Sebastian Joe's - Swiss Almond

 

Swiss Almond - Vanilla Ice Cream with Chocolate Covered Almonds

 

Today's flavor is from the Minneapolis-based Sebastian Joe's Ice Cream and is called Swiss Almond.  I bought it at the scoop shop on Franklin near Hennepin in the Lowry Hill neighborhood of Minneapolis.  This looks like an implementation of one of Häagen-Dazs most popular flavors: Vanilla Swiss Almond.  It is a relatively simple flavor -- vanilla ice cream with chocolate covered almonds -- and I am a bit surprised I have not seen any other copycat flavors yet.  Let's check it out!

Opening the pint, I see a lot of chocolate covered almonds right away!  They are small too.  So this is slightly different than Häagen-Dazs in that these are not full almonds.  Digging in, the vanilla base is quite tasty.  It's a bit more memorable than the usual vanilla base.  A little creamier and more fragrant.  I will have to try their simple vanilla flavor one day.  The mix-ins are indeed chocolate-covered almond pieces and additionally, they appear to be crushed so that the inner almond is exposed on most pieces.  They are crunchy and nutty and tasty.

This is an interesting twist on the classic Vanilla Swiss Almond flavor.  I like the mix-ins from the Häagen-Dazs a little better (chocolate-covered whole almonds are so good) but I do enjoy that Sebastian Joe's did not try to make an exact copy of the original.  Check it out.