Candy Bar Lab

The Smash! packaging caught my eye right away. It appeared to have little chocolate covered ice cream cones flying around with little candy bar particles floating in the background. I wasn’t exactly sure what was in the candy bar though. Instead of reading the ingredients, I decided to jump right in and take a bite. For a moment, I thought there actually were ice cream cones smashed up in it, but I realized the pieces were too salty. Then it hit me. Smash! is filled with crushed up bits of Bugles. Now the packaging makes sense because Bugles look like little ice cream cones.

Structure
A molded milk chocolate bar with crushed up pieces of corn chips mixed in.

Texture
The bar crumbles apart as you bite through. Because there are so many corn chip bits incorporated throughout, the structural integrity of the chocolate is compromised. That’s not a bad thing though, because the bar is thick and would be difficult to bite through if it were solid chocolate. The corn chips provide a ton of crunchiness. Overall, the Smash! is very similar to the Ritter Sport Corn Flakes Bar, though these pieces are a little lighter and crispier than regular corn flakes.

Taste
The milk chocolate is very good. It’s creamy with a deep flavor. The corn chips bits are noticeably salty and the corn flavor pokes through on the finish. The chocolate and chips work well together.

Verdict
A very solid effort. My only complaint is the thickness of the bar. It should have been a little thinner. All in all, a very good tasting candy bar though.

This particular candy bar was brought to me from Venezuela, though it can be found throughout the US. To my knowledge, there’s no variation in this product between South and North America. I’m excited to try it out because I’ve always liked the taste of a regular Butterfinger, but I’ve found the crystallized, flaky core of them to be a little off-putting. Hopefully, the Crisp version will be more to my liking.

Structure
Four layers of wafer separated by three layers of “Butterfinger” cream topped with a layer of crispie pieces - all enrobed in milk chocolate.

Have you ever noticed how artificially orange the inside of a Butterfinger is?

Texture
The Butterfinger Crisp is light and crisp (go figure!). The layers crumble apart as you bite through. It’s very similar to another Nestlé product I’ve reviewed, the Crunch Crisp, except this one is a little thicker. The crispies on top add some extra crunchiness and the peanut buttery stuff is a little chewy. All together, there’s a nice balance between the different textures.

Taste
Butterfingers have a distinct taste and this product definitely has it, though the Crisp is not as sweet as a regular Butterfinger. That is because the tasteless wafer layers temper the sweetness of the peanut butter filling and chocolate.

Verdict
The Litmus test for derivative products is to compare them to the original and in my opinion, the Butterfinger Crisp is superior to it’s ancestor.

Flavors that work for ice cream generally work for candy bars too. Cookies and Creme, Peanut Butter Cup, and Mint Chocolate Chip are all delicious as ice cream and candy bars. Hershey’s Take 5 reminds me of Ben & Jerry’s Chubby Hubby, which is one of my all-time favorite ice cream flavors.

Structure
From the bottom up, Take 5 is two segments of hard waffle pretzels, peanut butter, caramel and chopped peanuts.  Each segment is enrobed in milk chocolate.

Texture
You’ll first notice the crunchiness of the pretzels, then the crumbly peanut butter and finally, the creamy caramel that sticks in your teeth and outlasts the rest of the components. The chocolate coating is very soft, but smooth. Overall, the Take 5 is a bit on the dry side, but that’s to be expected from a product consisting of peanut butter and pretzels - I don’t really fault them for that. Just keep in mind that this is a product that goes well with something to drink.

Taste
This is a salty candy bar and really tastes a lot like a plain old chocolate covered pretzel. However, the caramel, peanuts and peanut butter all add further deliciousness that elevate the Take 5 beyond it’s classic candy cousin.

Verdict
There’s so much going on with this candy bar. It’s crunchy, salty, sweet, chewy and just plain good. Though Hershey’s is using fake chocolate with this product, that wasn’t a deal breaker. The pretzel, peanut butter, and caramel do most of the heavy lifting, while the chocolate seals everything in and plays a supporting role. Don’t get me wrong though, this candy bar would be even better if it had real chocolate.