Izzy's - Butter Caramel Swirl

Butter Caramel Swirl - Light Butter Caramel Ice Cream with a Salted Caramel Swirl

I stopped by the Saint-Paul-based Izzy's Ice Cream the other day to see if they had any new flavors and was surprised to find a new flavor which was pre-packaged.  They do this once in a while.  Last year, I was surprised by Snap, Crackle Chocolate.  Anyhow, I like cases where salted caramel is used to create a more complex flavor.  Looks like they're swirling a salted caramel swirl into a butter caramel base.  Should be interesting!

Opening the pint, but the caramel color of the base looks more tan and less orange than the usual salted caramel.  The swirl is visible in a couple of places.  On one side, you can see a syrup-like swirl and on another you can see some places where the swirl is half-blended into the base (though that sometimes happens on the top of pints).  Digging in, the butter caramel base has a darker flavor than most caramel bases.  This is a burnt caramel flavor rather than a sweet caramel flavor.  It's pretty good.  The syrupy swirl of salted caramel is generously present through the pint so that most spoonfuls have a bit of it.  This caramel has a stronger, sweeter flavor than in the base and is quite salty.  The two caramels go together quite well.

This is a very good caramel-themed pint from Izzy's.  Their salted caramel is one of their more popular flavors -- and that won't change -- but this pint will appeal to those are in the mood for something slightly more complex.  The obvious (local) comparison would be with Sweet Science's Salted Caramel Swirl pint.  As similar as the two pints are, the choice of a butter caramel base here instead of vanilla gives a different feel.  The Izzy pint has an earthy burnt caramel feel which gives the salted caramel some bite while the Sweet Science pint's vanilla base gives a sweeter and brighter feel.  I liked Sweet Science's slightly better, but I could see one having a different preference.