Jeni's Brown Butter Almond Brittle Ice Cream

[By Nick] Time to dig into the second jenis pint I received while on my tour of the Healthy Living Market in Saratoga. Now if you thought choosing just one flavor was difficult, choosing a second was near impossible. It was a tossup between Salty Caramel (their best seller), Brambleberry Crisp (my tour guide's favorite) and Brown Butter Almond Brittle. With my love for buttery bases, I decided to grab the latter flavor.

Jeni’s describes this one as “Rich browned butter ice cream and salty, crunchy almonds. Familiar and delicious.” I’ve had plenty of buttery bases but I don’t think I’ve ever had brown butter ice cream so I’m not too sure how familiar this one will be to me. Also, I’m a tad bit let down. I was expecting there to be almond brittle pieces based on the name, not just salted almonds. I guess I can’t complain though seeing as I got this $10 pint for free.

Whoa, when I removed the lid, a pleasant aroma came off this pint. I don’t even know how to describe it but I want this smell turned into a candle or something among those lines. Okay, now I’m extremely excited to try this one. Digging in, the consistency of these Jeni’s flavors continues to blow me away. While their Dark Chocolate was dense and fudge like, this one is silky smooth just like a fine gelato.

Like the smell, the flavor is also quite difficult to describe. You get that butteriness you’d associate with Butter Pecan but it has more depth and sweetness to it. The folks over at Jeni’s don’t mess around when crafting the flavors of their bases. Unlike the Dark Chocolate, this one has mix-ins. The almonds add a salty bite and a fairly hard crunch to the package. They really round out the flavor profile and pulls everything together. Sadly though, the almonds aren’t as prevalent or as big I’d like. All in all though, this is another exceptional flavor from Jeni’s.

If I had to choose between the two flavors I’ve tried, I’d hands down choose their Dark Chocolate. The sparse mix-ins in this flavor make it hard to say I’d repurchase since the almonds are what really make this flavor complete. Maybe I got a bum pint* on mix-ins but when people are paying $10 a pint, there’s really no room for such an error. While I could recommend anyone to try Dark Chocolate at least once, I can’t say the same for this flavor.

I have to say though that this was a great experience being able to try a highly praised brand without hurting my wallet. The only problem is after trying these two flavors, I now want to try more of them. I guess those student loans can wait. So I want to hear from you guys, what flavor of Jeni’s is your favorite or which flavor would you like to see me review? If I’m going to be spending my own money, I want your input in helping me make a decision. I also wanted to thank my guide Lyndsay and Healthy Living Market once again for giving me an awesome tour and letting me try out these flavors!

Verdict?  One of the best buttery ice cream bases but the lack of mix-ins hinder it’s potential
Buy Again?  Not at $10 a pint, that’s for sure.

*Note: we have heard that some people have had good luck with this flavor (mix-in wise). If you've had it, whether chock full or not, let us know too!