I picked these up at Safeway about a week ago. I noticed them while I was in the checkstand, and, always interested to try new flavors of Altoids, I decided to throw them in my basket.
I think it was for these that the phrase “exactly what it says on the tin” was invented. I noticed that they do not bear the “Curiously Strong” trademark that all of my other tins of Altoids do. I put one in my mouth and was pleasantly surprised by the sweetness of the chocolate. Letting that melt in my mouth, eventually I got to the mint inside, which seemed pepperminty, but not as strong as the traditional Altoids peppermints. The texture was the same as a regular Altoid — and therein lies the problem.
The outer shell of soft, melt-in-your-mouth chocolate with a hard Altoid center means that the flavors don’t blend much in your mouth. I was expecting something that tasted like a chocolate mint, but got something rather more like eating a chocolate chip, finishing it, then having an Altoid. They were discrete, separate flavors. Overall, I’d prefer a blend of the flavors, more like what you’d get in a Junior Mint.
Nevertheless, my tin is very nearly empty, whereas I’ve got five tins of regular Altoids close at hand that are around half full and I’ve had them for years. Clearly, I do enjoy these, flavor separation or no. I give them four stars out of five, and may buy them again after I’ve finished some of my other tins, if I’m in the mood for chocolate and Altoids.
Now I want a Junior Mint.