We Tried 31 Graeter's Ice Cream Flavors and the Winner Was a Surprise in Every Bite

Ah, the end of summer. Temperatures are turning cooler, back-to-school lists are being mailed out and pumpkin spice lattes are appearing in our car cupholders. As we get ready for that delightful limbo where flip-flops and sweaters coexist, there's one thing we can all probably agree on: there's always room for one more ice cream party.

And to do just that, we rounded up all of the year-round flavors (plus a few fun seasonal hits) made by Graeter's, the fan-favorite, Ohio-based ice cream company. We scooped, sampled and scored all the pints to help you find which flavors are worth scooping into your bowl or onto your ice cream cone. Read on for our ranking of 31 flavors of Graeter's ice cream, ranked worst to best.

Related: 20 Häagen-Dazs Ice Cream Flavors, Ranked Worst to Best

What is Graeter's Ice Cream?

Before we give you the, ahem, scoop, a little background on Graeter's. Graeter's started in Cincinnati way back in 1870 when Louis Charles Graeter began hand-crafting the sweet treat in French pots and selling it out of two carts on the street. Today, not only is the company still family-owned but the ice cream is also still made in French pots in 2 1/2 gallon batches.

This method is incredibly labor-intensive and results in almost zero trapped air in the pints, leaving you with a dense, super creamy ice cream. A lot of people I talked to on the East Coast had never heard of Graeter's, which makes sense because it's a Midwest-based company. However, the company ships and is in specialty markets nationwide, which means you might see it in a market near you.

Another fact about Graeter's that we experienced as we were taste testing: many of their flavors have their signature chocolate chips, which aren't really chips. Graeter's says they create their chips by pouring gourmet chocolate into the French pot during production at "just the right moment." Then, the chocolate freezes into slabs and those slabs are broken up into chunks (some quite large, we found). So if chocolate chunks are your thing, you're in luck here. The chunks reminded me of Magic Shell but in thick slab form. They're fudgy, soft, and not at all crunchy or waxy like other chocolate chips can be in ice cream.

Related: We Tried 9 Different Ice Cream Sandwiches and the Winner Won By a Landslide

How We Tested the Graeter's Ice Creams

This assignment couldn't have come at a better time: a summer visit home to Connecticut with a group of my family members who were totally non-biased as they had never before eaten a bite of Graeter's (same here, in fact). My mother, Donna, and father, Fred, were the first to lay eyes on the 31 pints of ice cream crammed in our freezer and give me some serious side-eye. Along with Mom and Dad were my aunts Jaci and Paula and my very opinionated grandmother, Rose.

There was no need for a blind taste test here, so I created a Google Form with each flavor listed and space for tasting notes. I served everyone a row of 31 tiny 3/4-ounce tasting cups that I scooped myself, being careful to equally divide any mix-ins so everyone got a fair taste. We worked fast since it's a pretty soft ice cream to start, with my mom running interference with the freezer, shelving pints when we no longer needed them, wiping up spills and rinsing the ice cream scoops in between bites (it was a very streamlined scientific process!). We rated on taste, texture and flavor ingenuity, comparing with our respective ice cream favorites. There were very clear winners among the six of us at the end.

31 Graeter's Ice Cream Flavors, Ranked Worst to Best

Get your spoons ready, it's time to dive into this sweet and creamy list.

31. Boldly Bearcat

When we dug into this one, my phone coincidentally lit up with a message from my friend Maddie, an Ohioan: "Graeter's!!!! Boldly bearcat!!!! My fav." Unfortunately, we didn't feel the same way. And it was nothing against the Bearcats, the mascot for the University of Cincinnati, but this ice cream just didn't hit for us. A strange mauve-colored cream cheesey base (made with mascarpone) with chunks of chocolate chips and sandwich cookies should have been great. "Cookies and cream flavor but a fake tasting cookie," "Meh," and "super creamy with whole cookies in it," were the comments. It landed in the bottom five on each of our scorecards.

30. Birthday Cake

This cake-flavored ice cream with sprinkles running throughout sounded like a total party in a pint, but ultimately fell flat because of the "artificial" taste. "A celebratory blend of cake pieces and sprinkles in cake batter ice cream," said the side of the pint, but we thought differently. "Needs chunks of frosting," said one comment; "sprinkles should be pink," said another; and a flat-out "nope" from my Dad (tough crowd).

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29. Dark Chocolate Brownie

While the chocolate flavor in this one was consistent, creamy and complex, this one also fell to the bottom of the list because of the brownies themselves, which we thought were "too gluey," and "too gooey," with Jaci saying: "I was disappointed and had high expectations, but the brownie didn't taste like brownie."

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28. Cookies & Cream

This one was similar to Boldly Bearcat but we liked it better (perhaps because it wasn't purple?). We all agreed that the vanilla or "cream" base just wasn't prominent enough. "The vanilla flavor base is just not doing it for me," said Paula, who also noted that the cookie chunks, while enormous, tasted off-brand and not like Oreos which was off-putting (note: Graeter's says they use Oreo brand cookies in their cookie flavors such as Cookies & Cream, Mint Cookies & Cream and Boldy Bearcat).

Related: Bring on the Milk! The 13 Best OREO Flavors—Ranked

27. Butter Pecan

Half of us liked this one and thought it was a pretty decent pint if you're a fan of butter pecan, but it ultimately fell to the bottom of the list since it was "nothing special," with Paula saying it was "not my favorite but nice to have the real pecans." And it did, indeed have whole pecans but none of us could tell that they were "roasted, buttered, and salted" as the pint proclaimed.

26. The Original Salted Caramel

I imagined ribbons of salted caramel running through this one but upon inspection, it was a smooth ice cream with no discernable, strong salted caramel flavor (in my opinion). "Light in flavor. Nothing special," said Paula, and "Very light flavor of caramel but refreshing," from Jaci. My grandmother loved this one, though, ranking it in her top five.

Related: Ice Cream Dreams: The 20 Best Tillamook Ice Cream Flavors, Ranked

25. Brown Butter Bourbon Pecan

When we tried this one, we were about halfway through our experiment, the sugar was starting to hit and we were getting giddy. "Excellent!!" laughed my grandmother, who rated this as a top pick. But the strong-smelling flavor earned a "Bleh" from Jaci and a "Straight up alcohol flavor, too sweet," from Paula. I agreed; it was a bit too strong in the bourbon department (and I'm a bourbon girl) but it was pretty overpowering with the chunks of sugary pecans just not doing it for me.

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24. Chocolate Chip

"Creamy," "Ok," and "a basic chocolate chip," were the comments for this one. Nobody disliked it at all and a few of us agreed that we'd even buy it again. It's your basic, everyday well-rounded chocolate chip ice cream, albeit with larger-than-life chocolate chunks buried inside.

23. Double Chocolate Chip

If you're a chocolate lover, you'll be a fan of this one. This flavor combined creamy, smooth rich chocolate ice cream with Graeter's signature chocolate chunks. It was a well-rounded pint but didn't have enough positive remarks from everyone to make it into the top 20. "Yummy! Great chocolate flavor and big chunks," said Paula. "Very flavorful," said Jaci.

22. Mint Chocolate Chip

This one lost points because of the classic "Should mint chocolate chip be green?" debate (this one is white). "Could be [mintier]," said my grandmother, and "Not as good as peppermint stick. Lighter in mint flavor," said Paula. We tried this one after the Peppermint Stick (more on that one later), which was a really tough flavor to beat.

21. Madagascar Vanilla Bean

I loved the little flecks of vanilla bean in this one and thought it was an excellent, high-quality vanilla bean ice cream that wasn't artificial-vanilla-tasting, which is the issue that I have with some vanilla ice creams. "Basic vanilla flavor," and "nothing special" were the comments from the family. There wasn't anything wrong with this one; it just didn't have enough "oomph" to bump it higher up in the ranking.

20. Vienna Coffee

Another smooth-as-silk bite, the Vienna Coffee flavor is an homage to Vienna Coffee, a traditional espresso and whipped cream pairing. Graeter's makes their ice cream homage with a special blend of roasted Sumatran and Columbian Arabica beans. "Strong coffee flavor. Nice and creamy. Just ok," said Paula, who, to be fair, isn't a huge coffee fan. "Great!" said the others, with my grandmother placing this in her personal top five.

Related: 31 Types of Coffee—From Affogato to Vienna

19. Cotton Candy

This one got "oohs" and "aahs" as we popped the lid off to reveal a bright blue color and tiny pink flecks. We all agreed it was very vanilla-forward, with the cotton candy flavor being pretty true to its name and thankfully not too artificial tasting. The crunchy pink bits of sugar gave the pint some interest and texture and made it super fun to eat, like melted cotton candy in ice cream form.

18. Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip

This one ranked a bit higher than the regular salted caramel flavor because of the chocolate chunks, which again, added some texture and pizazz to the pint. "Didn’t get much salted caramel flavor but the chocolate chunk was great," said Paula. My Dad ranked this as one of his top five but the rest of us (a mix of caramel-lovers and non-caramel-lovers) were split. If a flavor says "salted" I want to really taste the salt, but it ultimately wasn't there for me.

Related: We Tried 9 Different Ice Cream Sandwiches and the Winner Won By a Landslide

17. Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip

A solid winner for almost all of us, this flavor came in second in the peanut butter department. "Rich and creamy peanut butter flavor and good-sized chocolate chunks," said Paula. "Very smooth and flavorful! Great mix of PB and choc," commented Jaci. If you love the combo of peanut butter and chocolate but don't like a lot of stuff in your ice cream, this one's for you.

16. Toffee Chocolate Chip

Another pint falling in the middle, this one lost points just because of the basic-ness of the ice cream itself and the sheer size of the toffee chunks, which made it a bit difficult to gnaw on alongside the chocolate chunks in your bowl. "Very good," and "Really good!" were some of the comments on this one, so if you can manage the mix-ins this one might be for you.

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15. Cookie Dough Chocolate Chip

For the cookie dough lovers in the group, this one rated pretty high. "The cookie dough tastes like homemade cookie dough," said Jaci. "Good vanilla flavor and cookie dough balls," said Paula. Although some of us noted the vanilla flavor was a bit "bland," the combo of chocolate chunks and cookie dough reminded us of a better version of Ben & Jerry's Cookie Dough.

Related: Edible Eggless Cookie Dough for One

14. Caramel Macchiato

One more pint with tons of mix-ins, the group was split 50/50 on this one. I thought it was delicious—caramel and coffee ice cream with milk chocolate caramel truffles and (my favorite), Heath bar pieces. The pieces were smaller than in the Toffee Chocolate Chip, making it easier to eat, and the little bursts of the caramel truffles were pleasing to eat and not too sweet.

13. Dutch Milk Chocolate

Nearly everyone said this reminded them of drinking a tall, cold glass of the best chocolate milk money could buy. It was rich, creamy and downright delicious, even for the non-chocoholics in the group. "Great chocolate flavor!" said Jaci and "Rich and yummy," said Paula.

Related: The 13 Different Types of Chocolate You Need to Know About, According to Legendary Chocolatier Jacques Torres

12. Key Lime Pie

A standout limited-edition flavor, if you see this one on store shelves, grab it. This pint wowed us with the unmistakeable flavor of key limes (which were delicious, but a bit too tart for some of us) mixed with crunchy graham cracker crust pieces in a creamy, slightly vanilla-flavored base. Paula couldn't wait to pack this one in a cooler to enjoy with my cousins and reported back that it was a "big hit" with everyone later on that day.

11. Black Raspberry Chocolate Chip

This is a signature and fan-favorite Graeter's flavor, and it scored pretty high in this crowd too, narrowly missing the top 10. Paula really liked this one, commenting "Yum! A favorite. Again, the size of the chocolate is awesome." Graeter's gets their raspberries from Oregon's Willamette Valley, then purees them and combines them in their sweet cream base. The black raspberry flavor in this one was spot-on, didn't leave seeds in our teeth, and complimented the soft chocolate chunks in the best way.

10. Mocha Chocolate Chip

We loved this one and thought it should at least be in the top 10. It had a great coffee flavor, was silky smooth and had those signature chunks throughout. There's nothing better than a solid coffee/chocolate combination, especially when it's done right.

9. Buckeye Blitz Chocolate Chip

While we loved the peanut butter chocolate chip, this one had a higher rating from the group because of the addition of peanut butter cookie dough alongside the signature dark chocolate chips (I mean, come on!). This flavor was inspired by buckeyes, the signature chocolate-dipped peanut butter candy that's popular in Ohio (and beyond). You'll also note the Ohio State logo on the tub, though in this crowd there was no collegiate allegiance affecting our ratings.

Out of the six of us, only one didn't totally fall in love with this one (looking at you, Dad). This landed in two of our top five lists. "Perfect blend of peanut butter and chocolate," Paula wrote.

8. Oregon Strawberry

This was another solid hit for those of us who are fruity ice cream fans. The strawberry flavor wasn't artificial whatsoever and was balanced out by a creamy mouthfeel and a pale pink punch of color. I learned that Graeter's uses a special variety of strawberries from, you guessed it, Oregon’s Willamette Valley, that retain their flavor and color, even when frozen into ice cream. Cool! This was one flavor I kept coming back to.

Related: 80 Must-Try Strawberry Recipes

7. Black Cherry Chocolate Chip

"Great cherry flavor," said my grandmother for this one. We couldn't stop comparing this to the Ben & Jerry's classic, Cherry Garcia. This ice cream, though, was richer and had larger pieces of black cherry throughout that stood up against the slabs of chocolate in such a decadent way. Another win for the fruit fans!

Related: The Absolute Best Way to Pit Cherries, According to a 5th Generation Cherry Grower

6. Coconut Chocolate Chip

If I was conducting this taste test alone, I would have put this pint at number one. The chocolate chunks, the subtle flaky coconut, the hint of velvety vanilla...it was amazing. It's like a gourmet Mounds bar in ice cream form. But some of the others either weren't crazy for coconut like I am or hoped the coconut would have been a little more prominent, so we settled on spot number 6 for this one.

5. Lemon Meringue Pie

Another standout winner was the Lemon Meringue Pie. The marshmallow-lemon ice cream was "cloudlike" and had large crumbles of sweet pie crust and a tart lemon candy crunch sprinkled throughout the pint. "Nice bits of crust," commented Paula, and "lemon crunch is mouth puckering, but so good."

4. S'mores

Some ice cream brands just know how to do mix-ins correctly and I'm happy to report that Graeter's is one of them. The marshmallows in this ice cream were soft and pillowy, appropriately sized, and not at all gummy or freeze-dried like you find in other ice creams. The graham cracker base was perfect and, of course, the chocolate chunks were doing their thing here too.

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3. Peach

If you can't get enough of peach season, look no further than Graeter's July special flavor, which knocked our socks off, landing it in spot #3. "Would be perfect for a hot day—super refreshing," said Jaci. This one had chunks of peaches mixed in that were super pleasing to bite into, but not icy in the least bit. It was indeed refreshing and super peachy. Plus, the color was simply amazing.

Related: The Viral Recipe That Has Us Rushing to the Store to Grab Peaches

2. Peppermint Stick

Peppermint Stick, Graeter's featured December flavor, was one of the only ones that we all agreed was fantastic. It was better than the Mint Chocolate Chip for three reasons: the pretty pink color, the invigorating scent of peppermint oil, and the addition of crunchy bits of peppermint candy which melted in your mouth along with the ice cream and didn't stick to your teeth. "I love the candy canes in it! Would pair well with hot cocoa," said Jaci, with Paula commenting that this would be perfect for holiday ice cream sandwiches (I'll be waiting!).

1. Midnight Snack

The top pick of the 31 flavors we tried was Midnight Snack. This is a malt-flavored ice cream with chocolate-covered pretzels, mini peanut butter cups and brownies mixed in. "Fun and interesting. Good malt flavor. A surprise in every bite," said Paula. This one had something for everyone—an unmistakable malt flavor, saltiness from the pretzels, richness from the peanut butter and chocolatey goodness from the brownie bites, of course. We mock-fought over who would take this one home (it was Paula).

Related: 20 Blue Bell Ice Cream Flavors, Ranked Worst to Best

Bonus: Graeter's Sorbets Ranked

Graeter's also offers up a few sorbets, which are all gluten- and dairy-free. The company generously sent these along with the ice creams. We tried three flavors and ranked them separately at the end of our ice cream tasting. Even though our taste buds were a bit weary, we soldiered on. Here's the scoop.

3. Mango

If you love fresh mangos, you're going to go crazy for this fruity sorbet. I'm not usually a sorbet person, but this was fantastic. It was vibrant and tasted just like a fresh mango. Nobody else was quite as taken with it as I was, however, with Jaci commenting that it reminded her of baby food.

2. Raspberry

Another win, Graeter's third sorbet is made with real raspberries (and not just flavoring). This one was smooth, light, and refreshing making it a cool, fruity treat to end the summer with.

1. Lemon

This one earned "excellents" across the board and reminded us all of lemon ice, but better. Creamy, zesty, and refreshing, this one would be perfect scooped into a pretty dish with fresh mint or drizzled with rich olive oil.

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