FREEZER FINDS: Magnum Mini Bailey's Irish Cream

One of our UK readers recently submitted her first Freezer Find in the form of these Magnum Mini Bars that just rolled out a flavor inspired by Bailey’s Irish Cream that she found at Sainsbury’s. I made a quick rundown of both the supermarkets I typically buy ice cream from over the weekend and saw no sign of these, nor do they show up on either the US or UK Magnum website. Hopefully these will make it stateside soon though because I’ve always been a big fan of Bailey’s.

REVIEW: Magnum White Ice Cream Bar

After succumbing to the marketing ploys of Magnum and trying their Gold?! Ice Cream Bar, I found myself checking out with some of their Magnum White Ice Cream Bars just a few weeks later. The albino bars hadn’t been new or limited, but their bleached outer coating had proved enough to coerce me into buying a box of three. Instead of the milk chocolate coating found on the Gold?! versions, Magnum’s White bars utilize their silky vanilla bean ice cream and cover it in a thick layer of Belgian white chocolate.

Unlike the Gold?! bar, the White version comes in a glossy, generic Magnum wrapper with no indication as to what’s inside. This white chocolate variation comes in a little lighter at 250 calories per bar, but should provide more bang for your buck when compared to a serving of super-premium ice cream. The all-white exterior shows off the Magnum seal that has been molded into the coating, and after cutting it open, proves to have a thick, white chocolate crust. Even when I enjoyed the non-dissected bars, the outer shell broke off in huge chunks and rarely clung to the ice cream when doing so. The base has the consistency of a super premium and provides a smooth, mellow filling, but is pretty average as far as vanilla bean flavors are concerned.

The white chocolate outer-coating takes far longer to break down than the bar’s interior, but proves worth the added wait. This thick bark consists of some of the best white chocolate I’ve seen featured in an ice cream and gives a rich, flavorful finish to the end of each bite. Unfortunately, the tame vanilla bean base and sophisticated taste of white chocolate comes off a bit too bland for my palate after just a few bites. I’ll go with the Gold?! version the next time I feel like eating my ice cream off a stick.

Where I Found It: Super Wal-Mart
Grade: C

REVIEW: Magnum Gold?! Ice Cream Bar

Month after month I’ve resisted the urge to branch out from the standard ice cream selections you typically find in your grocer’s freezers, but after reading a few rave reviews; the Magnum Gold?! Ice Cream Bar was enough to persuade me to cross over. Since the Super Wal-Mart in my area has one of the largest selections of ice cream bars I’ve ever seen, I may continue this trend in the future. Shining brightly against the fluorescent lights of the freezers, a bright metallic wrapper made the Magnum Ice Cream Bars easily identifiable from the rest. The most-recent addition is described as silky vanilla bean ice cream swirled with sea salt caramel and covered in a golden coating made with Belgian milk chocolate.

This entire bar will only set you back 290 calories, which may sound high to some, but right in line with a serving from a super-premium pint. As I removed the wide wooden stick from the packaging, it was hard not to be taken back by the metallic coloring of the ice cream’s coating. The bright-gold exterior shell of this bar breaks apart in large, jagged chunks that take far longer to melt down than the interior ice cream. These thick pieces provide a rich, gourmet taste of chocolate that is only enhanced by the vanilla bean and sea salt caramel to come.

The combination of chocolate, vanilla and caramel in ice cream is hardly a new concept, but Magnum is able to provide a unique experience using these same classic ingredients. The cool ice cream inside is smooth, has a super-premium feel and proudly displays plenty of vanilla bean flecks. They’ve separated the bright white ice cream into three sections by laying down two thick stripes of sea salt caramel in the middle. Although these swirls aren’t quite as salty as some of the other sea salt caramels on the market, they provide just enough contrast to counterbalance the rich, sweetness of the other components. Flavors featuring salted caramel have always been among my favorites and Magnum’s new Gold?! Ice cream bar had me wishing I had bought an entire box.

Where I Found It: Super Wal-Mart
Grade: B