Ben & Jerry’s, the go-to ice cream brand for many, just released three new cereal milk ice cream flavors: Frozen Flakes, Cocoa Loco and Fruit Loot. Each flavor is created with  cereal steeped milk and swirls of cereal pieces. To promote the new flavors, Ben & Jerry’s hosted an all-day release party at Vanderbilt Hall in Grand Central Terminal on March 7, coinciding with National Cereal Day.

The party was straight out of a childhood fantasy, and it included free ice cream samples, a photo booth and a jump-in ball pit. The whole room was covered in classic Ben & Jerry’s bright colors with continuous signs that announced “Ben & Jerry’s Cereal Splashback.”

“Splashback” was a play on the word “flashback,” which references the nostalgic taste of Saturday morning cereal and cartoons. Ben & Jerry’s, a proponent for reliving the good ol’ days, states that you are never too old for the taste of sugary cereal or ice cream for breakfast.

Despite the fanfare of the event and the free ice cream, the flavors themselves did not deliver. Ben & Jerry’s is known for its loaded ice cream, so when you dig into a pint you expect every spoonful to be full of textures and flavors -— this is where the new flavors fell short.

All three were missing the classic Ben and Jerry’s add-ins and strong flavors. They were far too sugary, making the after-taste sickly sweet, which is likely due to cereal soaking in the milk for too long.

The cereal swirls inside the ice cream should have been crunchy but were slightly soggy. In addition, there weren’t many pieces of cereal found in the mix.

Frozen Flakes and Fruit Loot tasted curiously similar, with the latter being the worse of the two due to its artificial flavor. Frozen Flakes actually had a nice play of sweet and salty, despite the scarce flakes, while Cocoa Loco tasted like a milky, watered-down version of plain chocola

“They just tasted very processed,” Tisch freshman Michaela Gavin said. “The only one I could stand was [Cocoa Loco]. I would much rather eat regular Ben and Jerry’s.”

If you are going to buy a pint of Ben & Jerry’s, go for your old favorites, because these new cereal-based flavors are not worth the money. If anything, the only redeeming factor of these flavors is that they make having dessert for breakfast acceptable. These flavors are special editions and are only available exclusively at Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shops.

A version of this article appeared in the Monday, March 20th print edition. Email Drew Lederman at [email protected]