April 2nd: Hershey's Almond Joy Dipped Cookies

Kcal 300 Fat 17.0g Fat(sats) 9.0g Carbs 34.0g (per pack - 4 cookies)

The CandyPirate goodies just keep on coming. Today I bring you my review of the Hershey's Almond Joy Dipped Cookies, a product that came described as 'chocolate cookie bases with coconut creme and almond pieces, dipped in milk chocolate' ... quite the proposition I am sure you will agree. For those that don't know the Almond Joy is the US equivalent of the UK's Bounty bar, for some reason I am yet to get around to reviewing one, though I am hoping CandyPirate can help me out with that soon enough.

I received these cookies in a pack of four that I ate over two separate sittings. I thought the presentation of the product on the whole was very good, with the outer packaging communicating the contents well with a nice and realistic picture. The cookies looked especially appetising when bitten into - as you can see above all of the constituents were highly visible. Another very noticeable thing was their smell; as soon as the packet was opened a lovely waft of coconut greeted me which was certainly enticing.

The first thing I noticed about these cookies was that their outer milk chocolate coating was very quick to melt (in my hands!!), and had a little bit of a greasy feel. This was all soon forgotten as I tasted the cookies where I was met with a truly wonderful amount of varying flavours. The outer milk chocolate set a pleasant sweet chocolaty context to the taste with its fast, yet thick melt, whilst sitting at the base of each cookie was a crunchy biscuit that added a nice cereal based wheat taste. The really special part of this product though was the coconut creme that sat on top of the biscuit. It was lighter than I was expecting but it certainly didn't fail in establishing some wonderful nutty, milky flavours. The added almonds added a nice variance in these nut flavours with some more buttery notes coming through in the aftertaste. Two of these cookies made for an enjoyable and fulfilling snack to tie over my mid-afternoon munchies.

Overall I keep saying that I am not much of a cookie/biscuit fan, though products like this are certainly changing my opinion very quickly. All the different elements contributed to what was overall a fantastic cookie product. The resulting taste was full of creamy coconut flavours, whilst also delivering that ever so important chocolate hit. Looking at the nutritional information these probably aren't a product for the diet conscious, however if this is no concern of yours then I strongly suggest you give these a try.

8.4 out of 10

Want to try these Hershey's Almond Joy Dipped Cookies for yourself!? Head to Candy Pirate for all your American Candy & Foods needs!

April 2nd: Hershey's Sugar Free Special Dark Chocolate

Kcal 150 Fat 13.0g Fat(sats) 8.0g Carbs 24.0g (per 40.0g - 5 pieces)

Thanks to *IShop4YouII* I have been able to take a full spectrum look at the Hershey's Sugar Free range, with me today lastly reviewing the Hershey's Sugar Free Special Dark Chocolate. Similarly to the others this product contained the usual Malitol sugar substitute - to be honest I was expecting this to have less of an impact on things considering that this was a dark chocolate - sugar should theoretically have had less relevance anyway.

As with the others from the range I received these in a 85.0g bag that contained about 12 pieces. The presentation was all round pretty solid - the Sugar Free nature of the product wasn't overstated, and the usual Hershey's theme was implemented accordingly. The chocolates themselves looked very similar to the standard Hershey's Sugar Free Chocolates, though obviously were darker in their appearance. Although kept within foil wrappers the pieces had quite a placid smell, they certainly weren't as strong smelling as other dark chocolate alternatives.

I am not going to waste my time skirting round the issue here - these were pretty poor quality dark chocolates. Although they had a reasonably good melt and texture, the flavours that were released were too subtle and just did not contain any sort of substance. With dark chocolate you normally expect to be imposed with some stronger cocoa flavours in comparison to milk chocolate. These however just tasted like the Hershey's Sugar Free Milk Chocolates without the sweet milky influences. To be honest nothing more can be said than they really just lacked flavour - from the beginning to the end of taste no flavour elements really established a firm presence. If I was to liken it to anything I would say it was similar to mixing cocoa powder with water ... it was like a very weak hot chocolate - devoid of both charm and of course flavour.

Overall like many of the others from the Hershey's Sugar Free range these really failed to get up to a reasonable standard. Although having a reasonable texture and melt in the mouth, they lacked one fundamental thing and that was an imposing set of flavours. Maybe this was due to the lack of sugar? Or maybe this was just down to the poor quality cocoa? Whatever I really suggest this is another from this range you give a miss!

5.8 out of 10

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April 1st: Cadbury Dairy Milk Caramello (Ireland)

Kcal 230 Fat 11.9g Carbs 27.5g

My research in finding the greatest Cadbury Caramel bar took another step forward today, with *The Irish Shop* kindly providing me with Ireland's take on one of my all time favourites. So far I have reviewed the UK's Cadbury Caramel (9.4), the US's Cadbury Caramello (8.1), the Australian Cadbury Caramello (8.5) and Canada's Cadbury Caramilk (8.4). Today's Irish version sounded very familiar in both name and description - 'Cadbury Dairy Milk Caramello - milk chocolate with a soft caramel filling'.

Puzzlingly this bar didn't state it's size, though I am sure it was actually smaller than the rest of the Irish Cadbury bars I have tried. I say this as it had a far flatter look about it, with the blocks not appearing half as big as I expected them to be ... they were flatter than even the standard Irish Cadbury Dairy Milk blocks. When cross-sectioned the amount of caramel in each piece was to be honest rather lacking - even the filling that was visible seemed relativley thin. Although much less of a problem, I thought the blue colour coding on the wrapper was an odd choice to indicate the caramel nature of the bar. Despite being wrapped in the aesthetically pleasing gold foil wrapping I must also say that the bar lacked the usual dairy freshness and emphasis in its aroma.

As you will be able to ascertain I wasn't all that impressed with the bar in regards to its physical presence, and I was hoping the taste would make up for it. Luckily for this bar the Dairy Milk flavours were still present and were as good as ever. The rich, creamy, chocolaty flavours were not overly affected by the smaller proportion of chocolate in each block and still proved well substantiated in the taste . I do generally find the texture of the Irish Dairy Milk a little on the thick side, so its marginally thinner implementation here was actually to my liking. The majority of my praise unfortunately ends here though, as the caramel filling in my book was really not up to scratch with the usual Cadbury standard. Much like its appearance suggested it was lacking in volume and subsequently presence in the taste. It was just too thin its texture, and didn't deliver the usual quality sweet, buttery, salty elements that every other Cadbury variation has before ... to be honest it was really disappointing, and deeply unsatisfying.

Overall had it not been for the great standard Dairy Milk chocolate, I dread to think what this bar would have scored based on its caramel alone. There is no simpler way putting it other than the caramel was poor. It lacked presence in the taste and really just failed to stamp its authority on any part of the experience. This is the worst of the Cadbury Caramel variants I have tried and would really suggest you give it a miss. Its been saved in the rating system by having a good standard milk chocolate, but I am majorly disappointed by this bar - I was expecting far more. For the minute the UK's own still reigns supreme.

6.3 out of 10

The Irish Shop - Visit for all your Irish Food & Product Needs!!

March 31st: Oreo (Japan)

Kcal 473 Fat 20.5g Carbs 67.4g (per 95.4g – 9 biscuits)

The goodies from J-List just keep on coming and today I got the chance to sample some Oreo cookies all the way from Japan. Of course this was a review that simply couldn’t be done without a pack of UK Oreos at hand for comparison, which I may add are no different whatsoever to the product available in the US.

J-List were kind enough to send me a pack of 18 cookies, that were then split into two separate foil bags of 9. Of course I couldn’t possibly eat all these cookies by myself so I did the unthinkable and actually shared with a few friends (it was actually quite useful as it allowed me to get their opinions as well!!). Collectively we all liked the presentation, it was all very familiar with its blue and white colour scheme, though we thought the authentic Japanese writing gave it a rather cool look. Aesthetically the cookies appeared no different whatsoever to the UK ones, however it was commented that the Japanese ones smelt more chocolaty with their sweet, biscuity aromas.

The taste comparison was done whilst consuming a nice afternoon cup of tea … I don’t think that could be anymore British sounding if I tried. Anyway, after much dunking, separating of layers and of course deliberation it was generally a shared view that the Japanese Oreos had a little bit more of a cocoa edge to their overall taste. Fundamentally the biscuit elements tasted the same, offering very similar malty, sweet buttery elements to the taste. The slight variation came in the ever so slightly more longing impact of the cocoa in the aftertaste, which in the Japanese cookies seemed to stay in the mouth that little bit longer after consumption. The inner crèmes were pretty much identical in their sweet, milky flavours, though the Japanese crèmes seemed just a tad lighter and moister in texture.

Overall it was a common conclusion that if we were all blindfolded we didn’t think we would easily be able to tell the difference between the Japanese and UK/US Oreos. As I have stated above there were ever so slight differences in the taste of the biscuit and textures of the crème fillings, however these were only truly noticeable as we were very much looking for any discrepancies. If you are interested in Japanese products and would like to try see if there are any differences yourself I suggest you head to J-List. If it is taste alone you are interested in, then you best just stick with what we have here.

7.9 out of 10

Fancy trying Japanese Oreos for yourself? Head to JList for all your Japanese Candy & Goods needs!!

March 31st: Lindt Creola Ek Chuah

Kcal ??? Fat ??? Fat(sats) ??? Carbs ???

Dean-German-Grocery have been kind enough to send me along the newest product line to emerge from Lindt - their Creola range. I today sample the 'Ek Chuah', a bar that was formed of 'milk chocolate filled with hazelnut nougat creme and cocoa bean chips'. I must say the cocoa bean chips sounded like an innovative element to me, which raised my anticipation ever so slightly more.

The Creola range appear to come in 150.0g bars - I ate this particular one over the course of three days. Typically the presentation was all rather good, with the wrapper exhibiting some really classy artistic decoration. I did have a small gripe with the bar itself in that it was only split into ten quite large blocks. Although each looked superb with delicately embossed logos, their size was just a little too large for my liking ... 15.0g a block is really quite sizable when you think about it. Regardless the bar was nicely kept within a branded foil layer that maintained both the wonderfully enticing cocoa smells and the general aesthetics of the product.

Seemingly you can always trust Lindt to produce the goods with their milk chocolate, and there was further evidence of this here. It was fantastic in both texture and taste - with the smooth, thick melt releasing the creamy, sweetened cocoa flavours at a wonderful rate. Beneath the milk chocolate lay a slightly softer nougat layer - the transition in the melt felt simply superb and immensely luxurious. As well as having a nice feel in the mouth the nougat layer was full of nutty, hazelnut flavours. It retained much of the creaminess from the milk chocolate, though its nuttier taste was a nice change-up. Dispersed throughout the nougat layer the small cocoa bean particles made for a delightful finish to each piece. Letting the blocks melt away on the mouth left the cocoa bean remnants, which delivered a crunchy, burst of powerful cocoa flavours for the aftertaste - delicious! As with most Lindt milk chocolate bars I didn't find this the most fulfilling, 50.0g provided a reasonable degree of satisfaction though.

Overall this was a great first showing from the Creola range, and I am hoping that all the other bars from the selection can live up to this level. The milk chocolate and hazelnut nougat layers were immensely tasty, and up to Lindt usual high standards. What really put this bar above some others I have reviewed though were the sheer delightful amount of different textures present, with the smooth milk chocolate contrasting nicely with the softer nougat and crunchy cocoa bean pieces. If your a fan of all things Lindt I strongly suggest this as a bar you should get acquainted with.

8.4 out of 10

Fancy trying the Lindt Creola Ek Chuah for yourself!? Fancy any another Ritter Sport / Milka / Lindt / Storck or German Grocery ... head over to Dean-German-Grocery!!

March 30th: Reese's Crunchy Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

Kcal 210 Fat 13.0g Fat(sats) 5.0g Carbs 22.0g

Now if there is one thing I have never understood, it is how people can prefer 'smooth' peanut butter to 'crunchy' peanut butter? After all surely if you like peanut butter your going to like peanuts? It bemuses me to this day! Anyway ... today's review is of the latest limited edition from the Reese's range - the Crunchy Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups. Replacing the normal smooth style peanut butter with peanut butter with whole nuts in these sounded pretty damn good to me.

*IShop4YouII* sent me a 42.0g pack, which included two separate standard sized cups. The whole presentation was as good as ever with the both the outer packaging and peanut butter cups cutting the usual appealing iconic Reese's look. When cross-sectioned the whole peanut pieces could be detected, however I was more preoccupied with taking in the absolutely fantastic nutty aromas that made themselves known as soon as the outer packaging was removed ... if Hershey's were to sell these smells in a deodorant like spray-can I wouldn't think twice about buying it!! SOLD!!

What is left to say about Reese's milk chocolate that I haven't said before ... :) I think we all know I am not its great proponent. As always the slight waxy texture was retained and it lacked the desired cocoa flavours that I really wanted. The being said its sweet, milky influences were passable and really didn't matter all that much given the quality of the peanut butter filling. Obviously the 'USP' of this particular limited edition was supposed to be the crunchy nature of the peanut butter, and boy did it deliver. The peanut butter benefited from the extra level of contrast in it's texture, and it certainly added a degree of interest. The added peanut pieces also seemed to bring an extra nuttiness to the bites were present, the salt lick certainly felt reinforced. I could have eaten these all day but the two standard cups more than provided a sufficient snack.

Overall these unsurprisingly reminded me of the Reese's Big Cup with Nuts in that it delivered many of the same benefits with the additional peanut pieces. To be honest I am a bit disappointed these are not going to stay as a staple part of the Reese's range, as I for one actually prefer them to the standard Reese's peanut butter cups which of course have the smooth peanut butter. The extra texture and flavour enhancements brought by the additional peanuts make these a superior option in my opinion, and one I very much recommend you try if your a fan.

8.7 out of 10

*** EU & UK Readers Attention*** Ever been been browsing Chocolate Mission or any other Candy Site and felt frustrated not being able to get hold of an American bar/item!??? .... well feel frustrated no more!!! 'I SHOP 4 YOU II'!! is a great service that provides a unique "one stop shop" international shopping experience!!! Visit the Ebay shop - if they dont have the item you want instock simply give them a message - there is no harm in asking. This service comes with a Chocolate Mission Seal of Approval!! It is a genuinely great, fast and friendly service... Just say you came from Chocolate Mission.

March 29th: Meiji Black Chocolate

Kcal 367 Fat 23.7g Carbs 32.2g

My friends at J-List have sent me some further products to sample from their extensive range of Japanese goods. Included in my latest package was this Meiji Black bar - unfortunately due to my lacking Japanese language skills I can't really tell you much about the bar from its on pack description. From what I understand though Meiji is a very popular brand in Japan and by the looks of their range on J-List they offer a very wide ranging set of flavours.

This bar came in quite a weird format in that it came in a large, yet thin 65.0g size. I thought the presentation was pretty good, with the product contained within both a sleek looking paper wrapper and a foil layer for freshness. The bar itself also looked aesthetically pleasing with its shiny complexion. Each block was also branded with the Meiji logo which is always a nice thing to see. The aroma that emanated from the bar had relative appeal; the smell was quite dairy led however I could also detect a slight smokiness.

Due to the aforementioned language barrier I couldn't tell what % cocoa the chocolate was, however I wouldn't expect it to be all that high. With the name 'Black Chocolate' I was really expecting quite a concentrated taste, though what I found was that it was actually really not that strong. The chocolate had a very prominent milky undertone that was consistently present throughout the duration of the experience. The creamy base flavours made for a surprisingly sweet taste, which stopped the roasted cocoa flavours from ever becoming bitter. Although it was nice in this sense and had a nice thickness to its melt, I thought it did make the chocolate a little one dimensional. Half a bar provided an adequate snack, though I wouldn't say it was the richest dark chocolate I have ever had.

Overall I found this to be a pretty 'run of the mill' dark chocolate offering. This is my first experience of dark chocolate from Japan so I don't know if this is the standard for dark chocolate from this area, but for me I just found the whole thing a little reserved in the ferocity of its flavours. The creamy undertone made for a resoundingly friendly offering, though I just felt it limited the impact of the cocoa which never fully managed to rise above the milk rooted flavours to exert itself fully. For dark chocolate begginers this would be a nice bar to start with. For people looking for a richer, fuller flavoured experience this probably isn't a bar for you.

7.4 out of 10

Head to J-List for this Meiji Black Chocolate and many more Japanese Candy & Snacks

March 29th: Oatfield Chocolate Peppermints

Kcal 378 Fat 4.0g Fat(sats) 3.0g Carbs 88.0g (per 100.0g)

Continuing my look at Ireland's finest confectionery courtesy of *The Irish Shop* I today tried my luck with these Oatfield Chocolate Peppermints. Described as 'crisp mints with soft chocolate centres', these were a similar proposition to Cadbury Eclairs, but just with glacier mint replacing the outer caramel.

*The Irish Shop* sent me a 96.0g bag that contained about 20 wrapped sweets. The outer packaging looked very similar to the Emerald Caramel Eclairs I reviewed a few weeks ago, combined with the green foil wrappers I thought the product was all presented to a good standard. The mints themselves were not the most exciting looking, but when inspected closely the inner chocolate could just be made out sitting in the middle of each piece. Surprisingly when opened the bag was completely scentless, it was not until the individual foil wrappers were unwrapped that the pleasant minty smells emanated from the pieces.

I do like a good mint, and these were well received. The mint flavours were not overly intense and had a slight milky, creamy nature to their taste. The peppermint oil brought a nice refreshing edge, whilst the smallest intermittent salt lick made for a really moreish taste. At the heart of each piece the chocolate element provided a nice variation to the mint flavours, with a nice burst of cocoa that stayed present for a short time in the mouth. I felt it didn't quite bring the same sort of WOW factor as with the Cadbury Eclairs, however the chocolate was certainly a welcome addition, and just delivered an extra flavour dimension.

Overall although not the most spectacular product I have ever had the pleasure of reviewing, it was certainly a solid one and quite unique nonetheless. These aren't the sort of product you will want to consume all in one go, though they were great to have as a bag sitting on my work desk that I occasionally dug into. They provided a nice way to freshen up my mouth with just the smallest of chocolaty hits - if your a mint lover then I would recommend them.

7.3 out of 10

Check out the Irish Shop for all your Irish Chocolate & Foods needs! At Affordable prices!!

March 28th: Hershey's Milk Chocolate Layered Cookies

Kcal 300 Fat 15.0g Fat(sats) 8.0g Carbs 37.0g (per 4 cookies)

Despite the mountains of chocolate I have been eating my way through recently in order to bring you all Easter 2009 in a nutshell, I have also been treating myself to the some of Hershey's latest cookie ranges that CandyPirate so kindly sent me. The first lot of the selection I decided to indulge in were these 'Milk Chocolate Layered Cookies', which sat under the traditional Hershey's branding.

I received these in a pack of four (56.0g) that did me nicely for two separate snacking occasions. The cookies were nicely presented in a well designed foil wrapper and also came adequately protected in a cardboard sleeve. The cookies themselves cut a nice look with all of the different layers visible and the Hershey's logo well crafted into the surface of both biscuit sides. Despite not having the greatest of chocolaty hints in its aroma, the smell that emanated from the packet was resoundingly pleasant and displayed some nice sweet scents.

Just as the name suggested the product was formed of three different layers. The outer cookies tasted almost completely identical to Bourbon biscuits we get here in the UK with a lovely buttery, sweet taste. Separating the crunchy cookies and inner white creme was a very welcome layer of milk chocolate. I thought it added not only added the chocolate hit that was slightly lacking in the cookie elements, but also delivered a complimentary moistness to the other two drier textured layers. Sat directly in the middle of each cookie was a pleasant sweet, milky fondant substance that was none to dissimilar to the stuff found at the centre of Oreos. Two cookies at a time certainly made for a nice snack to accompany a mid afternoon coffee.

Overall these were good cookies yet at the same time a little unspectacular. The three different layers combined to deliver what you would expect from such a product ... a pleasant biscuit and creme centre offering with just a little touch of milk chocolate to give it a chocolate flavour hit. These have scored ever so slightly better than Oreos, however for me they are pretty much inseparable as these offer much the same proposition. Cookie fans these are certainly a product you would like to try.

7.9 out of 10

Cant find these in your supermarket? Never fear CandyPirate is here!! Find this bar and many more American candy & foods delivered directly from the UK at CandyPirate!!

March 28th: Hershey's Twizzlers Chocolate Twists

Kcal 160 Fat 2.5g Fat(sats) 1.0g Carbs 33.0g (per 45.0g - 4 pieces)

In their latest package, *IShop4YouII* sent me a whole variety of different products, included in which were these Hershey's Twizzlers Chocolate Twists. I had tried a few varieties of Twizzlers before most memorably strawberry, though having never even heard of these 'Chocolate' flavoured ones I was intrigued to say the least. I couldn't help but laugh at the claim of being made with 'real Hershey's Chocolate' - the actual realness itself of Hershey's Chocolate is a real grey area nowadays ... but please lets just not go in to that today :)

Liz kindly sent me a 340.0g bag of these Twizzlers, which I slowly munched away on sporadically for about three or so weeks. The presentation of the product was a little unspectacular - the outer packaging was all pretty standard Hershey's style, though the laces themselves I am afraid cut a rather boring brown appearance. To be honest everytime I looked at them I couldn't quite help but ask the question why are these not cola flavoured? ... ultimately I think they could have done more to get the chocolate theme across! In regards to aromas, it was all a little puzzling. The Twists radiated a predominantly sweet smell that had an odd burnt rubber hint to it. I could detect a minor chocolatyness though it was really rather faint.

Just as the smell and presentation lacked in establishing the 'chocolate' flavoured nature of the product, the actual taste didn't really make any greater inroads. As you would expect with chew sweets the taste was really rather sugar led, though it did have some additional flavours that just seemed lost in one big murky background taste. Breaking the taste down beyond the sugar, I could detect elements of vanilla, dried milk, flour ... if you have ever tasted dried custard powder before thats how I would best describe the convergence of these flavours. Although these didn't really leave me demanding more, they at the same time weren't exactly horrible. What I think one of the most important things you take notice of though is the lacking of the word chocolate in my description of the taste ... go figure.

Overall as I have tried to outline above these weren't a necessarily bad tasting chew sweet - they simply just didn't deliver the chocolate flavour promised though. I guess rationally thinking about it this wasn't all that surprising - how on earth are you really going to implement chocolate in a chew sweet after all ... aside from maybe coating say a regular Strawberry Twizzler in proper chocolate .... now theres an idea :) For my money if your interested in these sorts of sweets/candy, I suggest you look at some of the other flavours from the Twizzlers range.

5.2 out of 10

*** EU & UK Readers Attention*** Ever been been browsing Chocolate Mission or any other Candy Site and felt frustrated not being able to get hold of an American bar/item!??? .... well feel frustrated no more!!! 'I SHOP 4 YOU II'!! is a great service that provides a unique "one stop shop" international shopping experience!!! Visit the Ebay shop - if they dont have the item you want instock simply give them a message - there is no harm in asking. This service comes with a Chocolate Mission Seal of Approval!! It is a genuinely great, fast and friendly service... Just say you came from Chocolate Mission.

March 27th: Cadbury Dairy Milk Mint Crisp

Kcal 245 Fat 11.6g Carbs 31.7g

This Cadbury Dairy Milk Mint Crisp was another bar provided to me by my friends at 'The Irish Shop'. Up until very recently we had a very similar bar available here in the UK, the Cadbury Dairy Milk Mint Chips - if you look hard enough you may even still be able to find it in some shops. Anyway this Irish version came billed as 'mint flavoured milk chocolate with honeycombed granules'.

This bar came in the usual Irish 49.0g .... why 49.0g and not 50.0g? ... who knows! The 49.0g provided a very substantial snack, which I ate in the one sitting. The product was packaged in the usual Irish Cadbury style, combining a paper sleeve and inner foil wrapping. I thought the flavour variant was well communicated by the wrapper, whilst the bar itself looked oddly appetising with some distinctly garish green pieces evident throughout the branded blocks. I had somewhat mixed feelings regarding the smell of the bar. It had a very forthcoming mintyness, which although smelt quite pleasant itself, detracted from the usual Dairy Milk scents.

I was slightly wary by the look of the mint pieces in the chocolate, in that I was thinking that due to their crystallised nature they might bring an unwanted additional sweetness. This in fact wasn't a reality. What I was quite surprised to find was that the actual 'Mint Crisp' pieces were more honey led in their flavours, with the real mint element incorporated in to the actual chocolate. This meant the usual creamy, milky Cadbury Dairy Milk flavours were partially lost, though the extra mintyness was still very pleasurable and fresh tasting. The thickness of the Irish Dairy Milk was again present, and was wonderfully complimented by the crunchy honeycomb pieces. As I have said above I consumed the whole bar in one - it was very moreish, yet at the same time very satisfying.

Overall this was another hugely enjoyable bar from the Irish Cadbury Dairy Milk range. Although the implementation of the mint flavouring to the chocolate did detract some of the focus from the original Dairy Milk flavours, the slight variation will definitely be a warmly received one for fans of milk chocolate and mint combinations. As well as retaining the unique thick texture, the mint crisp pieces added further interest with their distinct crunchiness. If you were a fan of the Cadbury Dairy Milk Mint Chips I very much recommend this bar.

8.4 out of 10

Check out the 'The Irish Shop' for all your Irish food needs!

March 26th: Cinnabon Cinnamon Cream Pecan Cluster

Kcal 180 Fat 7.0g Fat(sats) 4.5g Carbs 30.0g

Dipping again into my latest package from the kind people at CandyPirate, I today tried out this Cinnabon Cinnamon Cream Pecan Cluster. As it was produced by the same company as the GooGoo Cluster (Standard Candy Company!) I was expecting good things, and the description of the product certainly didn't fail to raise my anticipation further ... 'cinnamon cream topped with glaze pecans and toffee bits, covered in white chocolate'.

This product came in a slightly smaller size than the GooGoo and weighed in at 43.0g. Aesthetically all was really rather good - the outer packaging displayed a realistic illustration of the cluster, whilst the choice of fonts gave it a nice stylish look. The piece itself looked very appetising with all the different elements visible when cross-sectioned; its snow white complexion was a bit of a pain to photograph as you can see above. When I opened the plastic packed I was immediately treated to a nice variety of sweet spicy cinnamon aromas - it certainly set the mood nicely for the taste.

Before consuming this product I was a little worried that some of the elements might get lost in what was a very 'busy' set of ingredients. This however wasn't the case as each element added not only some unique flavours, but also a lovely bit of variety in the textures displayed. As you can imagine the white chocolate was very milk based in its taste, and contributed a nice smooth thick melting outer layer to the other constituents. Sitting within the outer coating were the pecan and fudge pieces - the pecans bought some welcome buttery, nut flavours whilst the fudge added further interest with its crumbly texture and toffee notes. Sat in the middle of the cluster was the real star of the show - the cinnamon cream. Frankly it was more of a caramel then a cream though who cares ... it substantiated a sweet yet spicy cinnamon flavour hit that created a real impression in the mouth with its chewy texture. Its flavours were long and well balanced, which ultimately made for both a delicious and fulfilling taste.

Overall this was a product that is well worthy of a rare ChocolateMission 9.0 out of 10 rating. This Cinnamon Cream Pecan Cluster provided a wonderfully enjoyably product that was both unique and diverse in its flavour range. I honestly can't recall ever having eaten anything quite like it before and was really very impressed. Frankly if you don't like cinnamon then this is a review you could have stopped reading about three paragraphs ago. If like me though you are very open to this wonderful ingredient then I simply urge you to try one of these.

9.0 out of 10

Want to try the Cinnabon Cinnamon Cream Pecan Cluster for yourself!? Head to CandyPirate

March 26th: York Sugar Free Peppermint Patties

Kcal 80 Fat 3.5g Fat(sats) 2.0g Carbs 28.0g (per 36.0g - 3 pieces)

To say my experiences with the Hershey's Sugar Free range has had its ups and downs would be slightly understating matters. The Reese's and Hershey's with Caramel were both notably awful, though the original Hershey's Chocolates were a bit more to my liking. Today I sampled the fourth out of the range *IShop4YouII* sent me - the York Sugar Free Peppermint Patties. These were formed of dark chocolate filled with a peppermint creme.

These Peppermint Patties came in a bag that weighed 85.0g, which contained about 8 pieces. It is worth looking at the very low nutritional values - these are definitely an option you should take note of if your on a diet and in need of a chocolaty hit. In regards to presentation the outer packaging looked little different to the standard York Peppermint Pattie. The pieces themselves were contained within neat looking foil packages, that kept the chocolates smelling fantastically fresh with their strong minty aromas. The chocolates varied little aesthetically to the standard York Peppermint Pattie. Aside from the obvious size difference, the only other thing of note was the fact that the centres appeared less viscous.

I was a little surprised to find that I would most likely would have struggled to distinguish these and the originals in a blind taste test. Obviously as previously mentioned the limper texture of the Sugar Free variant would ultimately have given it away, however in regards to flavours I would say they were pretty indistinguishable. The dark chocolate was not the most flavoursome, though was still able to establish some mild cocoa flavours in the mouth before the real ferocity of the peppermint centres told. Much like I found with the original Peppermint Pattie, I really enjoyed the mint filling. It was extremely sweet, though really had a nice level of peppermint flavouring, which ultimately made it very refreshing and cool in its taste. These were an incredibly moreish product, however given the 'laxative effects' warning on the back I was again cautious about eating that many at a time.

Overall these delivered a far better experience than the some of the other variants from the Sugar Free range. The dark chocolate could again have been implemented far thicker in order to substantiate a greater cocoa presence, though I guess it just isn't regarded as that important due to the product focus being on the mint filling. Personally I would still choose the original York Peppermint Pattie over this one, however if your eating a restricted diet these are very much worth contemplating.

7.2 out of 10

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