Saturday, August 20, 2016

Vice Cream Choc of Shame Ice Cream


[New for 2016] Sometimes you have long days, and then sometimes you have long weeks. At these moments, you often promise yourself something cold and chocolatey. I was having one of these moments when I decided to try this flavor. Everyone seemed to dig the breakfast in bed review so let's try something else from Vice Cream.

Vice Cream Choc of Shame Ice Cream
chocolate ice cream, brownie dough, chocolate shavings

Ugg, freezerburn! In my defense, I did check just about every chocolate pint for something that hasn't been sitting on the shelf since this ice cream debuted 2.5 months. Everything was from their 5/25/16 manufacturing run. I'm already regretting spending $5.99 on this pint but I also hate returning food. I will press on in hopes that just the top is damaged.

I try to enjoy the ice cream but the freezerburn is pretty substantial. Just look at the brownie bits, some of them are all dried out....or maybe they started out that way? It's weird how the edges are dark and the center is so light. This was an early run so maybe they hadn't master the brownie part yet. I also suspect that many of the brownie bits floated to the top since they became less frequent as I went further down the pint. The brownie flavor is decent but overall this pint is drying me out.

The chocolate shavings are tiny and have zero impact other than to amplify that gritty freezerburn texture. The texture is killing my enjoyment here. I'm kind of getting my chocolate fix, but having spent the last hour waiting for it, it's such a let down. I wanted smooth, rich, and creamy, instead I got gritty, dry, and sort of chocolatey.

So the pint is half gone and I'm sad I wasted my money. I could have bought a chocolate pint of B&J's for half the cost. That pint of three twins chocolate ice cream I bought was burnt too, but it was still quite enjoyable and two dollars less.

On Second Scoop: Since the texture is just a total wash on this one, I had to do a bit of mind setting to enjoy the second scoop and it actually did help a bit. With a texture that is more akin to a frozen pudding pop, I tried to really focus on just the flavor. I didn't get a blast of some super gooey brownie, but there is a pretty neat flavor buried below all the troubles here. I basically let each scoop break down on my tastebuds and that let out the brownie flavor as much as possible. Thankfully the brownie dough chunks didnt run out because then I would probably have just thrown out the rest. (I hate posting reviews like this)

Sept 2016 Update: Dan from Vice Cream has left a nice comment below and I am glad to see they are addressing the texture issue. We always need to remember to be patient with the new kid on the block and I wish them the best as they get things rolling.

Verdict?  bum pint or bum product?
Buy Again?  I honestly don't know


7 comments:

  1. When I get freezer burn on my ice cream, I let the ice cream sit at room temperature, let it melt to a soft serve consistency and then mix it all together. After that, the ice crystals are gone and I don't notice any difference in flavor or texture. Try this technique next time instead of diving right in.

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  2. not sure if I've tried this before, but I've got about a third of the pint left so I will give this a try. I know the melted edges werent really any better but I'll try anything at this point.

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  3. There is no cure for Freezer Burn!
    Looks like a distribution issue or when the product didn't get to the hardener in time.... can you share the codes on the bottom ...?

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  4. HA! I did let it sit out for a very long time and it was somewhat better swirled together but I could still taste some ice.

    there's aren't lot numbers yet, they actually started with a "mfg on mm/dd/yy" stamp instead. I think mine was 05/25/16 which was basically one of their earliest runs. I'm hoping it's growing pains but as an average consumer it is annoying and can sour someone on a brand. Hopefully they'll get it all worked out.

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  5. HI EVERYONE, WOW! I LOVE THE PASSION ON THIS WEBSITE FOR ICE CREAM! ESPECIALLY FOR VICE CREAM!
    MY NAME IS DAN AND I AM THE CIO, CHIEF ICECREAM OFFICER OF VICE CREAM.

    I appreciate the time and attention --and level of detail-- to purchase, eat Vice Cream Breakfast in Bed and Choc of Shame and provide feedback. I really believe in non emotional feedback (this brand sucks! would be emotional feedback and NOT true! :)) I want you to know your comments are being listened too and applied!

    We all work on our product, but it is led by my teammate who is a classically trained culinary chef who has amazing experience in Ice Cream. We met at Ice Cream "University" at Penn State.

    But, we would love to have you at our office and taste new product before it comes to market and give us your opinions on early product samples, packaging and our advertising. Vice Cream, our mission is to create Craving Fans-- and bring smiles to the faces of our consumers, retailers, our employees, Cancer patients and ourselves. Do we do that every day? No. But we aspire to!

    We will post more about our Tasting Panel/ Ambassador Program soon and we would love to have you passionate ice creamers involved!

    As to our product, we ran our first time in May and we limited our roll out to 50 stores; Thank you ! to the people at Tedeschi's and Roche Brothers have been amazing partners. We all knew we would have some problem, could be product, could be delivery, could be packaging? all in all, the launch of Vice Cream has been amazing.and almost flawless. we thank our passionate consumers!


    But we did have some issues around our product on our first run. Specifically we have changed our recipe for our Choc of Shame product.. it did not meet our high standards... it was a bit grainy...but the new product now is AMAZING. It think you will have a great Vicexperience.

    As far as Breakfast in Bed and Afternoon Delight, the overall response has been delicious. But, again, our standards are high and in some cases the mix-ins were falling to the bottom--whomever mentioned that it was a freezing issue was correct. The freezing temperature is addressed. But you know what? Some people liked the chocolate sauce at the bottom!

    So try Higher Grounds and our other flavors; look for us! at Roche Bros. and select Tedeschi's, Donlons now at Star Market !Soon Stop and Shop soon and others...

    Please check out our new website and learn more about our story!!!

    www.eatvicecream.com

    Live Life. Dig In.

    Dan







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  6. Thank you for the update, we look forward to the next run of your flavors!

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  7. I tried this flavor tonight and....

    If you name your specialty ice cream brand "Vice Cream," and you name one flavor "Choc of Shame," what's in the container needs to pack one hell of a chocolaty wallop. Unfortunately, it tastes more like a Wendy's Frosty that's been tarted up with an occasional chocolate shaving and bit of chocolate brownie dough. It's the equivalent of boasting to the world you're a smooth criminal when all you ever do is a bit of recreational jaywalking.

    On the plus side, it wasn't freezer burned.

    Still....

    #TwoSpoonsDown

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