Izzy's - Mango Django

Mango Django - Mango Ice Cream infused with Honey and Balsam Vinegar with Cayenne Pepper, Poppy Seeds and Ground Pink Peppercorns

Today's flavor is another People's Flavor Award from Izzy's Ice Cream in Saint Paul.  This one is called Mango Django and it won their biennial contest in 2011.  I am looking forward to attending the 2019 contest on June 16th.  In their flavor page, I notice they specify that it is pronounced with a silent D.  That movie came out in 2012 -- the year after the flavor -- but that character is based on the title character of a 1966 spaghetti western film, so the name has been in pop culture for quite a while.   This flavor is a mango based flavor, but with several other ingredients.  It is sweetened with honey, but cut with balsamic vinegar and then cayenne pepper, poppy seeds and pink peppercorns are mixed in.  Looks quite interesting!

Removing the lid, I see the deep orange color of mango as expected.  I do see a few of the poppy seeds embedded in the ice cream.  They almost look like large vanilla bean specks.  Digging in, this is really good!  I can taste the mango flavor, but it is different from other mango implementations.  The honey & balsamic used to balance the flavors creates interesting effect.  It's not at all tangy like a balsamic-heavy pint, but it is not too sweet either.  The mix-ins are quite light here.  I can see the occasional poppy seed but it is not loaded with poppy seeds like a poppy seed muffin.  I could not taste much cayenne, though my spice tolerance is very high so perhaps there's a little kick in there that most people will notice.  I also did not notice many ground peppercorns, but maybe there were ground up so fine that they blended into the amazing base.

I enjoyed this ice cream greatly.  Often a simple mango ice cream or sorbet can be great for few spoonfuls but then have diminishing returns.  This base blends in a few other things to create a rich, creamy ice cream that was good for the full pint.  It reminded me of their Cabernet de l'Orange flavor -- a seemingly simple blend but surprisingly good.  Don't expect many mix-ins, though.  I've run into this issue sometimes with Izzy's.  The flavor description has me expecting a busy and crunchy pint but the mix-ins are either very sparse or fully ground up and blended into the base.  But don't let the mix-in confusion deter you.  This base ice cream is excellent.