Graeter's - Bourbon Pecan Chocolate Chip

Bourbon Pecan Chocolate Chip - Kentucky Bourbon Ice Cream with Buttered and Salted Pecans & Chocolate Chips

We return to the Cincinnati-based Graeter's brand for another pint of their old-fashioned "french pot process" ice cream.  This week;s flavor is Bourbon Pecan Chocolate Chip which flavors its ice cream with Kentucky Bourbon.  Growing up, I associated Cincinnati with the midwest (and WKRP) but when I was in college I met a few people from Cincinnati and they spoke with a mild southern accent.  They explained to me that Cincinnati is right across the river from Kentucky.  So an ice cream with a Kentucky Bourbon flavoring makes complete sense in a Cincinnati brand.

On to the ice cream.  Removing the lid shows the milky color of the base ice cream with some pecans and chocolate chips noticeable right away on the very top.  In the previous Graeter's review, I noticed a frozen slush consistency across the top of the pint.  There is none of that here thankfully.  Friends who have previously had Graeter's reported to me after that review that they had never seen that in any of their pints.  So, it appears that was a fluke issue with that pint.  Digging in, although the pint contains no actual alcohol, I did note the flavor of bourbon right away in the first spoonful.  The Graeter's website describes it as "for adult tastes, but still kid safe".  The pecan mix-ins are billed as being roasted but they were soft and not crunchy.  They were delicious.  There were fewer chocolate chips than there were pecans, but overall there were plenty of mix-ins.  Pecans more of a novelty anyways.  I got an odd sensation halfway through the pint -- I thought I tasted pistachio.  I guess pistachio and pecan are both nuts and perhaps I was more used to crunchier pecans?  No complaints I like pistachio.  The french pot process produces a very dense and thick ice cream.  I had no problems finishing the pint, but I was quite full for quite a while afterwards.

I very much enjoyed this pint.  Bourbon & pecan is a successful flavor combination which you do not see very often in pints.  Ben & Jerry's does have a Bourbon Pecan Pie flavor but it is only available in Texas for some reason.  If you're not in Texas and you want bourbon and pecan, then Graeter's is the way to go.