Holiday Treats - Andes Mint Taste Test

I love that after-dinner mint known as the Andes Mint. The perfect amount of minty, chocolatey creaminess. I knew there were different varieties of Andes Mints and had thought about doing a taste test, but never got to it. Santa was watching me though and brought me 5 different Andes Mint flavors in my Christmas stocking! Perfect! Let's do a taste test! 

Today we'll be trying 5 different flavors. As I often do with these types of things, I like to do a little bit of research on the history of these. In 1921, Andrew Kanelos opened a candy shop in Illinois, calling it "Andy's Candies". Clever name, but it turned out his male customers didn't like giving boxes of candy to their girls with another guy's name on the box. Andrew decided to change the name to "Andes Candies" to address their concerns. 

Thank you Santa for bringing me these 5 flavors!  

There's the original Andes Creme De Menthe Thins, Andes Cherry Jubilee, Andes Mint Cookie Crunch, Andes Peppermint Crunch, and Andes Toffee Crunch. I know there's a few more flavors available, including an Olive Garden exclusive mix, but this is what Santa brought, so we're thankful. 

One thing that continually bugs me with these is how the Andes Mints are packaged. The box looks so big! There's a whole bunch of mints in there, right? Nope! There's a "protective edge" along the sides that takes up a lot of space. If that space were gone, I think they could fit another 16 mints in the package!

At least they state it on the package now that there's nothing on the edges. Never-mind the fact that they sell these loose in a big bin, or in a 4 pack without any protective packaging. 

Regardless of the quantity, lets start tasting them! The classic Andes Mint is always delicious. It's a fantastic mix of the creamy mint chocolate and the dark chocolate. The mint flavoring comes from Peppermint Oil. 

I always want to get a product/packaging shot to go along with the story. Usually it's as simple as cutting along the back side of a potato chip bag or something. These Andes Mints are more of a challenge. I had to get out my X-Acto knife, push blindly through the cardboard backing and hope I didn't hit chocolate. Good thing I have these extra "protective edges" that I can cut into. 

Next are these Andes Cherry Jubilee Thins. These taste just like a cherry cordial but without the gooey white stuff. That's good for Theresa. She spits out the cherries for those. I think these taste fantastic!

Next are these Mint Cookie Crunch Thins. Also flavored with Peppermint Oil, these taste very similar to the original Andes Creme de Menthe Mints. I love the crunchy cookie bits in them (apparently from Rice Flour). 

Next are the Andes Peppermint Crunch Thins. There's no cocoa in these, so technically I don't even think it's White Chocolate. Just a candy melt with peppermint oil. Those bits on the top, it might be implied that the "Crunch" is a candy cane. 

Looking at the ingredients though, it's made of flaked corn, corn flour, and corn starch. So think more like a cookie crunch versus a candy cane crunch. But you'll probably never even notice it. Just something I found interesting. 

Lastly are these Toffee Crunch Thins. Again the crunch comes from a cookie instead of any real toffee bits. These are a milk chocolate versus a dark chocolate that we did not particularly like. You know that cheap Halloween chocolates from Palmer's? That's the feel we were getting from this one. 

The kids liked trying all the chocolates but there were some definite favorites. 

The top three were clear. The original Andes Mint, Cherries Jubilee, and Mint Cookie Crunch. I actually preferred the Mint Cookie Crunch over the original because I liked the texture differences. 

The bottom ones were also clear. Peppermint Crunch didn't have any chocolate. If it had, I bet it would have tasted like the Mint Cookie Crunch. The Toffee Crunch was a milk chocolate instead of a dark chocolate, and we didn't particularly like the flavor of that chocolate. 

With everyone voting, the original is the best! Thanks Santa!