Connoisseur Gourmet Ice Cream Stick Range

Disclosure: Connoisseur sent me complimentary samples of their ice-cream

Whilst I don't eat like a saint, I generally do pretty well by my body, and always am a bit surprised when people comment about how healthy I am when I talk through my general regime. 

I will however, always, always admit to one huge vice, and if you've followed me for a while you probably know that it's that delectably awesome goodness that is ice-cream. 

I pretty much always need ice-cream at the end of a night, as a sweet treat, and if I am craving ice-cream (which is pretty much always) nothing else will satiate those cravings other than ice-cream. There's nothing as cool, smooth, creamy and with that texture, that comes close. Cake is sweet, but often not cold enough and sometimes chocolate is just not enough. It's got to be ice-cream. Especially with the warmer weather creeping around the corner!

So I was, of course, naturally thrilled when one of the premium tub ice-cream brands, Connoisseur, asked if they would like to deliver ice-cream to me. 

I mean, could an ice-cream addict ask for anything more? Ice-cream delivered to my door. 

And so on a Thursday afternoon, I received a most exciting delivery with 10 of Connoisseur's new ice-cream stick range, two sticks each of the new five flavours, to make sure I could confirm which one I liked the best. Yup, Connoisseur on a stick. It's all good. 

Even Chai was excited to meet the new range, although had to make sure he didn't eat any…that might've not gone down so well!

If you haven't met them yet, the new Connoisseur Stick Range includes the five following flavours:

- Murray River Salted Caramel with Macadamia

- Kangaroo Island Honey with Pistachio

- Madagascan Vanilla

- Sumatran Coconut

- Cookies and Cream

Don't they all look so smart?

I loved that the range included some of the classics, like vanilla and cookies and cream, but also included some slightly more unusual flavours like Kangaroo Island honey. So much fun!

It was quite a battle with my family to make sure they didn't go through all the sticks before I had a chance to try all of them, but they were all rather good sports about it. My brother did often try to sneak two sticks in one day though!

So where do I start? I guess out of the five, the one I would be least likely to go out of my way to eat (although I would inhale it if someone popped one in my hands), would be Connoisseur's Cookies and Cream. There's nothing wrong with it really, I found it a touch on the sweet side for me, but the crunch of the cookie was just gorgeous, with a lovely light crumbly texture to it. For those who have a serious sweet tooth, this will do just fine.

On a random note, it was my brother's idea for the photo with the wrapping there, isn't he a clever little (six foot tall) thing?

Next up I would be tied between the Madagascan vanilla and Kangaroo Island honey with pistachio. Whilst I thought the Madagascan vanilla would excite me the least, I was actually very, very impressed with how creamy and smooth the ice-cream was with a lovely density. A classic done well.

My dad wasn't a fan of the Kangaroo Island honey ice-cream, but I think he was expecting a pistachio ice-cream from reading the label! On the other hand, I thought it was just beautiful with a subtle nectar sweetness, and thought the addition of pistachios in the chocolate shell was a nice change to the usual. Pure bliss.

The two flavours that thrilled me the most out of the five though, were definitely the Sumatran coconut and Murray River salted caramel with macadamias, both for very different reasons, so surely I don't need to pick a favourite….right?

I foresee Sumatran coconut being a hit for summer, with a refreshing desiccated coconut taste and texture, that's not overpowering but just right. Soft and easy to munch on. In fact I enjoyed it so much, it was the first box of flavours that I went out and bought after my 10 sticks from Connoisseur ran out (a very sad day)!

And lastly, but most certainly not least, we've got the Murray River salter caramel deliciousness. Although most suggested I save it for last, I couldn't stop my fingers from picking it up first. Why not? It was a real gooey caramel treat. I think what impressed me the most was that although salted caramel is so 'in' at the moment, it wasn't overwhelming sweet. Instead it was well balanced between sweet and salty and had a gentle caramel flavour, that was enunciated quite nicely with the punches of salty macadamia in the milk chocolate shell. 

Whilst I had previously been a fan of the good ol' Magnum for my stick ice-cream fix, I'm definitely a convert to Connoisseur's gourmet ice-cream range on a stick. Rich and well crafted flavours, with generous amounts of nuts and biscuits in those that have them in the smooth chocolate shell. Yes. More. Please.

Have any of you had a chance to taste any of the new flavours? What are you going to pick up to try this summer?