Tillamook - Caramel Bananas Foster

Caramel Bananas Foster - Spiced Banana Frozen Custard with Bananas and a Caramel Rum Flavored Ribbon

The Oregon-based Tillamook Creamery has a new flavor in their pint collection!  It is called Caramel Bananas Foster.  I picked this up at the Kowalski's on Grand Avenue in Saint Paul.  I have had Banana's Foster-themed flavors a few times before -- from Coolhaus (review includes the history of the dessert), Izzy's and New Orleans Ice Cream.  It should be fun to see how this flavor compares.

Removing the lid, I see another one of those foil labels that are becoming more popular.  I don't mind this trend.  I like to save the lids of all the pints I eat as keepsakes and the foil keeps the lids clean.  It saves me time washing them.  The foil label says "Made to be enjoyed."  I do hope that I enjoy it!  Peeling back the foil, I see the off-white color of the banana base and there is a murky cloudiness on the top.  That must be the caramel.  Digging in, the base has a sweet banana flavor.  Sometimes Bananas Foster implementations go with the more earthy banana-bread type of banana flavor but this is a bit sweeter than that.  Not quite as sweet as banana cream pie though.  The texture is thick and creamy.  It reminds me of other Tillamook bases in that regard.  I taste a hint of cinnamon in the mix.  The cloudiness of the caramel appears to be just a surface effect.  There is a distinct caramel swirl below.  The swirl has a dark caramel flavor which goes with well with the banana.  I do not specifically taste rum, but it could be that the rum flavoring is the source of the darkness in the caramel (as opposed to a burnt caramel).

This is a solid implementation of a Bananas Foster flavor from Tillamook.  Banana and Caramel is a good combination and the rum flavoring appears to add bite to the caramel.  I like that they used a normal swirl trying to layer the ingredients as they have in some of their other pints.  I think my favorite is still Coolhaus, but you can't go wrong here.  More brands should try a Bananas Foster flavor.