The Graeter's Ice Cream Flavor We Ranked The Worst Of All

Out of all the popular ice cream brands, Graeter's is one of our favorites. The Cincinnati-born ice cream company originated in 1870, producing one of the creamiest, custard-like ice creams due to a unique production method known as the French pot ice cream process. We tried and ranked 17 different Graeter's ice cream flavors to find the best options. While it was hard to find fault with this brand, we ranked Graeter's Toffee Chocolate Chip as the absolute worst flavor.

We based our ranking off of criteria like uniqueness, complexity, and the potential for popularity amongst ice cream lovers. Graeter's Toffee Chocolate Chip landed in last place because it was the least interesting and had the least amount of flavor. The bits of toffee in the ice cream should have added a crunchy contrast and buttery flavor to complement an aromatic vanilla base and the rich, bitter notes of dark chocolate. Unfortunately, in the case of Graeter's, the toffee flavor didn't shine through at all. It delivered a crumbly crunch, but the richness typical of toffee was lacking. We found the toffee bits to be overpowered by the ice cream's ultra-rich chocolate chunks. 

Although the Toffee Chocolate Chip was by no means inedible, it certainly wasn't memorable. Instead, we favored Graeter's plain old Chocolate Chip flavor because the chocolate and vanilla flavors were pronounced and the contrast between crunchy yet creamy textures was balanced.

Graeter's Toffee Chocolate Chip wasn't our favorite flavor, even though it's one of the few brands that offers toffee-laden ice cream. Given that the flavor just didn't stand up to others, you'd be better off buying bars of toffee, breaking them up, and sprinkling them over Graeter's Chocolate Chip flavor. After all, the chocolate chunks in Graeter's ice cream were one of our favorite attributes — not just because of quality, but because they come in all shapes and sizes. Consequently, this might explain why so many of Graeter's ice cream flavors are variations of the brand's Chocolate Chip flavor like Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip or even Raspberry Chocolate Chip. In fact, flavors with chocolate chunks like the Mocha Chocolate Chip and Mint Chocolate Chip were some of our very favorites.

Since our ranking of Graeter's ice cream flavors was based mainly on uniqueness and complexity, the varieties that stood out the most incorporated ingredients in a creative way, like using graham cracker flavored ice cream in the S'mores flavor or using real bourbon in the Bourbon Ball flavor. But, our taste test barely scratches the surface. According to fans, many of the most delicious and unique flavors like Buckeye Blitz aren't widely available outside of states with Graeter's locations, whereas others like Elena's Blueberry Pie are limited and seasonal flavors.