Until today I had no idea what “glamping” was, and there’s a decent chance you don’t either, so I’ll get ya up to speed. Glamping is short for “glamour camping” and is the hybrid of the lovely outdoor freshness of traditional camping and more posh resort-style hotel amenities of regular vacationing. It truly is the hypothetical best of both world’s, where you can go on a long mind-clearing hike and take a poop into something that flushes before roasting some marshmallows over an easy-to-ignite outdoor fire pit. Speaking of marshmallows, and similarly to my lack of knowledge about glamping, I had no clue Target was getting a new exclusive flavor from Ben & Jerry’s, and was stopped in my tracks when doing my daily perusing of the frozen aisle at my favorite red-clad establishment. Apparently inspired by faux-camping and uber decadent hiking snacks, Glampfire Trail Mix combines chocolate ice cream with crunchy pretzel swirls, marshmallow swirls, and fudge-covered almonds.

Everyone knows that chocolate is the best part of trail mix, and apparently Ben & Jerry’s agree, since they decided to go with a chocolate ice cream instead of the rumored-to-be-rejected raisin cranberry base. While B&J’s standard chocolate can catch some flack for lacking a bit of depth, I actually really like it in the scheme of this pint. Its milky pudding-esque flavor is nice and creamy with a very sweet-leaning profile that reminds me of the swift sweetness chocolate chunks play in a nice handful of trail mix. It’s not a game-changing chocolate flavor, in fact you’ve probably had it before, but it’s a solid foundation for this hike-worthy pint.

Ben & Jerry’s have fallen in love with their marshmallow swirl lately, and it’s just as good here as it is in classics like Phish Food and newer limited batches like One Sweet World. It’s thin and sweet with a fun gooey texture that stands out against the melty chocolate base, and while it’s solid, it isn’t nearly as lip smacking-worthy as the crunchy pretzel one it co-stars with.

The pretzel swirl packs a sneaky punch, and while it can’t always been seen, it brings a big salty pop and recognizable bready pretzel flavor that makes the chocolate ice cream much more interesting. Sometimes it makes its way onto the spoon in a small wisp with just a bit of salty shimmer, and other times, more often than not, it clumps up into an amazing bite of salty sweet divinity with legitimate crunchy effect. This swirl is among the strongest in B&J’s arsenal right up there with the streusel in Cinnamon Buns and Pumpkin Cheesecake’s graham cracker; and that perfect combination of sugar and salt makes it hard to stop eating.

Rounding out the trail mix-perience are the fudge covered almonds and they’re also really awesome. Big, full-sized almonds that take up a good portion of a bite with solid snap and awesome almond fatty flavor that maintain all of their crunch from the chocolate coating. The chocolate on the almonds is a little darker than the base which adds a touch more bitterness to go along with the earthy nuttiness and brings a bit more depth to the scoop as a whole.

Despite what you might think when reading the ingredients on this pint, and what’s implied by its camping theme, Glampfire Trail Mix reminds me nothing of s’mores and way more of a sweet and salty rocky road (although it’s definitely an improvement over their core lineup’s S’mores flavor). While the marshmallow is definitely there, it takes a backseat to the awesome pretzel swirl that remains constant from top to bottom and gives new life to a tried and true scoop shop staple. Whether you’re a lover of the nutty classic or get down with a bit of salt to offset your sweet treats, this is a flavor worth making a trip to Target for, if for nothing else but that goddamn delicious pretzel pizazz.

Rating: 9/10

Found at: Target ($5.49)