Ben & Jerry's Bottled Milk Shakes - bleah

http://www.benjerry.com/features/shakes/

I spotted these at Jewel this afternoon. Thinking they'd be a direct competitor to the bottled Frappucinos, I tried the Cherry Garcia version at $1.99 (might have been $1.79, I'm not sure) for 8oz.

First off, it's much thicker than the Starbucks products, very similar in thickness to say a McD's shake, although the lack of frozen-ness made that seem strange. Mouthfeel-wise it's also a little gummy (see below for why). It's extremely sweet, with neither the chocolate nor cherry flavors being very strong.

So how does it get so thick? Two things: carrageenan (no surprise) and rice starch. The rice starch may be the problem, as its texture is reminiscent of thin porridge, and the rice starch adds an almost horchata-like flavor (less the cinnamon).

On the other hand, it is all natural ingredients, with the pinkish coloring from lycopene. Then again, (to quote Sandra Boynton [who was speaking about carob]) the same thing can be said about dirt.

I won't be doing this again. For about the price of two of these, I could get a pint of B&J Cherry Garcia and enjoy it much more.

Thanks for taking one for the team! It looks like a weird idea to me, with the chunky.

The only American bottled/canned coffee product I really like is the Starbucks Double Shot. On the rocks, it's like a nonalcoholic Bailey's. It even comes in Lite now.

I was actually on a test panel for the Ben n Jerry's shakes about a year ago (perhaps longer). I was sent several different shake version of the same flavor (for the life of me I can't remember what flavor, though I don't think it was any of them they currently sell), and paid to rate them.

Honestly, from what I remember, I thought they were pretty good. Not the same as a real shake, but something different to come across during a road trip.

Now, as far as newer B&J's products goes, I think the Cherry Garcia cones are insanely good. The cone is actually crunchy, unlike the shoe leather of a Drumstick.
Jamie