Ben & Jerry's Bonnaroo Buzz Ice Cream

I don't normally review the handful of Scoop Shop-only flavors that Ben & Jerry's produces. The main reason is that until relatively recently, we didn't have a Scoop Shop close enough to me -- and the one that we have now is still not all that close.

So, Gigi, you ask, what made you go out of your way for this one? One word: whiskey. Gigi happens to really like whiskey flavored items.

Bonnaroo Buzz gets its name in honor of the yearly Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival going on in Manchester, Tennessee, from June 10th-13th. (Check out the official website for more information than I am going to provide.) Basically, it is sort of like a Woodstock or Coachella thing, only deep fried and set in the South. If you're anywhere near the 700 acre farm it takes place on, you can see such big acts as Norah Jones, Tori Amos, Dave Matthews, Conan O'Brian, and Steve Martin, playing with his banjo band. I would love to go, but there are two big things preventing me:

1. It's in Tennessee and I am more than half a continent away, and

2. They recommend you bring your own TP.

Now guys, I am really not all that fussy. I don't need four star accommodations and huge, down-filled king sized beds to be happy (although that seriously helps). I can even deal with lack of internet access without getting too twitchy (but only if my phone can still get service...I love you, my sweet little Crackberry). I even might be able to deal with the funk that is thousands of hippies drawn to one place. No, people -- what kills it for me is bathroom facilities that I am suggested to bring my own "accessories" to.



So, while you won't find me personally at Bonnaroo, I will be enjoying the mellow, good vibes that I hope to find wafting off my scoop of ice cream.

Bonnaroo Buzz is a coffee and malt flavored base ice cream with English toffee pieces, and a whiskey-caramel swirl.



So, was it good enough to make me consider hitting the road with a twelve-pack of Charmin?



Yeah, you know what? It was!

I know that the two ice cream flavors were blended, because I could see the two different flavors swirled together. But in terms of taste, what really shone through was the coffee. It was indeed a very light and sweet coffee. As if you drank your lattes the way I do, with a lot of milk and roughly a pound of Splenda (OK, that might be a slight exaggeration).

The toffee chunks aren't mere...well, chunks. No, they're more than that. Even by Ben & Jerry's generous standards, they are slabs! Seriously. Just take a look at this thing:



It's the buttery, rich toffee you expect from Ben & Jerry's. There are also little pieces of fudge. By the time the pictures were taken and I actually got to eat my ice cream, it was pretty melty -- so I honestly can't tell you if the fudge pieces fell off of the toffee, or if they were separately mixed into the ice cream. The store was far too busy to go back and ask anyone about that, so perhaps someone who got a better look at the ice cream (or someone from Ben & Jerry's) will chime in with the answer to that question?

In any event, we all know how I feel about the fudge. It's not bad...but it's not chocolate.



What really makes this flavor is the swirl (although the toffee and the ice cream itself are pretty darn good). The swirl is a whiskey-caramel swirl. My swirl was nice and fluid by the time I ate my cone. It tasted mostly of the caramel, but there was definitely that woodsy, smokey, slightly vanilla flavor of whiskey. I really wish there had been more of the swirl. A lot more, come to think of it. In fact, I kinda want a vat of it.

I only have one real complaint with this flavor: it really should have been a pint flavor. It is just too good to be Scoop Shop only.

This is a super limited flavor -- it'll only be around for a brief time, and it's only available in the Scoop Shops. But track it down, anyway. It's well worth it!



PURCHASED FROM:
Ben & Jerry's Scoop Shop

PRICE:
Free!

CALORIES:
I'm pretty sure that since it was cost free, it should also be calorie free. (OK, probably not.)

OFFICIAL WEBSITE:
benjerry.com

Ciao Bella Malted Milk Ball Gelato

Who doesn't love a good malted milk ball? You just gotta feel sorry for all the little malted milk men. (A cookie if you know the source of that one!) I love the airy crunch, the sweetness, and the little hint of vanilla. And how could you not love that in ice cream? Or, in this case, gelato.

Ciao Bella's version has a malted cream flavored gelato base that is studded with ginormous pieces of malted milk balls. There are even whole balls in there! (Oh no...I sense my inner 13-year-old boy emerging yet again...)

If you give the pint a good whiff, you pick up the faintest notes of malt. (It is perfectly normal to smell your ice cream, right?)



The base of the gelato has the taste of a classic malted shake (or a "frappe," if you hail from the land of my birth). It's not as sweet as plain vanilla. It has that nice toasty taste to it.

The malt balls themselves are huge. They are easily twice as bigger as Whoppers or Maltesers (depending on your side of the pond). While I give them points for being covered in actual chocolate -- yes, Whoppers, I am pointing the cold finger of judgment at you -- it is not the best chocolate ever. It's oily, and that's about the strongest flavor it has. Fortunately, the malt center is quite good. It's airy, and it stayed quite crisp -- which added greatly to the texture.



Even with the so-so chocolate, this is seriously good. The texture is blissfully rich and creamy, and the malty flavor was absolutely addicting.

Definitely worth trying.



PURCHASED FROM:
Vons Supermarket

PRICE:
$3.99

CALORIES:
200 calories per half-cup serving.

ADDITIONAL INFO:
Made with equipment that also processes eggs, soy, tree nuts, and peanuts.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE:
ciaobellagelato.com

Whoppers- Blueberry Limited Edition

I know I have often said there is not enough blue food... and maybe I should stop saying that
I was killing time at Walmart* and poking through the Easter candy and these limited edition Whoppers stood out- mostly because I figured they would be horrifying. I love blueberries but outside of they're natural form and some very traditional food items (pies, pancakes etc) I tend to not like blueberry as a flavoring. But hey...

They are pretty shade of Tiffany blue

The outer glossy shell is not chocolate (thought there is cocoa in there), it's a sugary confection that is blueberry flavored. They short of smell like blueberry air freshener. The blueberry portion tastes kind of like air freshener actually, it's vaguely floral. You smell it more then taste it. It's sweet without any of the blueberry tartness. And to be fair there is not even a pretense that there is any natural flavor in there.

I may not like like the outer layer but I have always liked Whoppers inner malt ball. It's slightly salty, there's a little toasty thing going on. The texture is honeycombed and starts to melt instantly as it hits your tongue.

The malt center coupled with the blueberry coating together well... I feel sorry for the malt ball. But on top of that it also creates almost a Tootsie Roll like aftertaste. The Easter bunny can keep these.

PURCHASED FROM:
WalMart*

Maltesers

I remember the chocolate covered malt balls (Whoppers) of my youth being pretty darn good.
Somewhere in the midst of my getting old malt balls- specifically Whoppers stopped being good. I place the blame for this firmly on the inclusion of mockolate.

When I was doing some shopping at my local Brit store the sales lady told me these were her favorite- AND they still contain real milk chocolate so how could I resist?

First, a closer inspection once home of the label revealed that while the chocolate coating does include both cocoa butter and cocoa fat it also contains the evil hydrognated vegetable fat. UGH! WHY?!
Whining aside I will give it points for tasting more like 100% real milk chocolate then the coating on it's American cousin the Whopper (well maybe Step-Cousin would be a better comparison. While Hershey's makes Whoppers here, in the UK it is a Mars brand). It's cool on the tongue. It's waxy and doesn't so much melt as slouth off from the heat in your mouth. The coating it's self was just the right thickness.

What I really liked about the candy was the malt center. If our version of a Whoppers center is dense has more of a vanilla taste to it, these are light and airy. They melt in your mouth. If you have ever had a real malted shake or even just added malt powder to milk, that is exactly what the center tastes like. There's almost a honey taste to it.

I liked these enough to get them again!

PURCHASED FROM:
THE BRITISH EMPORIUM Upland