Iskream Chocolate Fudge Brownie Review

[By Nick, pints have been discontinued]
I am about to do something that has never been attempted before in the history of this blog. I am going to review an ice cream…with no sugar added. I can already see Dubba shaking his head. You might ask why I’d want to review a product like this. The answer is that I was asked a while ago if I could do some reviews of flavors with low/no sugar added. Lucky for you guys, back when I made my order from Ice Cream Source, I happened to add a pint of Iskream Chocolate Fudge Brownie to my list. The decision was mainly out of curiosity seeing as I wondered how it would stack up compared to “normal” ice cream.

So a little background on Iskream is in order. Introduced by three friends in Connecticut in 2011, iskream became the first and only ice cream to use Truvia rebiana. Truvia rebiana, for those who don’t know is an all-natural zero-calorie sugar substitute. According to their website “Iskream® was founded to create a brand of ice cream that is delicious without the guilt.” Let me just say if you feel guilty after eating ice cream then you have a problem. Last time I checked the majority of people are happy when they’re eating ice cream. I mean, come on, when someone has a bad day, breaks up with their significant other or something else depressing happens, what do they reach for? That’s right, ice cream. Okay that ends my tiny rant; let’s just get to the product already.

Described as “Rich decedent Belgium chocolate headlines this assault on the taste buds, not to be upstaged by the moist chunks of brownies folded into this chocolate lovers paradise” I’d just like to say bravo to Iskream’s PR company. That has to be one of the best descriptions of an ice cream product I have ever seen in my lifetime. It also manages to hype this pint up as if it was the ice cream version of Tim Tebow. Hopefully this won’t be as big of a failure as his quarterback career will be as a Jet (is it football season yet?).

From first glace it seems pretty unassuming but it does look a bit icy. 

Digging in it only confirmed my suspicion. This pint’s consistency is just way too icy. The thing is it’s not even freezer burnt or anything but I feel as if I’m eating frozen sand. The unappealing texture carried on to the flavor. This literally has to be the worst chocolate base I’ve ever had. The chocolate is so flat and uninspired; if I was Belgian I’d be outraged.

If there’s one positive I can derive from this ice cream it's that the brownies are pretty big. You'll notice I said big and not tasty. They’re described as being moist but that’s just a blatant lie. I’d actually go so far as to say they’re the driest brownies I’ve even encountered. To add insult to injury, they’re actually close to being the worst tasting brownies as well. They’re very bitter and it feels as if they haven’t been sweetened at all. This is actually the first ice cream in a long time where I didn’t want to eat more than one serving. I can’t even put into words how much I despise this ice cream. What a shame too because the description was so good and the product was so awful.

On Second Scoop: I let it sit out to melt a bit to see if it would change things at all. Nope it still sucks. I also just looked at the ingredients list and black beans are in there…at least that explains why the brownies were terrible. It also lists cinnamon and coffee in which I didn’t taste even a hint of them. Man I can’t find any saving grace for this product.

Verdict?  One of the worst ice cream I have ever had
Buy This Brand Again?  Not a chance

*Reviewer Note: After doing my review I noticed that Iskream has recently reformulated their ice cream and I had received their old version from Ice Cream Source. Even with the changes I don’t think it would be likely for me to pick up their products if I was to ever come across them.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 1/2 cup (90g) Servings Per Container   4
Amount Per Serving
Calories  170	from Fat  60
	% Daily Value*
Total Fat  6g	9%
- Sat Fat  4g	20%
- Trans Fat  0g
Cholesterol  25mg	8%
Sodium  70mg	3%
Total Carbohydrate  25g	8%
- Dietary Fiber   5g	20%
- Sugars  6g - Erythritol  2g
Protein  5g
Vitamin A   4%	Vitamin C   0%
Calcium   10%	Iron   4%