Who says ice cream is just a summer luxury? Not me.

And definitely not Kilwins. Entering the Sherman Avenue store, little did I know what treats were in store.

Literally. While my trustworthy companions — mint chocolate chip and cookie dough — don’t disappoint, I was feeling adventurous.

Hello, cappuccino chocolate chip: a melding of my usual preferred flavor palette. All-American two berry pie had a fun combination of colors, and don’t even get me started on the sorbettos.

Perhaps my favorite part of the experience was getting to sample almost all the funky flavors — for free! The only problem was that I ended up liking too many flavors to fit in my bowl.

Luckily, Kilwins has a solution for indecision: I got a single scoop disguised as a half-and-half between Mackinac Island fudge and Georgia peach. I’m not a huge fan of peaches, but the fruit paired well with the sugar in the half-scoop. The Mackinac Island fudge was way better than plain chocolate, too.

Aside from the wide assortment of ice cream flavors available — which seem to vary every time I walk into the store — there is a special cabinet dedicated to what looks like Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. I’ve always been a fan of peppermint bark and fudge, but wow, Kilwins really redefined what chocolate means to me.

My personal favorites? Definitely all the chocolates that end in “bark.” Sea-salt chocolate bark? Yes. Cookie bark? Also yes. I can’t speak on most of the ones starting with the name of a nut, but I’m sure those are just as tasty.

Speaking of nuts, as someone with a tree nut allergy, I cannot tell you how great it is that there are clear labels for each item on display. No longer was I the awkward customer inquiring about the contents for every single item — I became the empowered consumer who could trust the eye not to deceive the stomach.

On a slightly lighter note, the mascarpone chocolates became a delicacy I didn’t know existed. “The Great British Baking Show” made the flavor seem more like an aesthetic rather than an actual thing people eat, so when I had my first bite of it at Kilwins, I was in shock — it tasted like a sheet of a Wonka Fun Dip but sweeter and more addictive.

Then, there are the truffles — maybe my favorite of all things sweet. And Kilwins doesn’t just have the plain chocolate truffle (though, there’s nothing wrong with simplicity). Sitting behind the glass wall were truffles in malt, champagne and raspberry, each with their own unique exterior texture.

I totally get if circular toffees aren’t your thing. The little confectionery also houses some of our savory friends with a twist. Pretzel rods with sprinkles dipped in white chocolate or milk chocolate lie in neat, adjacent rows. Behind them lie their twist-shaped counterparts.

But what if you’re craving s’mores without the crackers? The larger-than-average marshmallows on sticks seem appealing, albeit incredibly sugary. There are several trays of sprinkled, chocolate-dipped and caramel-doused marshmallows.

Granted, I’m speaking about these chocolates as if I’ve gotten the chance to try them all, when in fact I’m raving about most of them from behind the counter.

Perhaps my only qualm, then, is that the shop is a little pricey for a college student to afford on a regular basis. While the Wildcat discount does offset 10% of the cost, I’m not sure $2.70 for a marshmallow on a stick is worth the price. And while you can mix and match your chocolates, more than $30 for a bag of strawberry bon bons and coconut clusters may be well beyond my budget.

That’s probably for the better, though — for both my brain and my liver. I guess a post-midterms Kilwins treat will have to suffice.

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Twitter: @amittal27

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