Jeni's - Mexican Hot Chocolate

Mexican Hot Chocolate - Chocolate Ice Cream with Vietnamese Cinnamon and Cayenne Pepper 

 

I made a holiday order from Jeni's Ice Cream of Columbus, Ohio!  Rather than wait for the Black Friday sale, I pulled the trigger early this year as I am worried about shipping delays this year.  A reminder to local readers that although Whole Foods, Kowalski's and a few other places, I have never seen the holiday flavors in stock at local grocery stores.  Ok, I have had a few of the holiday flavors before (Sugar Plum, White Chocolate Peppermint and Cognac with Gingerbread), so I will refer you to those reviews.  The first new flavor from the shipment is called Mexican Hot Chocolate (instagram link here).  This flavor used to be called "Queen City Cayenne" and is one of Jeni's earliest and most favorite flavors.  It is a chocolate ice cream seasoned with Vietnamese cinnamon and cayenne pepper.  This mexican or spiced chocolate flavor is not uncommon.  I have had implementations from Häagen-Dazs, Steve's, McConnell's, and Sebastian Joe's.  Jeni's themselves even had a similar flavor called Xocorosa which had slightly different spices and was spiked with rosé.  Let's dig in!

Removing the lid, the chocolate base has a medium brown color -- about normal and not "dark".  Digging in, I taste the spices in the chocolate right away.  Mainly I taste the the cinnamon.  I taste a little bit of the cayenne pepper as well.  I have a high spice tolerance, so for me it just raises the level of the cinnamon to that of  Big Red gum.  But here in the Midwest, people have lower spice tolerances, so they may feel more of a kick.  I do not mean to belabor these spice-level observations -- this is delicious!  This is a homogeneous flavor with no mix-ins.

This is a solid implementation of a spicy chocolate from Jeni's.  It is simple and flavorful.  Part of me wishes it was a bit hotter, but that could be my high spice tolerance talking.  This is spicy enough for most.  Enjoy.

Jeni's - Everything Bagel

Everything Bagel - Cream Cheese Ice Cream with Everything Bagel Gravel

 

Jeni's has another special limited batch flavor!  Just one month after their previous special release, White House Chocolate Chip, they have a new flavor called Everything Bagel (instagram link here).  This is their tribute to the "Everything Bagel" -- the bagel with everything on it.  So it has cream cheese in the base and then a streusel for a mix-in which contains typical everything-bagel toppings such as poppy seeds, sesame seeds and even onion, garlic and cayenne.  Interesting!  I bought this online so it is not available in local stores.  It was actually a limited release which sold before it was supposed to ship and then the shipping was delayed due to bad weather.  But I got it and I will share my thoughts now anyways.  The flavor caused some stir in national press outlets (links here, here and here).  I even saw it mentioned on some morning news shows.  So who knows maybe it will return one day?

OK, on to the ice cream! Removing the lid and peeling back the protective label the cream cheese base is bright white in color.  Digging in, the cream cheese base is thick and creamy.  I can tell there is cream cheese in there but it does not have that super-distinct aftertaste that cream cheese often has.  I don't mind that -- actually I like it.  Soon I encounter the "gravel".  These little pieces of 'streusel' are like nugget sized pieces of an everything bagel and they are generously dispersed in the ice cream below.  The first thing I notice is the poppy seeds but then I notice the sesame seeds and yes the onion and garlic.  The ingredient list says there is cayenne, but I don't really taste that.  It is quite savory, but it is not 'hot'.  Overall, it is quite good.  The mix-ins taste just like bagel pieces that are loaded with toppings and the cream cheese base plays the role of the shmear.  There is enough of the base ice cream to keep the savory toppings from getting too overwhelming.

This is an excellent, experimental and unique flavor from Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams.  There is naturally a lot of curiosity and trepidation beforehand about an ice cream that contains onion and garlic, but this was extremely well done and I really liked it!  It was like breaking an everything bagel into small pieces and dipping it in cream cheese ice cream.  It might not be good for all times that I eat ice cream.  I wouldn't eat it with a fruit pie or with a sweet cake.  But I would eat it for breakfast or an afternoon snack.  Hopefully, Jeni's finds a way to work this flavor into the regular rotation.

 

 

Sebastian Joe's - Chocolate Coyote

Chocolate Coyote - Chocolate Ice Cream flavored with Cinnamon and Cayenne Pepper

 

I stopped Sebastian Joe's on Franklin & Hennepin a couple of weeks ago on one of my ice cream runs and picked up a couple of pints.  That area of Minneapolis is also home to Bebe Zito and Milkjam Creamery so it's convenient to visit all three in one trip.  Today's flavor is Chocolate Coyote.  They actually didn't have enough for a full pint, so one of my pictures is missing below, but I was able to eat enough to write a review.  This is a chocolate ice cream flavored with cinnamon and cayenne pepper.  This type of spicy chocolate is often known as "mexican chocolate" and I have had several versions of this from brands like McConnell's, Steve's and Häagen-Dazs plus more complex variants from Izzy's (with orange), Jeni's (with rosé) and even a previous Sebastian Joe's flavor (with pretzels).  Let's see how this flavor compares.

Opening the container, the chocolate ice cream is a fairly dark brown color.  Digging in, I taste the cinnamon right away.  It is a strong and hot cinnamon -- like what is found in red hot candy or a stick of Big Red chewing gum.  Then I taste the chocolate which is quite delicious.  The cayenne pepper blended quite well with the cinnamon.  This is the hottest cinnamon-chocolate pint that I have had, but it still feels like the flavor of cinnamon and not hot pepper. So, the pepper here serves to amplify the cinnamon in the mix.

This is a delicious and hot implementation of a spicy chocolate from Sebastian Joe's.  As I mentioned above, this is like a very spicy cinnamon without feeling like super-spicy hot pepper.  I really enjoy this blend.  This is for those that like their mexican chocolate on the spicy side.

 

 

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.

Sweet Science - Cayenne Caramel Brownie

Cayenne Caramel Brownie - Chocolate Ice Cream with Brownie Pieces and a Cayenne Caramel Swirl

Today is another Sweet Science pint that I picked up at the final tasting event.  This one is called Cayenne Caramel Brownie.  It looks like an implementation of the now-standard chocolate fudge brownie flavor, but with a spicy caramel swirl added.  It looks interesting.

Removing the lid, I see the medium-brown color of the chocolate base (not too dark), some evidence of brownie pieces and if I look closely some discolorization on the top may be evidence of a caramel swirl lurking below.  I have not reviewed their standard chocolate flavor before, but it is quite good.  The brownies are soft, chewy and chocolatey.  This would be a pretty solid chocolate fudge brownie alone, but there is more!  There is a cayenne caramel swirl underneath.  I found the caramel to be flavorful but the cayenne is quite mild.  It could be a spice-level tailored for Midwestern palates or it could be that I personally like things extra hot, or it could be all the surrounding ice cream acting as a spice buffer.  Probably a combination of things.  It is good caramel, though.  As I continued eating, there got to be a little bit of a kick similar to that of a whiskey caramel, but it never did get all that hot.

This is a good pint of ice cream.  Adding caramel to chocolate fudge brownie is a great idea.  The cayenne shouldn't get top billing here, but that could work either way as some Midwesterners might be afraid of hot peppers.  A hint of spice may be more of what people are expecting.  Enjoy the delicious brownies and caramel.

  

Jeni's - Bangkok Peanut

Bangkok Peanut - Peanut Butter & Honey Ice Cream with Toasted Coconut and Cayenne Pepper

The fourth pint in my Jeni's shipment is Bangkok Peanut.  This is a fun flavor dating back to the days of her first scoop shop in the Columbus North Market.  It is inspired by a couple of Thai restaurants nearby.  Peanuts and spice.  I love Thai food.  I can't wait to check it out.

Opening the pint, the honey peanut butter base has the expected orange color.  Lots of the shredded coconut is available as well.  Digging in the peanut butter ice cream is quite good.  Sometimes peanut butter ice cream can be thick and heavy, but mixing it with honey does a good job of brightening it up a bit.  I liked it.  The shredded coconut adds quite a bit of texture to the pint.  The coconut flavor it provides is not too strong.  It goes with the peanut butter well.  I did not notice the cayenne pepper right away but it was something that slowly built up as I ate several spoonfuls.  Jeni's website descriptions often talk about the 'finish' of an ice cream flavor.  That sounds like what is happening with the cayenne pepper here.  I liked this effect.  The spice did not distract from the flavor while I was eating it, but I noticed it later.  I do have a relatively strong spice tolerance though.  Others I know who have tried this flavor noticed the spice sooner.  It's not hot, though, just a nice little kick of flavor.

This was an excellent pint of ice cream.  It is basically peanut butter, but it does peanut butter in a very unique way.  The honey brightens up the base, the coconut adds texture and the cayenne adds a bit of bite to the finish.  Well done.

Steve's - Mexican Chili Chocolate

Mexican Chili Chocolate - Chocolate Ice Cream laced with Cinnamon and Cayenne with Guajillo Chocolate Pieces

We're back to the Steve's brand with their Mexican Chili Chocolate flavor.  I must admit that I'm both intrigued and intimidated by this flavor.  I love Mexican food -- especially spicy Mexican food -- and I like chocolate, but I'm not sure if I' don't often think of the two of them going together.  I do like the idea of trying new flavors though and this is combination I've encountered in any of the previous reviews.

Opening the pint, I see the chocolate base with a slightly ligher brown color than expected.  Digging in, the cinnamon accent to the chocolate hit me right away but otherwise it was just really good chocolate.  Some of the other brands don't worry about the chocolate quality in their chocolate base and when they want extra chocolate flavor they add chocolate mix-ins.  Not here, though, as this is a very good chocolate base.   The chocolate pieces were pea-sized and occasionally dispersed through the pint adding extra dense chocolate flavor.  The cayenne and guajillo chili flavoring was not as potent as I expected.  In each spoonful, it did not distract from the excellent chocolate flavor that I described above but it was something that built up slowly as I was eating the pint.  It was a flavor that near the end of the pint stayed lingering on my teeth in between spoonfuls -- not a complaint, I rather enjoyed that sensation.  I have a couple of theories as to why it wasn't as spicy as I expected.  First, I tend to like my spicy food mucho caliente and perhaps a name brand chose not to be so bold in a pre-packaged pint.  Second, if you want to relieve your mouth of spice, you would have something cold and milky, so the ice cream base does act as a natural buffer for added spicy ingredients.

I did enjoy this pint, though.  It's a very tasty chocolate!  I've had a lot of different chocolate ice creams in the past year, so that's saying something.   I would recommend this flavor if you like chocolate but are interested in a slightly spicy twist on your usual favorite.