Snickers Dark and Almond bars

Spotting imported varieties of regular chocolates is a little like stumbling upon a treasure for me. The other day I saw these two babies, and I was doubly excited. I adore dark chocolate and I've recently discovered that I also love roasted almonds in my chocolate. I was looking forward to the twists in the much loved Original Snickers product.

Because I saw and bought them together, I decided to do a joint review. So yeah, unless you live in a metro, you are not likely to find them in India. These lovely varieties are imported and are stocked by the snootier supermarkets and I get to have them. (#fuckyeahbitches!)

But seriously, the Snickers Almond is quite epic. IMHO, it is much better than the peanut snickers and I didn't think that was possible. But the Snickers Dark was a disappointment. The Dark variety is just regular Snickers with dark chocolate, but the peanut-nougat-caramel combination is so overpowering, that the dark chocolate doesn't come through. It's a good product by itself, but doesn't offer a dark chocolate love much. The Almond variety, on the other hand, is milk chocolate yet distinctly different because of the whole nuts.

If you're looking for variety, Snickers Almond is a much better bet. The Dark bar, which costs INR 110 for 51.9g (the Almond bar is similarly priced) isn't worth it.


Snickers Dark RATING: 3/5
Snickers Almond RATING: 4.5/5

Clif Energy bar - Chocolate Chip Peanut Crunch

I'm not a fan of cereal bars, with the exception of Nature Valley Crunchy Oats & Dark Chocolate Granola Bars, but I couldn't resist the absolutely beautiful package design of this product. Besides, who can say nay when words like chocolate chip and peanut are floating before their eyes? So I picked up this Clif Energy bar from my trusty supermarket, Ratna Stores at Maitri Park, Chembur. These bars came all the way to Chembur from the US of A, where Clif Bar & Company make a host of organic health foods.

The company was set up by Gary Erickson in 1992 and is headquartered in Emeryville, California. Erickson got the idea of the flagship product, a basic health bar, in 1990 during a day-long bike ride. Back in those days, there were hardly any good energy bars and Erickson decided to make his own, starting his experiments in his mom's kitchen. Happy with his formula, he set up the company and named it Clif after his father, Clifford. The rock climber illustration, which is used to this day, was made by his friend, Doug Gilmore, on a napkin over dinner in San Francisco. Wikipedia cites, "in the the first year itself, sales of CLIF Bar exceeded $700,000, fueled primarily by strong sales in bike shops and the growth of the healthy and natural foods movement."

Today, the brand is highly popular not just for its products but also its CSR activities and commitment to organic foods. Clif Bar & Company produces a hot of products today, including nutrition bars for kids, protein bars for body builders, granola bars, fruit & nut bars and special bars for women. The Clif Chocolate Chip Peanut Crunch Energy Bar is one among their popular categories.

The bar comprises organic brown rice syrup, soy protein isolate, rice flour, barley malt extract, organic rolled oats, organic peanut butter, chocolate chips, cocoa butter and peanuts among other things. The taste of peanut/peanut butter comes through, but the barely-there chocolate chips don't do anything for the bar. The consistency is sticky-soft and the taste is moderately sweet. However, it isn't tasty (as is the case with all healthy foods), and has that unmistakable cardboard-like flavour that raw oats tend to have. Don't ask me when I ate cardboard.

But the taste wasn't the only turn off. Price at an eye-watering INR 210, the 68g bar is hardly affordable for everyday consumption. I would have liked to try their double chocolate bar, but I think it's way too expensive.

RATING: 2.5/5

Mars' Snickers Original

If there is any brand that has perfected the marriage of chocolate, nougat, caramel and nuts, IT IS SNICKERS! No wonder  it sees annual global sales to the tune of $2 effin billion! A product of Mars - one of the world's largest food manufacturers, Snickers is perhaps among their largest selling products. It has been a favourite in the Western countries for the longest time (1930 to be precise), but it was launched in India in 2004. The television commercials followed only in 2008. Very recently (2012), yesteryear star, Rekha (and Urmila Matondkar) were roped in for another TVC, positioning the product not just as a chocolate but a snack.

The ad may not have garnered much attention, but Snickers bars are placed firmly in the candy shelves of every Indian supermarket. And there are surely as many loyal buyers, for example yours truly. I cannot resist a Snickers bar when I see one and the Snickers Minis  are a blessing. These bite-sized chocolates have all the goodness of taste, but merely a third of the calories.

These, however, do not stop me from buying the bigger Snicker bars ever so often. Yes, the chocolate type is milk; yes, it is sweet; yes it has nougat, but I love it. The consistency of the chocolate is smooth, the caramel inside is stringy and the peanuts are pretty crunchy. Together, they create the perfect taste and texture and make for a great chocolate snack.

A small Snickers bar (32g) has 160 calories, 15g of sugar, and 9g of fat, making it fairly sinful. Basically, don't treat it as a snack if you're trying to lose weight. But it costs only INR 15, so resisting temptation will be just that much harder.

RATING: 4/5