On the thirteenth day of Chips to Christmas our true love gave to us……
#13
Spicy Chex Mix and Bugles Snack Mix – Cheddar Hot Buffalo
The only way that this powerhouse combination of two of General Mills greatest savory snacks of all-time could possibly get any better, is if GM decided to make this duo a trio, and also include Gardetto’s classic snack mix. But hey, we are not complaining this spicy cheddar and hot buffalo mix will do the trick until that day comes!
Rating: ©©©©-1/2 chips (lip-smacking)
Well, well, well……well, what do we have here?
Apparently, what we have here is the coming together of two entirely different General Mills’ snack (how would Teddy “KGB” say it ….?) “MAUNSTERS!”. That’s right, Chex Mix -AND- Bugles together in one big bag of snack mix! Seriously, this is big news, and really, how did we not hear about this marriage, let alone not invited to it, prior to accidentally (and luckily) stumbling upon them at our local grocery store?
We’re assuming that none of you really require any actual description of either of these iconic snacks. The classic Chex Mix recipe has been around forever…..F-O-R-E-V-E-R! Crunch for crunch, it is probably our most favorite salty snack of all-time (and yes, we’re talking about the homemade stuff of course)! And Bugles, well they are no slouch either. They have actually been around in prepackaged snack form for decades longer than Chex Mix has. Interesting fact we discovered while investigating these snacks: “Bugles were test-marketed in 1965 and introduced nationally in early 1966 as one of several new General Mills snacks, the others being the flower-shaped Daisies, tube-shaped Whistles, round Buttons, bowtie-shaped Bows, and wheel-shaped Pizza Spins, all of them long discontinued.” Wikipedia.com Our best guess is that none of these other snacks survived because they can’t be worn on your finger tips.
From the back of the bag:
Chex Mix & Bugles – They are both awesome on their own but how do we make them even more awesome? Put’em together! So we did just that. Chex Mix and Bugles have been mixed together to create a unique snack experience….
And then at the very bottom of the bag it mentions:
MIX IT UP! May have settled some on its way to you.
Well, we would agree with both of those statements. In our books, Bugles probably gain the biggest bump by joining Chex Mix in this “unique snack experience”. But, we can admit that in this case the usual General Mills’ Chex Mix combination definitely benefits from the inclusion of Bugles’, cone shaped, uniquely textured snacks. We weren’t exactly sure what GM meant by the “MIX IT UP” statement until we tore open the bag and found that the top layer of snack mix was entirely made up of Bugles, and all of the Chex Mix pieces had settled to the bottom. So yes, we concur that this snack mix combination could certainly use a good shake prior to tearing it open!
As for the spicy cheddar hot buffalo seasoning, well it is quite delicious, and works extremely well with the snack mix. The combination of salty cheddar cheese powder and hot & tangy buffalo sauce are strong enough flavors to season all of the crunchy snack pieces more than adequately. The seasoning is not really “hot” by today’s standards, but does deliver just enough of a spicy bite to keep your tongue on its taste bud toes! All in all, we really liked this seasoning, especially when sprinkled all over some of General Mills’ most time test, and long standing brands like Chex Mix and Bugles. Great job!
As always, these are our thoughts, we would love to hear what you think. Agree or disagree, let us know.
Discovered at Jewel Osco; Clarendon Hills, Illinois
Chex Official Website and Bugles, for some reason, do not have an Official Website….. see General Mills.
Chip Ratings Scale:
(1/4 increments)
© – return to sender
©© – tolerable
©©© – notable
©©©© – lip-smacking
©©©©© – “A” list
Rating: ©©© chips (notable)
Chip Ratings Scale:
(1/4 increments)
© – return to sender
©© – tolerable
©©© – notable
©©©© – lip-smacking
©©©©© – “A” list
Rating: ©©©©-1/4 chips (lip-smacking)
The Chex Family appears to be on a unique flavor renaissance as of late. It started with the recent release of four different flavors of Chex Chips (which we were pretty big fans of). And now, two new XTREME flavors of Chex Mix (stay tuned for our Sweet & Spicy Sriracha review soon).
Most of us here at Chip Review are from the generation raised on homemade Chex Mix! There really was not much better than coming home to discover a giant roaster full of still warm from the oven Chex Mix. All of those pieces deliciously saturated with unctuous amounts of butter and Worcestershire sauce, many of them still a bit soggy, never fully crisping up during the baking process. So incredibly, and absolutely, delicious! And while the Chex Mix that many kids these days are growing up with may seem miles away from that delicious homemade stuff, every once in a while Chex Mix comes up with something brand new and pleasantly surprises us!
Whoa, what the heck are these?! The habanero lime flavor combo registered thoughts of Thai food with our tasters’ palettes. The initial blast of strong citrus lime flavor combined with the chile, garlic and some sort of vegetal notes, brought us straight to our favorite Thai restaurants (we even thought we noticed the most subtle touch of fish sauce hidden somewhere deep in the background). Oh, and yep, there is heat! Lots and lots of spicy habanero heat. Not blow your mouth off, or among the hottest snacks out there heat. More like a pleasantly surprised to actually be feeling and tasting habanero heat. Bravo Chex, we really didn’t see it coming.
We were also pleasantly surprised with the choice of pieces in this specific mix. Of course there were the standard rice or corn chex pieces, and the pretzels, but this particular mix also included what we like to call bagel chips. Those thicker, dried out and crispy round discs of white bread. However, the real kicker in this mix, were some deliciously crunchy puffed corn sticks. Think Cheetos, only a lighter white-ish yellow in color, minus any cheese, and seasoned with a habanero lime seasoning blend. These were a really unique addition to the mix.
Like we said earlier stay tuned for our review of the other new Xtreme flavor Sweet & Spicy Sriracha coming soon (and further affirming our declaration that sriracha has been chosen as the flavor that every brand must include in their flavor arsenal).
As always, these are our thoughts, we would love to hear what you think. Agree or disagree, let us know.
Discovered at Jewel Osco; Westchester, Illinois
Chip Ratings Scale:
(1/4 increments)
© – return to sender
©© – tolerable
©©© – notable
©©©© – lip-smacking
©©©©© – “A” list
Rating: ©©©©-1/4 chips (lip-smacking)
Chip Ratings Scale:
(1/4 increments)
© – return to sender
©© – tolerable
©©© – notable
©©©© – lip-smacking
©©©©© – “A” list
Chip Review’s Top 5 7 Ranch Flavored Chips:
1. Doritos – Cooler Ranch
2. Snyder’s of Hanover – Buttermilk Ranch Pretzel Pieces
3. Doritos – Blazin’ Buffalo & Ranch
4. Vitner’s – Cool Ranch Crunchy Cheese Curls
5. Pringles Tortillas – Southwestern Ranch
runner-up: Cape Cod – Kettle Cooked Farm Stand Ranch Waffle Cut Potato Chips
2nd runner-up: Popcorn Indiana Chip’ins – Jalapeno Ranch Popcorn Chips
Chip Review 