Nestlé Ice Cream, Canada

I've reviewed Nestlé ice cream before, but those previous reviews were all of their US products, and, I didn't really like any.  But now it is time to focus on their Canadian offerings, which, yes, are different.

Over the summer, I visited our office in Waterloo, Canada, where they had one of my favorite perks: an ice cream freezer, filled with classic ice creams from the host country.  You know how much I love my ice cream, and may recall my raving about Street's ice cream from Sydney, and both Heartbrand and Mövenpick in Zurich.  So even though I knew that Nestlé's US offerings are pretty mediocre, I was still excited, and managed to try nearly every selection during my short time there. 

Drumsticks

I enjoyed all three varieties I tried, and would gladly eat more of these, which is more than I can say for US based Nestlé products!

King Size Cookie Dough Drumstick.

"Creamy cookie dough and chocolate with a rich chocolate swirl topped with delicious cookie dough pieces all in a chocolatey lined sugar cone with a chocolatey tip!"

I think this may be only available in Canada.  +1 to Canada!

I've been pretty down on Drumsticks in the past.  The Canadian offerings didn't look much different from those in the US.   I was ready to pass them by, and then I noticed one flavor: cookie dough.

I was drawn in.  It was a crazy hot day (yes! 90 degrees!  They have real summer there!) and they had an outside deck adjacent to the ice cream freezer, so it seemed like a match made in heaven.

And ... it was.  This was really, truly enjoyable.  This wasn't just a normal Drumstick, it was King Size, and expected that I'd eat the bits of cookie dough off the top, perhaps eat part of the "ice cream", and then move on.  But, no.  I kept going, and going, and going.  And then it was gone.  Why?  Because it was really good!

On top were the bits of cookie dough.  Interestingly, I think they were just cookie dough, not chocolate chip cookie dough, as we've all come to expect when we hear "cookie dough".  Sweet, slightly buttery tasting, good texture.  Things were looking good.  Also on top was some chocolate sauce.

But the "ice cream" has always been the part of Drumsticks that has failed to impress me.  This one had two flavors of ice cream (or frozen dairy product - I believe they can't call it ice cream because it doesn't meet the industry definition of ice cream?), one was milk chocolate and the other was ... tan.  I think it was "cookie dough" flavored?  I was intrigued, in part because I've never actually had cookie dough flavor ice cream, rather than vanilla ice cream with cookie dough bits like were on top of the cone.

Both ice creams were creamier than I've ever countered before with a Drumstick.  The temperature was about 90 degrees, and it melted just perfectly.  Not so fast that I had a mess on my hands, but fast enough to make it perfectly lickable.  Melty, creamy, soft, sweet ... ok, wow.

I enjoyed eating the cookie dough topping off, and then I enjoyed licking my ice cream, over and over again.  The King Size cones really have a lot of ice cream.  Once I reached the cone layer, I intended to ditch it.  I knew there wasn't that much ice cream left in the code anyway, I was pretty full (cuz uh, I also had a big slice of lemon meringue pie from the cafe literally moments before), and I never like the cones.

But this cone wasn't bad.  It wasn't soggy, it stayed crispy.  I still don't love sugar cones, so I wasn't that into the cone, but there was something magic going on down in it.  It was chocolate lined, like always.  But also, inside the center of the ice cream in the cone, was a core of chocolate sauce.  It made the ice cream even better.  I cracked open the cone itself, and used it to scoop all the remaining ice cream and sauce out.  So delicious.

I was powerless, and devoured the rest on the spot.  This was actually a winner, and I'd get another in a heartbeat.

King Size Sweet 'n Salty Caramel Drumstick.

"Creamy-tasting vanilla and salted caramel ripple, topped with praline-roasted peanuts."

The next day, I rushed back for another Cookie Dough Drumstick.  But, alas, they were all out.  I settled for the Sweet 'n Salty Caramel instead.

It was ... fine.  Still better than other Drumsticks I've had in the past.  I'm starting to wonder if the Canadian ones are actually different, or, if the warm weather just makes them more magical, as they melt so nicely?

This one also had two types of ice cream swirled together, regular vanilla and sweet caramel.  The caramel was too sweet for me.  The vanilla was necessary to balance it, but, still just a touch too sweet overall.  The ice cream however was creamy and again melted just perfectly.

On top was a drizzle of additional runny caramel, again, more sweet.  I never tasted any of the namesake "salty".  There were also some bits of candied peanuts.  I didn't like the peanuts very much, I'm not sure why, as I like candied nuts and I love peanuts, but these tasted just kinda bad.  Definitely not nearly as successful of a topping as the cookie dough bites.

Once I broke through the massive scoop on top (yeah King Size!), the ice cream below had additional caramel down the core.  This was sweet too, but since it was the caramel sauce rather than the ice cream, it seemed to work better somehow, I wasn't quite as sweet overwhelmed.

The cone, as always, was chocolate lined.  I like the chocolate, and always eat the tip of the cone that is just a big chunk of chocolate, but I never like the actual sugar cone.  Still, I always want it because I love licking ice cream from a cone, so, no real complains.

This was fine, I finished it easily, but I don't want another.

King Size Chocolate Fudge Brownie Drumstick.

"Creamy texture with chewy brownie pieces in this King size cone that’ll make any chocolate lover go weak at the knees."

My final day in the office, I eagerly headed to the ice cream freezer.  I wanted another cookie dough Drumstick!  But again, no dice.  The King Size offering of the day was ... Chocolate Fudge Brownie.

I'm not a huge chocolate ice cream fan, but I still settled for it.  Turns out, it wasn't really settling.

It followed the same formula as the previous two King Size Drumsticks: 2 types of ice cream swirled together (this time, vanilla and chocolate), sauce on top and in the ice cream core (chocolate sauce), and bits of a namesake goodie on top (fudge brownies).  I'd seen all of these components before, except for the brownies of course.

It was about the same as the others.  Creamy ice cream that melted perfectly.  I loved the addition of the chocolate sauce on top and down inside the ice cream in the cone.  The brownie bits on top were similar to the cookie dough in both size and texture.  Not too big, not too small, slightly sweet.  Tasty enough.

Overall, very enjoyable.  I really do like the formula they have adopted here for two flavors of really nicely creamy ice cream, sweet sauce, and a fun topping.  I'd get another, but really, I just want another cookie dough one!

Other

I also tried another Nestlé ice cream product: the Oreo Ice Cream Sandwich.  The astute reader may notice that I have "Nestlé" and "Oreo" in the same sentence, and knows that Oreos are made by Nabisco, not Nestlé.  This is certainly true.  But, Nabisco doesn't make ice cream treats, so they license the name to several ice cream manufactures, including Breyers (for Oreo ice cream), Good Humor (for Oreo ice cream bars), and Klondike (for Oreo ice cream sandwiches) in the US, and, Nestlé in Canada, to make these ice cream sandwiches.

Oreo Ice Cream Sandwich.

Unfortunately, the cookie was ... soggy.  It didn't actually remind me of an Oreo, even though it certainly looked like a jumbo sized one.   The soggy texture was just far too different from a real Oreo.

The ice cream inside wasn't creamy, and as you can see, it wasn't white like in the picture on the wrapper (not that I cared if it was white or not).  It had lots of cookie bits throughout, but, otherwise, was unremarkable.  But most significantly, it didn't taste like Oreo filling, and I desperately wanted it to.

Everyone knows the good part of an Oreo is the creme filling, and this had none of the creme flavor, which, in addition to the soggy cookies, made it a fail for me.

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Seed Stacked Flapjacks

On a recent business trip to Europe, I not only experienced plenty of food at restaurants, I also partook in the local snack foods, because, you know me and my love of trying new things!

Seed Stacked is a company in the UK, that makes two product lines focused around seeds, one is packets of seasoned seeds, called "Sprinkles", which I did not try, and the other are bars, or, as they are known there, flapjacks.  While I still don't usually like bars that I try in the US, I was fascinated by my only other experience with flapjacks (part of my Graze box, yes, a company that started in the UK as well), so I was eager to try them out.

When I had my first flapjacks from my Graze box, I thought they seemed less like a granola bar, and more like a healthy oatmeal cookie.  I wasn't quite sure when in my daily eating schedule they made sense - were they ok for breakfast?  Just a snack?  They weren't quite a dessert ...

Luckily, Seed Stacked cleared it up for me: "great for breakfast, lunchboxes or a snack in the afternoon".  Aha, yes, basically acceptable whenever.

Their flapjacks are available in three varieties: original, or topped with yogurt or carob.  Their marketing line is "indulge yourself in health", which sounds a bit silly, but, I actually understood this phrase.  The bars are pretty healthy, as they really just are made of oats (22%) and seeds (47%), plus honey (29%) for sweetness, yet they do feel indulgent.  I can't really explain it, as I'm not one to generally get into healthy bars.

I enjoyed the flavors I tried, and wish I'd snagged some for my trip home.  Oh, they are also gluten-free.

Original Flapjack.

"Handmade pure oat bar with seeds and honey".

I started with the original, literally a bar of oats, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, and sesame seeds, lightly sweetened with honey.  Or if you prefer their marketing: "Our deliciously healthy Seed Stacked Flapjacks are a mouthwatering combination of gluten free rolled oats and Mother Nature’s wonderful sunflower, pumpkin, sesame and flax seeds all bound in a perfect soft, sweet package with natural honey and no added sugar."

I was skeptical.  I don't care for flax seeds as they are generally too bitter for my taste.  I doubted how a simple bar of seeds and oats could possibly be worth eating.

Yet ... it was truly satisfying.

The texture was similar to the other flapjacks that I've tried, soft, almost like an oatmeal cookie, rather than a granola bar.  Slightly crumbly, but not messy.

All of the seeds were incredibly flavorful.  The level of sweetness from the honey was perfect.  I was shocked, but I quite liked this, and would gladly eat more of these.  I also think they'd make great little snack size nuggets too!

Carob Topped Flapjack.

"A delicious, gluten-free, pure oat bar with seeds, honey and a smooth carob topping."

Next I moved on to the one with the carob topping.

The texture was about the same as the original, soft, yet crunchy.

I loved the crunch for the assorted seeds, and, surprisingly, the bitterness they added.  The flavor was balanced by the sweetness of the honey, which was as strong as you'd expect given that it made up more than 25% of the bar.  It really was all in balance.  I normally dislike flax seeds, but I didn't really taste them in here.

On top was a layer of carob, which did taste a bit like chocolate, making this feel even more like an indulgent cookie rather than a fairly healthy choice.  The thickness of the carob layer was just right too, enough to taste it, not overwhelming.  The balance of everything in this bar was done really well.

I liked this much more than I anticipated, particularly the texture.  I'd gladly eat another, anytime of day.

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