As I have not had a Shamrock Shake in greater than three years, I thought I would try the new Oreo Shamrock McFlurry dessert offering from McDonald’s in honor of the celebration of 50 years of Shamrock Shakes.
Tasting the New Oreo Shamrock McFlurry: 50 Years of Shamrock Shakes — and The Verdict Is…
The new Oreo Shamrock McFlurry is described as creamy vanilla soft serve with mint flavoring and Oreo cookie pieces blended throughout for a delicious minty-chocolaty dessert.
When I ordered mine, I observed the person behind the counter filling the cup with the vanilla soft serve — which McDonald’s officially calls reduced fat vanilla ice cream — and then placing the hollow clear plastic top on the cup before mixing the green mint flavoring and the cookie pieces…
…but she mixed them manually instead of with a special machine; and the final product did not appear to be mixed well at all. Vestiges of green syrup remained on the rim around the cup and on the clear plastic top; and when I reached the bottom of the dessert, mainly vanilla soft serve remained — so the product was not mixed well at all.
What is With the Bizarre Spoon and the Clip on the End?
The spoon is quite bizarre, as I could not figure out what was its purpose beyond the perfunctory conveyance of the soft serve to the mouth. It is thick, long, and hollow; it has a pair of holes on the back side of its handle; and its perimeter is square. If you look carefully at the photograph of the spoon below, you can see the two holes through the translucent plastic.
Was it thick for the user to be able to handle the soft frozen treat? Was it hollow so that it can also be used as a straw?
I have never had a McFlurry before; so I searched for the answer to this mystery — and this video indeed offers the reasons for the overall shape of the spoon.
I am not sure why the employee at the McDonald’s which I patronized did not use the special McFlurry machine to mix the dessert properly.
No universal recycling symbol is found on the spoon; so I have to assume that it cannot be recycled — and that is not helpful to the environment if that is true.
Summary
The total cost for an Oreo Shamrock McFlurry dessert was $3.17, which was $2.99 plus 18 cents in sales tax. I thought that was a little pricey, as the dessert is not all that large.
Sadly, the Oreo Shamrock McFlurry dessert looks and sounds better than it tastes, as it had a slightly strange after taste — almost like that of a chemical overtone — unlike the Shamrock Shakes which I have had in the past. I suppose that experience — which was less than delightful or splendid — can be attributed to the flavors of the dessert not being mixed well enough…
…but at this point, I would not recommend purchasing the Oreo Shamrock McFlurry dessert, as I have no desire to order it again. Either get the classic Shamrock Shake — which you could likely have an employee add chocolate soft serve if you ask for it and are into that — or get some real ice cream with cookie crumbles elsewhere…
…even if you prepare it at home with ice cream that you purchase in a grocery store or a supermarket.
All photographs ©2020 by Brian Cohen.
