We rated over twenty of Cambridge’s Jack’s Gelato flavours from best to worst

As an experienced Jack’s-goer, I’ve decided to bless you all with a tier-list of all the ice cream flavours me and my friends have ever tried. And there’s a lot.

We’ve tried seasonal ice creams, whacky ice creams (maybe fish should stay out of gelato…), sorbets (all vegan!) and almost every permanent and semi-permanent flavour. Drawing upon our area of expertise, we’ve devised a perfectly crafted tier-list to consult next time someone says “Jack’s?” and looks at you with the expectant eyes of a new-born puppy begging for food.

Milk and brownie

It has milk. It has brownie chunks. It cannot miss. I’d say that this flavour tempts people to go to Jack’s, but honestly they could serve sage, coriander and durian (which have all been served, albeit not together) and we’d still go. Milk and brownies remains a cult classic, and is probably the most universally loved flavour. It’s like Jesus if he were ice cream. In fact, Jesus has transcended above the tier-list to form his own tier: S+.

Organic whiskey; Nc’nean

Crack out your pension, increase your font size and tell some kids to get off your lawn because this ice cream “made me feel like an old man”. For those of us who don’t play golf on the weekends, this ice cream, while more expensive, is worth it. Reportedly it tastes like champagne, but I haven’t the heart to spend six pounds on Jack’s…

Worth it. I’ve put it up in S-tier, because who wouldn’t want to feel like they’re retired?

Honeycomb

From the professional honeycomb enjoyer, the man who got it so often that at points in Lent 2023 he was going every day (and we’re suspicious that that’s why we won the Jack’s eating competition…), the official statement is: “Not too sweet”.

Its got “the perfect amount of sweetness”, with the honeycomb pieces adding layers to the texture, which places this firmly in S-tier.

Coconut ube (vegan)

The iconic purple Jack’s picture is holding this flavour up in front of the serving window with touristic glee. I’m biased, but this is my favourite – sweet, coconutty and thick, in my year’s experience I haven’t met anyone who doesn’t like this. Instant S-tier.

Mince pie

They chopped up a mince pie and put it in gelato. What more could you want. So good it’s sorely missed in January. I think this speaks for itself, to be honest. In case you weren’t impressed, this gelato is “[s]tunning, life changing, delectable, never […] seen before. I was an atheist before this ice cream converted me”. S-tier – you just had to be there.

Passionfruit and basil sorbet

Jack’s seems to put basil in a variety of their ice creams and apparently it actually tastes good? One student said it “smells very strongly of basil and [it] shouldn’t work… but it counteracts the sweetness and is the food of the gods”. I’ve just got to take her word for it, because I’m not risking the basil. As far as I know, this is S-tier ice cream.

Salted oreo

The big chunks of Oreo really make this ice cream. Somehow, pieces of Oreo in ice cream are so much tastier than whole Oreos. Sweet and salty is eternally the best flavour combo. It was mentioned by multiple people whenever the question of the best Jack’s flavour is bought up. An S-tier for sure.

Double chocolate

This gelato “couldn’t be chocolatier”: The little pieces of chocolate in the ice cream take it “beyond regular chocolate”. Jack’s promised double chocolate, and delivered “eternal chocolate”.

Placed in A-tier among the stars.

Dark chocolate and damson sorbet (vegan)

I’m going to be honest, I had to look up what damson was.

It’s pretty sweet, similar to cherry and plum, and complimented the chocolate perfectly. The best journalistic purchase I’ve made so far.

A-tier gelato.

Dark Chocolate and sea salt (vegan)

“It’s pretty good for vegan ice cream” – my (practically) food critic sister. Enough said. A classic, it’s pretty much permanent on the menu. A solid choice for whenever the selection is looking a little sparse. A solid A-tier gelato.

Pumpkin

This gelato has received mixed reviews – it’s probably the marmite of this list. Either you think it’s delicious, thick and autumnal or, as one of my friends described it, “twas a strange one”, adding that it was “earthy, slightly sweet” and “unnerving”. Not sure what to make of that one. This one’s risky – it could be an F-tier or it could be an A-tier. Only you can know.

Coconut and coffee

The dream team, like a coconut milk iced latte but you can eat it at past 3pm and still be able to sleep. Jack’s has nailed coffee ice cream, and this flavour combo is definitely worthy of B-tier.

Lemon sorbet

Just like the fruit, lemon sorbet is pretty polarising – some think it’s too sour, but others think it has the perfect tang. It’s a pretty good plan for if you went to a formal and want something that’s not super sweet for after desert. A B-tier sorbet.

Alphonso mango sorbet

Probably my favourite sorbet – it’s super thick, creamy and doesn’t miss the dairy. Very strong mango flavour. If a wizard cast a spell on a mango to turn it into sorbet it would be this. It’s a solid C-tier.

Mint stracciatella (vegan)

I like this as someone who doesn’t like mint – it’s subtle and has a classic stracciatella base – truly timeless. It’s not my favourite, but sometimes sacrifices need to be made to try a new flavour. I checked for a second opinion, and the results were that it is “fresh”; “a good balance between mint and chocolate” (so not toothpaste-y). The warm reviews place this in a cool C-tier.

Strawberries and cream

Like milk and brownies, this classic flavour combo usually get lots of attention. However, when I asked for opinions it got slated as “average strawberry ice cream”. It probably doesn’t help that the person I asked didn’t like berries. Whoops. I’ll pop it in C-tier to be fair to it.

Vegan hot chocolate (not gelato)

Jack’s hot chocolate is made with their gelato, with a friend describing it as “decadent” and “creamy and sweet”. Compared to the instant hot chocolate uni students are used to, it’s not really hard to do well on this one, especially when your hot chocolate base is gelato. Comfily in C-tier.

Passionfruit and clove sorbet

The sorbets in Jack’s aren’t sad little slush ice creations. Rather, they are practically soft gelato. Passionfruit and clove is a bit of an unexpected combo. I didn’t find the flavours particularly harmonious, but the texture was spot on. Good ice cream, less good flavour. It’s pretty average, around C/D-tier.

Rose and cardamom (vegan)

Tastes like the name. I wouldn’t be surprised to bite into a rose petal or cardamom pod while eating this ice cream. The cardamom was actually delicious, but the hint of rose tasted a bit like eating an actual flower.

If they made solely cardamom gelato I’d eat it. Probably.

Banished to D-tier.

Cardamom and rhubarb sorbet

“I think I just like cardamom” – my taste tester.

???-tier.

Manuka honey and fig

“You can’t really taste the fig…” Not really a glowing review, but apparently it still had the signature thickness of gelato, and like most Jack’s flavours was carried by its texture. To D-tier it goes.

Roasted peanut

Apparently this tasted like banana? Although they were also serving banana that day so maybe there was a mistake…

D?-tier.

Salted caramel

Salted caramel is true to its name. It’s very salty. You have been warned. Dark chocolate and sea salt, the ocean and fast food fries don’t have this much salt. It has potential, but for now it’s in D/E-tier.

Kombucha and cherry sorbet

I didn’t expect it to taste so strongly of kombucha. I guess it’s perfect if you actually drink kombucha because you think it tastes nice? A bit too sweet for my tastes. I’m sorry, but something had to be F-tier.

Bacon toast

Everybody likes bacon until it’s in their ice cream. Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction obviously never bought it back because no living student that I’ve talked to seems to have eaten this flavour. A great combo, if only it weren’t gelato – F-tier.

Garlic and rosemary

There seems to be a general consensus that basil belongs in sorbet but garlic does not belong in gelato. Probably not a good idea if you’re on a date…

Perhaps a good idea if you’re suspecting someone is a vampire?

It’s more of a Frankenstein situation than a vampire one – Jack’s needs to sit in F-tier and think about the abomination they have created.

Anchovy

Yes, you read that right. You know Jack’s uses chopped up pieces of ingredients? It’s either the unexpected joy of having pieces of mince pie or cake in your ice cream, or the sheer horror when you realise there is, indeed,  fish in your gelato. This ice cream was attempted by multiple Petreans, but alas even we, the biggest Jack’s consumers, could not fish up the strength to complete it. It swum down to the deepest depths to reach Z-tier.

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