Tag: Magnum

Who’s ready for a bit of Magnum math? Magnum’s new Duet bars come in a trio of flavors. Each package contains three ice cream bars, and each bar is dipped in two different kinds of chocolate. Two flavors are fully dipped in white chocolate and half dipped in milk chocolate, while the third is fully dipped in milk chocolate and half dipped in dark chocolate. One flavor also contains a chocolate ganache swirl and dark chocolate cookie pieces. If you eat one of each flavor bar and white chocolate isn’t actually chocolate, how many different types of chocolate did you just consume? The answer is…four? Oh, I thought that would be more impressive. Let’s forget the math and focus on the ice cream.

Magnum is known for its high quality Belgian chocolate and the signature cracking layer/shell on its pints and novelties. According to Magnum, Duets are the first ice cream bars to be dipped in two different kinds of chocolate. I accept this as truth because I can’t recall having one that was twice dipped, and I applaud Magnum for taking ice cream bar dipping to new heights. The double-coated bars come in Cookie Duet, Chocolate Duet, and Almond Duet varieties. This was my first experience with any Magnum products, and I began my journey with Cookie Duet.

Emerging from its swanky brown and gold wrapper, the bar looks just like the picture on the box. This one is fully dipped in white chocolate that’s studded with dark chocolate cookie pieces, half dipped in milk chocolate and features vanilla ice cream with a chocolate ganache swirl. I was pleasantly surprised to find the swirl more prominent than expected. Both coating layers have a nice thickness, and they do taste like a better quality chocolate than you’re used to finding on an ice cream bar. The bottom portion has a cookies ‘n cream vibe, and the cookie nuggets have stayed crunchy, which gives some textural interest. The ice cream itself is rich and creamy.

If I had any complaint, it would be that biting through the chocolate, while not challenging, resulted in pieces breaking off and sometimes falling. As a subscriber to the five-second rule (or more accurately, just someone who doesn’t care if their food falls on the floor as long as it didn’t fall in anything gross), this wasn’t really an issue, and I just started to pull off and eat the pieces I knew were likely to drop. I enjoyed everything about Cookie Duet, and it set the bar high for the rest.

Next up, Chocolate Duet. It also features vanilla ice cream enrobed fully in white chocolate and half dipped in milk chocolate. This time the ice cream contains a raspberry swirl. After experiencing the thicker-than-pictured swirl in the Cookie Duet, I was hopeful that the raspberry would be the same and lend some welcome fruitiness. Unfortunately, I had to get several bites in before any berry stripes appeared, and while there’s a hint of raspberry flavor, it’s so slight that I almost wonder why they bothered.

In Magnum’s defense, the thin lines of berry swirl look like they do on the box, so it isn’t like they claimed to be bursting with berry, but I don’t understand the point. Raspberry doesn’t get mentioned in the flavor name and shouldn’t since it’s barely detectable. With a name like Chocolate Duet, I think they should have leaned into it and used chocolate ice cream or something to set this apart from the rest. It just seems like a more plain version of Cookie Duet.

The last of the group is Almond Duet which stands out for having almond ice cream, a full milk chocolate dip, and a half dark chocolate dip. The ice cream has a brown sugar almond butter swirl, and there are almond pieces in the coating. I enjoyed the dark chocolate dip and the almond ice cream but again was disappointed to find the brown sugar almond butter swirl (which sounds delicious!) to be almost nonexistent. At one point, I thought I was about to discover a bigger pocket of almond butter, but it sadly turned out to be just the wooden stick. The almond pieces are small and nice for texture but don’t add much almond flavor. This was the only bar for me where no coating pieces ended up on the ground.

Eating any of these bars is a pleasurable experience because it’s hard to argue with good quality ice cream and chocolate, but for me, the only Duet to really sing was Cookie. With more pronounced swirls, the other varieties could be something special, but in their current state, I don’t think they’re as exciting as some other options in the frozen novelty section. The bars do hit a nice sweet spot in serving size as they’re more substantial than something mini but having one or two doesn’t seem as heavy as a bowl of ice cream. I would purchase Cookie Duet again but pass on the rest.

Purchased Price: $4.79 each
Size: 3-pack box
Purchased at: Mariano’s
Rating: 8 out of 10 (Cookie Duet), 6 out of 10 (Chocolate Duet), 7 out of 10 (Almond Duet)
Nutrition Facts: (1 bar) Cookie Duet – 240 calories, 15 total grams of fat, 9 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 20 milligrams of cholesterol, 70 milligrams of sodium, 23 grams of total carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 20 grams of total sugars includes 15 grams of added sugars, and 4 grams of protein. Chocolate Duet – 230 calories, 15 total grams of fat, 9 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 20 milligrams of cholesterol, 55 milligrams of sodium, 21 grams of total carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 19 grams of total sugars includes 14 grams of added sugars, and 4 grams of protein. Almond Duet – 240 calories, 16 total grams of fat, 9 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 15 milligrams of cholesterol, 55 milligrams of sodium, 21 grams of total carbohydrates, 2 grams of dietary fiber, 17 grams of total sugars includes 13 grams of added sugars, and 4 grams of protein.

What are Magnum Double Almond Brown Butter and Double Pistachio Honey Tubs?

The Double Almond Brown Butter Ice Cream features almond ice cream, brown butter sauce, and milk chocolate in a milk chocolate shell. Double Pistachio Honey has pistachio ice cream with honey and milk chocolate in a milk chocolate shell.

How are they?

I’ve never had milk chocolate covered pistachios, but this Double Pistachio Honey ice cream makes me want to buy some. I was expecting the color of the creamy base to have a green hue, but it looks like vanilla. However, the pistachio flavor was spot on. Well, it better since the nut is an ingredient. But what takes this to another level is the honey, honey. The gooey add-in makes every spoonful with it taste divine, and now I want milk chocolate covered pistachios dipped in honey. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a whole lot of it in my tub.

As for the Almond Brown Butter, I should start by saying that it has almond-flavored ice cream, not almond milk frozen dessert. Also, and this is going to sound odd, the almond base, at times, somewhat reminds me of the pistachio one. Yes, they’re both nuts, and I may be nuts for thinking they’re a little similar, but there were times when I had to double-check whether I was eating this one or the pistachio one. A green-colored base would’ve been nice here, Magnum.

You might be wondering what brown butter sauce is. With the use of the word “butter,” I initially thought it would be like what we put on popcorn, baked potatoes, waffles, and fingers with rings that won’t come off. But if we’re going by what’s in the ingredients list, it seems to be a combination of brown sugar and almond butter, although its flavor leans more towards the brown sugar. Like the honey in the pistachio tub, it elevates everything. Thankfully, there was a decent amount of it in my container.

Anything else you need to know?

The more I eat these Magnum tubs, the more I’ve realized that the thick Belgian chocolate layer I face every time I break the foil lid’s seal is a pain in my snacking butt. It was great at first because it was new, unique, and the chocolate is one of the better tasting ones included in an ice cream, but now it’s become work to spoon stab my way to get to the ice cream. Besides, there’s more than enough chocolate throughout the tub, and there’s a thick layer at the bottom.

I might be in the minority about this, but if you feel the same way, let me know in the comments.

Conclusion:

I’ve had every single one of these Magnum tubs that have come out so far, and I have yet to be disappointed with any of them, and that continues to be the case with these. Between these two new varieties, I’m giving a slight edge to Pistachio Honey as my favorite between them, but either one will satisfy your sweet cravings.

DISCLOSURE: I received a free samples of the products. Doing so did not influence my review in any way. Although, it seems like it. But I assure you it did not.

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 14.8 fl. oz. tubs
Purchased at: Received from Magnum/Unilever
Rating: 7 out of 10 (Almond Brown Butter), 8 out of 10 (Pistachio Honey)
Nutrition Facts: (2/3 cup) Almond Brown Butter – 380 calories, 24 grams of fat, 13 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 30 milligrams of cholesterol, 90 milligrams of sodium, 37 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 30 grams of sugar, and 6 grams of protein. Pistachio Honey – 360 calories, 22 grams of fat, 13 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 30 milligrams of cholesterol, 55 milligrams of sodium, 38 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 32 grams of sugar, and 5 grams of protein.

You could give the person you love a rose. Or give them something much better — a Magnum Mini Ruby Ice Cream Bar.

I mean, look at that bar below. It screams ROMANTIC. Although “romantic” shouldn’t be screamed, it should be said in a seductive tone, preferable with an accent, with double come hither finger pulls and maybe some lip-licking after saying it.

Also, you can’t eat a rose. Well, actually, the flower is edible, but eating roses off of their stems or the petals like a salad is not an appealing look. Go ahead and imagine it yourself. Close your eyes and visualize your significant other or your one celebrity hall pass chewing on rose petals. Not a good look and probably doesn’t taste good.

But these Magnum Mini Ruby Ice Cream Bars, made with ruby chocolate, taste a hundred times better than roses.

If you’re not familiar with the pink chocolate, it’s the first new chocolate in 80 years and is considered the fourth variety (along with milk, dark, and white). It made its debut a few years ago and has been featured with a smattering of products. Now I’m going to type verbatim what it says on the info card Magnum sent to me so that I can make this review look more substantial:

Ruby Cacao beans are found in Ecuador, Brazil and the Ivory Coast. They add a unique berry fruitiness, luscious smoothness, and striking pink color to our new, mini bar offering. Like grapes for fine wines, cocoa beans are influenced by the terroir in which they grow. Only under unique climate conditions, will cocoa trees produce Ruby cocoa beans.

Of course, these small bars aren’t just ruby chocolate; there’s also sweet cream ice cream that’s so white it’s blinding when under photo studio lights. It looks like Casper the Friendly Ghost squeezed himself into the pink shell, or a Casper mattress squeezed into its box. As for its flavor, it has a nondescript sweetness. It’s a little disappointing, but understandable because it needs to be a little plain to showcase the ruby cocoa. But I wouldn’t want to eat a pint of it unless I have some sweet toppings and sunglasses.

The pink coating has a slight tanginess with an equally light berry flavor. I’m tickled pink about the color (sorry), and I find its flavor to be pleasing and I’d eat fun-sized versions of the chocolate. Still, at the same time, I’m not super impressed with the way it tastes because for something that’s promoted as the “fourth chocolate,” it sure tastes a lot like the third chocolate (white) with a berry finish.

Overall, Magnum Mini Ruby Ice Cream Bars are a nice sweet treat that’s tastier than roses. Eat a few yourself, and then gift one to your lover, Billie Jean, or someone who has never experienced ruby chocolate.

DISCLOSURE: I received a free sample of the product (Thanks Magnum!). Doing so did not influence my review in any way.

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 6 bars
Purchased at: Received from Magnum
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 bar) 130 calories, 8 grams of fat, 5 grams of saturated fat, 15 milligrams of cholesterol, 20 milligrams of sodium, 12 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 10 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

Expanding upon its foray into the pint-size game, Magnum has released three new flavors of its ultra-indulgent ice cream just in time to comfort the lonely souls stuck at home watching Hallmark Christmas specials all by themselves.

Each pint features velvety ice cream intermingled with crackable cocoa shards and topped with a solid disk of Magnum’s signature rich chocolate. Because, you know, why choose between ice cream and a chocolate bar when you can have both?

Magnum Milk Chocolate Almond Tub

Featuring vanilla ice cream studded with chopped almonds, chocolate shards, and additional almonds sprinkled on a milk chocolate top, this is probably the tamest flavor of the bunch.

It’s not a whole lot different from Magnum’s Milk Chocolate Vanilla pint from the original line-up. Neither the ice cream, nor the chocolate has any flavor variance, and the only thing that separates this flavor from its predecessor is the texture given by the chopped almonds.

Even so, this is plenty enjoyable as it is. The luscious vanilla base is tasty enough to stand by itself but is also mild enough to allow the almond’s flavor to come though layers of ice cream and chocolate.

While not being pretty, the almond-studded milk chocolate disk on top helped to drive home the idea behind this flavor, making it slightly reminiscent of the Hershey’s Almond bars I remember eating as a kid.

Purchased Price: $4.29
Size: 14.8 fl. oz.
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (2/3 cup) 390 calories, 25 grams of total fat, 13 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 30 milligrams of cholesterol, 60 milligrams of sodium, 37 grams of total carbohydrates, 2 grams of dietary fiber, 33 grams of total sugars, 26 grams of added sugars, and 6 grams of protein.

Magnum Dark Chocolate Mint Tub

Dark chocolate and mint are two flavors I’ve found an increasing appreciation for as an adult. Even so, it’s surprising this turned out to be my favorite of Magnum’s newest offerings.

The slight bitterness bought by ample amounts of dark chocolate helped keep this pint from seeming as sweet as it would have been had Magnum utilized the same milk chocolate featured in the other two flavors. The bright peppermint base complimented the dark chocolate’s richness exceptionally well, making it easy to finish in a sitting without feeling too heavy.

Honestly, eating this straight from the freezer reminds me of eating a frozen York Peppermint Patty, although the outer shell is notably thicker here. Even so, this is one of the best chocolate mint ice creams I’ve ever had, and it’s going to be a go-to when I’m craving chocolate, mint, and ice cream all at once.

Purchased Price: $4.29
Size: 14.8 fl. oz.
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (2/3 cup) 350 calories, 22 grams of total fat, 13 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 30 milligrams of cholesterol, 55 milligrams of sodium, 34 grams of total carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 29 grams of total sugars, 24 grams of added sugars, and 4 grams of protein.

Magnum Milk Chocolate Mocha Tub

In contrast to how Dark Chocolate Mint utilized shards of dark chocolate to balance against a sweet peppermint base, this pint decided to tackle that issue from the other direction by making use of coffee extract to bring bittersweet notes to the ice cream itself.

Even though I’m generally a fan of coffee-infused anything, I didn’t like this pint quite as much as I’d hoped. While the ice cream is undoubtedly delicious, I found that the coffee extract covered up the milk chocolate’s flavor, and I only noticed its presence when I chomped down on a larger-than-average chunk.

Also, since the coffee and chocolate aspects of the ice cream aren’t seamlessly mixed, I don’t think that its fair of Magnum to call this flavor “Mocha.” Instead, calling it “Milk Chocolate Coffee,” or something similar, would more accurately describe how it actually tastes.

Purchased Price: $4.29
Size: 14.8 fl. ox.
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (2/3 cup) 350 calories, 23 grams of total fat, 14 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 30 milligrams of cholesterol, 40 milligrams of sodium, 33 grams of total carbohydrates, 3 grams of dietary fiber, 25 grams of total sugars, 21 grams of added sugars, and 5 grams of protein.

Other Things

• To make sure that the chocolate shards crack properly, Magnum recommends that you let all three of these sit on your counter for at least ten minutes before you squeeze them. So, plan your snack ahead of time. Or you can take the impatient route as I did by microwaving them in ten-second bursts.
• Even after letting mine soften, I still couldn’t get any of the chocolate disks on top to crack when I squeezed the containers. Eventually, I found that I had to grab a heavy duty spoon and really dig in there to break past the chocolate monoliths on top and get into the silky ice cream underneath.

Update (Late 2018): We also reviewed the newest flavors — Dark Chocolate Mint, Milk Chocolate Almond, and Milk Chocolate Mocha! Click here to read our review.

Update (Mid 2020): We reviewed two of the latest varieties — Double Almond Brown Butter and Double Pistachio Honey. Click here to read our review

Magnum promotes its ice cream as elegant. I look at its ads and all I imagine are monocle and top hat wearing men and pearl necklace and feather hat wearing women enjoying Magnum bars with their pinky fingers pointing out.

But eating the brand’s new tubs are anything but elegant because doing so involves choking, cracking, and stabbing.

It also involves waiting.

Most times with ice cream, we can pull it out of the freezer, pull back the lid, and dig right in. But, according to the gold foil that top these not-quite-pints, there’s a 10-minute wait before one can first dig into them.

Hey Siri. Set timer for 10 minutes.

Maybe the time is needed to let the ice cream and Belgian chocolate soften. Or maybe it allows us to psych ourselves up for all the violence we’re about to unleash.

Once the time is up, the foil lid says to choke the container. Okay, it says “squeeze,” but that’s what refined feather hat folks would do. Choking the life out of the container and hearing the chocolate crack is what I did, and it’s a bit of a stress reliever.

But the stress comes back after pulling back the foil and discovering that, despite treating the plastic container like Bart Simpson’s neck and the cracking, the top chocolate layer remains completely intact. So now stabbing it with a spoon is necessary. And I had to do that with all four varieties — Milk Chocolate Vanilla, Dark Chocolate Raspberry, Milk Chocolate Hazelnut, and White Chocolate Vanilla.

All this foreplay leads to a somewhat anticlimactic moment. All four varieties taste like I’m eating Magnum Ice Cream Bars, but with a spoon. “DUH!” I can hear some of you yell through your screens. I know. It’s what I expected too. But, while the two types taste the same, these tubs are a better experience.

When I bite into a bar and hear the chocolate shell crack, it’s satisfying. But it’s also frustrating because soon after that bite there’s a very good chance a piece of the shell (or pieces) will fall to the ground. But that’s not the case with the chocolate in the tub because it’s contained. And that’s good because there’s a lot of it. There’s a thick layer on top, a thick layer on the bottom, thick waves in the ice cream, and a thin layer that goes around the midsection. 

The thick pieces have a pleasant snap and the ice cream is creamy and flavorful, although I find it to be, texture-wise, too frozen dairy dessert-like. 

If I had to pick favorites, it would be White Chocolate Vanilla and Milk Chocolate Hazelnut. No, wait, White Chocolate Vanilla and Dark Chocolate Raspberry. Um, wait. White Chocolate Vanilla and, um, well, let’s just say Milk Chocolate Vanilla was the least exciting, but still fantastic.

To be honest, I’ve never eaten the Classic White Magnum Ice Cream Bar, so I wasn’t sure what to expect with the White Chocolate Vanilla tub. But it reminds me of birthday cake, making it so good. Milk Chocolate Hazelnut is like eating ice cream with smashed Ferrero Rocher balls. It is also so good. Dark Chocolate Raspberry has a sweet and tart raspberry ice cream that goes extremely well with the 65 percent cacao dark chocolate. It is also so good. Basically, if you enjoy Magnum bars, you can’t go wrong with any of the varieties.

So if you’re looking for a cleaner, but more violent way to enjoy Magnum ice cream, these tubs are the way to do it.

(Nutrition Facts – 2/3 cup – White Chocolate Vanilla – 350 calories, 21 grams of fat, 13 grams of saturated fat, 0.5 grams of trans fat, 40 milligrams of cholesterol, 60 milligrams of sodium, 37 grams of carbohydrates, 34 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of protein. Dark Chocolate Raspberry – 340 calories, 24 grams of fat, 15 grams of saturated fat, 35 milligrams of cholesterol, 30 milligrams of sodium, 35 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of fiber, 26 grams of sugar, and 5 grams of protein. Milk Chocolate Vanilla – 350 calories, 22 grams of fat, 14 grams of saturated fat, 35 milligrams of cholesterol, 50 milligrams of sodium, 36 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 31 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of protein. Milk Chocolate Hazelnut – 370 calories, 26 grams of fat, 14 grams of saturated fat, 35 milligrams of cholesterol, 55 milligrams of sodium, 34 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 30 grams of sugar, and 5 grams of protein.)

Purchased Price: $3.99 each (on sale)
Size: 14 oz. tubs
Purchased at: Safeway
Rating: 7 out of 10 (Milk Chocolate Vanilla)
Rating: 8 out of 10 (Dark Chocolate Raspberry)
Rating: 8 out of 10 (Milk Chocolate Hazelnut)
Rating: 8 out of 10 (White Chocolate Vanilla)
Pros: Tastes like Magnum Ice Cream Bars. Cleaner way to eat Magnum Ice Cream Bars. Choking container and hearing the chocolate crack is a stress reliever. Satisfying snap of the chocolate.
Cons: A more violent way to enjoy Magnum Ice Cream Bars. Squeezing or choking container doesn’t crack the top layer of chocolate. Ice cream tubs make portion control more difficult than ice cream bars. Ice cream texture is a bit too frozen dairy dessert like.