Izzy's - Mexican Chocolate Fiesta

Mexican Chocolate Fiesta - Chocolate Ice Cream with a dash of Cinnamon and a hint of Orange Extract

Izzy's Ice Cream has 32 flavors available in their scoop shops at any given time, but they many more flavors available than that.  There are 8 core flavors that seem to be always available (vanilla, vanilla bean, chocolate, strawberry, salted caramel, bubble gum, cotton candy & cookies and cream) and the other 24 slots rotate.  Thankfully, they have an online system to help me find out when flavors I am interested in have been rotated in which is called the Flavor Up system.  I signed up for all the award-winning flavors and a handful of others which look interesting.  The system works.  I actually got on email when the 2001 People's-Flavor-Award-winning flavor Mexican Chocolate Fiesta become available and I was able to run down and pick up a pint.  This is a chocolate ice cream with cinnamon and orange flavoring added.  I have had several 'mexican chocolate' flavors which include cinnamon (from Steve's, Jeni's, and McConnells) and one surprisingly good orange chocolate flavor.  I am curious to see how well this pint compares.

Opening the pint, I mainly see chocolate -- as expected.  With the first spoonful, I taste the cinnamon right away.  It is quite noticeable, but it is not at all a 'hot' cinnamon.  Then of course, the chocolate flavor.  It is good chocolate flavor -- sort of a milk chocolate, but most chocolate ice creams are rather milky because milk and cream are a natural part of ice cream ('dark' chocolate implementations have to try hard to stay 'dark').  Then after I swallowed, I actually noticed the orange flavor.  Often when I read that a flavor contains a 'hint' of something, I wonder if the effect will be too subtle for my palate, but I can definitely taste it here.  It provides cool orange flavor at the end of every spoonful. 

I really enjoyed this pint.  This is thick, dense and rich chocolate which is quite good by itself, but the cinnamon and orange definitely make it more interesting.  It is not as hot of a cinnamon flavor as some Mexican chocolates, and it is not as orangey as some orange chocolates, but all the flavors are balanced quite well.  This is quite delicious and I can see why it won one the first People's Flavor Award contest back in 2001.  They are holding the People's Flavor Award contest again next month and I am looking forward to checking it out.