I know, I know...it's been a long time since I've updated this baby. Sorry, just had a lot going on and had to sort out eating all these tasty treats all while trying to look like I don't. Remember folks, as much as I love snacks, everything in moderation. OK, someone move this soapbox out of here...with that said, a plethora of reviews this week, El Jefe!
Lemon Twist Oreo
The Attraction
I came across this inviting package when I was up in Connecticut at the ever entertaining Stew Leonard's, which is terrific, by the way. I digress; being a fan of Oreos as well as enjoying a nice lemon-flavored snack cookie (quite popular and available in Asian grocery stores), it was destined to land in my shopping cart. The clever and eye-catching "limited edition" emblazoned on the package didn't hurt either.
The Review
Upon just cracking the package open, the smell of lemon cream came wafting out. It was really lemony smelling (in a good way).
OK, so I dig my teeth in.....and textually, I'm quickly reminded as to why Oreos are as so popular as they are; the contrast of a nice firm cookie sandwiching a slightly yielding cream inside proves to be a very effective and addicting combination. Then the lemon cream hits my taste buds and I'm a bit surprised it's not as overwhelming as I was fearing when I opened the package. It delivers on it's promise of lemon-flavor, albeit sweeter then most of it's Asian cookie counterparts. Yes, I think I'll still have several more of these.
The Sweet
Enough lemon-flavor without feeling like you are biting into a lemon rind. It's also an Oreo, people...and you know how good those are.
The Bitter
A shade sweeter than I would like, but that didn't stop be from eating more of them. Oreos aren't also the cheapest cookie on the block; around the Northeast of the US, they seem to average anywhere from $4.50-$6.00 a package. As with some really great products, their limited availability sometimes help build their lore, but also disappoints fans that want to have an opportunity to sample new product, but have a difficult time locating them.
Nabisco uses their tried-and-true formula for their legendary Oreo line and successfully applies it to the lemon flavored version. The cookie combination is already proven to be historically sound, but does the lemon flavor prove to be enough to be a viable option to keep consumers coming back to demand a consistent spot on the supermarket shelves? I sure hope so.
Snickers Peanut Butter
Snickers and peanut butter, oh my!
The Attraction
I came across this little "prince" when I was visiting a friend in the UK awhile back. Here I was thinking it was only available in the UK, only to come back to the States to see it in a Duane Read. Oh well, it's still a Snickers with peanut butter. Two things you love put together have got to be great, right?
The Review
I was pretty excited to try this sucker, so I quickly unwrapped it right after I took this photo! I dug right in and immediately noticed something wasn't quite right. Something about it was different. No, not the peanut butter part, doofus. Something seemed missing.....nuts! There were maybe 1 to 2 nuts per square in the package. Maybe they thought the peanuts were redundant with the peanut butter? You can see my 1 nut in the picture below: (please feel free to create your own inappropriate jokes around that)
The Sweet
There's not really much to like. Frankly, I don't even remember what the addition of peanut butter taste like to a Snickers, because I was so distracted by the missing peanuts.
The Bitter
Where the eff are the nuts?! OK, let's say they thought the nuts were overkill for a product that contains PB, but they can't be completely surprised if part of what made a Snickers so enjoyable was the contrast of peanuts with the chocolate if Snickers fan are disappointed. Without it, the chocolate bar is rather ordinary and falls flat.When you have a certain expectation based on an experience with a brand you like, you can't help but feel somewhat betrayed when their product doesn't have the same elements as the product they are using as the foundation. You love Honda vehicles? Try our new Honda car now with an HDTV built into the dash...oh, but it doesn't come with a Honda engine...
Don't waste your time on this one.
NutRageous
Did someone say Reese's? OK, I'll try it..
The Attraction
This could be a nutty version of a peanut butter cup? Sign me up... I also wasn't certain if this snack was readily available which made it all the more tempting to try. My eyes also seem to be drawn to any packaging that has "Reese's" on it.
The Review
This is not a nutty version of a Reese's Peanut Butter cup, although that not to say that's it's bad thing. NutRageous lives up to it's namesake; there's lots of nuts here! It's actually a lot more like what I imagined the Snickers Peanut Butter bar would be like; crunchy, chocolatey peanut butter goodness. It's like eating a Snickers bar and throwing in 2 more peanuts into your mouth because you love peanuts that much.
The Sweet
Love chocolate with peanuts? You've got the right bar! Peanuts are clearly on center stage with this snack. It almost seems like the chocolate is just a vessel to contains the nuts, nougat and caramel.
The Bitter
Most chocolate bars use a higher ratio of chocolate to nuts and although the name tells you exactly what the product is, it may seem like not enough chocolate or conversely, too many nuts. I'm not sure if there's a point to even put peanut butter in there cause the nuts are to plentiful. I don't remember even tasting it. It's like washing down a piece of lemon meringue pie with a glass of lemonade. After a while you aren't sure where the flavor is coming from.I know I'm in danger of sounding like I may be hard to please, especially when I just previously skewered Snicker's Peanut Butter bar for not having enough nuts and for NutRageous for potentially having too many for some snack lovers. I think in this case, it's all about expectations; Reese's NutRageous bar tells you exactly what it is and what to expect whereas the Snicker's Peanut Butter bar implies that it's a Snicker's bar with peanut butter, but does not deliver as such.
NutRageous is the antitheses to many conventional commercial chocolate bars out there by seemingly giving you more peanuts than chocolate, but if you tire of peanuts playing a co-staring role in your snacks and prefer them to take the lead, this is perfect snack for you.
