Following my chance encounter with a few pints of 2nd Street Creamery flavors I hadn’t seen before, I was ready to move on their Banana Rum Reserve: spiced rum and banana flavored ice cream with waves of butter brown sugar sauce. 2nd Street’s website sets the scene for enjoying this selection, “Ahh….Antigua. Local spiced rums. Steel drums and Caribbean breezes. Why, you can almost feel the warm powdery sand under your toes. We couldn’t bring the steel drums or the Caribbean breezes back from the island for you to enjoy, but we could bring the island flavors of rum, brown sugars, bananas, and praline pecans. We know….unless you are reading this from a little shop near Jumby Bay, this island paradise may as well be a million miles away. Or is it? If you are reading this in Boston, an island escape is within reach. In fact, this little pint of ice cream is so tropical that it might conjure up thoughts of mermaids and pirates. It may not be sunken treasure, but it might make you want to shake your booty a little.” Although this one doesn’t seem to contain any substantial additions other than the butter brown sugar sauce swirl, I’m still confident in 2nd Street Creamery’s capabilities.
At 230 calories per serving, Banana Rum Reserve is much lighter in comparison to some of their flavors featuring more mix-ins. With the top removed, the first layer is beige in color and only a few darker splotches hint at the sauce hiding below the surface. I scoop out a bit of the dense, super-premium spiced rum and banana base to serve as my first bite. Along with the thick consistency, 2nd Street manages to pack some real complexity into the foundation of this flavor. Each spoonful of this ice cream starts with the sweet, mellow taste of banana and slowly incorporates the heavily spiced taste of island rum as each bite comes to an end.
To help aid the spiked ice cream, 2nd Street Creamery has also included some concentrated areas of butter brown sugar sauce as you make your way towards the bottom. These dark splotches don’t share the same liquid consistency of the chocolate and caramel swirls I’ve seen in their other flavors, but instead, remains thick and reluctant to stick to my spoon. As far as flavors are concerned, this sauce works particularly well with the spiked rum and banana base. The richer, sweeter characteristics blend together with the ice cream to compliment both the taste and texture tremendously. While Banana Rum Reserve may not be able to contend with some of the 2nd Street Creamery heavy hitters like Copper Kettle Caramel and Tons of Brownies, this is still way above average.
Where I Found It: QuikTrip Gas Station
Grade: B
