It's pretty easy to pick out Blue Bell flavors in the ice cream section, especially if they're new. Even the bright color of Orange Swirl continues to catch my attention whenever I peek around. Then we have Rum Raisin, which I triple-checked just to be sure of the fact it's actually new. The plain color and a lacking description don't lead me in a very certain direction, but what's life without a little adventure?
Apparently this is a Florida-exclusive flavor, so while a company like Ben & Jerry's shuns me the wonders of their ice cream shops and flavors such as Mint Chocolate Cookie and Cinnamon Buns, Blue Bell bestow me some "rum-raisin ice cream loaded with plump, rum-flavored raisins." I feel so special. Pulling the lid off reveals a simple first impression for what is frankly a simple ice cream. The base is super light and fluffy, it's almost like digging into a carton that's 50% regular ice cream and 50% whipped cream. Those who are used to their regular scoops being blown right out of proportion will be more prepared for what happens next. This ice cream is so light that I'm amazed the package doesn't melt, leaving me with a half-filled carton of liquid.
The ice cream itself has a lingering taste of sweet rum, but if I were given this in a blind test I'd be singing vanilla from home to the grocery store and back. Only after I bite into a few of the modestly scattered raisins does the rum part become more apparent. But even then, it takes a few raisins to truly hit that point. And since the ratio of raisins is even more sparing than the Red Velvet Cake variant, it means there's little to truly distinguish it. Many of the raisins I bite into lack substance, as if they'e been dried out, and even those which actually stand up don't exude nearly enough charisma. The ice cream is called Rum Raisin, I'd call it whipped vanilla with sweet mosquito bodies.
On one hand, I feel like I'm being too hard on this ice cream since it is sweet and doesn't taste bad, but that's like saying I can't complain about Burger King's french fries since they're at least salty. I'm already a huge fan of Blue Bell's vanilla-flavored ice cream and especially their Homemade Vanilla base, so this one might have a fairly short lifespan in my household. That or I'll just buy better flavors and offer this to someone who just wants ice cream, regardless of flavor or quality. But if I wanted vanilla ice cream with raisins, I'd buy vanilla and add some raisins to it myself. Heck, why not up the ante and make the raisins dark chocolate-covered while we're at it? That would certainly be more interesting than this boring attempt at a new, exclusive flavor.
Where Kenneth Found It: Publix
Kenneth's Grade: F
