Ben & Jerry's isn't only consistently hitting the mark lately, they're absolutely blowing it away. With flavor after new flavor full of chunks and swirls most of us didn't even realize we needed in life, this is one company that's raising the bar when it comes to your standard freezer pint. No longer can we stand in the freezer section and make a choice in a matter of 30 seconds or less. Thanks to Ben & Jerry's, we now need to make sure that we carve out an extra five minutes, at least, when it's time to hit the freezer aisle. Even more so, we've had to re-work the way we shop, hitting the freezer aisle last just so that everything else in the cart doesn't melt while we're pouring over each shelf of innovative flavors.
Okay, while some of that might be a stretch, it's not a stretch to say that many people began craving the new Topped flavors before they even hit shelves. However, for some lucky Vermonters, these were easily found at various Ben & Jerry's scoop shops and, for everyone else, they should begin slowly appearing on shelves in the weeks to come. Having tried every new flavor, though (and experiment that had to be done for science), we've got some thoughts on the official ranking... And most of them are good.
Tiramisu
It should first be said that none of these flavors are 'bad' or lesser, per se, there are just some that should be enjoyed first (and might be enjoyed more) than the others. Of course, everything is subjective to personal taste... except for Topped Tiramisu. Never before has there been a pairing so luxurious and flavorful, with the perfect amounts of shortbread pieces and espresso fudge chunks.
We should discuss the top layer, though, since that's what these new flavors are all about. The layer of slightly soft ganache that continues to warm up and become rich and sweet as the eating continues is nothing short of perfection. The flavor of the chocolate, melded together with the mascarpone ice cream, makes this flawless. Hands down, best flavor - and welcome addition for the tiramisu lovers of the world.
Whiskey Biz
There should be a disclaimer that this ice cream is very sweet which is necessary to create the perfect balance between bourbon ice cream and everything else. This is not the first sighting of bourbon among the Ben & Jerry's line of flavors and it surely won't be the last, but there's something about this bourbon-flavored ice cream that's swirled together with whiskey caramel and blonde brownie pieces.
It's a sweet lover's dream and every aspect is perfectly-balanced, complete with a layer of white chocolate ganache and white chocolate chunks to send you into a sugar-filled tizzy. It's robust, sweet, smoky, and a little bit naughty, all at once.
Strawberry Topped Tart
Every once in a blue moon, Ben & Jerry's will come out with a flavor that's fruit-themed and while strawberry is the most popular option, there's something truly unique about this Topped flavor. To start, a layer of white chocolate ganache and multi-colored sprinkles greets you when you pop the top off.
The sprinkles are akin to pop rocks minus the pop and echo the sweet strawberry swirls throughout the creamy, delicious sweet cream ice cream, which is a heavenly base. Pie crust pieces are scattered throughout, making this somewhat of a deconstructed strawberry cheesecake, but so much better.
Salted Caramel Brownie
The salted caramel lovers of the world will be psyched to try this Topped flavor. Those classic, fudgy brownie pieces that Ben & Jerry's is so well-known for are scattered in between swirls of caramel cups.
The base is vanilla ice cream which is a solid, neutral balance between this ice cream's ingredients, especially with a layer of solid chocolate ganache to slice down into. It's a solid flavor choice but doesn't offer much to those who aren't fans of salted caramel or brownie chunks.
PB Over The Top
This is heaven-sent for peanut butter lovers. The only reason it didn't make it higher up on the list is due to the fact that not everyone loves peanut butter, and there are peanut butter swirls scatter throughout this entire chocolate ice cream base.
A layer of chocolate ganache coats the top of this pint, and miniature peanut butter cups are scattered over the top of that. Throughout the ice cream, you'll find even more peanut butter cups, truly emphasizing the peanut butter-chocolate-peanut butter-chocolate layers of this ice cream.
Chocolate Caramel Cookie Dough
It might be a stretch to say that this ice cream is too sweet because no ice cream can be too sweet. However, there is a lot going on in here, from the chunks of cookie dough to the caramel cups and the layer of chocolate ganache over the top of everything.
The base is also chocolate ice cream, which is a true dream for chocolate lovers, but we can't say for sure whether anyone who's not a lover of all things chocolate (and caramel) will fall in love with this Topped flavor. For a hefty sweet tooth, though, this will do the trick.
Thick Mint
There's only so much you can do with mint ice cream and this Topped flavor, in particular, is very reminiscent of Ben & Jerry's other mint flavors.
Minter Wonderland comes to mind with a similar chocolate ganache that coats the top of this Topped flavor, and this one includes chocolate cookie swirls and mint chocolate cookie balls, with more chocolate cookie pieces over the top of the ganache. It's a true marriage of chocolate and mint.