Dear Readers,
I know you all have been waiting desperately for me to return from my self-imposed chocolate holiday (ok, maybe it was just Carol), but you'll be pleased to know that I'm back at a near target weight after my summer o' bingeing, and feel comfortable sampling a candy bar here and there.
So, which bar to choose for the grand return? I went for an international one from my (rapidly growing) store. During my travels this summer, I picked up a quaint and local-looking Mint Crisp from a cute little town in Ireland. The wrapper is made of an unpretentious matte material, and looks like the basic design hasn't changed since the 40s. It's made in Ireland and I haven't seen it anywhere else. It doesn't get more authentic than this, I think. Plus, mint and chocolate - what could be better?
Turns out, a lot of candy bars could be better. Carol's really built up this one, telling me I'll love it, as she knows well that mint + chocolate = my downfall (Put a box of After Eights in front of me at your own peril). However, it just doesn't work here.
The bar is a thin, solid slab of milk chocolate, with microscopic crunchy little mint bits that give it a bit of texture. I thought this would be similar to a minty Crunch Bar (and wouldn't that be amazing!), but the 'crisp' aspect of the Mint Crisp leaves something to be desired. To be honest, the 'Mint' aspect fails as well. This bar is middling to downright bad, oversweet milk chocolate with not enough of the minty crispness that might save it. In fact, it tasted like nothing more than those weird little chocolate-dipped mint stirring sticks they only seem to serve with coffee at weddings. I mean, they're ok in a pinch, but with all the other insanely good mint/chocolate combos out there, how can this compete?
A half bar. I'd be hard pressed to eat this one again, but can't give NO bars at all to mint and chocolate - it would just be wrong.
So maybe it all boils down to the fact I prefer DARK chocolate with mint. Or maybe it's just that the Mint Crisp is best tasted through a nostalgic fog of a childhood in Ireland - a childhood I never experienced. In any case, a disappointing return to the blog, but a return nonetheless. And with the cold, dark afternoons of winter approaching quickly, you can expect many more uninterrupted reviews - that is, unless I have a new bridesmaid dress to fit into.
I know you all have been waiting desperately for me to return from my self-imposed chocolate holiday (ok, maybe it was just Carol), but you'll be pleased to know that I'm back at a near target weight after my summer o' bingeing, and feel comfortable sampling a candy bar here and there.
So, which bar to choose for the grand return? I went for an international one from my (rapidly growing) store. During my travels this summer, I picked up a quaint and local-looking Mint Crisp from a cute little town in Ireland. The wrapper is made of an unpretentious matte material, and looks like the basic design hasn't changed since the 40s. It's made in Ireland and I haven't seen it anywhere else. It doesn't get more authentic than this, I think. Plus, mint and chocolate - what could be better?
Turns out, a lot of candy bars could be better. Carol's really built up this one, telling me I'll love it, as she knows well that mint + chocolate = my downfall (Put a box of After Eights in front of me at your own peril). However, it just doesn't work here.
The bar is a thin, solid slab of milk chocolate, with microscopic crunchy little mint bits that give it a bit of texture. I thought this would be similar to a minty Crunch Bar (and wouldn't that be amazing!), but the 'crisp' aspect of the Mint Crisp leaves something to be desired. To be honest, the 'Mint' aspect fails as well. This bar is middling to downright bad, oversweet milk chocolate with not enough of the minty crispness that might save it. In fact, it tasted like nothing more than those weird little chocolate-dipped mint stirring sticks they only seem to serve with coffee at weddings. I mean, they're ok in a pinch, but with all the other insanely good mint/chocolate combos out there, how can this compete?
A half bar. I'd be hard pressed to eat this one again, but can't give NO bars at all to mint and chocolate - it would just be wrong.
So maybe it all boils down to the fact I prefer DARK chocolate with mint. Or maybe it's just that the Mint Crisp is best tasted through a nostalgic fog of a childhood in Ireland - a childhood I never experienced. In any case, a disappointing return to the blog, but a return nonetheless. And with the cold, dark afternoons of winter approaching quickly, you can expect many more uninterrupted reviews - that is, unless I have a new bridesmaid dress to fit into.
Bar-o-Meter
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