Our good friends at Hershey’s are at it again - taking two favorite and much loved products and rolling them into one. In this case it’s the lovely malted balls of Whoppers and the peanut butter filling of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Original Whoppers are a small, crunchy malted milk ball covered with a thin layer of chocolate. These Reese’s versions are exactly the same thing, but the chocolate layer is replaced with peanut butter.
This product is another case of something with a lot of potential which just misses the mark. I busted this cute milk-carton inspired packaging open, threw a few of these in my mouth, chomped down and thought, “Oh.” That’s it. No declarations of my undying love for these, no desire to just pour the rest of them right down my throat (as convenient as the packaging would make that!).
My main issue with these is the peanut butter - or peanut butter “flavor” as Hershey’s calls it. I like it in the Reese’s products primarily because of their combination with the chocolate. In this case the flavor has to stand up on its own, and as a stand-alone flavor it’s not all that great. We recently wrote about the importance of the chocolate-to-peanut-butter ratio, and how well it works to create an irresistible product.
The Reese’s peanut butter filling is not a premium, quality ingredient in and of itself. When left to fend for itself minus its protective chocolate covering, that poor quality becomes very apparent. These just didn’t taste all that fabulous, leaving behind a slightly greasy, cheap peanut butter taste in my mouth.
I found myself wishing for some chocolate to elevate this product from very blah to very fabulous. So if you are a Hershey exec reading this review, please take this product and dip it in some chocolate. As it is, it’s not worth buying again. Adding a layer of chocolate over the peanut butter would make this into something which is truly one step closer to Nirvana.
Buy Original Whoppers Online:
- at Old Time Candy
- at Amazon.com
- in bulk at Candy Direct
To me, these taste EXACTLY like Cap’N Crunch cereal. Exactly. They weren’t nearly as good as I was hoping they would be.
March 31st, 2008 at 9:06 amTHAT’S IT!! I was wondering what that flavor was, I liked ‘em, actually. But yeah, peanut butter Cap’N Crunch, definitely the exact same flavor. Whew, I knew it was somethin’ I’d had before..
March 31st, 2008 at 12:40 pmnot sure about the cap’n crunch flavor, but i definitely agree with the greasiness factor.
March 31st, 2008 at 3:49 pmYuck… Why does every candy have to involve peanut butter these days? They need to start getting a little more creative while coming up with new stuff.
March 31st, 2008 at 4:35 pmYou know…although you did not favor this too much, I LOVE peanut butter Cap’n Crunch, so I just may pick up a box. No worries, though…I won’t blame ya if I don’t care for it! I have been warned! LOL
Thanks for the review!
March 31st, 2008 at 4:49 pmI was SO excited when I first spotted these in a WalMart here about 6 weeks ago. I loved the packaging and hey, I love Malted Milk Balls and Reeses, so I was expecting something pretty fabulous. I chomped and went, “Oh,” too. Dang. I kept chomping a few more. No better. I was really, really disappointed. I like the Strawberry Milkshake Whoppers a lot ( just had some tonight, as a matter of fact), so was having pretty high expectations with these as well. Eh. I didn’t buy any more and fully agree with you, Michelle: dip the suckers in some chocolate, for cryin’ out loud! THAT would be awesome, indeed!
April 1st, 2008 at 12:03 amI agree…wrong peanut butter to chocolate ratio. As a Reeses fan, I was very dissapointed. I brought them to work and others were pleased. Those that liked Whoppers more than Reeses seemed to be the fans…
April 2nd, 2008 at 6:27 pm