Häagen-Dazs - Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel - Chocolate Ice Cream with a Peanut Butter Swirl and Crunchy Pretzel Pieces

The next flavor in Häagen-Dazs' City Sweets Collection is called Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel.  This features a chocolate ice cream with a swirl of peanut butter and pretzel pieces.  Pretzels are relatively new for Häagen-Dazs.  They use them in one of their Spirits Collection, but it is not present in any of their other standard flavors.  Checking the pretzel tag on my archive, combining these three ingredients (chocolate, peanut butter, pretzels) is not uncommon, although usually a vanilla or peanut butter base is used instead of chocolate.  The closest flavors I can find is Coolhaus's Midnight Munchies.  It will be fun to see how this compares.

Removing the lid, I see the familiar brown color of Häagen-Dazs' chocolate base with darker chocolate pieces (the pretzel pieces appear to be chocolate colored) and perhaps hints of the peanut butter swirl.  Digging in, the chocolate base is the same as their simple Chocolate flavor and it is delicious.  The peanut butter swirl becomes more evident as I dig further down (see photos below).  The peanut butter flavor that it adds is noticeable and well-done.  The chocolate-covered pretzels provide something to chew on and a little bit of salt.  They are not soft but they are not as crunchy as some pretzel mix-ins.  It is hard to get pretzels to stay super-crunchy when it is inside ice cream for long periods of time.

This is a solid and successful chocolate-peanut-butter-pretzel flavor from Häagen-Dazs.  The stars of the show here are the chocolate and the peanut butter -- those flavors simply go very well together.  The pretzels add some textural difference which is fun, but the pretzels were not the main attraction here.  There is nothing not to like about this flavor, but I will be curious to see if it stands out above their other chocolate-and-peanut-butter flavors.

Pumphouse Creamery - Brother Justus Single Malt Whiskey

Brother Justus Single Malt Whiskey - Ice cream flavored with Brother Justus Single Malt Whiskey

 

I return to the Pumphouse Creamery of south Minneapolis for their Brother Justus Single Malt Whiskey flavor.  Whiskey is not an uncommon flavor in ice cream -- my whiskey flavor tag has over a dozen pints tagged with it and the bourbon flavor tag has a dozen more (with some overlap, but not all).  I often see it as whiskey accent for brown sugar or caramel-based flavors or as part of an irish cream flavor.  I believe this is the first time that I have seen it as the only flavor in a pint.  So that should be interesting!  The whiskey here is from the Minneapolis-based Brother Justus whiskey company.  There is a note on their website accompanying the flavor description saying that this flavor contains less alcohol than their vanilla flavor.  That's interesting.  Let's see how it tastes.

Opening the pint, the ice cream is a bright white color!  Wow, most vanillas are not even this white!  Checking the Brother Justus website linked above, at least one of the single-malt whiskeys is clear and not brown.  Maybe this is made with that?  Or perhaps, like vanilla extract which is also usually brown in color, there is not enough color in the whiskey to add color to all the milk and cream.  Digging in, I taste the whiskey right away!  It has an aromatic flavor and a mild kick in the back of my throat when I swallow, but it is not so strong that it is overwhelming.  I like it.

This is a fun and interesting whiskey-based flavor from Pumphouse.  It answers the question of what would a whiskey ice cream taste like if it was only flavored with whiskey.  Pretty good!  It does make me wonder what could be used to accompany this.  Could you add a scoop to coffee?  Or would it taste good with pecan pie?  There I guess I would be reproducing some of the more whiskey-based ice cream flavors that I have had before, but it is also good by itself.  I am glad this simple whiskey-only flavor exists.  Check it out if you like other whiskey flavors.

Milkjam Creamery - Malted Corn Crunch

Malted Corn Crunch - Malted Milk Ice Cream with Candied Corn Flakes Crunch

The third of the April Childhood Cereals flavors (instagram link here) from the Minneapolis-based Milkjam Creamery is called Malted Corn Crunch (instagram link here).  It features a malted-milk-flavored ice cream with candied corn flakes as mix-ins.    Corn flakes are a popular cereal to use for ice cream mix-ins.  Let's check it out.

Removing the lid, the malted milk base has an off-white color and several of the corn flake mix-ins can be seen right away.  In the first spoonful, I actually taste the malt right away.  This is about the maltiest base that I have ever had.  The candied corn flake pieces provide some sweetness to offset the malt.  This seems a little backwards to me.  Usually, I see malt as a way to mute or offset flavors which are excessively sweet.  Here, the malt is strongest flavor.  I do not have malt that often, so I try to enjoy the flavor for what it is.  It is not bad.

This is a very malty cereal-based flavor from Milkjam.  It is pretty good, but I think you have to be a malt-lover to really love it.  Some people do love their malt, in which case this flavor may be for them.

Van Leeuwen - Wild Blueberry Shortcake

Wild Blueberry Shortcake - Vanilla Ice Cream with a Blueberry Swirl and Chunks of Shortcake

The next flavor in Van Leeuwen Ice Cream's Walmart-exclusive flavors for spring is called Wild Blueberry Shortcake (instagram link here).  We have gotten past the eat-it-if-you-dare flavors like Kraft Macaraoni & Cheese and Pizza and into the more agreeable flavors.  This is a vanilla ice cream with a blueberry swirl and chunks of shortcake.  Let's check it out.

Removing the lid the vanilla base has a yellowish color (Van Leeuwen's 'French' ice cream includes extra eggs) and I can see quite a bit of the blueberry swirl already.  Digging in, I taste the blueberry right away.  It has a pretty good flavor, but it a bit on the mild side.  This could be specific to me, but I often think blueberry is milder than other berries.  It's still good, though.  The shortcake pieces are scattered throughout the pint.  Shortcake does not have a strong flavor either, but that's expected.  They provide something interesting to chew on.

This is a solid and agreeable blueberries and shortcake flavor from Van Leeuwen.  I found the blueberry flavor a bit mild, but that could be a personal preference of mine.  The more potent flavors of blueberry (not blended with other berries or paired with lemon) that I have had have been hand-packed flavors from local scoop shops like Milkjam and Izzy's (when they had a scoop shop).  Blueberry lovers who like Van Leeuwen will still want to try this.  Enjoy.

Milkjam Creamery - Cap'n Crunch and Berries

Cap'n Crunch and Berries - Cap’n Crunch Ice Cream with All Berries Treats and Berry Jam

 

The next flavor in the Minneapolis-based Milkjam Creamery's April line of Childhood Cereal Flavors (instagram link here) is called Cap'n Crunch and Berries (instagram link here).  This features a Cap'n Crunch flavored base ice cream with All Berries Treats as mix-ins along with a berry jam.  I did not know what All Berries Treats was before this review.  I guess it's another Capn Crunch product.  There is the original Capn Crunch which is the hard cereal.  Here they steep the base milk and cream in the original Capn Crunch to let it absorb the cereal flavor before straining out the cereal and churning.  Then there is Capn Crunch Berries (not used here) where they add these colorful berry-flavored puffs to Capn Crunch.  These puffs were evidently popular enough that they created a flavor called Oops All Berries which include only those puffs.  Here these berry puffs are used as a mix-in.  Milkjam also adds a berry jam into the mix.  Let's check this flavor out!

Removing the lid, the base ice cream has an off-white color and there are plenty of colorful mix-ins to see.  I see some of the "all berries" treats as well as some purplish sections which I believe are hints at the berry jam swirl (sometimes jam swirls bleed into the base).  Digging in, I taste quite a bit of berry right away.  I wish I knew which berries were in the jam.  It does not taste like any specific berry, so it is probably a blend.  I am guessing raspberry and strawberry, but many other berries could be in the mix.  The flavor of the berry blend is good.  The treats provide some sweet berry-flavored things to chew on.  Being soaked in cream for so long, they are not as crunchy as they'd be when french but the texture is not too bad.  The base itself has a mild flavor.  The flavor of Capn Crunch is not too obvious but I'll admit that I am not a sugar cereal connoisseur.  It is not bad, though and the purpose of the base here is just to serve as a vehicle for the mix-ins and swirl.

This is a fun and interesting berry cereal flavor from Milkjam Creamery.  If this type of cereal was your favorite as a kid, then this will take you back.  The berry jam adds extra berry flavor.  It's not quite as singularly amazing as the previous Cinnamon Caramel Toast Crunch flavor, but it is still a lot of fun.

Van Leeuwen - Planet Earth

Planet Earth - Blue Spirulina Almond Ice Cream with Pieces of Matcha Green Tea Cake

The next flavor in the Brooklyn-based Van Leeuwen Ice Cream's spring line of Walmart-exclusive flavors is called Planet Earth (instagram link here).  This flavor features a blue spirulina almond base with pieces of matcha green tea cake.  Interesting flavor combination!  Let's see how this turns out.

Removing the lid, the base ice cream is quite blue!  I see one of the green matcha tea cake pieces on top already as well.  Digging in, I quickly see the planet earth connection here.  It looks a bit like a globe.  The blue is the water and the green was the land.  Perhaps that was obvious and I could have anticipated it above, but it looks pretty cool and I see it now.  The base is made from almond extract and it is sweeter than I expected.  It has a sweet, agreeable and aromatic flavor that many almond-extract foods have that is different than that of the flavor of crushed almonds.  I do not know how else to describe it.  It is good.  Spirulina is a blue-green-algae-derived superfood which is very nutritious but I am reading that it is mostly flavorless.  Here, it supplies the beautiful color.  The matcha cake pieces are chewy and have a mild tea flavor to them.  Matcha can be an acquired taste for some, but there are no worries here because the flavor is not too strong and it is immersed such an agreeable almond ice cream.  Mostly, it provides the beautiful green color.

This is a fun and beautiful "planet-earth" based ice cream.  The spirulina and matcha provide lots of nutrition and bright color but flavor-wise it is the pleasant almond-extract base which dominates.

Milkjam Creamery - Cinnamon Caramel Toast Crunch

Cinnamon Caramel Toast Crunch - Milkjam Ice Cream with Gooey Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cookies and a Salted Caramel Swirl

 

Today I return to the Milkjam Creamery of south Minneapolis for the first of their April flavors based on Childhood Cereals (instagram link here).  This flavor is called Cinnamon Caramel Toast Crunch (instagram link here).  This is the second flavor based on the classic Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal that I have reviewed this year -- the previous was a Dreyer's implementation.  Today's flavor is a deluxe implementation in comparison.  The base ice cream here is their namesake Milkjam flavor which contains caramelized goat, cow and condensed milks.  The mix-ins are cinnamon-toast-crunch-inspired cookies and a swirl of salted caramel.

The top of the pint has on off-white color similar to that of the Milkjam pint.  Digging in, I quickly encounter the cinnamon cookies.  These are delicious!  They do remind me of a cinnamon toast crunch cereal quite a bit.  Also in the mix is the caramel swirl which would taste good by itself, but it also goes very well with the cereal cookies.  The milkjam base is thick, creamy and rich and serves as a great vehicle for it all.

This is an excellent Cinnamon Toast Crunch-based cereal from Milkjam Creamery.  This is one of my favorite flavors from them in quite a while.  As I mentioned above, this is the premium-deluxe version of Cinnamon Toast Crunch compared to the budget Dreyer's flavor (which I did like!).  Fans of cinnamon and fans of cereal should check this one out.