When I was in elementary school, we had "ice cream day" on Fridays, where you could order ice cream in the morning, and it would be delivered in the mid-afternoon as a special treat. The selection was all of the standard Good Humor ice creams, ranging from ice cream sandwiches, to strawberry shortcakes or chocolate eclairs, to the classic vanilla ice cream coated in milk chocolate. There were also generic fudgicles and creamsicles, but who ever picked those? As you can imagine, being so very fond of ice cream, I loved ice cream day.
After elementary school, I stopped having these products. Not that I stopped having ice cream, we just stopped having them at school, and my family always had a plethora of other ice cream options in the house. I hadn't had any of this sort of frozen dairy treat in years, but then I spent a summer working in Sydney, and my office there had an ice cream freezer stocked with their brand of classic childhood treats. I loved exploring the entire product line, as they were totally different than anything we had here. (I think theirs are way better! Pine Lime Splices are awesome!) Anyway, I was curious how I'd feel about my old favorites now, so when I saw that a number of merchants on LevelUp or GoPago had ice creams, I started trying them all again.
I'm starting to think I really just don't like anything from Nestlé, as I was pretty disappointed with their candy line too!
"Creamy vanilla with a sweet strawberry center, dipped in a strawberry shortcake crumb coating."
Note that the word "ice cream" doesn't appear in the description anywhere. I think that is because it isn't really ice cream!
The "sweet strawberry center" was icy and not very strawberry flavored, although it was indeed very sweet. I hated it. The "creamy vanilla" wasn't creamy at all, was icy, and not very ice cream-like at all. The consistency was all off. The only part I enjoyed was the coating, the little bits of "strawberry shortcake crumb" which were basically just little bits of cake-like crumbles. They were sorta crunchy.
Would not get again!
"Creamy vanilla swirled with rich cookie bits dipped in a chocolatey cookie crumb coating."
This was actually kinda good. The ice cream was again not creamy or really vanilla-y, but it was loaded up with cookie bits. It tasted like an Oreo. Coated in a milk chocolate shell that also had cookie bits in it.
No real reason to get one again, but overall, not bad.
"A classy choice, yet cheeky with roasted peanut overtones. Creamy vanilla and a surprising chocolatey finish charm the pickiest of taste buds."
Now this is a classic! It was pretty much as I remembered. I enjoyed the crunch from the slew of peanuts on the outside, and they combined well with the plentiful chocolate coating. The chocolate had a nice snap to it.
The "ice cream" was, like in all their other products, not very creamy, not very vanilla-y, not particularly good, but, it was what it was. It melted decently.
The cone was really soggy and gross. I remarked on this, and my companion just said "isn't that how it always is?" I guess I had forgotten that part. Meh. It did have a ton of chocolate in it though, the chocolate tip is always a winner.
Overall, it was pretty much what I expected. Classic, simple, not exactly high end nor fancy. I don't feel compelled to have another. My companion enjoyed his much more than I did!
"Creamy vanilla with a caramel center, rich chocolatey coating topped with roasted peanuts and a crispy, chocolatey-lined sugar cone with a chocolatey surprise."
Next up, the classic, but with a slight twist: a caramel core!
The caramel was sweet and gooey, and again, plentiful. They do not skimp on the toppings/add-ins.
Otherwise, this was very much the same as the classic: I again liked the chocolate coating and peanuts, tolerated the ice cream, and hated the cone. Better than the classic, but not something I felt myself wanting more of.
"A king-size helping of creamy milk chocolate, white chocolate and dark chocolate topped with chocolate chips and a rich chocolatey sauce—all in a crispy, chocolatey-lined sugar cone with a chocolatey surprise."
The cone size of the Kingsize Drumstick was the same as a standard Drumstick, but what changed is the amount of ice cream on top. There was easily more ice cream than cone. The cone was exactly like the original Drumstick; totally stale and soggy. I hated it.
The vanillaice cream dairy product was also exactly like the the standard Drumstick, and all of their other creations, that is, flavorless, icy, and really not good. The description doesn't actually mention vanilla, so perhaps that was actually the white chocolate layer?
The chocolate ice milk product was better, a bit more creamy, with decent chocolate flavor. It wasn't good, but it wasn't nearly as bad as any of the other ice cream-like stuff I tried from Nestlé. The "rich chocolate sauce" was a hard chocolate shell, that like the chocolate chips, added an additional crunch and a bit of fun.
This was better than the other Drumstick and most of their other products, but I certainly don't want another.
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Nestlé Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie Sandwich
These were basically little chocolate covered ice cream nuggets. As you may have guessed by now, the ice cream was icy, flavorless, and certainly not creamy. The chocolate coating was low quality, mostly just waxy. I liked the crunch in it at least?
After elementary school, I stopped having these products. Not that I stopped having ice cream, we just stopped having them at school, and my family always had a plethora of other ice cream options in the house. I hadn't had any of this sort of frozen dairy treat in years, but then I spent a summer working in Sydney, and my office there had an ice cream freezer stocked with their brand of classic childhood treats. I loved exploring the entire product line, as they were totally different than anything we had here. (I think theirs are way better! Pine Lime Splices are awesome!) Anyway, I was curious how I'd feel about my old favorites now, so when I saw that a number of merchants on LevelUp or GoPago had ice creams, I started trying them all again.
US Reviews, 2013
I really didn't like many of them, and they didn't live up to my memories. I originally thought it was just a result of nostalgia, and changing preferences, but when I went to write up this post I discovered something ... I was trying Nestlé products, not Good Humor! Both make basically the same type of items, but I definitely had the Good Humor ones growing up. Whoops!I'm starting to think I really just don't like anything from Nestlé, as I was pretty disappointed with their candy line too!
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| Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Bar. $1.79. |
Note that the word "ice cream" doesn't appear in the description anywhere. I think that is because it isn't really ice cream!
The "sweet strawberry center" was icy and not very strawberry flavored, although it was indeed very sweet. I hated it. The "creamy vanilla" wasn't creamy at all, was icy, and not very ice cream-like at all. The consistency was all off. The only part I enjoyed was the coating, the little bits of "strawberry shortcake crumb" which were basically just little bits of cake-like crumbles. They were sorta crunchy.
Would not get again!
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| Cookies N' Cream Ice Cream Bar. $0.99. |
This was actually kinda good. The ice cream was again not creamy or really vanilla-y, but it was loaded up with cookie bits. It tasted like an Oreo. Coated in a milk chocolate shell that also had cookie bits in it.
No real reason to get one again, but overall, not bad.
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| Vanilla Classic. |
Now this is a classic! It was pretty much as I remembered. I enjoyed the crunch from the slew of peanuts on the outside, and they combined well with the plentiful chocolate coating. The chocolate had a nice snap to it.
The "ice cream" was, like in all their other products, not very creamy, not very vanilla-y, not particularly good, but, it was what it was. It melted decently.
The cone was really soggy and gross. I remarked on this, and my companion just said "isn't that how it always is?" I guess I had forgotten that part. Meh. It did have a ton of chocolate in it though, the chocolate tip is always a winner.
Overall, it was pretty much what I expected. Classic, simple, not exactly high end nor fancy. I don't feel compelled to have another. My companion enjoyed his much more than I did!
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| Vanilla Caramel Classic Drumstick. |
Next up, the classic, but with a slight twist: a caramel core!
The caramel was sweet and gooey, and again, plentiful. They do not skimp on the toppings/add-ins.
Otherwise, this was very much the same as the classic: I again liked the chocolate coating and peanuts, tolerated the ice cream, and hated the cone. Better than the classic, but not something I felt myself wanting more of.
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| Triple Chocolate Kingsize Drumstick. |
The cone size of the Kingsize Drumstick was the same as a standard Drumstick, but what changed is the amount of ice cream on top. There was easily more ice cream than cone. The cone was exactly like the original Drumstick; totally stale and soggy. I hated it.
The vanilla
The chocolate ice milk product was better, a bit more creamy, with decent chocolate flavor. It wasn't good, but it wasn't nearly as bad as any of the other ice cream-like stuff I tried from Nestlé. The "rich chocolate sauce" was a hard chocolate shell, that like the chocolate chips, added an additional crunch and a bit of fun.
This was better than the other Drumstick and most of their other products, but I certainly don't want another.
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Nestlé Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie Sandwich
"Creamy vanilla scooped between two thick, chewy chocolate chip cookies."
This was one that I'd never had before, but I remember always wanting it as a child. It always looked sooo good. Two giant chocolate chip cookies AND ice cream, all together? Yes! And Toll House cookies are such a classic. I thought this was going to be amazing.
This was one that I'd never had before, but I remember always wanting it as a child. It always looked sooo good. Two giant chocolate chip cookies AND ice cream, all together? Yes! And Toll House cookies are such a classic. I thought this was going to be amazing.
I should have known better. Did it live up to my expectations? No. The cookies were very soft, buttery, loaded with classic Toll House chocolate chips. But the cookies were a little mushy and strange from being frozen. The vanilla ice cream, like all of these products, left something to be desired. At least in this case, there was so much cookie that it didn't matter as much.
I wouldn't get one again. I'd take any fresh cookies filled with actual ice cream over this any day.
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Vanilla with Nestlé Crunch Dibs
Vanilla with Nestlé Crunch Dibs
"Yummy bites of creamy vanilla, covered in a crunchy, chocolatey coating."
These were basically little chocolate covered ice cream nuggets. As you may have guessed by now, the ice cream was icy, flavorless, and certainly not creamy. The chocolate coating was low quality, mostly just waxy. I liked the crunch in it at least?
International Reviews
UK
You know how it goes. I don't really seek these things out when I travel, but, when I travel for work, my local office often has an ice cream freezer, and I am always rather overjoyed to try out the ice cream novelties for each country I visit.
So when I was in London, along with checking out the local offerings, like The Great British Ice Cream Company (not so "great" to me), and Jude's (also nothing to rave about), I took the opportunity to try an item from Nestlé I had never seen before: the Fab bar.
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| Strawberry Fab. |
Well, this wasn't good. Likely because, well, I don't really like ice lolly's? (or, as you may know them, "popsicles" ...)
The Fab was basically a strawberry popsicle, with a vanilla ice coating (not ice cream, but ice), a little strange tasting chocolate on top, and "sugar strands", aka, sprinkles ... that tasted super weird.
Everything about this was just not what I want. I like ice cream, not ice, and I know this said ice lolly, but I somehow expected something different. The chocolate and sugar strands also did not meet my expectations - how did they make something that looked like normal sprinkles taste so ... odd?
Not impressed.
Germany 2022
Another visit to an international office, another chance to try some of their ice cream novelties.
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| Extrême Nuss. |
Behold, the "extrême" nut cone.
This actually wasn't bad. Two kinds of ice cream, I think one was just vanilla and one was hazelnut. Both were smooth and creamy, melted nicely, but clearly weren't premium ice cream. Pretty standard "novelty" ice cream quality.
On top was hard chocolate shell and bits of hazelnut, which made for nice texture and some additional nutty goodness. The inside was the part I was most surprised by, as it had a solid core of chocolate (possibly chocolate hazelnut?). The cone was crisp and not soggy, standard quality cone.
Overall, not bad, not amazing. More "Nutella" inspired than the extreme nut branding sounded though, this was equally chocolately as it was hazelnutty.
***.
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| Extrême Caramel. |
I also tried the caramel version. It also had two kinds of ice cream (caramel and white chocolate), both of which were creamy and melted nicely, but were very, very sweet. It too had a core I wasn't expecting, this time, salted caramel sauce. On top, more caramel sauce and white chocolate.
This was just too sweet for me. Extreme caramel indeed. If you want super sweet caramel, go for it, but for me, it was too much.
**.
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| Big Sandwich. |
"Big, Bigger, Big Sandwich! The ice cream combination made of chocolate ice cream, vanilla ice cream and strawberry ice cream between crispy waffles."
The "Big Sandwich" is apparently a classic in Germany, around since the 1950's. It is, indeed, fairly big, at least double the size of our classic American ice cream sandwiches, and rather than chocolate cookies like we have for ice cream sandwiches in the US, it uses thin waffle-like plain wafers.
I was excited about the wafers as I don't really like the soft chocolate biscuits we have, but alas, these were not crispy as described, and were quite soggy. So much promise here, but soggy/soft wafers were not enjoyable.
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| Big Sandwich: Side. |
"Do I want vanilla ice cream today? Or chocolate? Mmh ... strawberries would be delicious again. If you can't decide between the three classic types of ice cream, just grab the sandwich ice cream. Creamy bourbon vanilla ice cream, fine chocolate ice cream and fruity strawberry ice cream are all combined in one. And to make it easy to eat, the ice cream is sandwiched between two cones so your fingers stay clean. Made with a lot of love and care, it invites you to put your feet up and remember how we felt back in our childhood."
The ice cream however was quite good. It was smooth and creamy, melted nicely. I don't care for strawberry ice cream in general, so that layer I could do without, but the chocolate and vanilla were both good.
I was glad to try the classic item, and I did enjoy my vanilla/chocolate ice cream, but overall, this was a dud for me.
***.
Canada, 2015 Reviews
See separate posting.
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