REVIEW: Mtn Dew Gingerbread Snap’d

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Mtn Dew Gingerbread Snap d Bottle

When Mtn Dew Gingerbread Snap’d leaked several months ago, the promotional pictures showed the soda would be brown, and its name would be just Snap’d. But as we all know, a lot can change in a year. So here we are with a white-colored Mtn Dew with a longer name that makes me wonder two things:

  1. Was the color change made because this was supposed to end up as a winter/holiday mystery flavor?
  2. Was the brown color scrapped because it would be totally awkward if this flavor was known as the Dew Dew Dew?

For those of you not keeping track at home, Gingerbread Snap’d is the 623rd new Dew flavor of the year. Okay, there haven’t been THAT many, but the number of flavors Mtn Dew has put out this year across all its lines makes Oreo look lazy.

This festive soda is a Dew with a blast of artificial gingerbread flavor, and before even trying it, I thought, as odd as it sounds, it’s probably going to taste decent. After all, the Flamin’ Hot-flavored Dew ended up being not bad.

Oh boy, I was totally wrong.

It wasn’t decent. Instead, it was like two snaps and around the world fantastic.

Before I go on, I have to admit my thoughts about this Dew have been influenced by snacking friend @CandyHunting on Instagram. Basically, she thinks it tastes like a cola. (Click here to read her full explanation.) Having tried Gingerbread Snap’d and reading her thoughts about it, I can not NOT think this Dew is a cola in a ghost white-colored body.

Mtn Dew Gingerbread Snap d Label

The scent and taste of artificial gingerbread are the most noticeable in this bottle, but the Dew’s citrus is right behind, well within gingerbread’s personal space. That blend of spice and citrus gives Gingerbread Snap’d a kind of craft cola vibe. If this came in its originally planned brown color and wasn’t labeled, I think those who drank it would think it’s a cola (or even a cloudy, less gingery ginger ale).

Mtn Dew Gingerbread Snap’d is a surprisingly tasty holiday beverage. If you’re curious about it, you should definitely buy it because who knows if it’ll reappear next year or get replaced with Mtn Dew Pump’dkin Spice or something like that.

Purchased Price: More than one should pay on eBay
Size: 20 fl oz bottle
Purchased at: eBay
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 270 calories, 0 grams of fat, 90 milligrams of sodium, 73 grams of carbohydrates, 72 grams of sugar (including 72 grams of added sugar), and 0 grams of protein.

REVIEW: M&M’s White Chocolate Pretzel Snowballs

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White Chocolate Pretzel Snowballs M M s Bag

What are M&M’s White Chocolate Pretzel Snowballs?

M&M’s extends its decades-long promise, this time creating snowballs that won’t melt in your hand. These seasonal M&M’s feature white chocolate surrounding a crunchy pretzel center.

How are they?

White Chocolate Pretzel Snowballs M M s Colors

The flavor combination of white chocolate and pretzels isn’t bad, but it’s not M&M’s most memorable offering. The main problem is the inconsistency from candy to candy. Some pieces have a very thin white chocolate shell and/or little to no salt on the pretzel ball. For every one sweet and salty snowball, five bland ones follow.

White Chocolate Pretzel Snowballs M M s Innards

The pretzel centers are satisfyingly crunchy. That texture plus the white and blue candy shells, which evoke the colors of Hanukkah or icy landscapes, would make the M&M’s a nice addition to a holiday snack mix. You could call it a “wintry mix” to the delight/chagrin of your party guests.

Although the crunch is the highlight of the M&M, it is an interesting choice for candy designed to mimic snowballs, which are obviously made of softer stuff. A crunchy snowball makes me think of that one sadistic kid in every neighborhood who packs snowballs full of gravel and ice. That kid deserves no wintry mix.

Anything else you need to know?

If you live in the Snow Belt like I do, you know you are at the mercy of nature’s whims. Luckily, you can always choose whether you want a light shower or heavy storm of M&Ms. In addition to the 7.44 oz bag I found, M&Ms White Chocolate Pretzel Snowballs are available in Single and Share Sizes.

Conclusion:

White Chocolate Pretzel Snowballs M M s Festive

Despite a great crunch, M&M’s White Chocolate Pretzel Snowballs lack the sweet and salty punch needed to make an exceptional seasonal flavor. On a scale from 1-10, with 1 being a snowball to the face and 10 being a surprise snow day, I’d give these a 6: a pleasant-enough sled ride despite the cold.

Purchased Price: $4.99
Size: 7.44 oz (210.9 g) bag
Purchased at: CVS
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (per 1 ounce/about 12 pieces) 130 calories, 5 grams of fat, 3 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, less than 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 75 milligrams of sodium, 20 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 15 grams of sugar, and 1 gram of protein.

REVIEW: Gingerbread Cookie Kit Kat

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Gingerbread Cookie Kit Kat Bag

Have you ever designed an overly-ambitious gingerbread house, complete with stained glass sugar windows and a peppermint cobblestone walkway? Or maybe you’ve sipped a hot gingerbread latte during a break from a long day of errands? At least once you must have exclaimed “Not the gumdrop buttons!” as you plucked the candy accents from a gingerbread man!

If any of the above statements ring true to you, Kit Kat’s limited edition holiday flavor may reinforce gingerbread’s status as the season’s most beloved and nostalgic flavor. Available in miniature size to suit your candy dish, Gingerbread Cookie Kit Kats feature a gingerbread-flavored crème coating its classic crispy wafer.

Gingerbread Cookie Kit Kat Wrapper

To achieve their characteristic taste, gingerbread cookies usually require molasses and a mixture of ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves—among other spices, depending on the recipe. That might sound like pumpkin spice warmed over, but it’s all about the different ratios. I trust my measuring spoons and my memory of elementary school math to distinguish my pie and chai spices from my gingerbread spice, but I was curious if Kit Kat could achieve a successful flavor balance in such a small confection.

Gingerbread Cookie Kit Kat Creme

Opening the bag, I caught a soft whiff of maple. The Kit Kat itself, covered in a caramel-colored crème coating, smelled like brown sugar. At this point, my spicy sense was not tingling.

The flavor, however, is fully gingerbread. The coating has white crème sweetness at its base, which reminded me of a gingerbread house’s royal icing spackle or the wee details on a gingerbread man. The crème combines a mellow mixture of warm spices with notes of brown sugar in the background. At the very end of the bite, I tasted a slight kick of ginger that lingered for a few moments in the aftertaste.

Gingerbread Cookie Kit Kat Wafers

Checking the ingredients list, I saw no hint of specific spices, just “natural and artificial flavors.” The candy’s realistic flavor — ginger hint especially — can mean only one thing: Kit Kat’s food scientists are becoming too powerful.

Kit Kat nails its limited edition flavors more often than not, but Gingerbread Cookie Kit Kats are especially hard to find fault with. The spice flavor is realistic without being overwhelming. The sweetness is multidimensional, and the crispy wafer completes the simple, delightful bite. It may be my favorite seasonal Kit Kat flavor yet.

In fact, I enjoyed this so much that its flavor actually evoked a Proustian moment, an involuntary memory triggered by a sensory experience. After my second or third, a particular iced gingerbread cookie that was once a staple of my childhood resurfaced in my memory. Even though I haven’t thought of that cookie in years, the memory inspires me to break out the recipe for the holidays this year. In case my measuring spoons or math skills fail, I’ll keep a stash of Gingerbread Cookie Kit Kats nearby.

DISCLAIMER: I received a free sample from Hershey’s, which did not influence my review.

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 8.4 oz (238 g) bag
Purchase at: Provided by Hershey’s
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (per 4 pieces) 170 calories, 9 grams of fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 30 milligrams of sodium, 21 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 16 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Dunkin’ Peanut Butter Cup Macchiato

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Dunkin Peanut Butter Cup Macchiato Cup

This is a long time coming for me.

I’m sure at some point Dunkin’ has dabbled with peanut butter flavored coffees, but I’ve never had it before. In fact, every time they put out a new flavor, I wonder when peanut butter is coming. I’ve never even had a peanut butter donut from Dunkin’, so I just kinda assumed they banned it altogether because of allergies or something.

Well, I no longer have to wonder what Dunkin’s take on peanut butter might taste like now that I’ve had its new Peanut Butter Cup Macchiato. Was it worth the wait?

Absolutely.

I never order “macchiatos” despite how fun it is to say, and I honestly had to Google what differentiated them from all the other coffee-based drinks. In case you’re as uneducated as me, it has a higher espresso to milk ratio. I shoulda been getting these all along.

Dunkin Peanut Butter Cup Macchiato Orange

Right away, I was shocked by how orange the macchiato was. It’s vibrant and festive, but all I could really think was, “I bet that’s just a bunch of unnecessary additives making it glow like that.” Either way, it’s fun to look at.

Dunkin Peanut Butter Cup Macchiato Layers

The drink settled in two layers, with the coffee up top and the orange peanut butter goodness down below. I wasn’t entirely sure if I was supposed to mix it up, so I sampled each layer before even getting to that point.

I thought the orange layer was delicious. There was a pronounced peanutty flavor with a nice supporting chocolate accent that didn’t outshine the main attraction. It reminded me of a very thin peanut butter ice cream milkshake.

The consistency of the orange was so velvety and tasty, I was actually a little bummed that half the cup had coffee in it. I probably drank a bit too much of the orange on its own before I ultimately mixed the coffee in.

The coffee portion packed a nice wallop and only cut the peanut butter flavor slightly. I was drinking a strong espresso with a peanut butter cup flavor finish, and I can’t think of anything wrong with that.

I hope I’m not alone when I say this is probably the best new Dunkin’ drink I’ve had in years. I think I loved it.

Dunkin Peanut Butter Cup Macchiato Sign

With that said, this can’t be your everyday order. You wouldn’t wanna drink this every morning because it’s basically a dessert moonlighting as a morning coffee. I guess that’s a clever disguise just in time for Halloween.

Outside of that, and the fact it’s a bit more expensive than the standard menu items, I have no other knocks.

I’ll definitely be a repeat buyer, and now that I can add “peanut butter cup” pumps to any drink in the app, I’m probably gonna run this flavor into the ground.

The Peanut Butter Cup Macchiato didn’t appear on the “limited” section of Dunkin’s nutrition page, so hopefully, that means this might be a mainstay. Don’t risk it though, try it as soon as possible.

Purchased Price: $4.89
Size: Medium
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: NOTE: this is w/ whole milk. I used oat. (24 oz.) 280 calories, 6 grams of fat, 3.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 20 milligrams of cholesterol, 160 milligrams of sodium, 47 grams of carbohydrates, 44 grams of sugar (including 32 grams of added sugar), and 8 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Mtn Dew Uproar

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Mtn Dew Uproar Bottle

Mtn Dew Uproar is a Food Lion exclusive flavor. What the food is a Food Lion, you ask? Well, my friend, let me give you an answer to a question I’m pretty sure you’re going to regret asking or didn’t ask at all.

Food Lion got its name from the way it devoured smaller grocery chains in its territory to protect its lioness and cubs. Its habitat is in 10 states in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern US. Unfortunately, because it was focused on protecting its domain, its cubs wandered north, ended up separated from the rest of the pride, and became Cub Foods.

Told you you’d regret it.

Mtn Dew Uproar Lion

Uproar is a Dew charged with berry kiwi flavor. Its name and graphics on the bottle are appropriate for a Food Lion exclusive. I look forward to other exclusive flavors for regional grocery chains, like Mtn Dew Soar for Giant Eagle and Mtn Dew Sizzle for Piggly Wiggly.

Much like my attempts at grocery store chain humor, Mtn Dew Uproar is great. But I feel as if I’ve been saying that about most of the recent Dew releases. And I also feel as if I’ve had this Dew flavor before or something very close to it.

Before even trying the soda, I wondered what’s the deal with the vague “berry” flavor description. Is it a combination of berries? Is it a particular berry? After smelling and tasting it, I realized it was strawberry, which made me wonder why Mtn Dew didn’t just describe it as a Dew charged with strawberry kiwi flavor.

As for the kiwi flavor, it’s there, but it’s faint. If someone drank this without looking at the label, they would say it strawberry and something something flavored. There’s also a tartness that’s less like a roar and more like a kitten’s meow. Oh, also, full disclosure: Kiwis aren’t one of my favorite fruits, but not because of their slightly tart and slightly sweet flavor. I have an issue with them because a cross-section of one looks like what would happen if The Hulk and a sarlacc had a baby. I can’t get that image out of my head.

Mtn Dew Uproar is tasty enough that I’m a bit sad it’s only available at a regional grocery chain that lost its cubs with locations in just 10 states.

Purchased Price: More than one should pay on eBay
Size: 20 fl oz bottle
Purchased at: eBay
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 bottle) 270 calories, 0 grams of fat, 90 milligrams of sodium, 73 grams of carbohydrates, 72 grams of sugar (including 72 grams of added sugar), 0 grams of protein, and 91 grams of caffeine.

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