Lay's Cheddar Jalapeno

 

Product circa: 2020 (and later?)

Note: This is a Presumptive Ephemeral Nom

Evidently this product was a joint with John Legend?

I gotta be honest, I think most Lays varieties with cheese fall flat.  This one is no different.  You’ve got your normal cheese seasoning, and this has some added heat, along with a vaguely vegetal flavor that I’ve tasted before as trying to simulate jalapeno.  But when you squint your eyes, it’s just cheese potato chips, and forgettable.

Herr's Special Hot Stromboli

Product circa: 2025

This flavor was the winner of a potato chip flavor contest.  As a big fan of Herr's and complex chip flavors, I went into this with high hopes.  While there are a ton of flavors going on, this largely tastes, to me, like pepperoncini and cheese.  That's it.

Lay's Argentenian Style Steak

 

I'm not sure if these are regional to here in South Florida or if these are available nationally.

HALLELUJAH there is beef flavoring in these chips, and it shows.  They lead strongly with a flavored of steak, specifically charred steak.  Next up is heavy black pepper.  There are the typical aromatics like onion and garlic, and a hint of parsley which is boosted by some vinegar powder.

These are good, but they probably should have been marketed as some other product/flavoring, like "Steakhouse" or something.  If they want to mimic chimichurri, they need to get bolder on the botanicals, like parsley, garlic, chile, and citrus. 

Fritos Flavor Twists Lime & Jalapeno

Product circa: 2025

Note: This is an Presumptive Ephemeral Nom.

I love to see new flavors of the Flavor Twists.  These were a nice sight for sore eyes.

The lime is assertive, but there's a heavy sweetness that balances it very well.  You have your typical savory spices, along with buttermilk powder that gives it that fatty/cheesy flavor that it really needs with the lime.  The jalapeno isn't overly flavorful, but the heat doesn't let you ignore it.  This is probably the best lime-flavored snack I've ever had.

Doritos Golden Sriracha

 

Product circa: winter 2025

This is a Presumptive Ephemeral Nom.

A frankenstein flavor that likely uses artificial flavor compounds.  The first bite is dominated by chile (not too spicy), mustard, and savories like onion and garlic.  There is a tanginess, but also a sweetness that is almost fruity, and my guess is it's the same flavoring used in the Lay's Sweet & Spicy Honey.  Like that product, this one also has a throwaway name; I suppose the presence of chile and garlic could pose as sriracha.  Not bad, but I would never buy this again.

Pringles Hot Ones Los Calientes Verde

 

Product circa: winter 2025

I've had the sauce on which this snack is based.  The sauce isn't my favorite, but it's damn good, and a complex sauce, much more special that the average one you'd get on any store shelf.

The first taste noticeable here on first bite is the sweet tomato/molasses like character that you'd find on a barbeque chip, which frankly doesn't fit with the rest of this product at all.  It's an odd introduction.

The rest of the experience is pretty straightforward.  The majority of the flavor on this chip is an exceedingly tangy green chile, with potent heat following up the rear.  The heat from a single chip is commendable, but after a few of these go down the hatch (no pun intended), you'll realize this is the kind of heat that builds and builds.  And few more, and you'll be huffing and puffing.  These are some of the hottest mainstream chips I've ever had, and easily the hottest Pringle I've had.

Chili Cheese Fritos Jack Link's Beef Jerky

 

Product circa: 2024

What an odd crossover!

Just as it seems to promise, this is beef jerky covered in what tastes like the exact same seasoning from Chili Cheese Fritos.  It's all well and good until even the cheese becomes apparent as you chew.  Unfortunately the cheese doesn't pair well at all, and it's even a bit putrid and disgusting.

Goldfish Frank's Red Hot

 

This is a Presumptive Ephemeral Nom. 

Product circa: 2024

Regular Goldfish crackers covered in hot sauce seasoning.  The seasoning manages to taste exactly like Frank's Red Hot Sauce (I put that shit on everything!).  I wish seasoning like this was sold in shakers bottles.  This was a really pleasant change of pace.

Doritos Flamin' Hot Mystery Flavor 2024

 

Product circa: 2024

With mystery flavors like these, I usually give it an honest effort to discern the flavor before looking up internet opinions.  In this case, my guess seems to be correct.  These are flavored like a thai coconut curry or tom kha soup.  Hot chile leads the flavors, with creamy coconut milk specifically (not coconut), and even lemongrass in the mix.  After some internet searches, it seems others have come to the same conclusion.  I don't love these, but this is a very impressive execution.  Bravo, Doritos!

Chili Nut & Coffee Nut M&M's

 

Products circa: 2016

These were part of a poll product for consumers to choose the next permanent M&M's variety.  Not pictured here is the third contestant of the contest - Honey Nut M&M's.

The Chili Nut is better than I thought.  I was prepared to say that only capsaicin was added to the chocolate, but I don't think that's right.  After a few candies, I believe I taste the savoriness of chili, that's not unlike Tabasco sauce (without the fermented flavor).

The Coffee Nut is trying to do a lot more than I expected.  I think they might have added vanilla to it, and even milk powder.  It's got more of a latte vibe than just coffee.  It's not bad, but not something I'd reach for.  Then again, I don't reach for M&M's ever.

Lay's Salsa Fresca

 

Product circa: Spring 2024

A significant amount of tomato powder and sugar (maltodextrin?) lend an overwhelming feeling of ripe tomatoes, more than any snack I've ever tasted.  The chile feels more like sweet bell pepper, and the restrained spices in the recipe make the sweet, fresh vegetables the star here.  It totally invokes what it intends - a tomato-heavy salsa, or pico de gallo... gazpacho, even.  It's like sticking my face into a fresh vegetable garden.  Very impressive.

Kettle Gochujang

 

I haven't had enough gochujang to decide if these taste true, but I guess it gets pretty close.  An immediate umami bomb with chile and soy to start, with onion and garlic in the rear.  Nicely spicy and sweet, but just a bit too much tang for tastes.

Cheetos Crunchy Buffalo

 

Product circa: Spring 2024

Awful.  Whatever buffalo flavor they have added here goes horribly with the "aged" cheese flavor base of the original.

Lay's Game Day Chili

As an unsurprising event for Super Bowl 2021, Lays have released their limited time Game Day Chili flavor.

First and foremost, I'm always disappointed when a brand gets an opportunity to add actual meat flavor into a product, but then passes it up.  Anyway, this product is completely predictable but delicious at the same time.  It contains the same numerous flavors that one would find in chili: spices like chile powder first and foremost, then black pepper, cumin, and coriander; onion and garlic powders; sugar and tomato powder combine to lend a mouth feel reminiscent of barbeque chips; and finally, a bit of cheese powder to simulate the cheese and/or sour cream that one might use to dress their chili.

This barely crosses into the 3-NOM territory, but if Lays had added just a bit more salt to punch up the complex flavors, and to add more saltiness for its own sake, this would rate as 4 NOMs.

I hope you all are celebrating the Super Bowl responsibly!

Lay's Game Day Chili:- Great

Original Lay's(for comparison):- Good

Cheetos Crunchy Flamin' Hot Chipotle Ranch

Note: This is a Presumptive Ephemeral Nom.

Product circa: 2017

I'm pleased to see that Cheetos is releasing some new products.  This one was quite unexpected.

Despite this snack having many different flavors, the first bite immediately starts with cheese, which is a nice surprise.  After that, you're immediately reminded that this is a "Flamin' Hot" Cheetos product, as the sharp acidic chile powder takes over.  However, the slight chipotle smokiness and a garlicky creamy ranch temper the chile and make it so much better.  I ate this whole bag in quick order, which doesn't happen often.

Cheetos Crunchy Flamin' Hot Chipotle Ranch:- Outstanding
Original Cheetos Crunchy (for comparison): - Great

Snickers Espresso, Sweet & Salty, and Fiery

Product circa: summer 2018

Glad to see Snickers getting into the "ephemeral trio" game!  They've been known to issue limited varieties before, but it's been a while.

Espresso: This is the most subtle of the three.  You can't actually taste the coffee, but whatever coffee flavoring that they do add to this product changes the flavor of the chocolate itself.  This is very nice, and a slightly different experience than the original product.  This goes to show why many different kinds of chocolate dessert recipes call for instant coffee as a flavor enhancer.

Sweet & Salty: I'm not sure what I expected here, but I liked this more that I thought I would.  On first bite you'll notice more salt than usual, which is confirmed on the product's sodium count on the label.  I guess I thought this product would simply contain more sodium, but in fact it has crunchy bits of salted toffee throughout.  It's quite pleasant.  If you're into salted caramel, you'll love this.

Fiery: The first bite or two will taste identical to the original product.  A few bites in, you'll notice a dull burn in your throat.  A few bites after that, you'll actually start to taste that chile was added to the flavor of this product.  It's really well executed.  This is probably the best spicy candy that I've ever tasted.

Overall, while none of these break the 3-NOM barrier, this trio is a great lesson in how to do balanced and nuanced variations of a classic.

Snickers Espresso:- Good

Snickers Sweet & Salty:- Good

Snickers Fiery:- Good

Original Snickers(for comparison):- Good

Lay's Fiery Habanero

Product circa: August 2018

Well this was a pleasant surprise to see in the store!  Especially as I've been honing my own Jamaican Jerk recipe this summer.

Anyway, the punch line is that these are disappointing.

While a decent heat builds after a few chips, the flavor is mostly uninteresting.  The distinct flavor of scotch bonnet is not present, and instead it seems to be a fairly generic blend of chile and spices/aromatics.  There's even a strange sweet barbecue flavor.  These chips are so non-distinct that the bag could have had a dozen different flavor names on it and it would have been passable.

Speaking of "passable", this product will be rated 1 NOM.  They're easily 2 NOMs in terms of flavor, but the execution of its namesake's flavor is too lazy.

Lay's Fiery Habanero:- Passable
Original Lay's (for comparison):- Good

More Permanence

Heinz has pulled off another surprising move by making their limited time product Jalapeño Ketchup a permanent product! (Renamed from "Real Jalapeño.")

If you're wondering if it's worth picking up, you can find my review of it here.

Doritos Jacked Test Flavor 855

We have another line of poll products out, and this time they're from Doritos.  It's much like other such products: there are three flavors out on the shelves, and folks can vote online for their favorite at boldflavorexperiment.com.  Doritos will supposedly further produce the winner as a semi-permanent product, but there's a catch: these possible flavors don't have names or descriptions.  It's a blind taste test which your tongue must lead.

Unfortunately, this contest involves Doritos Jacked, not the regular chips.  I earlier explained the disappointment here.

I got my hands on the red version of these test chips.  The smell doesn't offer too much past chili powder.  The flavor of them prove fairly complex, but not in a great way.  Firstly noticeable are small and equal amounts of seasoning like from Doritos Nacho Cheese and Cool Ranch.  A strange combination, but pleasant.  Immediately afterward, however, these flavors are overwhelmed by what I would describe as dry and earthy powdered chile, which lingers and lingers.  The mouthful ends with a strong acidic tang, which might be vinegar, but tastes more like lime, and then a surprisingly hot spiciness, which can get a bit painful after a dozen or two chips in a row.

Bite after bite, chile and lime are the only thing I can taste.  Spice and acid.  The balance is way off.  In the end, they taste more like an experiment in extremes, not a sophisticated and interesting product.


Doritos Jacked Test Flavor 855:- Passable

Jack Links Sriracha Beef Jerky

Jack Link's might be the most widespread brand of jerky.  It's nice to see that they're branching out their varieties a bit.

The initial flavor is very much like your average bite of beef jerky, with perhaps a more savory note that I might call onion-like.  On the chew, chiles make themselves quite apparent, and the heat begins.  It's not until after the swallow that the heat really hits you, and it's substantial.

Overall, a simpler experience than I was hoping for.  To me, sriracha calling cards are heat, sweet, and garlic, and this product really only checks one of those boxes.


Jack Link's Sriracha Beef Jerky:- Good
Original Jack Link's Beef Jerky:- Good

acquired: Walmart