Typically, when I'm shopping for ice cream, I tend to shy away from the word mint. This is an adjective I've banished to the health and beauty isles. Unless it's in mouthwash or gum, I want no part of this breath-freshening herb. I used to indulge in a scoop of mint chocolate chip ice cream occasionally, but outgrew the habit years ago. Since quitting mint cold turkey, it's been many a moon since any mint flavored product has made it's way into my freezer.
I've seen Ben & Jerry's Mint Chocolate Chunk on occasion, but I had to double take when I came across Mint Chocolate Cookie. As an assailant against chunks of straight-forward fudge in ice cream, I welcome the chance to try two new components by picking up this, "Peppermint Ice Cream with Chocolate Sandwich Cookies." To my knowledge, I think this was the first flavor I've had from Ben & Jerry's that included these Oreo-esque chocolate sandwich cookies. Pulling back the lid, I expected to see that layer of light-green ice cream speckled with chocolate cookies.
Instead I was left looking at something that resembled a traditional cookies and cream. Only the mighty smell of mint gave away this ice cream's true identity. I'm hoping that the flecks of chocolate sandwich cookies are just the tip of the iceberg and titantic-sized pieces are beneath the surface. Encircling the carton with my spoon, I gather a nice heap of pure peppermint ice cream before taking my first taste. Bringing along the breath-cooling characteristics of menthol, it's better than I thought it was going to be, but still can't pull the load of an entire flavor.
Utilizing a strategy used by many struggling base flavors before, the peppermint ice cream calls upon these chocolate sandwich cookies to save the day. Starting out in small chunks, the chocolate cookies add a nice contrast not only with taste, but also with their flaky, soft texture. They share the consistency of a milk-soaked Oreo, falling apart with ease as the spoon scrapes across them. As I worked my way towards the bottom, I hit the biggest cookie mix-in I've ever encountered.
This enormous mix-in was the equivalent of a triple-decker cookie. Sporting cream filling in two different layers and three separate chocolate cookie layers, this resembled more of a Big Mac than an ice cream ingredient. Rivaling the size of the caramel core in Karamel Sutra and extending from the halfway point all the way to the bottom, this single component brought this flavor up to relevancy. For a mint ice cream enthusiast, this is certainly something you should seek out. As for the chocolate sandwich cookies, if they were reincarnated in a more capable base, a much higher rating is easily obtainable.
I was also fortunate enough to try this flavor fresh off the production line during my visit to the Ben & Jerry's factory in Burlington, Vermont. The mint ice cream hadn't been given the chance to enter the deep freezer, so it still had a soft-serve consistency. That made it much easier to fish out the huge pieces of chocolate cookies hiding below the surface. This second experience with this flavor brought up its score significantly.
Where I Found It: Whole Foods Market
Grade: B
