Chocolate Therapy

First and foremost I want to apologize for my LONG absence from the Ben & Jerry's blog. As most of you all know the last few months have been a little hectic crazy with the decision to jump from the West Coast to the East Coast. Now that I am settled in and on track with things out here, it's time I get back on track to this journey.

Before my parents flew back home we went grocery shopping to load up on some essentials. Well, somethings never change and I ventured in the freezer section. HOLY CRAP there's the newest flavor that I have yet to find in Cali. You bet I grabbed that sucker up and decided that this will be the "inaugural" flavor to kick us off again. Now that my living situation is with my cousin Michelle, I don't trust her and my Ben & Jerry's. My Euphori-Lock traveled with me, and I locked up the pint until it was tasting time. But I was nice enough to let her indulge in the tasting with me.

Chocolate Therapy Verdict:

I have always said there are two items I turn to when I am stressed... 1) Jack & Coke... 2) Chocolate, preferably dark chocolate. Let's just say, I found my new item when in need of some good ole therapy.

Chocolate Ice Cream with Chocolate Cookies & Swirls of Chocolate Pudding Ice Cream

How can I easily explain this pint? An orgasm in your mouth....OH MY! I'm a chocolateholic and this satisfied every need I had. If one isn't a chocolate fan I would stay away, but if you couldn't figure that out in the title I couldn't' help you. What I love most about the flavor is that you can taste every aspect of chocolate put in the pint. The chocolate cookies are perfectly portioned throughout and the chocolate pudding ice cream, AMAZING. I want Ben & Jerry's to just package that alone. So Ben & Jerry's if you're listening to me, PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS GOOD, package just the chocolate pudding ice cream.

Basically, you should all run to your nearest store and pick up this pint. If you're unable to locate you can go to Ben&Jerry's.com and use their flavor locator to find it in a grocery store near you.

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Chocolate Fudge Brownie

When I went out to the freezer to grab from my “stash” I already had the flavor in mind that I was going to pluck for my tasting pleasures. Well, when I opened the freezer I didn’t see the flavor I was looking for. I counted the remaining pints and the correct amounts were there. I then realized I totally thought I bought a flavor that I obviously didn’t DAMN!

Chocolate Fudge Brownie Verdict:

I have to go on bragging again about my mom’s baking. I love brownies, period. But when she makes them, they are honestly the best. It’s the perfect amount of chocolate to ice cream. When we have family dinners we usually end up having that for dessert. And since our birthday is coming up, I think I may suggest that for our dessert. That or apple pie, or possibly both.

Chocolate Ice Cream with Fudge Brownie

CHOCOLATE is the best word to describe this flavor. It’s chocolate upon chocolate, and it was AMAZING. I love chocolate! Now if you have a weak stomach for sweets, DON’T eat this. The chocolate levels will give you a stomachache. I ate more than normal, and had a tummy ache for the remainder of the afternoon. But I don’t really care because the flavor was AMAZING.

Ok, back to the review. The chocolate ice cream was greatly flavored. As for the fudge brownies, I wish I could pick them out and just eat them alone. They brownies weren’t too big and were perfectly portioned throughout the pint. All I can say is, if you’re a chocolate lover get this in those times of need. It will work wonders.

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New York Super Fudge Chunk

I am back to my old stunts again this week. I bought 8 pints this past week. They were on sale and I couldn’t pass up a good deal when it occurred. I grabbed my hand basket and walked straight to the freezer section. I literally stood there and took a census of the flavors and contemplated on the ones I needed to get. I was once again looked upon like I was crazy when I piled 8 different cartons of ice cream on the conveyer belt. He already thought I was crazy, so I asked: can you not bag those yet; I want to take a picture.

New York Super Fudge Chunk Verdict:

I’ve never been to New York, so I don’t have knowledge on that city except of what I’ve heard from friends. Honestly didn’t think I would have a memory for this flavor. But once I took the first bite the flashing started. It tasted JUST like Rocky Road, minus the marshmallow. Growing up (and to this day) I didn’t like rocky road, well I thought I didn’t like rocky road. I would always pass on ice cream when my family, full on rocky road lovers would have this flavor. I boycotted it like children boycott broccoli, spinach and Brussels sprouts. I am and always have been a Cookie N’ Cream kind of guy. Damn, I’ve been missing out on what I thought I didn’t like.

Chocolate Ice Cream with White & Dark Fudge Chunks, Pecans, Walnuts & Fudge-Covered Almonds

To all odds, I very much so enjoyed this flavor. I knew what Rocky Road tasted like, because I knew what I didn’t like. And look, I proved myself WRONG! The fudge chunks were perfect. I especially enjoyed the white fudge chunks….yummy. And the pecans, walnuts & fudge-covered almonds were a great combination. Not one component of the ingredients over powered the other. It was a mix that I honestly thought was going to be too much, but like the flavor, it proved me wrong. I do enjoy a good surprise from time to time.

And to my readers who thought I would gain weight during this process, I’ve lost 3.5 inches off my waist in the last three months. SO SUCK IT!

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Rocky Road-ish

I have a confession… We are officially on flavor 37 and this was flavor 28. I tasted it, posted the picture but never reviewed. I apologize! So I bought the flavor again and re-tasted it because I needed to do a true review.

Rocky Road-ish Verdict:

I am trying to figure out where the “ish” is coming from. Is it because there’s toasted marshmallow and fudge covered almonds? If so, it’s like me saying I’m straight because I’ve “ish’d” with a girl before.

Toasted Marshmallow Ice Cream with a Toasted Marshmallow Swirl & Fudge Covered Almonds

Even though I don’t believe the name of the flavor should have “ish” in it, I still enjoyed the flavor. Maybe it should have been named something entirely different. But it’s a little too late for that input with the marketing department at Ben & Jerry’s. It was very creamy and could be a tad too sweet for some with the marshmallow swirl in it. But I enjoyed it so much more for that factor. Another perk to this flavor was that the almonds weren’t full almonds. They were more bit size and not overwhelming to the flavor.

I am not going to promise that I won’t fall behind again. But hey, I got to enjoy this flavor twice now. And there’s no complaints coming from me.

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Dulce Delish

You don’t know how happy I got this morning when I walked into Vons. Ben & Jerry’s was FINALLY on sale…. 2 for $6! At least something in this economy is going down. I don’t think I could afford gas and Ben & Jerry’s. And sadly, I would have had to limit my driving.

Dulce Delish Verdict:

This week doesn’t bring back any memory of my own…. but when ever I have something Caramel I always think of my youngest sister, Juliann. She would always get the Caramel Macchiato from Starbucks with EXTRA caramel. There was a time when she became addicted to those things. But we all stepped in and “helped” her.

Rich Caramel Ice Cream with Dark Caramel Swirls

I scream, you scream, we all scream CARA-MEL! I had one concern with this flavor, TOO much caramel. It does say, Rich, right in the name so I worried it would be too rich. Luckily to my surprise it wasn’t over done at all. I found this flavor very smooth and perfectly portioned with Caramel and a side caramel. The after taste of the flavor allows you to just simply enjoy the simplicity of one flavor in two tones. Do I find myself getting this pint in desperate time? No! But I do see myself getting this pint when I just want to relax and enjoy a nice quiet, calm night in.

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Bonnaroo Buzz

It’s coming to that time when I have to pick a new grocery store to get my flavors because I am getting limited on my choices at the Vons by my house. The cashier this morning thought I was having Ben & Jerry’s for breakfast. I informed her it was a lunch treat and that I am trying all the flavors. She asked how many there were and I said, so far my list is at 58 and this is my 33rd flavor. She replied… I didn’t know there were that many flavors. I think I have hit the crazy part of the journey….Oh well!

Bonnaroo Buzz Verdict:

I thought I was going to have NO memories of this flavor. Then I took a bite and BAM…memories started flashing back. When I was in Rhode Island last year I was told about this wonderful treat called, Coffee Cabinets from my cousin Dave. Well while I was in Massachusetts with my cousin Jen (his daughter) and her family, they treated me to this magical treat of the coffee cabinet. The mixture of the ice cream tasted JUST like the coffee cabinet I had at this general store that had been there for 100 years+. Well if my memory serves me correct that is. I remember sitting in the general store and my little cousin Luke was sharing his parents, and he was ADDICTED. Even though the name of the “shake” was under debate, Dave won and I will always call it a coffee cabinet.

Coffee & Malt Ice Creams with Whiskey Caramel Swirls & English Toffee Pieces

I have to say that the Coffee & Malt Ice Creams with Whiskey Caramel Swirl would be great just by themselves. You can easily taste the coffee, but it’s not overwhelming. I didn’t taste the whiskey…I am going with the fact they didn’t add enough in the ice cream, and not that I am a alcoholic. The only negative belongs to those English Toffee “Pieces”…. those suckers WERE NOT pieces. Those things were the size of boulders. If they downsized those chunks to pieces, I would be perfectly happy. But then again, if they just removed the toffee pieces I would be even happier.

Even with the one flaw, I am still giving this flavor a full score. Not everything needs to be perfect in order to win me over.

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Everything but the...

As I was standing in the freezer section this morning and staring at all the flavors it became all a blur. I could look at some and say…YEP had that one…and then others I just couldn’t tell you if I had them or fantasized about them. I need to make a mini list for my phone so this never happens again. .

Everything but the…Verdict:

I have NO memory recollection for this flavor or any of the contents in it.

A Collision of Chocolate & Vanilla Ice Creams mixed with Peanut Butter Cups Heath Bar Chunks, White Chocolate chunks & Fudged Covered Almonds

This wasn’t just a collision of the above flavors. This is that fiery crash that closes the freeway and causes the onlookers on the opposite side of the freeway to slow and look at what is happening. We obviously know what’s happened, so is there a need to slow down and observe? NO!

I have to admit I was excited to try this flavor…. then “it” happened. I opened the lid and the first thing I saw was that damn Peanut Butter Cup. The memories of Peanut Butter Cup came back rushing in and all I could think was…Damn, the peanut butter cups are too big. Basically the same issue happened again. I found everything they said was in there except the Heath Bar Chunks. I am not sure where they went. I would have to say the sometimes there is a thing known as TOO MUCH! This is a prime example. You had this, that and everything else in between in this pint. Everything stood out, but not for the good reasons.

I won’t say it was a horrible flavor. It just wasn’t my flavor.

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