Today's review is special thanks to Candy Planet, a company selling American themed snacks hampers on Amazon - to see their full range click here. There's various selections such as Reese's, Harry Potter chocolates, Hershey's and more. This particular hamper contains a variety of Snickers bars not found anywhere else, such as Hazelnut, Salty & Sweet, Espresso and Fiery. I was super excited to try them!
The box arrived very well packaged and sealed with plenty of bubble wrap, via Tracked Delivery. I was impressed that it wasn't damaged at all because most deliveries like this inevitably end up squashed in some way!
I started out by trying the Salty & Sweet Snickers. I assumed it would be salted caramel, but it turns out the sweet and salty flavour comes from the nougat. And it's darn delicious! I've become bored with regular Snickers over the years as they've amped up the sugar content, but here the salty element balances out the sweetness nicely and makes it just that bit extra moreish. This is a very tasty Snickers indeed and was a real pleasure to eat, especially compared to a standard Snickers.
I went for the Espresso Snickers next since I love all things coffee themed. Opening the wrapper and cutting off a piece, it certainly had quite a strong coffee aroma, which surprised me as usually these flavoured bars are quite weak. And it tastes strong too; there's no skimping on the coffee flavour here - it's unmistakably espresso. Definitely one for the true coffee lovers - I really enjoyed this. It's apparently for the "Irritable", which is definitely me if I haven't had my daily cuppa!
The "Wimpy" variety is of course a Fiery Chilli Snickers, almost daring you to eat it to prove yourself. I certainly wasn't excited to try this one - I've rarely enjoyed chilli flavoured chocolates. Taking a bite, the chilli isn't immediately apparent, which by experience I know means it kicks in later...and that it did. Blergh! It wasn't a natural chilli flavour but quite artificial, and as I expected it didn't work at all. This one wasn't for me.
This Xtreme Nuts & Caramel Snickers intrigued me. There's two big pieces in the pack and they've removed the nougat, meaning there's just nuts and caramel. Which is a good thing of course if you love nuts and caramel! It's a bit similar to the Snickers More Nuts/More Caramel bars that were around a few years back, and definitely has a charm to it.
The Peanut Butter Squared Snickers comes in two square chunks, making it feel a tad posher than a regular bar. The top layer of course contains a peanut butter filling with caramel on top, all coated in creamy milk chocolate. And they're pretty delicious! I think I may have enjoyed these more than a plain Snickers to be honest, as the peanut butter just elevates them. The downside is that there's less caramel, but you can't have everything. I really enjoyed these!
Snickers Almond is a bar I'm familiar with - I remember years ago buying imported varieties from Poundworld in multipacks - those were the days! They have of course replaced the peanuts with almonds, which makes for a nice change that is very different and almost makes them taste like a completely different product. They're less salty, more nutty (if that makes sense).
I was excited by the Snickers & Hazelnut perhaps the most, because hazelnuts and chocolate is always a classic combination. They haven't replaced all the peanuts with hazelnuts, but instead it's both peanuts and hazelnuts, which I guess is due to costs (hazelnuts are pricey apparently!). Still there's hazelnut flavour in abundance, and I immediately though of Ferrero Rochers mixed with caramel and nougat. Only less posh, obviously. This is a very tasty combination, I just wish it were only hazelnuts!
There's also a Snickers Crisper which contains crisped rice as well as caramel and peanuts. It's a nice crunchy variation, and reminds me a little of a Lion bar. It definitely makes a change and is more interesting than the regular variety.
As well as all those, there's three miniature Snickers bites in the Salty & Sweet, Espresso and Fiery varieties. Nice to have a little nibble on, but maybe pass the Fiery one onto a friend haha!
Overall then, for something described as "The Ultimate" Snickers hamper I have to say this selection ticks all boxes! There's a good variety of bars most people will never have heard of - much less tasted - and the delivery and packaging is impeccable, what more could you want? I'd recommend this as a gift for any Snickers lover, it'd be particularly nice for Christmas or Birthdays.
To browse the full range of hampers see www.candyplanet.co.uk, which redirects to their Amazon listings.