Over the summer we put the best grocery store vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry ice creams to the blind taste test in an effort to rank the very best. That’s a whole lot of scoops and now that we’re through the classics, what’s left? A lot actually, in fact, there are too many flavors to hit in a single summer, so who knows how long it’ll actually take us to get around to ranking popular flavors like Chocolate Chip, Cookies and Cream, or Rocky Road. But with the big three out of the way, we figured we’d take a break on the single flavor focus and show some love to the brand new flavors of 2021 before the summer ice cream eating season is over.
Of course, ice cream is good at any time of the year, but there is something special about serving up a refreshing scoop of ice cream on a hot day.
These ice cream flavors aren’t your average flavor blends, you likely won’t find these chilling at Baskin Robbins or the freezer aisle of your local grocery store, most of them are unique to the brands we’ve chosen. So grab a bowl and a spoon — or a cone if that’s your vibe — and let’s dive into the best new ice cream flavors of 2021.
Salt & Straw — Maple & Bacon Streusel (Dane Rivera)
The idea of bacon in ice cream is something that I initially scoffed at when I first came across this flavor from Salt & Straw’s Camp collection. I’m on board with the winning flavor combination that is salty meets sweet, but the smokey quality of bacon just isn’t something I want to experience in a sweet scoop of ice cream. Or so I thought. As soon as a spoonful of this ice cream hit my palate my tastebuds were transported through a flavor journey that brought me a harmonious combination of brown sugar streusel, maple, and the occasional burst of savory bacon.
Salt & Straw’s Maple & Bacon Streusel doesn’t try to balance salty and sweet qualities, instead this ice cream’s major focus is on that brown sugar maple blend and it’s better for it. When the flavors all come together that combination of classic breakfast flavors answers the question, “What if breakfast was a dessert?” No one has ever asked for that, but Salt & Straw gave it to us anyway and we’re thankful for that.
The Bottom Line
The consistency is fantastic here, it’s dense and creamy and when the occasional bacon bit hits your tongue it’s like having breakfast in a bowl. Start those hot summer mornings off with this over a traditional breakfast meal and your day will be off to a great start.
Van Leeuwen — Earl Grey Tea (Dane Rivera)
Cool and complex, Van Leeuwen’s Earl Grey Tea manages to capture the distinct flavor of the tea blend it shares its name with perfectly. It tastes exactly like what you’d get if you tossed a scoop of cold ice cream directly into a hot freshly brewed cup of Earl Grey. Only without melting all over the place.
Flavors of vanilla mingle with bergamot producing a rich and complex flavor that is enhanced by Van Leeuwen’s always velvety smooth consistency. It’s hard to eat a scoop of this and not feel refreshed, so save this one for those early mornings or late nights that are a bit on the warmer side. If we have any of those left. To get the flavor, Van Leeuwen harvests real organic Rishi tea from the Yunnan Province and infuses it with bergamot citrus oil, which is what makes it Earl Grey and not just regular old black tea. Then Van Leeuwen steeps a bag in whole milk before adding cream, sugar and eggs and turning it into ice cream. Like a cup of Earl Grey with some milk in it, the ice cream itself has a milky grey appearance to it.
The Bottom Line
Complex and rich, a single scoop of Van Leeuwen’s Earl Grey Tea ice cream completely unaltered feels like a restaurant-quality dessert. Matcha ice cream doesn’t compare to this.
McConnell’s — Honey & Cornbread Cookies (Dane Rivera)
Apparently this year I’ve been obsessed with ice creams that capture the experience of eating foods that aren’t ice cream. Salt & Straw gave me breakfast in a bowl, Van Leeuwen turned tea into ice cream, and now here we are with Honey & Cornbread Cookies. This flavor from Santa Barbara-based ice cream parlor McConnell’s brings together chunks of sweet and salty cornbread cookies with a honey ice cream base made from real California honey, and it’s f*cking fantastic. Yes, it’s so good that it deserves a “f*cking.”
The best feature of this flavor is those cornbread cookies. Using real cornbread would’ve only made this ice cream mushy, instead, the cookies used in this thing have a better consistency that soaks up ice cream perfectly but still provides a great mouthfeel and texture. The subtle inclusion of salt acts as a nice counterbalance to that strong honey flavor but doesn’t get in the way or distract from the overall sweet quality of this ice cream.
The Bottom Line
You won’t find a better experience than scooping up and eating that final piece of cornbread cookie that has been soaking up all the ice cream at the bottom of your bowl.
Talenti — Honey Graham Gelato (Dane Rivera)
This one fills a bit more fit for fall than the summer so as the weather starts to change be sure to pick up Talenti’s new Honey Graham Gelato. Beginning with a vanilla gelato base, the Honey Graham has clusters of graham cracker cookies deep inside each scoop with ribbons of wildflower honey wrapped throughout the pint, offering the occasional burst of earthy goodness between licks of refreshing vanilla gelato.
It’s subtle and while we would’ve preferred bigger chunks of graham crackers, and more honey evenly spread throughout Talenti has landed on something truly great here. This flavor was apparently voted to be Talenti’s next flavor by the brand’s fans on Instagram and Twitter, so credit to Talenti fans for having some pretty good taste.
The Bottom Line
Sweet without ever being overwhelming, Talenti’s Honey Graham is refreshing and offers a different flavor experience with each spoonful.
Häagen Dazs — Rosé & Cream (Dane Rivera)
I don’t even like Rosé but put it in ice cream and I’m fully on board! Häagen Dazs has some of the best ice cream consistency in the game, it’s smooth like butter, dense and creamy, melting in your mouth in the most decadent way. Consistency is an important part of what makes an ice cream good or bad, but it’s even more important when you’re mixing alcohol with ice cream.
Boozy ice cream is a great idea, but alcohol changes the consistency of ice cream in a way that makes it more of a slush than a cream, but that’s not a problem here, this is just as buttery smooth as anything else you’d expect from Häagen Dazs. Probably because it doesn’t go too heavy on the alcohol, it leans heavily on its sweet cream base with the subtlest hint of tart rosé swirled throughout. If you’re looking for a boozy ice cream that is going to give you a head change, this isn’t that, the whole pint has less than 0.5% alcohol but that faint kiss of rosé adds a lot of depth and complexity.
The Bottom Line
I haven’t tried it but I imagine this would pair nicely with a glass of rosé at the end of a hot summer night. This is definitely a flavor geared for late nights as a closer for your home-cooked meal.
Hardscoop — Madagascar Vanilla (Dane Rivera)
If our previous entry sparked a craving for boozy ice cream but left you wanting more this is one that actually delivers on the alcohol front. It’s still not strong enough to give you a buzz, but it does contain 8% alcohol per pint, which is considerably more than what Häagen Dazs offers. Because of the higher alcohol content, the consistency does suffer as a result, it’s a little airier and slushy than I’d like it to be, but the flavors are rich and the vanilla and alcohol really comes alive with the inclusion of a healthy dose of chocolate syrup poured over the top.
Hell, if you’re feeling especially dangerous go ahead and pour a shot of rum over the top of that with a good sprinkling of cinnamon and then blend it up with ice in a blender! If it’s too early for a rum ice cream smoothy, go ahead and pour a shot of coffee over a scoop and make yourself an affogato. That’s one of the things so great about this ice cream, it constantly inspires new ideas!
The Bottom Line
From the second you scoop a spoonful from the pint, you’ll be able to smell the booze, which should inspire some ideas on how to take it to that next level. The best ice cream from the experimentally minded.
Jeni’s — Savannah Buttermint (Steve Bramucci)
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Creamalicious — Granma Gigi’s Sweet Potato Pie (Steve Bramucci)
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THROWBACK FLAVOR: Van Leeuwen — Royal Wedding Cake (Dane Rivera)
Eating this ice cream makes me feel so damn fancy. That’s not because it’s called Royal Wedding Cake, it’s because I ate this after experiencing Van Leeuwen’s Kraft Macaroni & Cheese ice cream, which made me feel downright trashy. The Royal Wedding Cake has a thick and creamy consistency (which adds to the luxuriousness) and combines a sugar, vanilla, and lemon base with real chunks of airy, chewy lemon spongecake and swirls of elderflower frosting.
There isn’t a single scoop of ice cream that I’ve found all year that is more refreshing than this. Right now it’s a limited edition pint from Van Leeuwen so I’d stock up on as much of this as possible before it’s all gone. I have absolutely no interest in the business of the royal family, but if Harry and Meghan can inspire ice cream this good, I say God Save The Queen!
The Bottom Line
A luxurious consistency with a refreshing flavor. It tastes like springtime in a bowl.