Scottish ice-cream brand launches Taylor Swift flavour: How does it taste?

All across the country, Scottish businesses are cobbling together Taylor Swift themed merch, in time for her grand The Eras Tour appearance at Edinburgh’s Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium from June 7-9.

One such company is ice-cream maker, Equi’s, who have whipped up a limited-edition Swiftie Swirl variety to join their regular stable. The new flavour was developed by owner David Equi and his daughter Alex, who is the company’s brand manager, and a Taylor Swift devotee.

“Alex has been talking about the concert for the past year and of course we discussed what Taylor Swift’s favourite Equi’s flavour might be,” says Equi senior.

Taylor Swift fan, Abbie McDowall, tries Equi’s new limited edition Swiftie Swirl at the National Trust for Scotland’s Gladstone’s Land in Edinburgh.

What do you think the results were? Not vanilla, chocolate, or strawberry. It’s a no to Isle of Skye Sea Salt and Caramel, Cherry Mania or Chip Off the Old Mint Choc, which are some of their existing flavours. None of those are particularly Tay Tay.

Of course, it’s all American bubblegum, rendered in palest pink, with tiny white chocolate shards in the mix and edible pink glitter sprayed on top. If it was a song, it’d be Love Story, rather than Bad Blood or Karma. This is the pure frozen essence of pop. It is the antithesis of rum and raisin.

I’m one of the first customers to try a scoop (okay, four scoops), and considering bubblegum is my least favourite flavour and pink my most hated colour, it’s rather pleasant. The glitter tastes neutral, but my insides will be sparkly. I’d forgotten about the chocolate shards, so they give me a bit of a shock at first. Once I’ve recovered from that, I start to enjoy the added textural element.

This is relatively light and not as tooth-meltingly sweet as I’d imagined, though I probably would’ve rather had rum and raisin.

You’ll find this treat in various Scottish parlours, including Scoop Anstruther, Equi’s Hamilton, Gladstone’s Land in Edinburgh, Crave Dessert Bar in Dundee, and many others, until the end of the tour and while stocks last. Prices vary between outlets, but it’s sure to be a minuscule fraction of what you’d pay for a ticket to see the pop star.

www.equisicecream.com