Sugar Savvy

Okay, so once again, a limited edition candy bar has crossed my path. And once again, I was unable to walk by without pouncing. Oh, when will they run out of the fancy new ideas?

So far, I have seen these two new line extensions available only in a 10 oz variety-pack bag along with the original flavored bar. They are “Minis”, which are considerably smaller than the standard Halloween “Fun Size”. So yes, this means you can eat more of them…especially because there are three flavors. In fact, it’s actually your DUTY (in the name of comprehensive research) to sample at least one (or six) of each.

First, a couple of words about the 3 Musketeers. Although I am always more than happy to pop a mini or fun size in my mouth whenever offered, I can’t remember the last time that I actually bought one of these. But they are a good bar, and certainly have stood the test of time. First introduced in 1932, they were the third brand produced by M&M Mars. And, as you may already know, they were named for the fact that it was originally a bar in three separate pieces: vanilla, strawberry and chocolate. Sounds pretty good, right? I wonder why that didn’t go over so well?

There was a brief time in my life, however, when this was my top-pick bar. And, even though I did and do like it, I can tell you that it was my top-pick for one reason alone: the size. I was a candy size-ist as a kid. More was better. And when you are 10 years old, size is measured in dimension, not weight. No matter that it was whipped full of air in order to achieve its lofty height and girth, it was just so much BIGGER than a Mars Bar or a Chunky. (For the life of me, I could never imagine why anyone would buy a Chunky. I have no idea if they are even good, but damn – they were just so SMALL!)

Ever so slowly and methodically, I peeled off and ate my 3 Musketeers’ chocolate shell. When the chocolate was gone, I would nibble and suck away at the naked nougat bar (our 1975 Ford Grand Torino station wagon had vinyl seats for a good reason). And, of course, I would gloatingly release sounds of candy pleasure for the benefit of my older brother and sister, whose M+Ms and Heath Bars were long-gone by that point. Yep, I was THAT little sister. Sorry. (Just so you know, I currently share candy with my siblings quite frequently. I’m no longer that little sister.)

Back to the new bars…

I did enjoy both of them and think they would make a fine addition to the line. Like the original, they are touted as being “45% less fat than the average leading bar”. Which is fantastic…if you are still clinging to a circa 1993 diet notion that fat, not calories, makes your ass large. A 2oz bar is still 260 calories, compared to Snickers, which comes in at 280 calories. A Snickers does have almost twice as much fat (14 grams), but also twice as much protein (4 grams), for whatever that may be worth to you.

The Mocha Cappuccino’s filling has a coffee flavor (and hue) that is indeed detectable, without overpowering the chocolate and nougat. It is coffee-ey, however not in a way that would be prohibitive to a child’s palate (but then, as I mentioned last week, I gobbled-up my grandma’s Coffee Nips with wild abandon as a kid). While I’m not planning to build a stockpile in preparation of its pending extinction, I will probably buy it again at least one more time as long as it’s still around.

I expected the French Vanilla variety to be somewhat cloying and fakey-tasting, but it is actually quite subtle. So subtle, in fact, that I might not even know I was eating something other than an original 3 Musketeers if my eyes had been closed. But vanilla is tricky. When it’s genuine vanilla, it’s pure heaven. But when it’s “vanillin”, it’s just a sad waste of ingredients. So, really, it is the subtlety of the French Vanilla that is its biggest asset. I liked this Mini just fine, but wouldn’t necessarily drive across town for another one.