Archive for April, 2008
April 28, 2008 at 9:21 pm
· Filed under Candy, Mars, Positive, Review, United States ·Tagged milk chocolate, peanut butter nougat, peanuts
This is a limited edition Snickers bar that has peanut butter. I’ll be honest… even before I try this out, I’m about 99% sure it’s going to be awesome based on that description alone. I know I’m probably biased; but seriously, this sounds like a can’t miss combination of flavors to me.
Before we get to the tasting though, what’s the deal with the name “Nut ‘n butter Crunch”? Why couldn’t they have just chosen “Peanut Butter Crunch”? That sounds like a tasty name to me. What is “Nut ‘n butter” anyway? Whatever, I’ll let it slide if this bar turns out to be as good as I expect it to be.
Structure
The center is peanut butter nougat with peanuts mixed throughout – all enrobed in a milk chocolate shell.
Texture
This is a nice, heavy bar. It’s chewy and satisfying just like the commercials promise. In general, it’s very similar to a regular Snickers bar, though it’s a bit drier.
Taste
There’s something very distinctive about the Snickers taste. Even when they mix up the ingredients, it still comes across as uniquely Snickers. Where this deviates from tradition though is the subtle peanut butter flavor. It’s also a little saltier than usual, which is completely fine by me (I love sweet and salty together). The whole bar is nicely balanced. It doesn’t come across as a primarily peanut butter product like a Reese’s, but the peanut butter is definitely noticeable.
Verdict
Snickers Nut ‘n butter Crunch is a definite winner. I’m only disappointed that it’s a limited edition bar. If you see one in the store, definitely pick it up and give it a try.
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April 27, 2008 at 1:15 pm
· Filed under Candy, Mars, Negative, Review, United States ·Tagged b vitamins, caffeine, milk chocolate, nougat, peanuts, taurine
This limited edition bar is essentially a plain old Snickers with the addition of some chemicals that are supposed to “charge” you up. These boosters include caffeine, taurine, and B vitamins. Now, I understand the addition of caffeine to generate this effect – it’s a psychoactive stimulant. On the other hand, I’m disappointed they decided to add taurine. Despite being found in a bunch of energy drinks, it actually does nothing to boost energy. It was popularized by Red Bull (they like it because the word is derived from taurus – the Latin word for bull). Mars is using taurine for the marketing angle only.
In the end, if Charged tastes like a regular Snickers, but delivers a kick of caffeine, it’s a success. My concern however, is that caffeine has a notoriously bitter taste.
Structure
The center is a layer of nougat topped with a layer of caramel and peanuts; all enrobed in milk chocolate. Caffeine, taurine and B vitamines are presumably incorporated into the caramel (though I can’t confirm this).
Texture
Texturally, it’s identical to a standard Snickers, which means it’s really good. There’s chewy nougat and caramel with crunchy peanuts. All of the textures are perfectly balanced.
Taste
I was curious to see if my discerning palate would be able to catch a hint of the bitterness from the caffeine. Well, it turns out the bitterness isn’t subtle at all. A couple seconds after my first bite (which tasted great – like a regular Snickers), the aftertaste poked through. It was like the taste of chewing aspirin. I know because I could legally drink before I could swallow pills and so I chewed more than my fair share of pills growing up. Anyway, it’s not a good thing. It’s very bitter and takes about 10 seconds to go away. A real disappointment. Though, I will say that the positives of being a delicious Snickers outweighed the negatives of the aftertaste to the extent that I did finish the whole bar.
Verdict
I don’t know why anyone would choose to eat this over a regular Snickers. The benefit of a minor caffeine jolt isn’t worth the downside of the bad, bitter aftertaste. There are a number of good tasting protein bars (including Snickers brand ones) that are healthier and provide real energy – not just a kick.
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April 24, 2008 at 9:17 pm
· Filed under Cadbury, Candy, Negative, Review, United Kingdom ·Tagged caramel, crispies, milk chocolate, peanuts
I was really excited to try this bar out. The packaging describes it as milk chocolate, peanuts, and caramel. That sounds like an awesome, simple combination that’s different from any of the mainstream candy bar options in the US. The closest I could think of was the limited edition Snickers Xtreme, which I hadn’t tried.
Structure
The center is caramel with chopped peanuts and crispies (not mentioned on the packaging) mixed throughout. The whole bar is enrobed with milk chocolate.
Texture
The milk chocolate is soft and mostly imperceptible. The “caramel” center is dry and chewy. I put caramel in quotes because I’m not sure it was actually caramel. It was dense like a nougat. The peanut bits were soft and scarce. Disappointingly, there were more crispies than peanuts.
Taste
The chocolate was again an afterthought. The caramel center doesn’t have much depth of flavor – just sweetness and vanilla. The whole bar has a weird aftertaste that lingers for a few seconds after each bite. The peanuts don’t deliver any roasted peanut flavor. This is all a detailed way of saying I was disappointed in the flavor.
Verdict
This is a big pass for me. On paper, milk chocolate, caramel, peanuts and crispies should all go together very well, but the Starbar just doesn’t taste very good and the caramel center is too thick and grainy. I’d recommend a Snickers Cruncher if you’re looking for something similar.
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April 14, 2008 at 8:00 am
· Filed under Candy, Negative, Nestlé, Review, United Kingdom ·Tagged milk chocolate, peanut butter, wafer
Here in the US, Kit Kat bars are manufactured by Hershey’s. In the UK (which is where this bar is from), Nestlé makes them. This is a little red flag for me because I tend not to like Nestlé chocolate. On the other hand, I like plain Kit Kat bars and this version has peanut butter. So in theory, I should really like this candy bar.
Structure
The center consists of creme filled wafer covered on the top and one side with creamy peanut butter – all contained within molded milk chocolate.
Texture
The chocolate covering is quite thick, which is par for the course with these large single stick Kit Kat bars. Surprisingly, the wafer wasn’t the same as what I’m used to in American Kit Kats. It was lighter and not as crispy as I expected. The peanut butter is smooth and creamy, which works well with the wafer center. All together, not a bad texture; certainly better than it’s American caramel cousin.
Taste
The chocolate is a bit bland (I mentioned earlier that I’m not a huge fan of Nestlé chocolate) and the wafers don’t add any flavor. That leaves the peanut butter to save the day. Unfortunately, it does not. I don’t know how to accurately describe it, but the peanut butter tasted funny. Maybe it was too much artificial vanilla or maybe just too much sugar. Whatever it was, it just didn’t taste quite right to me.
Verdict
This was an acceptable candy bar (it’s chocolate and peanut butter after all), but I was underwhelmed. There are a lot Reese’s products I would reach for before this one.
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April 7, 2008 at 12:31 am
· Filed under Candy, Hershey's, Positive, Review, United Kingdom ·Tagged chocolate cookie, white chocolate
In the interest of full-disclosure, I have to admit that I generally don’t like white chocolate. Since it doesn’t have any chocolate liquor nor cocoa solids, it’s not even really chocolate. On the flip side, I absolutely love Oreo cookies. They’re easily my favorite mass-produced cookie.
Before I try out a new product, I usually guess whether or not I’ll like it. Sometimes I’m surprised. Sometimes the candy bar is exactly as expected; both good and bad. With the Cookies n’ Cream, I earnestly didn’t know what to guess.
Structure
A solid, 12 segment molded bar of white chocolate with little balls of chocolate cookies mixed throughout.
Texture
The white chocolate is very soft; it’s almost not even like chocolate. There’s absolutely no snap when you bite in. Normally, this would be a deal breaker. However, I enjoyed the contrast between the crispy cookie bits and the soft chocolate.
Taste
Again, the white chocolate fails if you apply traditional chocolate rules. It’s very sugary and tastes like artificial vanilla. But, it kind of evokes an Oreo center. The cookie pieces do have some chocolate flavor, but they’re a bit overpowered by the white chocolate.
Verdict
The chocolate in this bar feels and tastes cheap. Any self-respecting chocolate connoisseur would probably thumb their nose at this product. But I’m going to go against traditional wisdom and recommend this product for those who like Oreo cookies. Though, if you’re looking to buy a product called “Cookies ‘n’ Cream”, I’d assume you already are and there’s a good chance you’ll also like this product.
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April 4, 2008 at 7:58 am
· Filed under Candy, Chuao, Positive, Review, United States ·Tagged cayenne pepper, cinnamon, dark chocolate, pasilla chile
I’ve been eying Chuao (pronounced chew-WOW) candy bars at my local grocery store for a few months now. Of their three products, the packaging for this Spicy Maya bar was the one that immediately jumped out at me. The bold, white lettering on a red, metallic wrapper is very appealing. What’s not so appealing is the $6.29 price tag. But, I felt compelled to try one out for myself because I already know I’m a fan of spicy chocolate products.
Structure
A solid, molded rectangle of dark chocolate with 24 sections. The cayenne pepper, pasilla chile, and cinnamon are distributed throughout the chocolate.
Texture
This is a well tempered bar that produces a nice snap when you bite it. The only textural difference between this and pure chocolate is the bit of crunchiness from the ground spices, which I liked.
Taste
At first, I only tasted dark chocolate, which was by itself, quite good. A couple seconds after swallowing my first bite though, I felt some heat in the back of my throat. After a few more bites, the spicy, peppery taste became more noticeable. Thankfully, it never became overwhelming. All the flavors work well together and I found myself craving more each time I tried to put the bar down.
Verdict
This is a quality product with a unique flavor combination and excellent packaging. I shared it with six friends and it was unanimously liked. Having said that, I will admit that most people probably won’t want to spend more than $6.00 for a product like this. It’s more of a one-time indulgence than the kind of treat the average person will buy often.
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