Archer Farms Sea Salt Pretzel Caramel Ice Cream

I absolutely LOVE Haagen-Dazs Fleur De Sel so when I saw the Archer Farms take on the flavor at Target I scooped (haha) it up
The major difference in the two on the surface is that the Archer Farms version has fudge covered pretzel pieces in it. Of course the major difference is that one is super premium and the other isn't.

The base flavor of the ice cream is supposed to be caramel. I say supposed to be because while the ice cream certainly doesn't taste bad, it just doesn't taste at all. It's cold and there is a carryover of sweetness that I think comes from the caramel and fudge swirls. There is just no discernable base flavor.

The caramel swirl is the best part of this ice cream. It's buttery and soft and when it comes into contact with the sea salt it is the perfect sweet/savory combo.
The biggest let down in the ice cream is the chocolate covered pretzel pieces. These could have been outstanding but they instead are a sad reminder of what could have been. With maybe two exceptions all of the pieces were soggy and stale. There was no crunch. It just mushed- or at best crumbled in my mouth. Just sad.

As for mouth feel. If I had been hoping for that wonderful fat filled, creamy mouth feel... well I am going to be waiting along time. Instead, it has the overly airrated, thin and slightly oily texture of budget or low end ice creams.

This was so dissapointing. It's like the ice cream version of George Clooney; looks great on the outside but you open it up (or in the case of George he speaks) and what's inside? bland, vapid, mushy, flavorless nothingness.

PURCHASED FROM:
Target