Graeter's - Caramel Macchiato

Caramel Macchiato - Coffee Ice Cream with Caramel Truffles and Heath Toffee Pieces

The third pint from my recent six-pint shipment from Graeter's Ice Cream is called Caramel Macchiato.  It was a limited batch flavor and as I write this, it is already gone from their website.  I did find an instagram post about the flavor here.  So, a note to local readers that this flavor is not available in local grocery stores.  It is a coffee ice cream with chocolate-caramel truffles and Heath toffee pieces mixed in.  Coffee-caramel and coffee-toffee are both popular flavor combinations, but it not common too see all three -- and there is some chocolate coating the caramel as well.  Let's check it out!

Removing the lid, the coffee base has a light beige color.  It is lighter than most coffee bases, but that was true of Graeter's own Vienna Coffee flavor as well.  It looks like they are using that Vienna Coffee ice cream for the base here.  Digging in, I encounter the caramel truffles first.  These are similar to other chocolate-covered caramel pieces that I have found in other flavors -- including their own Chunky Chunky Hippo flavor.  They are a bit like Rolo candies.  Other flavors to include truffles like this are two caramel-centric Talenti pints (here and here), the Izzy's Trick or Treat flavor (actual Rolo candies!), and an old retired Ben & Jerry's flavor.  Also in today's pint are toffee pieces.  These are like the insides of a Heath bar with no chocolate covering.  See the pictures below for pictures of the mix-ins outside of the ice cream.  Anyhow, the mix-ins are quite tasty and since both caramel and toffee each go well with coffee, it is a delicious mix.

This is a fun pint from Graeter's.  The caramel truffles and toffee remind me quite a bit of their Chunky Chunky Hippo flavor which, in my opinion is even more fun (and not just because of the name and packaging).  Check it out if you'd like a coffee-twist on that Chunky Chunky Hippo.

Sebastian Joe's - Nicollet Avenue Pothole

Nicollet Avenue Pothole - Chocolate, Caramel, Heath Bar Chunks, Fudge Truffles, a Fudge Swirl and Sea Salt

Today I review the second pint that I picked up from the Minneapolis-based Sebastian Joe's Ice Cream.  The first was a banana-themed pint called Pavarotti, this pint is called Nicollet Avenue Pothole.  This is one of their most popular and successful flavors.  It is so popular that I am surprised that the website is telling me that it debuted as recently as 2010.  I would have thought that it had debuted in the 1980s like Pavarotti had.  It is a hyper-chocolate pint.  Chocolate base with many chocolate mix-ins.  Lots of brands have a flavor like this, because sometimes a simple chocolate ice cream is not enough.

The flavor name comes from Nicollet Avenue, one of the main north-south streets in south Minneapolis.  Back before Minnesota had major league baseball, the Minneapolis Millers used to play at Nicollet Park which is located on Nicollet Avenue.   In 1967, the downtown portion of the street was closed to all traffic except buses and renamed Nicollet Mall.  This downtown section was the location of Mary Tyler Moore's famous 'hat toss' in the opening credits of her 1970s television show.  Today, a portion of the north section of the street is known locally as Eat Street because it contains so many restaurants. 

Anyhow, on to the ice cream!  Removing the lid, the ice cream is the expected dark brown color.  It looks very thick and rich.  Digging in, the ice cream is very chocolatey as expected.  There is a swirl of chocolate in the chocolate base.  The swirl has been mostly mixed in, but I can tell that the base has been super-charged with chocolate.  I also taste a bit of salt in the mix as well which reminds me that caramel is not the only flavor that can be salted.  I've seen this at least twice before (here and here) and it works quite well!  There are some chunky mix-ins.  Some are just chocolate, others are chocolate truffles (see spoon picture below).  Often these truffles are filled with either caramel or peanut butter, but these are filled with chocolate.  More chocolate!  One thing I did not notice when I was eating the pint was heath bar pieces.  Perhaps they've changed the recipe?  Not a problem though as there were plenty of other mix-ins to enjoy.

This is an excellent pint of "super chocolate" ice cream.  Lots of brands have a flavor like this where they try to see how many kinds of chocolate they can pile together into one pint.  Ben & Jerry's I, Ben & Jerry's II,  Tillamook,  Milkjam Creamery,  New Orleans, ... forgive me if I'm forgetting one.    Sebastian Joe's follows this same tradition and succeeds brilliantly.  Chocolate lovers who are in the mood to go 'over the top' will love this.

Izzy's - Irish Moxie

Irish Moxie - Coffee Ice Cream made with Jamison Irish Whiskey with a mix of Oreo cookies and Heath Bar Pieces

I decided to stick with Izzy's for the duration of my holiday trip to Minnesota.  The next flavor is called Irish Moxie which is a flavor which mixes coffee and irish whiskey -- an ice cream version of an Irish Coffee.  Oreos and Heath Bars are added to this base as mix-ins.  It looks like an interesting combination.  I am 25% Irish, but do I have the moxie to enjoy this flavor?  (groan)

Removing the lid shows the beige color of the coffee/whiskey base.  The color matches those of previous coffee bases.  Plenty of chocolate-colored mix-ins are visible right away on top.  Digging into the pint, the coffee flavor is visible right away but it is a sweeter flavor than previous flavors.  That seems to be the effect of the Jamison Irish Whiskey.  Other whiskey flavors tended provide a kick with a slight burn in the back of the throat but in this pint it makes the coffee taste sweeter.  The Oreo and Heath Bar pieces are dispersed generously throughout the pint and provide the expected amount of chocolate flavor and crunch.  As mentioned in previous reviews, chocolate complements coffee very well.

I really enjoyed this pint.  If you're a fan of Irish Coffee or if you're interested in a coffee flavor which is also sweet then you should give this flavor a try.