Candy Bar Reviews: Mars

Showing posts with label Mars. Show all posts

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Candy Hunting: One Pound Holiday Candy Bars

Reese's 2 Half Pound Cups

Place found: Target
Price: $9.99

Snickers Slice n' Share

Place found: Target
Price: $9.99

Hershey's 1 Pound Bars

Flavors: Milk Chocolate and Candy Cane
Price: $9.99
Place found: Target

Crunch 1lb Bar

Place found: Target
Price: $9.99

York 2 Half Pound Patties

Place found: Target
Price: $9.99

Giant Gummy Bears

Flavors: Green Apple and Cherry
Place found: Target
Price: $9.99

Links to more Holiday Candy Hunting:

Part 1

Peeps (Part 2)

Holiday Assortments (Part 4)

Part 5

Friday, October 17, 2014

Candy Apple M&M's

Place purchased: Walmart (Exclusive)

Price: $2.88

Number of reviewers: 6

Appearance - 6.7

The Candy Apple M&M's have candy apple flavored milk chocolate centers with either bright red or dark red candy shells.

E: BIG! Large size discrepancy. Nice color.
E2: Very large for an M&M! But I like the fall colors.
J: Nice deep red colors. Seem larger than normal.
S: Large M&M's.

Flavor and Taste - 6.4

The only apple flavor detectable is at the very beginning, during the first chew. The milk chocolate quickly overpowers any apple flavor in the M&M's. Furthermore, when eating the Candy Apple M&M's consecutively, the chocolate aftertaste from the previous M&M interferes with the apple flavor of the next M&M. So, the only time I was able to taste the apple was from the first Candy Apple M&M I ate.

C: Chocolate is very apparent. Get a little bit of apple at the beginning, but not very strong.
E: Definitely has an apple taste, but comes off stale with the sour chocolate.
E2: Very little apple flavor, only a teeny hint of sour apple at the beginning. Otherwise, it just tastes like an M&M.
J: Good fresh red apple flavor. Chocolate flavor is also strong.
S: Light apple flavor.

Texture - 6.8

The M&M's have a crunchy candy shell and smooth milk chocolate, like regular M&M's.

C: Good texture, same as regular M&M's.
E: Crisp shell, chocolate melts nicely.
E2: Like a normal M&M. Crispy, crunchy, slightly melt in the mouth.

Aftertaste - 6.1

The aftertaste is very sweet with a lingering milk chocolate flavor.

C: Chocolate, get a little of the apple.
E: Weird sour apple, fatty.
E2: M&M.
J: I wish it was more apple.

Overall - 6.3

Overall, the Candy Apple M&M's were lacking in apple flavor. If more apple flavor had been used or white chocolate instead of milk chocolate, the product would have done better at living up to its name.

E: Worse than plain M&M's.
E2: Disappointing.
J: They could sell this all year and call it Apple M&M's. But they are good!

Friday, October 10, 2014

Candy Hunting - New Mars Products

This post is an update on the previous post about new Mars and Wrigley products.

Limited Edition Snickers Mixed Nuts

Snickers Mixed Nuts will consist of hazelnuts, almonds, and peanuts, along with caramel and nougat coated in chocolate. This is essentially a Snickers, Snickers Almond, and a Topic bar all in one!

SRP: $1.09

Release: November/December 2015

Twix Creamy Peanut Butter

The Twix Creamy Peanut Butter bar will replace the current Twix Peanut Butter bars. The new bars will have a traditional white cookie rather than the chocolate cookie. If you are a fan of the Twix Peanut Butter bars with the chocolate cookies, I suggest you stock up because they will be gone soon.

SRP: $1.09 for single serve, $1.69 for "4 to Go"

Release: January 2015

Limited Edition Milky Way Marshmallow

The Milky Way Marshmallow bar is a traditional Milky Way with marshmallow substituted for the nougat.

SRP: $1.09

Release: July/August 2015

3 Musketeers Mint Bites

Mint 3 Musketeers are back! While the original mint bars have been discontinued for about five years, Mars is re-introducing them as unwrapped bites. The bites will consist of mint flavored nougat coated in dark chocolate.

SRP: $1.89 for sharing sized bags, $3.49 for stand up pouches

Release: December 2014

Information and pictures obtained from marspresskit.com.

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Candy Hunting - Seasonal Edition Starburst Spring Mix

Starburst Spring Mix

These are the first 'Seasonal Edition' flavors released under the Starburst brand.

Flavors: Strawberry Patch, Sunny Citrus, Pineapple Punch, and Cherry Kiwi Splash

SRP: $0.89 for 12 piece sticks, $2.49 for 11 oz bags, $1.09 for tubes with carrot shaped stoppers

Release: Easter 2015

Creepy Bunny on Package: Yes

See more new Wrigley products here and here.

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Candy Hunting - New Products at Target

Starburst FaveREDs Minis

Place found: Target
Price: $2.49 for 8 oz

Skittles Flavor Mash-Ups

A combination of Wild Berry and Tropical Skittles.

Place found: Target
Price: $2.49 for 9 oz

Trident Unwrapped

Flavors: Peppermint ("Original") and spearmint
Place found: Target
Price: $2.99 for 50 pieces

Friday, October 3, 2014

Dove Whole Blueberries in Dark Chocolate

Dove Whole Blueberries and Dove Whole Cranberries are new releases from Mars that compete with Hershey's Brookside line. Unlike the Brookside brand, these Dove products use whole berries rather than fruit juice centers. Dove Whole Cherries will be released in January 2015.

Place purchased: Meijer

Price: $3.50

Number of reviewers: 6

Appearance - 6.8

The Dove Whole Blueberries in Dark Chocolate are just that: dried blueberries coated in Dove dark chocolate. Most of the pieces only contain one dried blueberry, but there are a few that contain two. Dried blueberries are tiny and even with a generous coating of chocolate, the pieces are still quite small.

E: Much smaller than cranberry counterpart.
J: So small!

Flavor and Taste - 5.7

The flavor is solely sweet dark chocolate until the chocolate melts and only the dried blueberry remains. The dried blueberries are sweet and tart with a flavor somewhere between a blueberry and a raisin.

E: Nice chocolate coating and fruit center, but it takes awhile to develop.
E2: Weird acrid, bitter, burned taste. Chocolate is not dark enough.
J: Blueberry flavor is nonexistent - just adds texture. Slightly bitter.
N: Not much blueberry flavor.

Texture - 5.2

The dark chocolate is smooth and melty, while the dried blueberries are very sticky and seedy. I am trying to remove the blueberries from my molars as a type this. Aha! I just got the last bit unstuck after five minutes...

E: Blueberry is kind of grainy or seedy? Otherwise chewy.
E2: Blueberries are grainy, very seedy, stick to teeth.
J: I don't like the random flakes of blueberry floating in my mouth.
N: A little too sticky.

Aftertaste - 5.3

The blueberry flavor lingered until I removed all of the blueberries from my teeth.

E: Blueberry.
E2: Acrid, kind of sour.
J: Chocolate.
N: Almost none.

Overall - 5.8

Overall, the Dove Whole Blueberries are a good snack. However, I prefer the cranberry version, which has more berry flavor and is less sticky.

E: Flavor is good but texture is off.

Friday, September 26, 2014

Dove Whole Cranberries in Dark Chocolate

Dove Whole Cranberries and Dove Whole Blueberries are new releases from Mars that compete with Hershey's Brookside line. Unlike the Brookside brand, these Dove products use whole berries rather than fruit juice centers. Dove Whole Cherries will be released in January 2015.

Place purchased: Meijer

Price: $3.50

Number of reviewers: 6

Appearance - 6.8

The pieces are larger than I had expected; most piece contain two whole dried cranberries. A thick dark chocolate coating with a shiny glaze surrounds the dried cranberries.

E: Attractive packaging and chocolate pieces are glossy and dark.
E2: Very shiny, glossy.

Flavor and Taste - 7.6

The first flavor noticeable is that of the dark chocolate. While chewing, the sweet, tart, and fruity flavor of the cranberries emerge. The cranberries take more time to chew than the chocolate, resulting in a dominant cranberry flavor toward the end.

E: Intense dark chocolate bitterness pairs well with the punchy sweet/sour fruit center.
E2: I like the fruit and chocolate balance, but the cranberry isn't as tart as I would like.
J: Good mix of cranberry and chocolate.
N: Very fruity, comes in waves.

Texture - 6.8

The dark chocolate melts in your mouth while the cranberries are being chewed, which provides for an enjoyable textural experience.

E: Chewy center and melty chocolate.
E2: Good balance of chew, creaminess of chocolate, cranberry is a little gummy.
J: Smooth, and cranberry adds nice texture.
N: Sticks in the teeth a bit too much.

Aftertaste - 6.8

The aftertaste is mostly sweet cranberries from the pieces stuck to my molars.

E: Lightly sweet and fruity.
E2: Sweet, chocolaty.
N: Fruity!

Overall - 7.5

Overall, I think the Dove Whole Cranberries are an excellent product. The flavor and texture of the dried cranberries and dark chocolate pair well together. These take the deliciousness of Craisins and elevate them with the addition of dark chocolate. Yum.

E: Really tasty and just what you'd expect. Would purchase.
E2: I would like the cranberry to be a bit tarter, but overall satisfied.
J: I like the balance between the bitterness of the chocolate and sweetness of the cranberries.

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Candy Hunting - New Mars and Wrigley Products

Crispy M&M's

THEY'RE BACK!!! While Crispy M&M's have been available overseas, they are being re-released in the US!

SRP: $1.19
Release: December 2014

Snickers Xtreme

Snickers Xtreme will be introduced as a full-time product. It was previously available as a limited edition product twice.

SRP: $1.89
Release: December 2014