Sweet Science - Pumpkin Cheesecake

Pumpkin Cheesecake - Pumpkin Spice Ice Cream Swirled with Cream Cheese Ice Cream

I went to an ice cream tasting this weekend!  The Minnesotan-brand Sweet Science had commandeered a local pub for a few hours on a late Sunday afternoon.  There was no charge, so I figured that I would stop by.  It was fun.  There was a "tasting line" and five servers gave you three small spoonfuls each so I got to sample fifteen flavors in about as many minutes.  Sweet Science is a premium brand, so I got to try out some interesting flavor combinations.  They also had some pints on sale, so I picked up a few and will be reviewing them in the next few weeks.  I figured that I would start off with their Pumpkin Cheesecake flavor as we are getting into the peak of the "pumpkin spice" season at  bakeries and coffee shops.  This flavor is a relatively new blending of their Pumpkin Five Spice flavor with a cream cheese ice cream.

On to the ice cream!  After removing the lid, the top of the pint shows both of the base ice creams.  There is the light orange-ish brown color of the pumpkin base marbled with the white cream cheese ice cream.  Digging in, the pumpkin flavor is quite noticeable right away.  It has a bright, sweet pumpkin flavor with quite a bit of spice flavoring as well.  I always get curious about the exact spice mixed used, but unfortunately, neither the container nor the website spells that out.  At least I learned that five spice powder is a thing, but there are many variants of those.   Other than the expected cinnamon, there was likely something aromatic in the mix as well such as ginger or cardamom.  It was a sweet spice rather than a savory spice.  Don't let my unsatisfied curiosity scare you away, it was quite tasty.  The cream cheese gave it a bit more fullness -- it made it a bit more filling.  There were no other mix-ins.  Sometimes these pie or cheesecake based flavors include a swirl of what would be the 'crust' but not here.

I really enjoyed this pint.  Flavor-wise, I liked it better than the Ben & Jerry flavor that comes out each fall, although that pint includes a graham cracker crust swirl if that is important to you.  If you have access to Sweet Science and have a seasonal 'pumpkin spice' craving, do not hesitate.