It’s been awhile. A long while. One year and three months, to be exact; since I last braced these pages. Sometimes life ebbs and flows in ways that doesn’t allow certain things to happen anymore, in this case, it was writing this blog. 

I’ve continued to do a little bit of writing with The Impulsive Buy but I’ve been spending a bulk of my time making music under the name SESPOOL. Certain emotional upheavals needed to be tended to that couldn’t be resolved within ice cream and snacks. But, as the world at large goes through a different kind of universal upheaval I’ve found myself with a little extra time and a need to dive into the the sweet and simple joys of life. A need to share in the collective joy of food. 

I’ve gotta be honest, at this point, few things sound more sweet, simple, and joyful than Baskin Robbins’ brand new Cotton Candy Crackle – a cotton candy ice cream with a cotton candy flavored ribbon and yellow poppin’ candy pieces. 

This isn’t the type of of flavor that would normally cause me to rush out to the store and scoop it right away, but goddamn, color me (literally and figuratively) impressed. I’ve had a lot of cotton candy flavored things in the past and the initial flavor resembles that – sweet and fluffy with a distinct child-like quality that’s hard to compare to anything other than the Cotton Candy Bubble Yum I had for the first time sometime in the mid-90’s. However, the finish, and the bulk of that taste that comes from the base, is strawberry, an authentic slightly tart and delightful strawberry.

The cotton candy swirl has a more concentrated “cotton candy” flavor with a slight grittiness that falls somewhere between frosting and cookie dough. It pleasantly reminds me of when cotton candy clumps up into a more refined and crystalized chunk than when in its natural fluffed out form. The solid pink on light pink appearance is pleasing to the eye, and when paired up with the orange (BR said yellow, I see orange!) popping candy is nothing short of childhood whimsy. When my teeth find the little orange chunks they explode with another child-like sensation, dancing and fizzing away bringing fun texture in varied sizes without really changing the sugary sweet profile as a whole.

This springy scoop surprised me. I knew it would be fun and sweet but I didn’t know it would be so interesting and texturally balanced. I thought it would be a nice change of pace, a taste of something classic during this time of persistent uncertainty, but I didn’t expect wanting more. Baskin Robbins have a new feature on their website where they list the inspiration for their flavor of the month, and since I’ve taken some time off this is the first time I’ve seen it. Cotton Candy Crackle’s inspiration is described as “A nostalgic, summertime staple that will bring you back to the season of street fairs and flip flops” and ya know what…I think they nailed it. 

Rating: 8/10

Found at: Baskin Robbins ($6.99/12 oz)