Although Blue Bell's latest release was able to elude me for the entirety of it's introductory month, I finally ran across the turquoise tinted half gallon pail just a few days into February. Joining Chocolate Covered Cherries, Chocolate Chip, and the previously reviewed, Mocha Almond Fudge, Mint Cookies 'n Cream is the only all-new flavor released in 2013 thus far. This gold-rimmed selection is described as smooth mint ice cream combined with mint creme-filled chocolate cookies and semi-sweet chocolate chips. I've had nearly every mint-themed offering available in the past six months, so my taste buds are well prepared to put Blue Bell's twist on the classic cookies 'n cream concept to the test.
Over the holiday season I had the pleasure of plowing through a pail of their holiday Peppermint flavor, but after removing the gold lid on Mint Cookies 'n Cream, this lacks the same pale pink hue of it's seasonal sister. Instead, this base glows a pastel shade of green and is only broken up by dark bits of chocolate cookies and chocolate chips. The 190 calories per serving seems reasonable considering the amount of cookies and chocolate stuffed inside the mint ice cream. The consistency of Blue Bell's base ice creams remain dependable across their entire lineup, melting away slowly, but still retaining a light and fluffy feel. It's impossible to get the foundation of this flavor all by itself because of the incredible amount of broken sandwich cookies and chocolate chips, so I taste everything at once. Smooth, the adjective used by Blue Bell to describe their mint ice cream, is as accurate as they come. Only using small amounts of the mint herb and adding just enough sweetness, Blue Bell has created a well balanced flavor profile perfect for adding chocolate mix-ins.
Moving past the base, the sandwich cookies are the obvious highlight of this particular offering, but these just aren't your standard Oreo type . These huge hunks of chocolate wafers and mint creme filling remain intact in their original three layer form. The infused cream hiding in between the chocolate cookies add another mild bit of complimentary mint flavoring to go along with the base ice cream. The soft, crumbly chocolate wafers add a lot texturally and bring a burst of cocoa to the end of each bite. All the space Blue Bell managed to miss with pieces of broken cookie are filled in with small rectangular slivers of thin chocolate chips. Although these don't add much texture-wise, when it comes to chocolate chips, sometimes smaller is better. The rich aftertaste of Mint Cookies 'n Cream is mostly attributed to these tiny chocolate chunks. Blue Bell has put a fresh twist on a classic and exceeded my expectations in the process.
Where I Found It: Super Wal-Mart
Grade: B
