Dairy Queen's Blizzard Cup Line-Up Review: Only 1 Is A Real Contender

There's a lot going on this summer, with soaring temps, the United States turning 250, and the World Cup tournament in full swing. For the latter mammoth global event companies have been dishing out all kinds of branded products, such as McDonald's and its collectable cups, Lay's and its globally inspired flavors, and Powerade with its own special flavors to quench the thirst during all those dreaded hydration breaks.

Dairy Queen is leaving no stone (with possible revenue streams) go unturned, having already introduced the red, white, and blue Stars & Stripes Misty Slush Float. Now, it's dropping three new Blizzards with flavors and tastes inspired from lands of foreign soil. Welcome to this world the Blizzard Cup Lineup, featuring the Strawberry Mango-flavored Mochi Blizzard, the Biscoff Cookie Blizzard, and Mexican-style Hot Chocolate made with Abuelita Blizzard.

By name alone, these treats sound like quite the mouthful, and their introduction borders on historic. It appears this is the very first time Japanese-style mochi have been blended into a Blizzard stateside, and the same goes with the beloved Belgium cookie of the skies — Biscoff, and Abuelita hot chocolate. The real question is: Do these international flavors play and taste on an MVP level stateside, or should they be sent off the pitch, and pitched directly into a trash can? The Takeout took out a Blizzard of each flavor to see where the truth lies. Now all can be revealed in this totally chilled chew and review.

On the first day of their release, I took a dessert break out of my busy vacation, and headed on over to a Dairy Queen in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware to try the new Blizzard Cup Lineup. I ordered a large size of the Strawberry Mango-flavored Mochi Blizzard, the Biscoff Cookie Blizzard, and Mexican-style Hot Chocolate made with Abuelita Blizzard. They were consumed on site, in that same exact order, with then multiple rounds of additional tastings to compare and contrast their strengths and weaknesses. I didn't conquer this task alone, and employed the help of dessert fans aged 6 to 59.

While I took the feedback of my taste testing crew under consideration, this chew and review is a summation of my own personal tastes and opinions. I also took into consideration my previous experiences with Dairy Queen, its Blizzards, these unique flavors, and my overall impressions of these new items. The ultimate criteria considered for this review were flavor, presentation, familiarity, originality, uniqueness, value, worldliness, and ultimately whether these menu items are worthy of your time and dime.

For no particular reason, my trio taste test began with the Strawberry Mango-flavored Mochi Blizzard. With a light strawberry red tint infiltrating a mass of white soft serve, and little dots of yellow, it almost resembled my personal favorite Blizzard — the banana split. A closer look at these bright yellow orbs and I almost thought we were working on another Minions-related item. These little mochi bits were eye-catching for sure, but what did they taste like? Sadly, the answer sunk the whole dessert.

Before we get into the problem with the mochi, let us speak of Blizzard's more commendable attribute. Inside the mix were actual pieces of strawberry, and like the wonders they work in other Blizzards, they worked the same fruity magic here — adding a dash of freshness, as well as giving the vanilla soft serve a slight twist in flavor.

Now back to the bad news — that mochi. It certainly delivers the promised mango flavor, but it does so with one of the least pleasant tactile experiences my mouth had experienced in quite a while. The mochi was sandy, starchy, and awkwardly dry. Normally, my taste tests are informed with what my tongue tells my brain, but here it was my teeth doing all the taking. My teeth said: What the heck is going on here? This actually felt like being at the dentist and we were at the denouement stage where the weird fluoride varnish was being applied to my chompers. While I gave this shake plenty of fair shakes, I could never get over that abrasive texture. I guess this is why they don't serve ice cream at the dentist's office.

After the misfire that was the Strawberry Mango-flavored Mochi Blizzard had left a bad taste in my mouth, the pressure was on for the Biscoff Cookie one to pick up the slack of this team effort. Luckily, this Blizzard not only came through, but exceeded expectations by the zillions.

I assume there are two kinds of people in this world: Those people who are bewitched by the crumbly and sweet greatness of a Biscoff cookie, and then there are just the casual fans who happily munch one down while trapped in their seats on a flight. If you somehow don't fall into either Biscoff category, I'd love to have a sit down and discuss why. We can do it over some of these super delish Biscoff-y Blizzards

This Blizzard totally rocks because of two things: It has Biscoff cookies in it (duh), and really nothing else in the mix besides DQ's vanilla soft serve. The cookie pieces range from broken chunks to finely crushed crumbles, and whatever Biscoff texture is being thrown your way in each spoonful, it's an absolute pleasure to gobble it up. The only real problem with this Blizzard is that no one would be upset if there were even more Biscoff cookie pieces included.

Biscoff I know all about. Mochi and Abuelita hot chocolate, not so much, but I'm always open to trying something new. Chocolate is a strong flavor and that's why I held off on the Mexican-style Hot Chocolate made with Abuelita Blizzard until the very end. I read the ingredients before trying it, and I couldn't make heads or tails what a Blizzard would taste like with a hot chocolate mix, choco chunks, fudge covered marshmallows, and cocoa fudge blended into the vanilla soft serve.

From the top surface, this Blizzard resembled others in the everyday line-up like the Choco Brownie Extreme or Mocha Brownie Mudslide. When I had my first spoonfuls, I was still trying to draw quick taste test conclusions, but was too busy trying to figure out what weird stuff my mouth was actually taking in. Yes, there's plenty of chocolateness going on here, but none of it was well received. That probably had to do with the fact that the aftertaste was filled with a peculiar rush of cinnamon. Imagine drinking cold hot chocolate while chewing on a piece of cinnamon Trident. If that doesn't sound appetizing to you, this Blizzard probably won't fare much better. Marshmallows are a staple of hot chocolate, but here they're covered in fudge. That may sound good, but again, this is a testy texture that doesn't land. The fudge is waxy tasting, and basically renders the marshmallow bits a waste.

I applaud the influx of international flavors being imported to America and its products. Lay's Brazilian‑Style Garlic Sauced is one of the best LTO bags of chips in stores this summer. Right up there in terms of memorable vittles is this incredible new Biscoff Blizzard. While McDonald's eaters around the world have been able to enjoy a Biscoff McFlurry, in the U.S. only the location at the company's Chicago HQ has had the pleasure of trying it. Dairy Queen is filling the void, and I can't wait to try another home run Blizzard.

As for the other two, they're nice tries and I will try to soon forget about their displeasures of textures. Perhaps a different flavor or construction of mochi would have made a difference. They actually had good mango flavor, it was just a bad vehicle to deliver the flavor. A strawberry-mango Blizzard sounds like a surefire winner to me, so why not make one with actual pieces of mango to pair with real bits of strawberry? Or perhaps boba would have been a more inspired and likeable flavor with international flair. I'm not sure what to do with the Mexican hot chocolate one. I like cocoa and I like cinnamon, and I learned that I don't want the two to be anywhere near each other the next time my mouth is agape.

The World Cup is already on its way to being completed, and soon, most Americans' attention will drift away from soccer. Let's reconvene in four years for the next wave of intentional flavors. I'd like to try a cardamom bun Blizzard, or how about in honor of one of the host countries — a Blizzard with ground up Moroccan fekkas cookies.

The Blizzard Cup Lineup, which features three new flavors, officially dropped on participating nationwide menus of Dairy Queen starting June 29. They will be available to order anytime Dairy Queen is open for business, while supplies last.

These Blizzards, like all Blizzards are available in four sizes — mini, small, medium, and large. Price will vary by location. At the Rehoboth Beach, Delaware one I had mine at, the prices were on the higher end, with the mini ones retailing for $5.25, the smalls for $6.50, the mediums for $7.75, and the larges for $9. The Blizzards are completely customizable, for subbing in soft serve flavors like chocolate in lieu of vanilla, as well to remove given ingredients or to add in candies, cookies, syrups, or sauces. Additional fees may apply for add-ons, or for orders placed for delivery, or through third parties.

Orders can be placed in-store, or drive thru where available. Advanced orders can be placed through Dairy Queen's app and website for dine-in, carry out, and where available, delivery.

The small Strawberry Mango-flavored Mochi Blizzard Treat contains 550 calories, 18 grams of fat, 11 grams of saturated fat, 1 gram of trans fat, 45 milligrams of cholesterol, 200 milligrams of sodium, 86 grams of carbohydrates, 67 grams of total sugars, and 12 grams of protein.

The small one of the Biscoff Cookie Blizzard Treat nets an eater 580 calories, 20 grams of fat, 12 grams of saturated fat, 1 gram of trans fat, 50 milligrams of cholesterol, 290 milligrams of sodium, 87 grams of carbohydrates, 67 grams of total sugars, and 14 grams of protein.

A small Mexican-style Hot Chocolate made with Abuelita Blizzard Treat chips in 730 calories, 31 grams of fat, 20 grams of saturated fat, 1 gram of trans fat, 50 milligrams of cholesterol, 260 milligrams of sodium, 104 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 85 grams of total sugars, and 14 grams of protein.

All three flavors contain the common allergens milk and wheat. Additionally, the Biscoff and Abuelita ones also include soy.