Ben & Jerry's Volun-Tiramisu

I had to sample Ben & Jerry's Volun-Tiramisu several times across the span of more than a week to decide exactly what I thought about this flavor. That's pretty unusual - typically I like to have a couple of servings before I fully decide how many stars to give to an ice cream in order to confirm my initial reaction, but sometimes I can even decide after one sitting what I think and feel about an ice cream flavor. The flavors that I dislike are almost harder, though. I feel a certain loyalty to Ben & Jerry's, and it's almost as though I want to like a flavor so much that I force myself to try it several times before I can admit to myself that I just don't like it.  Volun-Tiramisu is the extreme example of my near inability to admit that Ben & Jerry's has come up with a dud.

The "coffee mascarpone ice cream with cocoa dusted coffee rum lady finger pieces" seems like it would be a good idea, and maybe I would like the coffee mascarpone ice cream itself, without the lady fingers.  It even seems like a very likely possibility to me that I would enjoy a flavor like that immensely.  But alas, we'll never know, because those dry, somewhat chalky tasting lady fingers are mixed indiscriminately throughout the ice cream, leaving no opportunity for me to fully appreciate the coffee mascarpone flavor.  Every time I sampled the pint, I came away with a strange sort of dry, gritty taste in my mouth.

Ben & Jerry's, you should know better. The pieces or chunks in your ice cream, while one of my favorite parts of the B&J's experience, need to be at least somewhat moist to blend well with the ice cream.  The best examples of the most successful Ben & Jerry's chunks include the moist cookie dough in both Half Baked and Cookie Dough ice cream, the brownie chunks in both Half Baked and Chocolate Fudge Brownie, the fudge and walnut chunks in Chunky Monkey, the toffee pieces in Coffee Toffee Bar Crunch,  and the fudge running throughout many of the new 2014 Core flavors. While the toffee, fudge chunks and walnuts aren't as moist as the brownies, cookie dough and fudge core, they are meant to be harder and give the ice cream more of a crunch. The toffee, walnuts and fudge chunks are by no means dry, though, and they don't interrupt your experience of the creamy ice cream. Even the somewhat gritty cookie swirl blended throughout Milk & Cookies manages to be moist and pleasing. But the lady fingers in Volun-Tiramisu just make the entirety or each spoonful a somewhat strange, dry experience, earning this flavor 2 stars and a grimace.

Special note: this flavor is carried exclusively at Target.