While I was at Walgreens a few weeks back to acquire Ben & Jerry’s exclusive pharmacy flavor, Truffle Trifecta, I noticed two new additions to the small selection in their freezer. As part of the season finale for the television show All-Star Celebrity Apprentice, Penn Jillette of Penn & Teller and country singer, Trace Adkins had an ice cream competition. They were instructed to create a new flavor to be added to Walgreens Good & Delish brand of premium ice cream, produce a promotional video and raise money for a launch event featuring the new flavors. Even though Penn’s team ultimately lost the competition, their ice cream still sold more units. His Vanilla & Chocolate Magic Swirtle flavor sounded more appealing than Trace’s Maple Macadonia Mash-Up, so like most of America, I went that route. Up until this point, the flavors available from Good & Delish hadn’t seemed worthy of purchasing, but the thought of rich vanilla ice cream with a sea salt chocolate swirl and fudge caramel candy pieces made me reconsider. Plus, some of the proceeds were going to Opportunity Village and it's always nice to be able to eat ice cream while also supporting a charity.
With the top removed from this 280 calorie per serving ice cream, the off-white vanilla base can’t seem to hide the sea salt chocolate swirl sitting right beneath the surface. I avoid the other elements and go for a bite full of just the rich vanilla ice cream to start with. Although the flavoring is pretty straightforward, the super-premium consistency allows for full appreciation of the simplicity and provides an acceptable foundation for the other ingredients. The sea salt chocolate swirl comes into play nearly immediately after scraping off only a few spoons worth. This stiff, solidified sauce is slightly crunchy, but soon breaks down to release a gritty chocolate finishes with hints of salt. The savory aspect adds a unique spin on the standard fudge swirl and also brings out the sweet characteristics of the vanilla ice cream more effectively.
The finishing touch of Penn’s flavor comes from the fudge caramel candy pieces, which I would soon found out came shaped like little turtles. These dime-sized truffles come stuffed with buttery caramel that works perfectly with the vanilla and chocolate featured in the other components. The outer coating cracks away easily to release the super-sweet liquid hiding inside. If only the sea salt chocolate swirl had been more prominent and the vanilla a bit more complex, this All-Star Celebrity Apprentice inspired flavor could have achieved the A it was capable of.
Where I Found It: Walgreens
Grade: B
