Now that it’s officially the last week of July it’s time to get those spice-engines-a-revvin’. Sure, there’s bound to be some more beautiful berries in my future, but from August through December it’s a lock for my tastebuds to get warm and cuddly. Aside from the ever-prominent pumpkin spice and gingerbread, nothing screams spicy splendor quite like speculoos, and when you put that flavor into an ice cream? Real summer finale fireworks potential. Tillamook’s Speculoos Cookie Caramel combines a speculoos cookie butter ice cream with cinnamon spiced cookie crumbles and caramel.

There are times when I peel back a seal or remove a nice snug lid from a pint and let out an actual audible gasp. This was one such moment, please, gasp with me:

How beautiful is that? I hold Tillamook in pretty high regards but even this threw me off with its sheer bounty and decadence. My first bite in was like diving into Christmas. The distinct sharp spicy notes of speculoos immediately pop from the ice cream. A lovely mixture of nutmeg, cinnamon, and allspice that blend beautifully with the exceptionally smooth and rich dairy.

The cinnamon spiced cookie crumbles are rampant all throughout and permeate every bite bringing a toothy soaked cookie texture and hypothetically spicy flavor, but it’s hard to tell what’s coming from the base and what’s coming from the mix-in. Crumble is definitely the best way to describe them, as they’re quite small, but I don’t mind their size at all.

So how about that amazing pool of caramel at the top? It’s got a syrupy yet decently thick texture and notable brown sugar shine without being too intensely roasted. It’s far from a burnt caramel but isn’t the one-noted sickly sweet variety either. It does well to blend with the spicy ice cream without dominating the cheery carol-worthy holiday vibes emanating from the pint.

My only concern when popping the lid was that the caramel would only be at the top, but fortunately much like the frosting in their Carrot Cake flavor, there were a couple more pools throughout, mostly along the sides at times when it was needed and missed. While the intensity of the experience peaks during the first half of the container, it never really let me down, and this taste of spicy delight is very welcome during the waning warm long days of summer.

Rating: 8.5/10

Found at: Sprouts ($4.99)