Wednesday, December 25, 2019

Top Ten Posts of 2019


Merry Christmas Y'all! Your gift is a post that I made just for you. Yes, it's that time of year.... where I ask myself why do I still do this? Ahhh, sorry, but tabulating these numbers is kind of depressing. Traffic is down another 25% and I think that's ok if that makes me sad. It is what it is. Not looking for sympathy, this isn't an actual burdensome issue, I will just always regret zigging instead of zagging over the years. As a human, I can't help but be a little jealous of people who've had better luck at this stuff... and if I hear about that youtube kid that made 26 million dollars again... Oh well, enough whining, let the countdown begin.

Honorable mentions to So Delicious Oatmilk frozen dessert at #11 (with H-D Spirits line behind it at #12). There were several oat based alternatives that were available this year.

#10 - Let's kick it off with the first of three appearances by the new layered Talenti flavors, this slot being taken by the black raspberry vanilla parfait. I had fun with the layers line up thanks to some scooping with #thebigspoon.

#9 - While Nick didn't do any reviews for us this year, he is technically responsible for the very tasty Gelato Fiasco Nutterfluffer gelato that came out this year.

#8 - Ben & Jerry's returns with 4 slots on the countdown this year, though technically it's their new frozen cookie dough clocking in here at #8

#7 - Talenti Salted Caramel Truffle checking in here

#6 - 4 Magnum reviews this year but only the Double Sea Salt Caramel tub makes it on to the countdown. These are fun, but I wish they used better ice cream.

#5 - The Walmart exclusive Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Sammie ice cream starts off the top 5.

#4 - Ben & Jerry's Sweet Like Sugar Cookie Dough Core. You have tried one of the cookie dough cores right?

#3 - Ok, the last Talenti layered flavor to make the cut? Vanilla Fudge Cookie.

#2 - Ben & Jerry's Wake & No Bake Cookie Dough Core. There was a lot of hate on this one so I'm a little surprised it's their biggest review (though I guess that's why it's their biggest review)

and the winner is...


#1 - Dairy Queen Caramel Cannonball Blizzard. This review beat #2 by almost 25%. Those are actual views. If you go by blogger's statistics (which factor in people who were searching in general and not necessarily reading my review), the crush factor is a ridiculous 4X. Sometimes these things are close, but this DQ blizzard crushed all the other reviews this year.

Ok, I have a few days off and the plan is to right up my thoughts on how the freezer aisle has changed in the last decade. It'll probably including complaining, but you probably expect that.

Time to chime in: what was your favorite new flavor or product this year?

9 comments:

  1. My fave was the Blue Bunny load'ed sundaes. I got these for free at their popup during the summer. It was amazing! Had the cherry flavor and liked it.

    What was the worst product of the year? LOL

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  2. I like that choice, they are fun :)

    I'm working on my "review of the decade" post, but if i have some time, I'll try to review what got the least traffic.

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  3. Seemed like a fairly boring year for new stuff. I'd say my favorite would be something Hudsonville (Michigan brand) came out with, Hazelnut Cinnamon Bun. Think Cinnamon Bun Ice cream and Nutella swirls.

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  4. I was really disappointed this year by the new releases.

    Ben & Jerry's cookie dough cores sounded so promising. Still missing the cookie core flavors :(

    Talenti's texture went to hell at some point and made the layers flavors (also promising premise) a one and done for me.

    Did Hagen Dazs even release anything new this year?

    At least Steve's found its way into local freezers

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  5. Right, the texture in the talenti layered flavors is lower quality than that in their regular pints. H-D's big thing was the spirits line (which does nothing for those of us that don't enjoy stuff like that). Now that Dean's owns Steve's (and has the new paper pints), distribution seems to have grown which is good (I have a blackberry crumble paper pint sitting in my basement freezer).

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  6. I hear you Dubba. While I can't offer you fame or fortune, I can say I appreciate your work. The world is a better place for it sir!

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  7. Dubba:

    I love this website and reading your take on so many different products.

    As long as you love what you do and are happy with it, then I wouldn't change a thing.

    However, if you are looking to grow your reader base, I'd have a few suggestions...

    1. I don't think it's a coincidence that the top 10 reviews are all mainstream products (save the one Gelato Fiasco review which probably got a boost because of Nick). Now, I like that you often review lesser known brands and products, it's what makes this site special and comprehensive. However, I do think putting a bit more emphasis on mainstream new products and timely reviews of mainstream products would help. For example, McDonald's has a new McFlurry the SNickerdoodle McFlurry...it's really good, IMO. I bet you would get hits from people just googling Snickerdoodle McFlurry review...but first it needs to be reviewed. Again, I like the more obscure stuff and would want you to keep it.

    2. Consider more reader interaction posts. What are your favorite soft serve mix-ins? What candy/candy bar is out there that you think deserves to be mixed in more frequently? etc, etc.

    3. Perhaps consider a ranking scale (1-10, A-F). I know you've had your set up (Verdict, Buy aagain) for a long time, but sometimes seeing a really high (or low) number draws eyes. For example, when I go to theimpulsivebuy site and see a review, sometimes I will click on the review if I see a 9/10 or 10/10 (or a 1/10 or 2/10) even if I wouldn't otherwise be interested in the product.

    Just some suggestions, feel free to use them or throw them away at your discretion! I appreciate all the work you've done on the website over the years!

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  8. @Giggity: I appreciate the effort you put in to that comment :)

    1) yeah, I tried this for many years, it's just not worth the effort (or calories) anymore

    2) i have been doing this a bit, but I should have encouraged this much early on in the life of the blog (Nick actually got me in the habit of responding more to comments)

    3) sorry, but I despise single scale rankings. I will tolerate multiple scale rankings. Verdict and Buy Again was me trying to force myself in to the scale system to at least a small degree. (if you like terrible products, check out the "no_chance" tag http://www.onsecondscoop.com/search/label/no_chance)

    The reality is that the majority people want to spend 5 seconds looking at a picture rather than 2 minutes looking at a blog post. This is the fourth or fifth year of declining readership and it started way back when I had Nick's help to do much more frequent posting.

    Thanks for reading!

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