Near the end of May 2012, I made the life altering decision to start The Ice Cream Informant. From then until now, I’ve reviewed over 250 different ice creams from major ice cream conglomerates to local gelato joints, posted tons of news about flavor releases and even made the journey to ice cream mecca at the Ben & Jerry’s factory in Vermont. I never expected to stick with this “project” for such an extended period, but I found myself really enjoying what I was creating and that others seemed to be enjoying it as well. A few months back I decided to start giving Ice Cream of the Month Awards, but seeing as how this is the blog’s one year anniversary I’ve opted to go ahead and give out The Ice Cream Informant’s Ice Cream of the Year for 2012-2013. It should come as no surprise that the award goes to the flavor sitting atop my overall rankings list: Café Au Lait & Beignets from New Orleans Ice Cream Company.
This famous taste of the old New Orleans French market, with cold brewed coffee and the toasty flavor of scalded milk that is loaded with real beignet pieces and finished with a sugary swirl was able to beat out all the others. Even though I tasted a pint for the first time way back on August 27th, I recently procured a few more pints and the experience was just as incredible as I had remembered. The smooth, full bodied coffee ice cream, big beignet pieces and a stiff sugary swirl combine to create an ice cream that must be experienced first hand. It’s a shame that offerings from New Orleans Ice Cream Company aren’t more readily available because they’ve created an impressive selection of 23 unique flavors. If you’ve ever contemplated ordering ice cream on the internet, this Louisiana-based company should be incentive enough to pull the trigger.
Enjoy pictures of the Ice Cream of the Year for 2012-13!
