Ben & Jerry's Coffee Caramel Buzz

After falling in love with Coffee Toffee Bar Crunch, I wasn't sure if other coffee ice creams could even begin to compare with that delicious flavor, but I shouldn't have doubted the Ben & Jerry's Flavor Gurus. And after reading the description of Coffee Caramel Buzz, I was certainly more inclined to think that Coffee Toffee Bar Crunch might have a rival for my affections. "Coffee malt ice cream with whiskey caramel swirls and English toffee pieces" definitely sounds tempting. So I threw the pint into my shopping cart and away I went to sample and compare Coffee Caramel Buzz versus Coffee Toffee Bar Crunch.

Let's start off with a discussion of the Coffee Malt ice cream flavor. While not bad at all, I have to admit that this flavor doesn't do it for me the way that the richer flavor of the plain old coffee ice cream in Coffee Toffee Bar Crunch absolutely sends me to heaven. The malt seems to repress the richness of the coffee flavor, although admittedly that may have been a purposeful choice to balance out the other elements of this flavor, which are indeed quite rich.

And that brings us to the Whiskey Caramel Swirls. Let's just stop and take a minute to savor that phrase - Whiskey Caramel Swirls. These swirls are every bit as heavenly as they sound, with an alcoholic flavor that definitely differentiates these caramel swirls from other caramel swirls in flavors such as Phish Food and my beloved Vanilla Caramel Fudge. The taste is deliciously unique - or at least I've never sampled anything quite like it in an ice cream flavor. My only complaint is that the veins of Whiskey Caramel Swirl aren't as ubiquitous in this flavor as the caramel swirls in the aforementioned Phish Food and Vanilla Caramel Fudge. There seem to be vast deserts of Coffee Malt ice cream left uncrossed by Whiskey Caramel, crying out for more flavor. Of course, more Whiskey Caramel would mean more calories per serving, but some sacrifices are totally worth it.

Aside from the unique element of the Whiskey Caramel Swirl, Coffee Caramel Buzz also has the same delicious chocolate covered toffee pieces as are found in Coffee Toffee Bar Crunch. And in case you don't remember the gratuitous toffee porn from my post on that other flavor, check out this picture of the chocolate covered toffee pieces that Ben & Jerry's adds to their ice creams -

Yes, the toffee chunks really are that big, and they are fabulous. Of course, as I likewise mentioned in my post about Coffee Toffee Bar Crunch, if you're not a big fan of toffee to begin with, you're not going to be excited about these ginormous pieces. And be forewarned - even if you do like toffee, you may not enjoy having to strenuously dig such large chunks of anything out of your ice cream. Most of the pieces are honestly an inch in diameter. But as I have explained before, I really enjoy the experience of eating chunky ice creams - I feel as though I am on a treasure hunt, and having to dig out huge chunks makes me slow down and savor the flavor even further.

So to recap - I'm not a huge fan of the Coffee Malt ice cream base, but I love the Whiskey Caramel Swirls and chocolate covered English Toffee pieces.  I only wish there were more plentiful swirls throughout the pint. Because I enjoy the coffee ice cream base in Coffee Toffee Bar Crunch, Coffee Caramel Buzz remains lower on my list, but it still earns a solid 4 star rating. There are definitely times that I would choose that Whiskey Caramel Swirl over the coffee ice cream.