Saturday, December 17, 2022

Van Leeuwen Brown Sugar Chunk Ice Cream
Van Leeuwen Caramel Sticky Bun Ice Cream


[New for Late 2022] Ok, one more review of Van Leeuwan limited edition, walmart exclusive flavors to go over before the year ends. Will they end on a high note?

Van Leeuwen Brown Sugar Chunk Ice Cream
Van Leeuwen Caramel Sticky Bun Ice Cream

BSC: dark brown sugar ice cream with cookie dough and brownies

I try brown sugar dough chunk first and it's.... ok? decent? yeah, decent I guess. the cookie dough chunks are way too dense as they always seem to be in VL pints, plus the base ice cream is quite bland. Nah, not bland, but so lightly flavored that there is a distinct possibility that you'll get frustrated while eating it. 

The brownies are the star here as the only flavorful component in the mix, but I don't know if it goes with the other two components. I have to ask, where they trying to go for some kind of brookie dough vibe maybe? Not sure I fully understand this one.

CSB: cinnamon brown sugar ice cream,
caramel swirls, and cinnamon bun pieces

The good news? This has the best texture of any Van Leeuwan pint that I've ever had. Even the mix-ins are something besides a super dense, flavorless ball of ingredients. This is what I expect from a premium brand!

The bad news? Why does it taste like fireballs? I want more of that texture and overall flavor pop, but I have major concerns about massive heartburn later... I both love and hate this pint! (the bold flavor is the opposite of the mild brown sugar chunk)

....oh, and when it starts melting? oh man.... like a heavenly cinnamon milkshake.... with an unfortunate backsplash of heat! I'm so confused right now. I don't remember the last time I had this strong an urge to finish the pint.

I take a few bites of BSC to take the edge of my CSB adventure and then they both go back in the freezer... wait, I just realized that they use the same letters in the reverse order.

On Second Scoop: Whoa, ok, Brown Sugar Chunk seemed noticeably more flavorful on the second try, and that is appreciated. I still don't understand why VL cookie dough is so very dense like so many of their other mix-ins, but I definitely enjoyed this one more this morning. Maybe it was those salty chips I had 20 minutes ago. They primed me for a better experience or something. As for the sticky bun flavor, I think about it often, but I am hesitant to eat the other half of the pint.... I think I hear it calling my name again....

Verdict?  worth a try
Buy Again?  maybe?

click for nutrition facts and ingredients


9 comments:

  1. huh? that's not in the description, it's a "mystery"

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  2. Are you ever going to try Caffe Panna? The best ice cream in the game deserves reviews!

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  3. HA! Yes, I definitely want to try them, I just need to dive in to how nut safe their products are. We try hard to keep our house free of products that are potentially cross contaminated with nuts (before covid, I would review nut based products during my work lunch hour, far away from my house).

    I have no doubt that their stuff is delicious.

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  4. you could try calling their store, they re across the street from me. People stand in a line in the freezing cold for their stuff and then have to eat outside(customers can't enter the store). So plenty of nuts there, even if not in the ice cream.

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  5. Just tried the short pint of of the BSCCDB and was a bit disappointed. I got a good dose of the brown sugar ice cream which was subtle but present. Agree the brownies are the star here as there was plenty of that mix-in available. A bit disappointed in the amount of cookie dough mix-in. The whole short pint only had 7 - not quite up to the level I expected. Could be a batch error thing. I’ve got 2 more containers to try (they were on clearance for a buck a pop!) so I’ll see if VL rises to the occasion or disappoints as they do at times.

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  6. Tried the Caramel Sticky Bun and VL almost hit a home run on this one. The cinnamon bun stir-ins in the short pint I ate were plentiful and tasty. No overwhelming cinnamon in my container and I expected more after reading this review. It was fine and a very good balance. Also,the brown sugar ice cream worked well with what was there. Big Problem: the star of the show was barely in attendance(going by the 'billing' in the name of this flavor). I only detected the briefest of bursts of the nearly non-existent caramel swirls. It just was not there throughout the whole container. Oh so close, but no cee-gar. Since this was a limited edition, you, dear reader, have nothing to look forward to unless VL chooses to do this one again in the future. If they do, I certainly hope they actually put some caramel swirl into this potentially good flavor combo.

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