Doritos Jacked Smoky Chipotle BBQ

 Note: This is a Presumptive Ephemeral Nom.

This is the 2nd flavor that Doritos rolled out in their initial (and perhaps only) Jacked line.  I reviewed the first one here.

It's simultaneously bizarre and pleasant to experience a barbecue aroma and flavor on Doritos, simply because it's so seldom done.  (This reminds of when I recently saw Sour Cream and Onion Doritos but stupidly didn't pick them up.  It looks like I lost my one chance.)

The initial flavor hit is of a traditional barbecue seasoning like you'd find on any potato chip.  The ways in which this one is different is with increased amounts of tomato powder and sugar, which make this seasoning one of the sweetest I've ever had on such a chip.  The sweetness is there for a reason, because these chips are quite spicy.  You knew that sugar is really the only thing that counteracts capsaicin, right?

It was a friend who finally tipped me off to the fact that these taste almost exactly like the now-discontinued Kentucky Fried Chicken Honey BBQ wings.  It's uncanny.  I haven't had them in years, but these taste almost like an exact replica of that sticky wing sauce.

And that's a problem.  It's a problem because these are not honey bbq chips, they are smoky chipotle bbq chips.  As a side note, I enjoy cooking, and I do it often.  One of the ingredients I find excuses to use more of are chipotles, whether they be dried or, even better, canned with adobo sauce.  As someone very familiar with the flavor of chipotles, these taste nothing like them.

There's another problem that reared it's head with the last Jacked flavor: the chip itself.  This ultra-thick chip is severely crunchy, and I feel that Doritos may have made a misstep in trying to achieve this dubious characteristic.  These chips somehow achieve their amount of crunchiness by containing less-than-normal amounts of fat, which usually lend a tenderness to snacks like these.  This lack of fattiness, however, is to the detriment to the snack as a whole, and not just its structural nature.  The lack of fat prevents these chips from having an aftertaste; that is to say, after the swallow, except for spiciness, these chips leave very little flavor in your mouth.  It may sound pleasant, but it is instead very dissatisfying.  A bit of extra grease would carry the flavor a bit more, but as it stands now the flavor's a bit too ephemeral, dare I say.

If this snack used a normal Doritos chip type, it would have been Great, and if it had also been labeled as "Spicy Honey BBQ", it would have been Outstanding.  But as it sits, even though it's a fascinating snack, it won't get past the 2-NOM barrier.

Doritos Jacked Smoky Chipotle BBQ: - Good

Doritos Nacho Cheese(for comparison): - Great


acquired: supermarket

Herr's Baby Back Ribs

Note: This is a Presumptive Ephemeral Nom.

Like Utz brand snacks, Herr's is also an East Coast regional brand.  Also like Utz, Herr's is known to offer tons of hard-to-come-by variations on their products that really push the envelope.  I guess these regional companies have more leeway with their R&D money/practices?

I'm continually impressed with Herr's unorthodox flavors, and this is no exception.

The bag is opened and an aroma of smoke and vinegar hit the nose.  The first taste continues with the smoke and a bit of sweetness (the ingredients list indicates that this is provided by tomato and molasses flavorings).  The flavor continues with a traditional barbecue chip seasoning, with a bit more onion and garlic poking through than you'd expect.  The finish of these things is surprising, however... you get pork.  Indeed, there is pork flavoring in these chips.  The tail end of the experience gives you a smoky pork note that really sets this snack apart from its peers.  It feels like fried pork rinds were ground into a powder and used as a seasoning.  Bravo!

Herr's deserves credit for creating such a unique product.  While I love meat-flavored snacks, from things like my aforementioned cheeseburger Doritos to Chicken in a Biskit to Asian shrimp crackers, I don't think that it's done enough.  Americans aren't used to having junk food flavored like meat (or fish), but I bet a product like Herr's Baby Back Ribs could get the process started.

Herr's Baby Back Ribs: (Outstanding)

Herr's Barbecue(for comparison): (Good) 

Acquired: Giant

Utz Wavy Pit BBQ

 Note: This is a Presumptive Ephemeral Nom.

Utz is a regional brand, with their headquarters in Pennsylvania and their distribution network somewhat between Maine and Georgia.  You may be able to find their stuff as far south as Florida and or far west as the Mississippi River, but not much farther than that.

It's a shame, too.  Utz's snacks are top-notch and, better, they are known to offer Ephemeral Noms!

Their vintage packaging isn't flashy at all, so you have to take your time in order to catch their less common iterations.  This here is Utz Wavy Pit BBQ potato chips, which is different from various other barbecue flavors that they offer.

These are strangely pleasant.  It took me a few chips to realize what was going on here.  The barbecue flavor is quite faint, which led me to question if that is all the chips offered.  But I soon realized that perhaps even stronger than barbecue is the flavor of garlic and onion.  It's an odd combination, not really thematic, but damn if I don't enjoy the hell out of these in a strange, unsettling way.  The flavors don't harmonize at all, but it still works, as if I stirred some backyard barbecue meal items on a paper plate all together and started taking bites of the mangled goop.


Utz Wavy Pit BBQ: Good

Original Utz Bar-B-Q(for comparison): Good

Acquired: supermarket

Ruffles Smokehouse Style BBQ

Note: This is a Presumptive Ephemeral Nom.

Obscure varieties of potato chips are my ultimate weakness.  It's to the point that it's almost by reflex and without thinking that I put said items into my shopping basket when I come across them.

When I saw it, Ruffles Smokehouse Style BBQ excited me a bit because smokey flavors are among my favorite.  This product is about what you would expect: its base is a sweet barbecue that you can find from any potato chip brand, but it goes further in issuing a smokier tone that sets it apart and, frankly, elevates it into something much more interesting and delicious.  My only qualm is that, despite the fact that the package indicates that the snack may taste like pork ribs, the ingredients contain no pork flavor (which I've seen and loved in other BBQ flavored chips)... in fact, the Ruffles website boasts that no pork was used in the product.  Lame!

I would ultimately compare these to the old Lays KC Masterpiece BBQ variety.


Ruffles Smokehouse Style BBQ: (Great)

Original Ruffles Authentic Barbecue(for comparison): (Good)

Acquired: Harris Teeter