirls of butterscotch it became too damn sweet. The swirl is too sugary for my liking. The only way that I can describe it is to having a coffee at Dunkin Donuts. When you order a coffee and Dunkin and ask for sugar you are literally feeling the sugar grains between your teeth. That folks is the butterscotch swirl in this flavor. It is too much and too grainy as a whole. I would easily prefer just having the butterscotch ice cream as it is. Now I feel like I need to brush my teeth and drink a gallon of water to rehydrate myself.

Why am I giving it a 3 start and not a 2? Truly, only because the memories associated with the main character bring back memories. Memories that will never be lost, unless I am senile at an older age, which helped define me as a person. I am allowing the memory of a Cameron help elevate the raking of an additional star.


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Hazed & Confused Core

As I was standing in the freezer section, one of my favorite places in the grocery store, I was taking inventory on the available flavors on the shelves. There was this woman doing the same and she grabbed only one pint…I looked at here and said, “They are on sale two for $7, you need to grab another.” Don’t worry; she walked out with two pints after a team effort for the second flavor. So to restart this ONCE AGAIN, I found it appropriate to start with one of Ben & Jerry’s new creations.

Hazed & Confused Core Verdict:

We might have some new readers to the blog so I will give some background information. After each tasting I write a review that is totally bias and pointless. But, this entire blog is only here for pure entertainment. The blueprint to every review is the same: 1) Opens with the journey of picking the flavor. 2) Reflection on some sort of memory that the flavor sparks. 3) My very bias and pointless review. 4) The star ranking, 1-5 of course.

Anything hazelnut always reminds me the first time I went to Italy. We were there for 6.5 weeks when we were 14 with our grandparents. There was a hazelnut bush that climbed the fences outside the house we rented, from the Priest of course. Every day we would walk out to see if any hazelnuts were ready for picking. Our grandparents finally told us after a couple weeks that it was not hazelnut season. They ruined our dreams of the summer. Obviously just joking, it was the most amazing experience of my life.

Chocolate & Hazelnut Ice Creams with Fudge Chips & a Hazelnut Fudge Core

Once in a while we all need a little spark in our lives to restart. Whether it is that new find at the book store; the new “love” interest that walks in our life or in my case, Ben & Jerry’s newest adventure in their amazing journey of being Vermont’s Finest. Well, Vermont’s Finest will always be "Blueberry Pancakes", but that’s another blog so enjoy searching for that post on here.

Back to the review! The first obstacle that I came upon was whether I should scoop it or just eat it out from the carton. Because it’s mid-day I decided to be civilized and scoop it. The premise was to be able to enjoy every aspect of the flavors in one bite; I am here to tell you that they succeeded. It has always been a very solid suggestion that I have made on many flavors that some flavors are superb just in their simplicity. Chocolate and hazelnut are the PERFECT combination to begin with then something magic happens…You hit the fudge core. Done, over and out! The best description I can give of this flavor is “A little bit country and a little bit Rock N’ Roll.” The first bites are very calm and collective and when that fudge core hits your taste buds ones reaction is like: Damn, girl this party just got started! I can go on with many more comparisons and reactions, but I will leave that all for you to have on your own.

If the remainder of these new core flavors have the same WOW moments on my taste buds all I can say it….Bring it!

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Chocolate Nougat Crunch

Ok, here I go AGAIN! I promise I will finish this damn Ben & Jerry’s Experiment, even if it kills me. I went ahead and grabbed a flavor for next week as well. Trying not to fall off the journey once more, let’s try our best.

Chocolate Nougat Crunch:

Currently not a damn memory comes to mind with ANY one ingredient in this flavor. What I can tell you is this: I have had the flavor when it originally came out, but I never had time to write a review about it. I haven’t seen it after that until today. I guess it was a sign to restart.

Sweet Cream Ice Cream with Fudge Covered Wafer Cookies & a Chocolate Nougat Swirl

This time around I have to say, I enjoyed it more than the first time. I don’t remember too much about the flavor, except the fact that I didn’t like the Fudge Covered Wafer Cookies. Guess what? I still don’t! I do wonder at times where the visionaries at Ben & Jerry’s get their big ideas to add these odd bites to such a great mixture of flavors. I have to say the sweet cream ice cream with the chocolate nougat swirl is a great mix. Then they have to go and add in that fudge covered wafer cookie. I like fudge and wafer cookies, but once put in the pint of already amazing flavors it just doesn’t sit well with me.

I am giving this a middle ground rating because it does have two positives to the flavor as a whole. I do have to say, just because something has a check mark against it doesn’t mean it deserves anything less than your best. So I don’t like the Nougat, but everything else this flavor brings is outstanding. Life is about picking and choosing which dislikes to battle and honestly, I’m not fighting this one. If you can find this in your freezer section I would say give it a swirl. Just because it doesn’t work 100% for me it doesn’t mean it won’t for you.

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Phish Food

Before I had intentions of moving back East I bought a stash of Ben & Jerry’s. I was unable to taste all the pints before I left, so one night my sisters and I just dove into some of the flavors. This was one of the flavors that was lingering in the freezer. I have had this before, but this is the first time for a review.

Phish Food Verdict:

Whenever caramel comes in a flavor I ALWAYS think of my little sister, Juliann, and her addiction to caramel. If you follow the blog you know this isn’t the first time I have mentioned this. But a memory is a memory and they last. I have been living off memories as of late, but I am hoping to make some new ones shortly that may be Ben & Jerry’s worthy.

Chocolate Ice Cream with Gooey Marshmallow Swirls, Caramel Swirls & Fudge Fish

Since this wasn’t a surprise flavor for me when I popped that lid I just thought to myself…I remember liking Phish Food, but I honestly couldn’t remember why I liked it so much, now I remember. It’s damn good! I love chocolate so it’s no surprise with the first flavor being chocolate ice cream this would be any different. Gooey Marshmallow has always been a tough ingredient for me to like over the years. But maybe it’s the advancement in my pallet, but I have come to enjoy marshmallow in my ice cream. Can you imagine how much ice cream I have turned down in my days because of that one ingredient? The caramel was perfect with the chocolate ice cream, and for the fudge fish, can I just take them all in a little bag and just eat them? Please Ben & Jerry’s; can you bag just the fudge pieces?

There isn’t one negative issue with this flavor, for me. If you don’t like chocolate it’s obvious to stay away from this. The mixture of it all is just….PERFECT. There is one thing that I miss though. I miss when I reviewed a flavor and my family was at home waiting for me to bring the flavor of the week home. They helped me have portion size and took the burden from me. I now find myself eating the entire pint throughout the week. Do I have any Rhode Islanders willing to help me with this debacle?

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Vanilla Heath Bar Crunch

I had a first this time when I went to the grocery store. I thought I was bad at picking a flavor. This time around there were two other people there, the guy got in and got out (that’s what she said), the woman, well that’s a different story. This woman was literally diving through the freezer trying to find different flavors. I was there for about five minutes trying to figure out what I wanted. I literally had to almost step on her and reach over and grab my pint as she was scavenging through the bottom shelf. Needless to say, she was still there when I departed. PICK A FLAVOR WOMAN!

Vanilla Heath Bar Crunch Verdict:

No real stories come from Heath Bars for me, except I like them.

Vanilla Ice Cream with Chunks of Heath® Bar

I’m not going to lie; the “chunks” in the description scared me a bit because we all know how Ben & Jerry’s use their chunks in flavors, sometimes by over powering and clearly taking chunky too literally. Well I am glad to report that they did have chunks in the simple vanilla ice cream, and I enjoyed them. I don’t think simple could possibly describe the vanilla ice cream used. I’m not a big fan of vanilla ice cream because I can at times find them too boring and uninteresting to my taste buds. Something about the vanilla recipe they use is just PERFECT. I don’t want to go too much into it because they do just have vanilla that I still need to taste.

My only negative is….wait for it… not chunky enough. I felt that I wanted more chunks or more bites of Heath Bar in each bite. What can I say? My ice cream preferences change as often as my preferences in guys. You have to tackle each with time and patience. And obviously not judge a “flavor” by their “description”.

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Raspberry Fudge Chunk

Yes, I am giving the Greek selection another shot! Not that I had too much of a choice, they are flavors, and I must try them all. While standing and reviewing what options I had to choose from I looked upon the “Greek” selection and thought, what the hell, might as well get them over with. Thankfully there are only four. After this, I will be half way done.

Raspberry Fudge Chunk Verdict:

When it comes to raspberries I don’t really have a defining memory of the flavor. But I do have a favorite yogurt flavor and you guessed it, raspberry! So, as long as I can remember I always searched for that flavor when stocking the refrigerator. And of course, it has to be Yoplait.

Raspberry Greek Frozen Yogurt with Fudge Chunks

YAY! That was my first reaction when I took my first bite. After the disaster of the first Greek flavor I was VERY hesitant to the remainder of this selection from Ben & Jerry’s. Ben and Jerry are known for going over board from time to time with the ingredients in their pints, which sometimes are a success and others, a failure. I am glad that they took the approach of simplicity. I have said it many times before, sometimes the simple things in life are the best. This flavor is perfect! The taste of the sweet raspberry flavor with the mix of the bitterness of the chocolate chunks is superb. Do note I said CHUNKS! They didn’t skimp on that part. I don’t always like their chunks, but this time I do.

What I like most is that I can completely see myself enjoying a scoop or two of this flavor while sitting on the deck on a cool summers evening. Ben & Jerry, you have redeemed yourself with this flavor. I know there are two more flavors in this series. Please don’t let me down, again! I don’t know how long the Greek flavors will be out there, so if you don’t want to miss out on a great pint, go get is now!

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Key Lime Pie

When new flavors come out I am usually on top of it. This time I didn’t see this one coming. When I was scoping through the freezer section I came across this NEW flavor. Let me restate that, limited batch flavor. Since it was the first time I heard/seen the pint I had to pick it up.

Key Lime Pie Verdict:

Normally this is the section where I go down memory lane with the flavor of the week. Well, I have no memories that revolve around Key Lime ANYTHING. I am not a big fan of key lime, so I tend to stay away from it all together.

Lime Ice Cream with a Tangy Lime Twist, Fluffy Meringue Swirl & Pie Crust Swirls

From the previous paragraph you know I am not a fan of this flavor. But, I am going to try and not be bias against my distain for key lime and review this from the aspect of objectiveness. So here we go.

The flavoring in this pint is overwhelming! It’s tangy, twisty and fluffy. The lime is not too over powering and the meringue; well that’s the sweet spot. The more you let the ice cream melt the more meringue texture it becomes. I am not saying I will be searching this pint out again, but the true victory in the trio is hands down the Fluffy Meringue Swirl. The Pie Crust Swirls again were a perfect kick it needed. And we all know that I love my pie crust in a majority of the flavors they have been in so far. I am rating this from a non-bias point of view and allowing room for others and their preferences. Yes, I can think of others from time to time.

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