Monday 19 September 2016

Today's Review: Tesco Finest Cocoa & Spiced Rum Crisps


It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Well, it is in the Tesco seasonal aisle anyway, the chocolate are out in full force. The crisps, not so much, but I did find these nestled in the proper crisp aisle, next to the returning pigs in blankets flavour, so I imagine this is a Christmas themed edition of Tesco Finest crisps. It's cocoa and spiced rum, which certainly seems to fit the bill, and at first elicited a response of "what?" But I should know never to judge a crisp by its chocolate flavouring, after I was blown away by those chocolate corn puffs last week. The spiced rum was perhaps more likely to put me off, it's not really my drink of choice, and those prosecco flavoured crisps they churned out last year were pretty awful. But it is my duty to try out these flavours, so I can inform whether you should stay the hell away or not.

You know what? These aren't bad at all. I know the idea of a chocolate crisp is at first repulsive, but I think it's done rather well here. There's a nice balance of cocoa and sugar, that gives these a mellow, sweet taste, and the chocolate flavouring actually works pretty well with the texture of the potato chip. There's also some salt present, as you'd expect to find in a packet of crisps, and it helps to bring out the flavours a bit more. As for the rum, it's a lot less pronounced than I expected, which is a good thing in some way. The cocoa does dominate quite a bit, but the rum is hiding behind it, providing a somewhat pleasant boozy undertone. I don't feel it's a particularly necessary inclusion, it's not that strong, but I think perhaps without it the cocoa may be a little too much, the rum probably takes some of the sweetness away, and leaves behind a balanced crisp. I'm mightily impressed with this new Finest range offering, I doubt it will find a permanent place in a pack of Walkers classic flavours, but it's a quirky idea that's neatly executed.

My rating: 4/5

9 comments:

  1. Great review. Fun blog.

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  2. I am allergic to milk so I asked my colleagues to taste test these for me. I can confirm that 6/6 thought they were the worst thing they had put in their mouths for a long time and were quick to put the ones they hadn't eaten in the bin!

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  3. We did a trial in the office here this afternoon. One person out of 20 liked them; the rest agreed with me that they were gross. Weird at best. I've never known a bag of crisps to last so long.

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  4. My OH bought these a couple of weeks ago . Ye gods ! What were they thinking - even my youngest couldn't face a second crisp and that takes some doing . OH does like a spiced rum , though , and there's no doubting that the crisp aroma is a pretty good replica - that doesn't redeem them .

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  5. How funny. I'm the only person I know who hates feta. Now I am the only person who loves these crisps. God, they are such an interesting taste. Yum, crisps are mostly bland or crass, these are complicated, intriguing and pleasure giving. More please.

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    1. Your not the only one I only bought these 3 days ago and they are being finished now as I write this first crisp is a little weird but I always try a second and third I think they are delicious 😋

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  6. Wow what a difference in reviews. The Mrs and I have just demolished a packet of these bought purely for the novelty value they really are outstanding a balanced yet complex crisp. 5 out of 5.

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  7. They've brought them back! Hadn't seen them before. Oddly moreish but don't think I'll be buying them again. Don't try eating them with pizza, definitely doesn't work!

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