Boredworkers.com

With over 5,000 outlets operating in and outside of the USA, it is one of the largest premium ice cream franchises in the world. In Malaysia, they are taglined as Malaysian’s Favourite Premium Ice Cream. What am I talking about? Baskin-Robins.

Founded by Burt Baskin and Irv Robbins, Baskin-Robins has become one of the most well known and respected brand names. But what is it that makes Baskin Robins great? For me, it is the flavours. In line with their founder’s initial idea of having one unique flavour for each day of the month, the franchise has introduced over 1,000 flavours of ice cream, including Sugar Free, Fat Free and Light. Today, continuing with tradition, every Baskin-Robins outlet has 31 unique flavours for their patrons to choose from (or at least that’s the claim).

In line with the New Year, Baskin-Robins and The Sun newspaper are having a “Flavour of the day” promotion for readers of the free paper. Everyday of January, they’ll publish a cutout coupon of the day’s flavour. With the coupon, you can purchase a single scoop (RM6.50) of any flavour and get second scoop of the day’s flavour for free. A great opportunity for you to try out all the flavours at half the price. Something that I intend to do. Bookmark this page for updates on the flavours I’ve tried and my opinion on the taste. If you’re a fan of the brand, keep your eyes peeled for the newspaper cutout.

Baskin-Robins Flavours
Caramel Chocolate Crunch
Vanilla flavoured ice cream with chunks of chocolates cookies and a caramel ribbon
Comments: Tastes almost exactly like Quarterback Crunch (QC, see below) except for the chunky bits of chocolate. I personally prefer this to QC because of the chocolate and it’s not as sweet.
Verdict: Recommended

Quarterback Crunch
Vanilla ice cream with a caramel ribbon and crispy chocolate coated rice ‘crunchiers’
Comments: The caramel makes the ice cream really sweet while the rice puff adds some crunch. Unfortunate that the moisture from the ice cream causes some of the rice puff to become a little soggy. Nonetheless, still a nice flavour to try.
Verdict: Okay

Mint Chocolate Chip
Mint ice cream with lots of chocolate chips
Comments: -
Verdict: -

Jamoca Almond Fudge
BR Jamoca ice cream with a chocolate fudge ribbon and roasted almonds
Comments: Jamoca is short for Java and Mocha. I love the strong flavour of caffeine and chocolate. The full roasted almonds adds extra flavour and crunch, giving you something to chew on.
Verdict: Recommended

Pistachio Almond
Pistachio ice cream with roasted almonds
Comments: -
Verdict: -

Pralines ‘N Cream
Vanilla ice cream with praline-coated pecan pieces and ribbon
Comments: Cream being vanilla and praline being the French confection of caramel covered nuts (in this case pecan). The bits of praline are a surprise when you bite into them. The vanilla base flavour blends well with the caramel. It is a tad sweet because of the caramel ribbons and coating.
Verdict: Recommended

Gold Metal Ribbon
Vanilla and chocolate ice cream with a caramel ribbon
Comments: -
Verdict: -

Chocolate Mousse Royale
A light chocolate ice cream with chocolate royale flavour bursts and a mousse-like texture
Comments: -
Verdict: -

World Class Chocolate
A tempting mix of white and dark chocolate ice creams
Comments: -
Verdict: -

Cookies ‘N Cream
Vanilla ice cream with lots of cookie chunks throughout
Comments: -
Verdict: -

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
Vanilla ice cream with chunks of real semisweet chocolate chip cookie dough
Comments: -
Verdict: -

Chocolate
BR classic extra rich chocolate ice cream
Comments: -
Verdict: -

Peanut Butter ‘N Chocolate
All natural chocolate ice cream with a peanut butter ribbon
Comments: Strong bitter chocolate ice cream with frozen slivers of peanut butter. The peanut butter looks like peanut chunks but melt in your mouth releasing its creamy nutty aroma. Nice. Gets a little sticky.
Verdict: Recommended

Chocolate Chip
All natural vanilla ice cream with lots of bittersweet chocolate chips
Comments: -
Verdict: -

Very Berry Strawberry
All natural strawberry ice cream chockfull of “Billy Berry” strawberries
Comments: -
Verdict: -

Rum Raisin
Rum flavoured ice ceam with yummy raisins
Comments: -
Verdict: -

Old Fashion Butter Pecan
Pecan ice cream with butter-roasted pecans
Comments: Nothing special. Pecan flavoured ice cream is very subtle. The aroma doesn’t stand out. There isn’t much more to it than that. Even the butter roasted pecans doesn’t help with the taste. Don’t ever mix this with another flavour as it will be overpowered. Might work if you’re thinking of having it with lots of toppings or if you prefer something light and simple.
Verdict: Boring

Vanilla
Made with fresh cream, real vanilla and eggs
Comments: -
Verdict: -

Decorating Vanilla
Vanilla flavoured ice cream…pure white, used to frost cake ‘n cream cakes
Comments: -
Verdict: -

Chocolate Fudge
Richer chocolate ice cream with more chocolate flavour
Comments: -
Verdict: -

French Vanilla
Richer vanilla ice cream made with egg yolks
Comments: -
Verdict: -

Raspberry Sherbet
Sherbet flavoured with a puree of raspberries
Comments: -
Verdict: -

Strawberry Cheesecake
Cheesecake ice cream with cheesecake cubes and a strawberry ribbon
Comments: -
Verdict: -

Mango Tango
Luscious mango ice cream dancing with a tangy mango ribbon
Comments: -
Verdict: -

Banana ‘n Strawberry
Strawberry and banana ice creams joined by a strawberry ribbon
Comments: -
Verdict: -

Jamoca
Made from freshly blended java and Mocha coffees
Comments: -
Verdict: -

Papaya Pineapple
Papaya and pineapple ice creams swirled together with pieces of juicy pineapple
Comments: -
Verdict: -

Maple Walnut
Comments: -
Verdict: -

Peanut Butter & Cream
Comments: -
Verdict: -

In general, I find that BR ice creams are richer and sweeter than other premium ice creams. While I love some flavours, I also have my reservations. For the life of me, I can never understand why anyone would ever come up with a mint chocolate chip flavoured ice cream. But hey, that’s just me. Maybe I’ll understand once I’ve tried it.

There are 34 outlets in Peninsula Malaysia at the moment. That’s 34 different locations where you can have a taste of BR’s unique flavours. So why not drop by an outlet today. I highly recommend it. And when you do, do tell us know your favourite.