The hunt for pumpkin ice cream continues and next on the list is Turkey Hill's exclusive Pumpkin Pie, which is released around the fall season where pumpkin really shines. So far I've had 6 different brands besides this one: Graeter's, Ben & Jerry's, Dairy Queen, Handel's and Cold Stone Creamery. At the end of this review I'll give you my personal rankings of all of them. I'm usually not a fan of buying larger containers, but this being the holiday season, I will split this into 2 servings and eat half at once and the other half the following week. As the reviews piled in and people continued to love this option, I had to give this a crack. So does Turkey Hill surprise the consumer? Lets find out!
Upon cracking the top, it looks like a very basic pumpkin base, and hints of a nice thick cinnamon swirl. Turkey Hill Pumpkin Pie is labeled as pumpkin ice cream with a cinnamon graham cracker swirl. As I dug into my first bite, I would have to say the base was a notch above both Ben & Jerry's and Dairy Queen. Yes, it is an ice cream, but this had a richer, creamier pumpkin taste than both of those. It does not give you a rich cinnamon, nutmeg, or pumpkin pie spice flavoring like the Handel's or Cold Stone Creamery options provide, but it's a dominant, rich pumpkin taste. Th result is quite refreshing and leaves you wanting to dig right back in for bite number two without thinking twice.
As you dig further into the pint, as you can see in the picture above, the swirl starts to really pick up, and by pick up i mean it is loaded and throughout the entire quart. The further you dig, the deeper and thicker it shines. Now let me tell you this, this swirl is unlike any swirl I've had in any other ice cream. Its not only dense in flavor, but also provides a slight crunch to it as well for how thick it truly is. The rich, cinnamon sugar flavors are very strong and leaves a permanent hit on your taste buds. It's literally like someone took cinnamon and pure sugar with a touch of nutmeg and pumpkin pie spice and somehow infused it right into the ice cream. It honestly takes this flavor to another level. This really strikes the true taste of a pumpkin pie that you have on your dinner table at Thanksgiving with a dense graham cracker crust. Put all of that together and this is what you are savoring once the swirl hits.
Again, the swirl gets thick, dense, and is very profound. It looks and reminds me of Graeter's chocolate chips by how thick it is and how often you find it as you dig into the middle/bottom of the container. There are points where you get spoonfuls of nothing but a cinnamon sugar and graham cracker swirl loaded with flavor. This container covers what you would want. A good (not great) base, but amazing ribbons of swirls that packs the cinnamon-sugar, pumpkin spice, and graham cracker flavoring that leaves you diving in for more.
Update on my top Pumpkin Flavors:
1) Handel's Pumpkin
2) Cold Stone Creamery Pumpkin
3) Turkey Hill Pumpkin Pie
4) Dairy Queen Pumpkin Pie Blizzard
5) Ben & Jerry's Pumpkin Cheesecake
6) Graeter's Pumpkin
Where Bob Found It: Wegmans
Grade: A