McConnells's - Wild Berry Chip

Wild Berry Chip - Ice Cream Infused with Wildberry Jam with Bittersweet Chocolate Chips

Today is the final pint of my recent five-pint shipment from McConnell's.  It is called Wild Berry Chip.  Unlike the previous pints in this shipment, this is part of their standard lineup of flavors and is not a limited or seasonal release.  It must be a recent addition, though, as I do not remember this flavor from my previous orders.  I checked the ingredient list to see which berries are wild berries.  It turns out that they use raspberries and marionberries.  This is only my second pint to feature marionberries.  You can read more about the marionberry in that previous review (also from McConnell's.

Cracking open the pint, I see the expected purplish pink color of the raspberry-marionberry base.  You can also see lots of berry seeds too.  If you look closer, you can tell that the color of the base is not homogeneous.  Some parts are a little whiter than others.  The berry jam appears to be swirled into the sweet cream and then it not fully mixed.  Don't worry, as you can see below there is still plenty of berry in each spoonful, but this is a little bit of variability as to the strength of the flavor.  The berry is quite good.  It is a little bit on the tart side, but not overly so, plus the seeds give it an aura of earthy authenticity.  As I scoop further, I quickly encounter the chocolate chips.  These chips are small and flake shape and have a bit of crispy-crunchiness to them.  The chocolate flavor is good and goes well with the berries.

This is an excellent combination of berries and chocolate chips.  There are lots of good raspberry chocolate chip flavors around -- including Graeter's signature Black Raspberry Chocolate Chip.  This McConnell's pint has a few twists to distinguish itself, though.  The inclusion of marionberries into the mix creates a unique berry flavor and also the small chucks and seeds give this pint a natural and earthy vibe.  And of course, McConnell's does a great job of tastefully balancing the flavors.  Fans of raspberries, marionberries and chocolate who have access to McConnell's will want to check this one out.