Häagen-Dazs - Amaretto Black Cherry Almond

Amaretto Black Cherry Almond - Amaretto-Infused Non-Dairy Dessert with Black Cherry Jam & Sweet Almond Toffee Pieces

Today is the sixth and final pint from Häagen-Dazs' Spirits Collection released this spring for 2019.  This is the fifth pint I've reviewed this spring and the sixth flavor, Bourbon Pecan Praline, was available a couple of years ago in different packaging as a limited batch preview.  This is a non-dairy flavor.  I have not normally been surveying the non-dairy lines of the major national brands, but I decided to do this pint for a couple of reasons.  First, it is a unique flavor -- it is not simply a non-dairy version of a regular flavor.  Second, the Spirits Collection only had one non-dairy flavor and it would bug me if I had all but one of the line.  This flavor is called Amaretto Black Cherry Almond.  The base has an amaretto (almond liqueur) flavor, there is a swirl of black cherry jam and the mix-ins are almond toffee pieces.  I have had amaretto in ice cream before, once in a nutty pint from Izzy's and once in an apple cider sorbet from Ample Hills.  Let's check it out!

Opening the pint, I am greeted by loads of mix-ins.  There are large splotches of the cherry jam and I can see quite a bit of the almond toffee as well.  Digging in, the cherry jam is the first thing I taste.  It has a decent flavor -- not too sweet or too tart.  The almond toffee pieces are good, though not too crunchy.  Some toffees become half-dissolved when immersed in ice cream.  It is an interesting effect.  Not a complaint -- dissolved toffee is quite tasty -- just keeping you informed of the texture.  The non-dairy base is decent.  They do a pretty good job of mimicking the texture of ice cream in these non-dairy desserts these days.  I can taste a bit of amaretto flavor, but it is not too strong.  The effect of the alcohol is quite a bit milder than most of the other Spirits Collection pints.  In most of those, your mouth gets flooded with the aromatic sensation of the alcohol but without being too boozy on the palate.  Here, the alcohol is a soft accent to the cherry toffee mix-ins.

This is a decent pint of non-dairy ice cream.  The cherry jam and almond toffee were quite good.  There were so many mix-ins that I almost did not notice that the base ice cream was non-dairy.  The amaretto 'spirits' were only play a supporting role -- they could almost get away with putting this in the regular line.  The cherry and almond combination is good, though, and scanning my reviews I don't see any other flavors like it.  If you like cherry jam & almonds, then check this one out.