Ben and Jerry’s Caramel Chocolate Cheesecake and Dublin Mudslide in-depth review

Visually these two ice creams look similar at first look. Light brown color with darker brown swirls. They are pretty differently flavored though, while falling in a similar pitfall of having a strongly flavored ice cream base that somewhat overpowers the decent, enjoyable mix ins.

Caramel Chocolate Cheesecake

Haven’t heard much about this flavor, but saw there was actual cheesecake pieces which sounds like a rarity.

• DESCRIPTION: ”Caramel cheesecake ice cream with cheesecake pieces and chocolate cookie swirl”
• BASE ICE CREAM: prominent cheesecake flavor, hints of caramel. Artificial tasting. Missing the tangy quality of cheesecake. Might have preferred caramel flavor instead. Cheesecake flavor is a stronger version of the one in Kroger’s Private Selection Chocolate Cheesecake, which does prove stronger isn’t better.
• TEXTURE: Standard. Not the densest Ben and Jerry’s.
• MIX IN #1 (Cheesecake pieces): Real cheesecake! Frozen cheesecake texture, denser rather than softer. Moderate amount, moderate size (about a US quarter size). Square shaped and lightly dusted with Graham cracker crumble (see pic). Good cream cheese flavor (plain). I could wish they were larger and had more Graham cracker.
• MIX IN # 2 (Chocolate cookie swirl): pretty dispersed, not really concentrated like a swirl. Fine sized crumble, like a grit. Good chocolate flavor like Oreo. More concentrated would be better.
• OVERALL: ice cream base flavor is somewhat overpowering and not very good. Cheesecake mix in is delicious. Chocolate cookie swirl tastes nice but not very impactful.
• RATING: Strong 6.5/10. If you want an ice cream with actual cheesecake pieces, I think this is an ok option that has good mix in levels. However the other elements detract somewhat or do not add significantly.

Dublin Mudslide

Was warned away from this flavor in this Benand Jerry’s flavor request post I made, but I saw my store was running low so I wanted to give it a shot before it was (potentially) gone. I have also previously enjoyed Haagen Dazs Spirits Collection Irish Cream Brownie.

• DESCRIPTION: ”Irish cream ice cream with chocolate chocolate chip cookies and coffee fudge swirl”
• BASE ICE CREAM: strong alcohol flavor, but not particularly great tasting. Similar to liquor taste inside chocolate candies. I don’t know what Irish cream should taste like though. But there’s a
• TEXTURE: this is a bit airier texture for Ben and Jerry’s, similar to standard Haagen Dazs. The alcohol content also might make it melt faster.
• MIX IN #1 (Chocolate chocolate chip cookies): moderate to sizable pieces. Misnamed—more like a fresh, soft and fluffy brownie (see pic). Very good chocolate taste. Chocolate chips are smaller and like a soft crunch.
• MIX IN #2 (Coffee fudge swirl): tastes like the type of fudge swirl you might get with McDonalds or Costco sundae. Good chocolate taste, has body. Not much coffee flavor. More in the aftertaste. Similar to black coffee candy taste.
• OVERALL: again, ice cream base overpowers some of the better flavors of the mix ins. Not as bad as I expected. Does have some redeeming qualities.
• RATING: Strong 6.5/10. While Dublin Mudslide might be one of the more unique Ben and Jerry’s flavors, it doesn’t knock it out of the park. Still, this is an ok ice cream with some good moments. And has some mix ins that Ben and Jerry’s does well, like their brownie. However, others are not wrong in saying there’s some less agreeable flavors to this ice cream.

Comparison to Haagen Dazs Spirits Collection Irish Cream Brownie: I think the Haagen Dazs has the lighter and better alcohol flavors. But the brownie mix ins are quite finely dispersed and not as texturally fun. Similar to B&J Caramel Chocolate Cheesecake in this regard.

Other recommendations:

Probably any other Ben and Jerry’s ice cream with fudge swirl or chocolate brownie.