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On a recent shopping trip to my town centre I realised it had been awhile since I had last been to my local Thorntons shop, so I popped inside to see if they had any new or exciting products to feature on the site. Looking amongst their 'impulse' bars range I found these two new looking Chocolate Truffle and Choc Nut Crunch bars. Neither of the two were graced with a 'New' logo on their wrapper like a lot of new products choose to have nowadays, however it was the new modernised packaging that made them stand out amongst the rest sitting on the shelf.
Although neither of the bars seemed that big in my hand, I thought the 59p price tag was fair (even more so after tasting them!). Whilst capturing my attention, I also thought the new style packaging looked nice, and I especially liked the new lettering using for the branding as well as the tempting looking on pack visuals. Below are my brief thoughts on each of the bars, starting with the Choc Nut Crunch, and then the Chocolate Truffle.
Choc Nut Crunch - Kcal 197 Fat 12.6g Fat(sats) 5.7g Carbs 17.8g
'Milk chocolate bar with a hazelnut praline and nougat centre'
This bar was delightfully flavoured and had a wonderfully progressive taste that grew in prestige as the melt developed. After a short duration chilled in the fridge, the outer milk chocolate broke with a firm, crispness and revealed a softer, drier crumbly layer below. The milk chocolate wasn't the most flavoursome ever, but it established a smooth, creamy cocoa led taste that allowed full expression of the nuttier influences in the filling. The hazelnut element contained within the smooth praline was powerful with a very woody flavour direction that left a lasting impression with each mouthful. Within the praline, small chunks of crystallised almond further reaffirmed the nuttiness of the bar which was a nice touch to end each mouthful. This wasn't the richest tasting chocolate ever, but it was positively surprising in the depth of it's nutty flavours.
Chocolate Truffle - Kcal 212 Fat 16.0g Fat(sats) 9.0g Carbs 14.9g
'Milk chocolate bar with a milk chocolate mousse centre'
Having tried a similar Continental Vienesse Truffle bar a few years ago (which was very poor!), I wasn't expecting much from this Chocolate Truffle bar. Whether my low expectations inflated the subsequent score I don't know, but the experience I had with this bar was certainly very different to that one back in 2008. The outer milk chocolate did a very similar job to what I have described above, and it fast established a creamy cocoa flavour base. Sat plentifully portioned below the solid chocolate exterior, the unexciting sounding chocolate mousse turned out to be the real star of this bar. Texture wise the mousse was very well received with it's smooth, yet dense and substantial mouth feel. Against all expectations it tasted pretty wonderful as well, bringing greater emphasis to the cocoa flavours of the chocolate which in turn brought a delightful richness to the taste. For such a small bar I was very surprised at the satisfaction it delivered - it truly was like one big truffle piece.
Choc Nut Crunch - 8.0 out of 10
Chocolate Truffle - 8.0 out of 10
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30 comments:
Hi Jim I don't think either of these are new. I just think those wrappers are different from what they used to be.
I've had the normal chocolate truffle one before. I agree it was excellent.
Rxxx
Wow it's hard keeping up with all these new products you keep telling us about. I'm still yet to find the twix or the cadburys chocolate you showed us last week.
Lol these should be a little easier to find. I have a big Thorntons store right in my town centre.
Both of these flavours look well classy. I do like Thorntons bars but they are normally pretty expensive if I remember rightly. A little while ago my local store had them on a pretty tasty deal of three for £1 but they stopped that after only a few weeks.
I recommend their marzipan bar if you haven't tried it.
These aren't the only ones to get repackaged. I saw that they had made a new wrapper for their almond marzipan one last time I was in their.
I haven't seen the choc nut before though. It doesn't interest me because I don't like nuts but I guess it would be nice if you like that kind of thing.
It's about time they updated some of their wrappers they were starting to look pretty old school if you look at some of your older posts.
I do like Thorntons but I can never tell if some of their products are worth paying extra for. Some are decidedly average.
Thanks for the review Jim. I have definitely had the plain milk chocolate truffle bar before and I remember thinking it was pretty nice.
Your photos certainly make them look tasty thats for sure. My only annoyance with them them is that they are so small.
That Choc Nut one isn't one I have seen before. In your picture it doesn't look much different to the milk chocolate one apart from it's shape though.
Were there lots of nuts in it? It doesn't look like it.
Two things put me off these bars normally.
1) Price - I've seen them priced at anything up to 70p each
2) Smallness - They aren't as big as other chocolate bars. You get less for your money.
Theres no getting past you is there Jim. Lol you sniff out these new products with alarmingly efficiency - how do you find out about them all? I want to give the choc nut a try. IT sounds well nice.
I'm all confused by the way you ordered the graphs and stuff. Don't do it like that again, keep it the way you normally do it.
One thing I have always wanted to see Thorntons do is just a plain white chocolate mousse truffle bar, basically like the milk chocolate one here but just white chocolate instead.
The only thing like it they have done previously is that lemon flavoured one they had for summer. That was ok but I don't like lemon that much so I would have liked it more without. Ho hum, one day maybe.
Dx
I go through stages of buying these bars and not. When I'm feeling rich after (which isn't often lol) I always treat myself to these bars in my Thorntons shop. I have to agree with some of the people above though, they are a little expensive to buy everyday. They should make them cheaper.
They look delicious. Do you think I can buy there anywhere in the US?
Do Thorntons sell online?
Jim have you see that they are now doing mini versions of those squares bars that they make? I bought a selection at the weekend to try myself. It's a pretty decent way of being able to try a load of them without buying all the large bars. I just thought I would let you know.
Are Thorntons still sending you stuff Jim? I'm just curious because I know you weren't that complimentry about some of the stuff they sent you before (im thinking mostly about the valentines day stuff).
It would be interesting to hear if they stopped giving you stuff because you don't always write nice things.
The milk chocolate wasn't the most flavoursome ever, but it established a smooth, creamy cocoa led taste that allowed full expression of the nuttier influences in the filling. The hazelnut element contained within the smooth praline was powerful with a very woody flavour direction that left a lasting impression with each mouthful.
Sometimes you send me weak at the knees Jim :) This sounds amazing.
I was quite surprised to see you score them both the same. I would have thought you would have thought the nutty one was better.
Yum I want to give both of these a try now. The last time I had one of these bars I remember it not being all that brilliant. I think I might be confusing it with something similar I bought from marks and spencer though. I will give them a try and let you know my thoughts. Nice one Jim.
That nut one looks like it could do with a spot of caramel to give it something a little extra. I do like Thorntons but I find loads of their products look and taste well similar. You look at the photos without the wrappers and it's almost impossible to tell them apart.
I was just about to comment about how brilliant their Vienesse truffle chocolates are but then I just saw your link to the review you did.
Lol I will say it looks loads different now to what it did in your review there. It could be worth another look at if you have the time. I think you would think it was a lot better than how you talk about it in there.
I have seen both of these before so I don't think either of them are new. You have to try the mint one of these bars. I can highly recommend it. It's very good.
I wish we had a Thorntons shop in my local town. It's really annoying when I go to london it seems like there is almost one on every corner.
I've seen both of these before now so yeah they aren't new as such.
I do like the new wrappers though. They could easily fool anyone who hadn't seen them before in to thinking they were new. Thanks for the reviews Jim.
The Choc Nut looks ok but it looks like it could do with a few more nutty bits if your picture is anything to go by.
Katie is right your descriptions of how things taste are pretty good Jim. I wouldn't quite say you send me weak at the knees lol but you do a great job of bringing your words to life. Thanks for the review, I fancy trying these so I will let you know what I think soon enough.
Cool review. Thorntons can make some good chocolates when they put the effort in to things.
They have some new pouch thingsof fudge out that could be worth a review. I think I have seen you say you like fudge before so they could be of interest to you. Lol I don't know why I'm bothering to tell you about them, you've probably reviewed them months ago.
Thanks for the review. Don't visit Thorntons that often however, was in the other day but decided against picking anything up. I wish I'd had a proper look around as these both sound like heaven to me, although I'm not overly keen on pieces of nut in my chocolate so the plainer truffle would probably be me preferred bar.
@Golden_Touch are you saying that Jim gets paid to write these things? I never knew that the lucky bastard. I wish I got payed for all the chocolate I eat lol.
# 1
Rachel
Seemingly I was wrong about these being new then. I obviously just hadn't seen them before.
Justin
I wouldn't rush out and buy these chap they obviously aren't new, well the plain chocolate one doesn't seem to be anyway. That would make sense.
Nigel
I've never seen that deal before - thats a damn good one if you can find it though. I have reviewed that marzipan one! Check the archives chap.
David
Really? They must be slowly replacing them all I guess. I will keep an eye out for ones where my pictures aren't as good and will update accoridngly. Thanks for the tip off.
Andrew
I agree if you look back at say the Turkish Delight or the Mint bar you will have to say they were starting to look a little on the old side. I know that feeling with Thorntons, they are inconsistent.
Nick
My pleasure chap. Thanks for the nice words about the photos. You are all so nice when it comes to showing your appreciation about them.
Gordan
If you look closely you can see some of the nuts coming through. I do see your point though there could have definitely have been more nuts pieces.
Tricky
I get what you mean it is pretty pricey if you were to have them as an everyday purchase. They aren't the biggest bars either. I think they are like 28g each.
Steven
Normally I do keep an eye out for these things but I came across the Choc Nut Crunch just by chance. It pays to keep an eye on these things.
Anon
It's not that confusing is it? No one else has passed mention to this today.
Daisy
I would also like to see that bar come about. I did quite like the lemon smoothie myself. Thorntons do make good white chocolate I agree.
Estelle
The range isn't that big so buying them everyday would get tedious anyway. I think as a purchase every now and then they are worth the little extra money they cost vs say a cadbury bar.
Anon
I don't think they sell over in America I'm afraid. They do sell online though so it could be worth checking out their website to see if they ship abroad.
Duncan
I did seem them instore the other day. They are grand idea aren't they. I think I will buy the ones of the flavours I haven't reviewed yet to showcase them on the site. It will save me some money in the long run.
Golden
They are indeed, they haven't had many new items out recently so that is why it has been a bit quiet on their part. I'm sure thing will pick up when Christmas comes back around.
Katie
Weak at the knees!? Haha I never knew my ramblings were so powerful :D I'm sure you msut be over exaggerating somewhat :D
I was also expecting to like the nutty one more but it didn't turn out that way. They were both as equally good as each other.
Warren
I wouldn't be surprised if you are talking about an M&S bar. I believe that the M&S bars come from the same factory as the Thorntons one. You may have noticed they all look very similar.
Eric
I agree a bit of caramel could of been a nice addition to that Choc Nut Crunch. The nut content may not look significant in my photos but trust the bars tasted very different from each other.
Sally
Haha it wasn't the best Thorntons chocolate bar I have ever tried no. Do you really think it is worthy of a redux review? If you are convinced it is better than I say it is I'm more than happy to give it another try.
# 2
Anon
I have reviewed the mint one previously chap. Take a look under the Thorntons tab you should find it in there. Feel free to leave your comments - please leave your name though :D
Kevin
You don't have a Thorntons shop? You must live in a pretty remote place they have them all over down south.
Colin
The wrappers are a step up from what they used to be aren't they. Don't thank me for the reviews :D I should be thanking you for reading them.
Paul
My photograph doesn't really reflect just how many nut bits there were in the bar. There were quite a few more than I let on there.
Thanks for your kind words about my writing. I do honestly know it's not the best though. My grammar is appaling! Thank god for spell check and the such.
Kieran
I have seen those pouches about you are right. I haven't bought them yet but I will make sure I do soon so look out out for the reviews! They are inbound :D
Ria
I would love to hear what you think about the plain truffle bar. Next time you are in and around the Thorntons shop make sure you pick one up :D
Thanks for the comments today everyone. I may have been wrong about these both being new. The new packaging fooled me at least :D Nice one Thorntons! Job well done! More chocolate reviews tomorrow of course.
JIM
I'm surprised that for once Thorntons have got something right. lol they usually seem to mess things up somehow.
I tried the truffle bar and it tasted immense. There was a 2 for £1 offer going on and i didn't go along.. gutted as I wanted MORE MORE MORE.
Oh and great website!
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