Dairy Queen Caramel Nut Roll Blizzard November 2011 Blizzard of the Month

Have you ever wondered why they call it a blizzard? Yeah, sure, it's a crazy scene when that blender kicks in to twist everything about, but have you ever had a blizzard that kicks your butt like a shocking pre-Halloween Nor'easter?

DQ Caramel Nut Roll Blizzard

Gooey caramel, marshmallow and peanuts blended with creamy vanilla soft serve

Well my friends, the Caramel Nut Roll is the new shockingly furious blizzard to which all future blizzards will be compared. It's just that potent, or at least mine was. I only made it two thirds of the way through a small blizzard before waving the white napkin of surrender.

Here is my foe: The Caramel Nut Roll may not look deadly at first, but check out the ingredients: Gooey caramel and marshmallow blended with peanuts and creamy vanilla soft serve. That means we've got a double sugar injection here. If you look real close, you can actually see the marshmallow swirled amongst the caramel injected soft serve. Hey, while you are looking, notice the peanut halves are still whole! (Not sure how that happened, but I'm not complaining.)

So my duel with CNR started simply enough. The blizzard was flopping over the edges so I took a few small bites and was instantly impressed with how flavorful it was. So much sweetness, but quite addicting in small quantities. Gaining confidence, I started taking bigger and more frequent bites.

That's when the troubles started. I'm enjoying the caramel swirl, I'm enjoying the sweet marshmallow vibe, and I'm getting a kick out of the abundant peanut halves (that don't seem to be salted or sugared), but this blizzard is starting to overpower me. Oh there is so much flavor and sugary sweetness! I tried mixing the blizzard up hoping that maybe some less flavored parts would mellow my treat out, but no such luck.

The kid in me wants to press forward. The adult in me doesn't want to pass out.... ok, obviously it's not that bad, but I paused several times as I debated going on or calling it quits. I wonder if maybe mine was made with too many ingredients. This same DQ gave me a very tasty pumpkin pie blizzard while others said theirs were bland. Could the same thing be happening now? Maybe CNR is fantastic in the midwest, but a beast in the northeast. (and bland in Canada!)

Would I recommend this blizzard even though I called it quits? I guess I would say that if you need a good kick to the gut (in a meaningful, supportive way), then give this one a shot. I would suggest that you share it though, then whoever doesn't keel over first can finish it.

What? are you scared? Let me sway you back a little. I really dug the marshmallow swirl. You could actually taste the marshmallow fluff texture here, and that's something you just don't find very often. Granted, this may have just been luck (as with the non-blended peanuts). Of course, that same marshmallow swirl is probably what did me in.

You have been warned people... but at the same time, I dare ya to try it!

Verdict?  Sweetest Blizzard Ever
Buy Again?  unlikely....