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TRIED AND TASTED: We tried The Stoltman giant cone by Inverness ice cream shop Castle Cone in Inverness


By Federica Stefani

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Time to eat as fast as possible.
Time to eat as fast as possible.

When the news broke out that there was a new gigantic ice cream cone in town, it was deeply felt that someone had to rise up to the challenge and try it.

Coming from Italy, there is little more intriguing than to get to review ice cream in the UK as there is a pretty different flavour palette to the one that I am used to.

So, it was with inquisitive tastebuds and anticipation that I entered Castle Cones on the High Street to try their latest invention: The Stoltman.

This is a humongous cone filled with five scoops of ice cream. It was named after the Stoltman brothers, from Invergordon – for those who don't know, Tom Stoltman recently won the title of World's Strongest man (for the second year!) and his brother Luke was among the finalists and was European champion in 2021.

All this is important information to add context – once the two brothers were made aware of the cone being named after them, they took the challenge to eat the cone as quickly as possible (the fastest being Luke at 6 minutes 31). The challenge is now open to everyone who wants to attempt a record-breaking ice cream session.

Don't underestimate the cone

Now, from the images of the cone I had previously seen on screen, despite it looking pretty impressive, it didn't seem too scary. Yet, as I entered the ice cream shop, I realised I was in for a tough challenge – even without trying to eat it as fast as possible.

The Stoltmans are very much not tiny men and, when you see the cone next to an average person, it's only then that you realize how giant it is. Add to it five chunky scoops of ice cream and as soon as I hit the street I felt the eyes of all the children passing in awe, a few asking their parents "can I have one too?".

I tend to be quite picky on flavours that might end up tasting very chemical, so I went with more creamy and dessert-y choices: toffee honeycomb, apple pie, raspberry ripple, chocolate and – had to be done – a Speyside whisky-flavoured scoop. Oh, and of course, I couldn't miss adding a chocolate flake to it. Very appreciated since a waffle on such a giant cone would be pretty redundant.

Find a shelter or seat

After going out of the shop with windy and rainy weather, I have to suggest to anyone willing to try it to find a shelter as soon as possible if the weather is not at its best. Start eating the first layers fast: as much as it won't get too warm, the melting ice cream on the cone will make the task even harder.

Find a seat if you can: this thing is pretty heavy at first! Make sure you don't have anything else in hand and focus and indulge in this massive treat.

As with a normal cone, white clothing and chocolate ice cream are a bad combination, I cannot stress this enough.

Creamy and natural-tasting flavours

I came in with a slight prejudice, I have to say, as I have often been put off by very chemical or weak flavours. However this ice cream – which is made in Buckie by Simpson's Ice Cream – really pleasantly surprised me.

The apple pie together with the honeycomb toffee felt like a crumble in creamy form, very pleasant, apple-forward and with a lovely creamy texture and a cinnamon note. Although I prefer a thicker texture and darker character, the chocolate was pleasant and worked very nicely along the raspberry ripple, which was fruity and felt pretty natural in its own right. The Speyside whisky was right at the bottom and it was a lovely finish: sweet but not overwhelming, it does add a slight pleasant warmth to the ice cream.

Let's talk cones

Holding the cone was great weight-lifting resistance training. Is this why they called it 'The Stoltman'?
Holding the cone was great weight-lifting resistance training. Is this why they called it 'The Stoltman'?

I was really surprised that even after some time had passed (the around 20 minutes which took me to finish the thing) the cone had not soaked up or leaked any of the ice cream. So, thumbs up for sturdyness and durability. Crunchy and pleasant, it can get a bit complicated to finish due to its size but overall it definitely passes both the practical and taste test.

Take this from someone who normally never goes for the cone option – tubs up! – so well done to the engineers there!

Final thoughts

If a bit unpractical to carry around and for requiring a decent appetite and amount of space in the stomach, I found this was a really nice idea, great if you want to go in for a serious dessert and try all the flavours available in two or three visits. The cone stands at £7.50 which is not too bad considering the amount of ice cream you get and prices around here.

You also get ice cream with a really nice flavour and texture which is possibly the most important aspect of this task.

If you want to try and challenge the standing record, you can ask to have your time recorded.

I, for one, preferred to indulge (and avoid the resulting brain-freeze headache).

Let us know if you manage to beat the record!


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