Candy Bar Lab

Oh Henry! bars are made by Nestlé in the US and by Hershey in Canada. The Nestlé version has a different look, both outside and inside, than it’s Hershey’s cousin.  Frankly, the Canadian version looks much better. This week though, I needed a late night snack. So, I raided the Candy Bar Lab stash and picked out one of these “Peanutty caramel fudge bars in rich milk chocolate”. Sounded good enough, so I gave one a try.

Structure
Two segments of peanuts, fudge nougat, and caramel covered in milk chocolate.

Texture
The bar’s thin chocolate coating is dry and crumbly.  Inside, peanuts are sparsely distributed throughout the caramel layer.  In fact, if I didn’t take a close look, I wouldn’t have known there were peanuts at all because they are so crumbly and soft they get lost amongst the caramel.  The grainy bottom layer of fudge nougat is very chewy - almost like bubblegum. Overall, the bar’s components run together and do not compliment each other.

Taste
What’s probably most interesting about Oh Henry! is what you don’t taste.  The chocolate has little to no flavor and you can’t taste the peanuts at all. There’s a little bit of saltiness in the caramel (not much), but the fudge layer doesn’t add any taste at all.  What you do taste, is a lot of artificial vanilla, sugar, and a slight burnt caramel aftertaste.

Verdict
Oh Henry! was a disappointment both as a late night indulgence and again the next day. The crunchy, salty, sweet, and chewy combination I was anticipating turned out to be a crumbly, chewy mess. I’ll have to try to get my hands on a Canadian version and try that out one day. Until then, I’m sticking with Snickers if I want a chewy, chocolate, caramel & peanut candy bar.

Here in the US, Kit Kat bars are manufactured by Hershey’s. In the UK (which is where this bar is from), Nestlé makes them. This is a little red flag for me because I tend not to like Nestlé chocolate. On the other hand, I like plain Kit Kat bars and this version has peanut butter. So in theory, I should really like this candy bar.

Structure
The center consists of creme filled wafer covered on the top and one side with creamy peanut butter - all contained within molded milk chocolate.

Texture
The chocolate covering is quite thick, which is par for the course with these large single stick Kit Kat bars. Surprisingly, the wafer wasn’t the same as what I’m used to in American Kit Kats. It was lighter and not as crispy as I expected. The peanut butter is smooth and creamy, which works well with the wafer center. All together, not a bad texture; certainly better than it’s American caramel cousin.

Taste
The chocolate is a bit bland (I mentioned earlier that I’m not a huge fan of Nestlé chocolate) and the wafers don’t add any flavor. That leaves the peanut butter to save the day. Unfortunately, it does not. I don’t know how to accurately describe it, but the peanut butter tasted funny. Maybe it was too much artificial vanilla or maybe just too much sugar. Whatever it was, it just didn’t taste quite right to me.

Verdict
This was an acceptable candy bar (it’s chocolate and peanut butter after all), but I was underwhelmed. There are a lot Reese’s products I would reach for before this one.

Aero bars have actually been around since the 30’s. Though as an American, they’re new to me. The name comes from the air bubbles that are pumped into the chocolate right before it solidifies, leaving a honeycomb-like structure.

I’m a huge fan of the packaging. Maybe I’m a little biased because the green and the bubbles remind me of the Candy Bar Lab logo, but the graphics made me want to eat this bar. Also, chocolate paired with mint is a classic flavor combination. Needless to say, I was excited to tear open the green foil and bite in.

Structure
The center is mint-flavored white chocolate tinted green and filled with bubbles of air. This is covered with mint-flavored dark chocolate - molded into a seven-segment bar.

Texture
The air pockets make this bar very light and easy to bite through. It crumbles a bit, which helps the chocolate melt on your tongue. Without the air pockets, this would just be a flavored chocolate bar. The bubbly center elevates it to something special.

Taste
No surprises here - it tastes like an Andes mint. I really like that the mint flavor is found in both the inside and the outside. You can’t miss it. As a side note, Mint Aero smells wonderful as soon as you open the packaging; easily the best smelling confection I’ve reviewed thus far. Then again… anyone surprised that mint smells good?

Verdict
I definitely recommend Mint Aero. It is tasty and refreshing. Most importantly, the texture is unique. The only problem is they’re a little hard to come by. But if you ever see one in the store, don’t miss the opportunity give it a try.