If you live in Rocklin, there’s no doubt you’ve heard about or waited in the long lines of Handles Ice Cream, wondering if it’s worth the wait. The lines out the door start to make sense when you realize that Handel’s has also earned national recognition as one of the best ice cream shops in the world with being awarded the #1 ice cream place on Earth by National Geographic 2006. It’s getting warmer and summer’s right around the corner so, I wanted to review their top flavors of 2026 to see if they deserve the praise, with the help of Junior, Isabella Gomes.
Since it would take too much time and money to rank every flavor at the location, we need a list of the most popular flavors. We were given the top 4 most popular flavors at the auction: Graham Central Station, Cookie Dough, Lemon Bar, and Brownie Dough. Each of these flavors have their own category of taste. Lemon Bar is sour and fruity, Cookie Dough is sweet and savory, Graham Central Station is sweet and crisp with pieces of gram crackers mixed in.
Cookie Dough: Despite being one of the most popular and loved flavors of ice cream in the world, it did not impress us as much as we had expected. Handel’s has a high reputation when it comes to ice cream and although it was good, it tasted like every generic cookie dough ice cream. The creamy cookie flavored ice cream mixed with chunks of cookie dough and pretzels gives a full explanation of why it is so popular but why it didn’t stick out as much as the others. Overall, I rated the flavor a 3/5 while Bella rated the flavor a 4/5. We recommend this flavor if you’re looking for a subtle ice cream but, if you’re looking for something more chocolatey, the brownie dough is the flavor for you.
Brownie Dough: Differently from cookie dough, the brownie dough has a chocolate base with substantial chunks of cookie dough and brownie bits. The base causes the ice cream to be stronger and overpowering than most traditional chocolate flavors. The brownie bits add texture and a crunch to the sweet and thick flavor giving it a unique consistency. With all this in mind, I rated it a 4/5 while Bella rated it an 4/5.
Graham Central Station: Graham central station is one of the all-time favorites at Handel’s. The taste of sweet ice cream mixed with graham cracker chunks makes this one of our favorites. The balance of sweetness and creaminess from the ice cream sets it apart from the others. Although we both agreed it was one of the best, we think it is too sugary tasting and would be hard to order a full thing on a full stomach. If you go to Handel’s, we 100% recommend you to try the Graham Central Station as its taste and presentation is a story within itself. I rated this a 3/5 and Bella rated it a 4/5.
Lemon Bar: Our favorite of the 4 options was the Lemon bar. The sweet and mild tanginess of the lemon offers a refreshing taste on a hot day. It had a citrus taste that wasn’t too sour but still strong enough to stand out. What made it even better was the smooth and creamy texture of the ice cream. While a lot of flavors tend to be heavy and sweet, lemon bar is refreshing without being boring, rich without being overwhelming. We rated this flavor the highest with a 4.5/5.
Overall, I believe Handel’s deserves all the attention it has gained over the years. If you’re looking for quality ice cream that you can love and you’re willing to wait, Handel’s is the place to go. The in-store made ice cream is different from others made in warehouses and tastes more fresh, sweet, and more savory. The difference is noticeable in both texture and flavor. The ice cream tastes richer, creamier, and more flavorful, with freshness you won’t get from other places. In addition they offer a wide variety of flavors, so there’s something for everyone. They offer affordable portions and sizes making it more budget friendly than competitors. We highly recommend going to Handle’s for a sweet treat this upcoming summer. Overall this shop is a stellar 4.5 stars out of 5.
