Ben & Jerry's Candy Bar Pie Ice Cream

[new to pints in 2014] ok folks, I finally got my hands on a pint of this flavor during my lunch break. I wasn't in a huge rush to try it since technically I had it last year from a scoop shop when I thought it was good but not great. I have seen it at a few different stores, but never at a time when I could have it as my afternoon snack. Well, that winless streak is finally over.

Ben & Jerry's Candy Bar Pie Ice Cream

peanut butter ice cream with fudge flakes,
chocolate nougat & sweet & salty pretzel swirls

I take my first bite and Ben & Jerry's wonderful peanut butter ice cream immediately shines through. I take a few bites and there's something amplifying that sense of eating a somewhat gritty peanut butter and not just an ice cream. Oh wait, it's the swirl! That salty, gritty boost is totally coming from the pretzel swirl. [the swirl seems to be omnipresent in my bites and not something easily avoided]

Let me say that I'm a big fan of this one and I quickly plowed through half the pint, but I have a fear though.... will enough people dig this flavor? See, it's not like it tastes like chocolate peanut butter pretzel, no, it's definitely more of a salty peanut butter pie flavor. There's not a true pretzel taste, not in a traditional sense of a whole pretzel that still has it's flavorful crust. This is more of the insides of the pretzel amplifying that peanut butter vibe. You get the grit and the salt of a pretzel, but not necessarily the flavor balance. Am I making any sense? I don't feel like I am.

Let's put it another way, as much as I am enjoying this flavor, I need more chocolate. Yes, that might vary pint by pint, and it looks like there is plenty enough in the picture, but I think more chocolate would temper that pizzazz that is making me take scoop after scoop. It's not that I don't like this flavor, I'm just curious to see how it plays out in the market. I would totally put this in my regular rotation, but I think sometimes it would be with added chocolate syrup or some chocolate chips to perfect it's complexity.

(HA! I just read my review from last year and I said the same thing basically, the saltiness is going to be a bit much for some and I think more chips would help. At least I'm consistent!)

On Second Scoop: the second half of the pint wasn't nearly as spunky as the first half. There were almost no pretzel swirls and instead there were tons of marshmallow-like chocolate nougat swirls. Bummer, I liked preferred the grittier first half of the pint.

Verdict?  Enjoyable but  can get a bit salty
Buy Again?  Yup!