Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream: It’s Better Than It Was In College

I never ate as much Ben & Jerry’s as I did when I was in college.  I mean, studying and ice cream go hand in hand.  Everyone knows that.  And in the town I went to school in there was actually a Ben & Jerry’s shop. So I could drag my roommate in, decide who was ordering which scoops of what, and them promptly dig into both my dish and hers.  Of all the things we shared Ben & Jerry’s was near the top of the list.

Sadly as I got older I haven’t indulged in Ben & Jerry’s nearly as much.  Something about metabolism changing when you turn 30?  I don’t know, I read it somewhere.  Fortunately for me I eventually forget most of what I read and I found a sale on Ben & Jerry’s pints in my local grocery store recently and stopped to shop.  Drool and shop, that is.  I can’t believe all the new flavors they have.  Where the heck have I been?  When I was scarfing this stuff down (yikes) 13 years ago it was all about Phish Food and Chunky Monkey.  Now they’ve got more flavors than you can imagine and I am determined to give tasting as many of them as possible the ole’ college try.  Go State!

Ben & Jerry’s was started by two guys, Ben & Jerry (go figure) in Burlington, Vermont where they still make the best ice cream ever.  The good folks there sent me some coupons to get started on my endeavor.  I picked up 5 flavors and I want you to know that if there’s anyone more excited about devouring pint upon pint of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream than I am, it’s my kids.  Ice cream genes are hereditary and sometimes this is good, i.e. enthusiastic helpers.  Sometimes it’s bad, i.e. territorial ice cream bandits.  Luckily I was able to channel the ice cream energy and we had a serious taste test.  Let’s get you the judges scores.  (Disclaimer: This wasn’t a scientific study.  There was no random assignment as far as who got what flavor.  Definitely no control group.  It was a free for all.)

Flavor: Imagine Whirled Peace
Description: Caramel and Sweet Cream Ice Creams Swirled With Fudge Peace Sign & Toffee Cookie Pieces
Judge: Chuck, A.K.A .Daddy
Judging Supervisor: Lindsay, A.K.A. Mommy
Results: This one is a winner.  Did you even have to ask?  The chocolate peace signs are good, but it’s the toffee cookie pieces that seal the deal.  And I love caramel ice cream.  Oh, I wasn’t judging this one, was I?  Wait…who’s in charge of this study?

Flavor: Red Velvet Cake
Description: Red Velvet Cake Batter Ice Cream with Red Velvet Cake PIeces & a Cream Cheese Frosting Swirl
Judge: Lily (my daughter)
Results: Lily loves red velvet anything and she loves ice cream.  Marry the two and this child is happy.  She announced early on that she was the head judge for this one.  If her fighting her brother to keep his hands off is any indication of the final score we’re giving this one a 10.

Flavor: Coffee Caramel Buzz
Description: Coffee Malt Ice Cream with Whiskey Caramel Swirls & English Toffee Pieces
Judge: Lindsay, A.K.A. Mommy
Results: Best. Ice Cream. Ever.  No kidding.  I haven’t let anyone else in the family even look at this stuff.  Coffee, whiskey and ice cream?  All mine.  Omigosh, it is so good.  The hunks of toffee are sweet and crunchy and just taste delicious against the creamy coffee ice cream.  It’s heaven.  You could share it, but you’d hate yourself in the morning.

Flavor: Smores
Description: Chocolate Ice Cream with Fudge Chunks, Toasted Marshmallow & Graham Cracker Swirls
Judge: Leo (my son)
Results: He looks like he’s enjoying it, doesn’t he?  This one is a classic and I may or may not have snuck in a lick while he was preoccupied. We loved the marshmallow hunks the best and the graham cracker made this a hit, too.  Leo even removed his sucking thumb from his mouth to give this one two enthusiastic thumbs up.

Flavor: Everything But The…
Description: A Collision of Chocolate & Vanilla Ice Creams mixed with Peanut Butter Cups, HEATH® Bar Chunks, White Chocolatey Chunks, & Fudge-Covered Almonds
Judge: The entire hopped-up-on-ice-cream family
Results: It might be missing the kitchen sink but everything else is in there.  I’m a sucker for anything with peanut butter cups in it.  Add to that even more yummy candy, fudgy almonds, and two creamy flavors of ice cream and you’re in heaven.  We all loved this one.  Topped off the ice cream comas all around, which I must say, was a very comfy place to be.

You didn’t even need those reviews to know Ben & Jerry’s rocks, did you?  It’s common knowledge, but I have to tell you that you need to check out some of their new flavors if you’ve been like me, MIA on the Ben & Jerry’s front for far too long. There are tons more that I didn’t feature here.  Check them all out and scope out what you’ll be looking for next time you hit the store!  That diet can wait ’til Monday.  There are plenty of Mondays in January.  Just sayin.’

And if you think my review is a bit nutty, it’s just the ice cream talking.  Ben & Jerry’s is FUN!  What’s not to love?

Follow Ben & Jerry’s on Facebook and Twitter and you’ll be the first to know about any brand spankin’ new flavors they have coming out!  Ben & Jerry’s is generously offering one of my lucky readers 5 coupons for FREE pints of ice cream! Woohoo!  This giveaway is open to US residents ages 18+ only and ends on November 9, 2012 at 12 midnight ET.  You can enter to win [HERE]!

I was provided with complimentary Ben & Jerry’s ice cream to facilitate this review.  The opinions in this post are 100% mine.  You can read my full disclosure policy here.