Ice Cream Tasters: Two Dips Ice Cream Tasters

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FEATURED ICE CREAM REVIEW

Ben & Jerry's 'Dublin Mudslide'

"This one's for folks who fancy a bit more than a wee nip of blissful wickedness amidst rich swirls & sweeties. If you ask us, it's the most delectable Dublin entendre you can get!"
Super Premium Ice Cream • Ice Cream Web Site
KRIS - Total: 14 (out of 20)
Consistency/Texture 3
Presentation 5
Taste 3
Value 3
Mmmmm...Dublin Mudslide. The name alone reminds me of a hot summer day and a refreshing creamy frozen beverage. I had been anticipating tasting this flavor since the flavor came out not too long ago. It is a limited batch so get to the store and purchase it or risk missing out! Now, a real Mudslide from the bar includes vodka, Kaluah and Bailey's Irish Cream (hence "Dublin"). Blend it up with ice and kick back with a Jimmy Buffet CD. Life is gooood.

Opening the container, I was crossing my fingers that this Ben & Jerry creation would closely resemble the flavors in the drink. The presentation on the top layer is truly inviting with many tones of brown churned together. The colors of the ice cream are variegated cream, coffee and dark brown swirled together cyclone-style.

My spoon hit the gooey mix and instantly I am invested! Now the texture of the ice cream itself is a bit gritty. This is a feature I never like and don't quite understand the reason behind why it happens. Now while we are on the ice cream taste itself, I am a bit confused as to why there is coffee flavoring in the ice cream. There is nothing coffee about a mudslide. There is a coffee drink called an Irish coffee where Irish cream is mixed with coffee for an after dinner drink. I am thinking that adding the coffee flavor to the mix is a real stretch.

Another ingredient that was hard for me to detect, though I am sure it was used sparingly, was the Irish cream liqueur. I am sure it was used as an accent to the chocolate, not to be overwhelming.

My favorite thing about this ice cream was the melty chips. Now, I know melty is not a word, but it truly describes these huge chips you come to in the chocolate chocolate chip cookie parts mixed in the ice cream. Chocolate chip cookie lovers will start to salivate when they read that the chips in the ice cream are just like the eewy, gooey warm melted chips in a hot-out-the-oven batch of cookies. I am not sure how you keep chips melted in the middle of ice cream that lives in the freezer; but I love the effect.

Now, back on my soap box about "The Making of a Mudslide." There are two versions of mudslides out there. There is the real frozen mudslide (ingredients listed above) and then there is the chain restaurant mudslide. A real frozen mudslide is very expensive to make because it is all liquor. The easy way out for many restaurants that have bars is to put a filler in the drink before it is blended...vanilla ice cream. You will know you are at one of these restaurants when the drink comes to you in an oversized glass with chocolate syrup laced decoratively on the inside of the glass. If you are a true mudslide lover, this latter version will not fly.

I compare Dublin Mudslide to the ice cream/syrup version of the drink. Otherwise, I cannot justify all of that chocolate in the ice cream. I think the taste of the ice cream is good, but it doesn't reflect a mudslide to me. I think the mark was missed on this flavor...or maybe it's just too commercialized.
- Kris
FRED - Total: 15 (out of 20)
Consistency/Texture 3
Presentation 4
Taste 4
Value 4
I will admit from the start that I had tasted Ben & Jerry's Dublin Mudslide before the official tasting that took place during our Summer Celebration Ice Cream Party. I saw it in the store, noticed the "Limited Batch" label, and bought a pint to try it out. I remember enjoying the ice cream overall, but the weird part is that when I told people about it in the days that followed, I could never remember the name of the ice cream. I would always say things like, "It was something Mudslide," or, "It was Irish something," or many other variations. For some reason, the name Dublin Mudslide never popped into my head. Was this a brain freeze or a testament to the ice cream? No matter, I knew we had to do an official tasting because it was a limited batch Ben & Jerry's ice cream.

Looking at the outside of the container, you want to eat this ice cream. Pictures of chocolate chocolate-chip cookies hug the edges of a creamy brown swirl background. Something about Ben & Jerry's ice cream containers always makes you think, "Yummy!" and this container was no letdown. The "Limited Batch" is a bit of a tease to make you give this ice cream some extra thought. You wonder if it will be in the store the next time you go shopping, so you buy it now rather than wait and miss out. I know that's the reason I first bought a pint!

Upon opening the container, you see a hodge-podge of ingredients filled to the brim of the container. The Irish Cream Liqueur ice cream is blended well with the chocolate chocolate-chip cookies and the fudge swirl just rounds out the look. If you're not one to enjoy a big combination of ingredients, this sort of ice cream is not for you. If, on the other hand, you enjoy this type of mixture, Ben & Jerry's once again delivers something you will enjoy.

With a name of Dublin Mudslide, my thinking was that the ice cream would taste like a Mudslide I might order at a bar. Maybe not exactly like it, but close. Being a fan of Mudslides, I was hoping this would be my ice cream bliss. Unfortunately, that wasn't to be the case. This ice cream does not taste like its alcoholic counterpart. That's fine, but it was a bit of a letdown given my expectations. The ice cream still has a great taste and is enjoyable to eat. The best way I could figure out how to describe Ben & Jerry's Dublin Mudslide was to call it "Chocolate with a twist." Or even Vanilla Fudge with a twist. The Irish Cream Liqueur was noticeable, but not overpowering. It was just enough to take this ice cream from being a normal chocolate or vanilla fudge into being a good version; a tastier version.

The one letdown was the lack of a good number of good sized chocolate chocolate-chip cookie chunks. This was surprising to me since Ben & Jerry's is known for having a good amount of good portioned ingredients in their ice cream. I could somewhat write it off as "one of those things" with this particular pint, if only I could remember the chunks being there in my first pint of Dublin Mudslide. Since I can't remember them being there, I have to knock a bit off of this ice cream's consistency score. It's really a shame because the rest of the ice cream has a great consistency. With every spoonful, I had a good amount of ice cream, cookie pieces, and fudge swirl. I just missed out on the cookie chunks.

Overall, I like this ice cream. I'm not going to be heartbroken when it finally leaves the shelves for good, but I'm glad I had some before it was gone. Most, if not all, of my complaints with this ice cream are admittedly minor. In reality, I think Ben & Jerry's did a good job with the idea, the ingredients, and the delivery. By tying Dublin Mudslide into their partnership with Rock the Vote, it makes me that much happier that I bought and tasted this ice cream.
- Fred
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