Ben & Jerry’s is the be-all end-all of ice cream brands. The only way to describe the company’s endless flavors is scrumdiddlyumptious. But, will their new limited edition flavor follow in the same footsteps?

When the ice cream company’s cult-like followers heard the rumor of a new limited edition ice cream being created, the internet was sent into a frenzy. What is it called? Will the new flavor only be available at scoop shops? Vanilla or chocolate ice cream? To caramel or to not caramel? 

But alas, ice cream enthusiasts can now raise their spoons high because Ben & Jerry’s has released the new, limited edition flavor: Schweddy Balls.

This flavor is especially unique: it’s name comes from an infamous and hilarious comedy skit from Saturday Night Live called “The Delicious Dish” that aired on January 11, 2003.

“The Delicious Dish” is a (fake) cooking and crafts radio show where two ladies, played by Ana Gasteyer and Molly Shannon, interview Pete Schweddy, played by Alec Baldwin, about his holiday bakery called “Season’s Eatings”. 

Pete Schweddy explains that his favorite treat to bring out for the holidays is his Balls. The skit then continues with a lot of discussion about Pete’s Balls: Pete says, “Well, over at Season's Eatings, we have Balls for every taste. Popcorn Balls, Cheese Balls, Rum Balls… You name it,” and Ana telling Pete to “whip them out.” 

According to Ben & Jerry’s, their version of Pete’s Schweddy Balls has Fair Trade vanilla ice cream with a hint of rum and is loaded with fudge covered rum and milk chocolate malt balls. 

Do these Schweddy Balls live up to the hype? Do these Schweddy Balls have enough balls to be in the ranks of Half-Baked and Cherry Garcia?

Upon opening the pint of ice cream, I was met with a blanket of vanilla ice cream. No balls and certainly no Schweddy ones. 

I was flabbergasted and dumbfounded. So far, the ice cream proved to be uneventful. As I took my first bite, that was just ice cream, I noted that the hint of rum was very mellow. I could hardly taste it. It was obvious to me that it wasn’t regular vanilla ice cream but the “hint of rum” was too muted; the vanilla flavor ended up tasting a bit off. But, I persevered despite the setback and dug deeper!

And mama brought home the bacon! There were balls everywhere, malt balls and rum balls. With the addition of a malt ball and a rum ball, the next bite of ice cream tied together harmoniously. There was no “off” vanilla flavor.

As the ice cream melted, the malt ball added a cookie-crunchy-ness that was married to the brownie-like center of the rum ball. The rum ball intensified the overall “rum-ness” of the ice cream, elevating it from bland to unique and delicious.

Brianna Ho-Sing-Loy, a junior from Liberty High School, stated that, “The rum and malt balls made the ice cream taste like heaven,” in her mouth. She actually returned to Target and bought a whole pint for herself.

The only negative aspect of this ice cream is that it’s limited edition. Ben & Jerry’s should move Schweddy Balls to it’s rightful place: the permanent line where we all can enjoy some of Pete’s Balls.