Ben & Jerry's - Minter Wonderland

Minter Wonderland - Dark Chocolate Mint Ice Cream with Marshmallow Swirls & Chocolate Cookie Swirls

There is a new Target-exclusive and presumably-seasonal flavor from Ben & Jerry's!  It is always exciting to return to the brand that started off these reviews.  The flavor is called Minter Wonderland -- an obvious pun on the classic holiday song.  Now, British readers may recognize Minter Wonderland as a holiday flavour from Ben & Jerry's on the other side of the pond.  Interestingly, these are not the same.  The flavour is not the same as the flavor!  The 500 ml tub is not the same as the pint!  The British flavour is a mint ice cream with chocolatey chunks while the American flavor is a Dark Chocolate Mint Ice Cream with Marshmallow Swirls and Chocolate Cookie Swirls.  So, while the Brits have what appears to be a chunkier version of the classic Mint Chip flavor the Americans are getting a more complex chocolate mint mixture with a dark chocolate base and swirls of both marshmallows and chocolate cookies.  I am only having the American flavor today, but it does look quite interesting!

What strikes me first as I remove the lid is that the dark chocolate base is indeed quite dark.  And a hint of the marshmallow swirl can be seen right away.  Digging in, the dark chocolate & peppermint flavors are both present.  This is a combination I have seen before from Jeni's and it works quite well.  The Jeni's pint was homogeneous, but Ben & Jerry's adds a couple of swirls. The marshmallow swirl here is a bit stronger and potent than the usual Ben & Jerry's pint.  I expected it to be like Phish Food where the swirls mainly acts to create a goopier, faster melting texture (I actually quite like this effect).  Here the marshmallow-y texture stays distinct from that of the base and I taste more specific marshmallow flavor.  Perhaps this was needed because the dark chocolate and peppermint are both so overpowering.  So, I can taste the marshmallow but it is still certainly a minty-chocolatey pint.  Then there is the chocolate cookie swirl.  This is one of my favorite Ben & Jerry's swirls and has been used several times.  Here it does not deliver much additional chocolate flavor as the base is already so chocolatey but it does add some gritty texture which is nice in an otherwise creamy-marshmallowy pint.

I liked this pint.  Long-time readers know that mint chocolate chip is my all-time favorite flavor so it is always fun to see imaginative variations on those two ingredients.  It was more chocolatey than minty and with a bit of marshmallow in the mix as well.  If dark chocolate and peppermint is your thing, then head to Target and check it out.

Footnote:  Ben & Jerry's has released a politically-themed flavor this fall called Pecan Resist.  I don't mind politics as long as the ice cream is good.  The trouble here is that it is not a new flavor.  This is just a temporary re-packing of their classic flavor New York Super Fudge Chunk -- you can even see that the ice cream in the pint images for the two links above is identical, the pint labels are swapped with photoshop.  From my old review you can read that New York Super Fudge Chunk has an interesting backstory of its own and I quite liked the flavor.

Ben & Jerry's - Glampfire Trail Mix

Glampfire Trail Mix - Chocolate Ice Cream with Crunchy Pretzel Swirls, Marshmallow Swirls & Fudge-Covered Almonds

Today is a new Target-exclusive flavor from Ben & Jerry's called Glampfire Trail Mix.   Ben & Jerry's usually has at least four exclusive flavors with Target at any given time.  I checked to see what the other flavors were to see if any had been cycled out.  I saw pints of Brewed to Matter and Keep Caramel and Carry On. Those are newer flavors, so they are likely staying.  That means that either Peanut Butter World or Blondie Ambition could be on the way out.  Both are still listed on the Ben & Jerry flavor page, so it is too soon to know.   I must admit that I did not know what glamping was before purchasing this pint.  Evidently, it is "glamorous camping".  When you are glamping, you are exploring the outdoors, but you still have decent -- potentially even resort-level -- amenities.  If you think about it, it makes sense for an ice cream flavor.  I mean, you can't bring a pint of ice cream on a hardcore camping trip, it would melt.  But if you are glamping then you'll likely have access to a large freezer and you can stock up on your favorite ice creams to enjoy.  This flavor looks a bit like a nutty s'mores-like flavor which pretzels in the mix as well.  I'm looking forward to it.

Opening the pint, I see the chocolate base with one of the fudge-covered almonds visible right away along with a bit of the marshmallow swirl.  The marshmallow swirl here reminds me a bit of the S'mores flavor or Phish Food.  It is not an intense marshmallow flavor, but it serves to 'soften' the pint a bit -- make it faster melting and a bit 'goopy' as you reach the bottom of the pint.  The pretzel swirl is interesting.  It is more gritty than crunchy.  Like the marshmallow, the flavor is not that strong, but it does effectively deliver a bit saltiness which is fun.  The chocolate covered almonds are quite delicious.

I liked this pint.  Because of the chocolate base and the marshmallow swirl this feels like yet another twist on Phish Food, but I don't mind that because Phish Food is one of my favorite flavors.  Also, interesting to see Ben & Jerry's on a big camping kick with this flavor and the limited batch Gimme S'mores flavors coming out at the same time (and they already have another S'mores flavor, too!).  The pretzel swirl is well done and an interesting new idea.  Lots of pints have similarly gritty graham cracker or cookie swirls, but this one delivers salt.  It opens up a lot of new possibilities for future flavors.

  

Ben & Jerry's - Keep Caramel and Cookie On (Target Exclusive)

Keep Caramel and Cookie On - Caramel Malt Ice Cream with Shortbread cookies, Fudge Flakes & Caramel Swirls

I was at Target the other day and whenever I am at Target I always pay a visit to the ice cream section to survey the contents.  Much to my surprise, I found a new Ben & Jerry's flavor!  This new flavor is a Target exclusive.  Target has four exclusive flavors:  Blondie Ambition, Brewed to Matter, Peanut Butter World and now this one Keep Caramel and Cookie On.   From the signage at Target, it looks like A Swirled of Difference (formerly known as Peanut Butter Jam Session) might be on the way out.  If that was a favorite of yours, run to Target and grab a pint while supplies last.  Keep Caramel and Cookie On appears to be a play on the classic motivational poster issued by the British government back in 1939 in anticipation of the Second World War.  The inclusion of shortbread as an ingredient also adds to the British vibe to the flavor.  Ben & Jerry's long lost Cool Britannia flavor also contained shortbread.

On to the ice cream!  Removing the lid shows the light color of the caramel malt base with some of fudge flakes visible and hints of the caramel swirl can be seen as well.  I am always curious when malt is included in the base flavor.  As a kid, I was turned off by malt flavoring because my local ice cream parlor overused the malt powder but in practice Ben & Jerry's uses malt to numb a base flavor so as not to distract from the mix-ins.  We'll see if that holds here.  Eating into the pint, the caramel base is indeed mild, but immediately encounter the shortbread cookie mix-ins.  They are soft and chewy -- they almost blend in with the ice cream texture wise.  They have a little bit more sugar in them than the shortbread pieces that Häagen-Dazs uses in their shortbread flavor.  I think that explains why they numbed the caramel base with malt -- there is enough sugar in the shortbread.  The caramel swirls were appropriately thick and flavorful.  The fudge flakes were smaller in size which seems appropriate with the other mix-ins.  It is a good combination.

All in all, a successful new pint from Ben & Jerry's.  Shortbread lovers will be happy that this ingredient has returned to the Ben & Jerry's product line.  Interestingly, it is mixed with chocolate and caramel here -- usually shortbread is mixed with fruit -- but it still worked.

  

Ben & Jerry's - Brewed to Matter (Target Exclusive)

Brewed to Matter - Coffee Ice Cream with Fudge Chunks & a Brownie Batter Swirl

Brewed to Matter is a brand new flavor exclusive to Target.  It is the replacement for Volun-Tiramisu which has been retired.  The four flavors exclusive to Target are now Brewed to Matter, Peanut Butter World, Blondie Ambition (renamed from Rockin Blondies) and A Swirled of Difference (renamed from Peanut Butter Jam Session).

Brewed to Matter is the classic mixture of coffee and chocolate flavors.  Chocolate and coffee have more in common than one might guess.  Everyone knows that coffee contains caffeine, but chocolate contains a stimulant in the same family called theobromine.  Theobromine only differs from caffeine by a single methyl group.  The difference makes it a bit milder and less addictive than caffeine but it still has similar effects.  So the tendency of people to mix coffee and chocolate together is no accident.

Opening the pint, you see a medium brown coffee ice cream which is darker than the mocha base seen in previous pints.  The fudge chunks on the top appear to be quite sizeable.  Eating into the pint, the coffee flavor was quite noticeable but not so overpowering as to give me a headache.  The fudge chunks were much larger and chunkier than normal.  I think many of the recent pints I've eaten contains fudge flakes.  The brownie batter was much more subtle than I expected.  It was a bit of a chocolate syrup which surrounded the fudge chunks.

I did enjoy this flavor.  Brewed to Matter is fairly similar to the Coffee Coffee Buzz Buzz Buzz flavor in its mixture of coffee and chocolate but the Buzz Buzz Buzz flavor contains espresso beans so it packs such a strong kick that it is really only for coffee junkies who are looking to go overboard.  I love caffeine, but that flavor gave me a bit of a headache.  Brewed to Matter was much more my style.

Ben & Jerry's - Blondie Ambition (Target Exclusive)

Blondie Ambition - Buttery Brown Sugar Ice Cream with Blonde Brownies & Butterscotch Toffee Flakes

Blondie Ambition is a flavor Ben & Jerry's produces exclusively for Target.  If you remember the "Rockin Blondies" flavor that Target had last year, this is the same flavor.  For some reason there was a name change.  Ben & Jerry's likes to include rock puns in their flavor names and this appears to reference the famous "Blonde Ambition" tour of Madonna in 1990 at the height of her popularity.  I originally thought it might be a "Blondie" (Debra Harry and company) reference, but I think its probably Madonna.

This is sort of the blonde version of the Chocolate Fudge Brownie flavor.  The main ingredients of a Blonde Brownie are butter and brown sugar which matches the flavors of the base ice cream.  Also, butterscotch is just butter and brown sugar in confectonery form.

Opening the pint, the buttery brown sugar base was yellowish tinged and the butterscotch flakes were visible right on the very top.   Eating into the pint, the base flavor was not very strong.  It was a bit creamier than the average base which I guess came from the extra butter, but I barely noticed the brown sugar at all.  No matter, there were plenty of butterscotch flakes which provided lots of brown sugary flavor.  My issue with butterscotch candies is that they can be too strong and overpowering.  This was happily avoided here as the flakes were just the right size and chewy consistency.  Unfortunately the blondie bites were not implemented as well as the brownie bites that are included in many other flavors.  The brownie bites somehow stay soft and chewy despite being stored in a freezer inside ice cream.  Here, the blondie bites were frozen.  They got a bit softer at the bottom of the pint as the rest of the ice cream slowly melted, but even then a blondie does not pack the same level of intense flavor that a brownie does.

So, although I think an all-blonde pint is a decent idea for times when one is not in the mood for chocolate, there was a hiccup in the implementation here.

Ben & Jerry's - Peanut Butter Jam Session (Target Exclusive)

Peanut Butter Jam Session - Peanut Butter Ice Cream with a Crunchy Peanut Butter Swirl and a Raspberry Swirl

Peanut Butter Jam Session is the other peanut-butter-centric Target-exclusive flavor from Ben & Jerry's (the other being Peanut Butter World).  Here they mix the peanut butter with jam instead of which chocolate.  Ben & Jerry's actually tried a Peanut Butter and Jelly flavor way back in 1989 but it flopped and only lasted a year.  This is a reimagining of that idea and it also allows them to create another music pun for a flavor name so they could feature a cow with a guitar on the side of the carton.

Opening the pint, I was surprised to see mainly the peanut butter base.  One of the peanut butter swirls was evident on the very top as well as a hint of purple from the raspberry swirls that lie below.  Digging into the pint, the peanut butter base itself was subtle and not too thick.  The peanut butter swirls provided a thick and nutty double dose of peanut butter on top of the base.  This combination had the danger of being overwhelming but the raspberry swirls provided the light and sweet relief from all the peanut butter.  Perhaps this is what peanut butter and jelly is all about?

After my troubles with the "That's My Jam" flavor last week, I was happy to have enjoyed "Peanut Butter Jam Session".  I am not anti-jam, I just like my jam in moderation.  If you like peanut butter and jelly -- specifically a three-to-one ratio of peanut butter to jelly -- then hop down to your local Target and give this flavor a try.

Ben & Jerry's - Peanut Butter World (Target Exclusive)

Peanut Butter World - Milk Chocolate Ice Cream with Peanut Buttery Swirls & Chocolate Cookie Swirls

Today's flavor is another peanut-butter-centric flavor, Peanut Butter World.  I looked at the backlog of Ben & Jerry's flavors and noticed that there was a lot of peanut butter ones on the list and I decided to put a dent into that.  Its also a Target Exclusive flavor.  I get worried that some of the vendor-exclusive flavors may cycle out before I get a chance to review them.  One my favorite flavors from the past two years was "Volun-Tiramisu" but it appears that it has likely been discontinued so I fear that I missed out on the chance to write a formal review for the flavor.  I am determined not to let that happen again! :-)

Opening the pint of Peanut Butter World, I see mostly chocolate with some evidence of the chocolate cookie swirls.  The base here is labeled 'milk chocolate' which is different from most of the chocolate bases which are just labeled 'chocolate'.  I'm not certain what difference that made other than it was certainly not a dark chocolate.  Digging in I noticed the peanut butter swirl which was not obvious on the very top.  The peanut butter and chocolate cookie swirls created light brown and dark brown marbling to the brown chocolate base.  The peanut butter flavor was noticeable but not overpowering.  The chocolate cookie swirl is perhaps my favorite type of swirl and gives a strong chocolatey kick to an already chocolate base. 

This is yet another successful mixture of chocolate & peanut butter.  I enjoyed it.  Keep in mind that this particular flavor is more chocolate-centric than its name implies, it is probably three parts chocolate and one part peanut butter, so keep that in mind when you are choosing flavors.  Also, the swirls are just about the most efficient way to blend the flavors which is good but there's no chunks or gobs or crunchy pieces, every spoonful was the same blend of flavors.  If this particular permutation of chocolate & peanut butter interests you, then check it out.