St Michael Sparks Bar (Marks and Spencer) By @Cinabar

This St Michael Sparks Bar came from a multipack bag of mini bars labelled as a treat selection. Reading between the lines, there’s a chance this is an early release for the Halloween season, when mini bars become much more readily available. As we’re still in a heatwave, I really can’t think about autumn yet. I’m still keeping my chocolate in the fridge!

The bar is called Sparks, and I just love the retro 1980s-style packaging. It’s super cute. I did try to investigate whether they were bringing back an old bar, but I think they’re simply going for the retro look.

I bit into the bar and found milk chocolate, soft nougat and a thick layer of caramel. It was surprisingly similar to a Mars, which seems rather curious given Marks and Spencer’s previous complaints about Aldi producing a cake similar to their Colin the Caterpillar. Aldi’s response on social media was hilarious, but it does seem slightly ironic for M&S to launch a new chocolate bar that bears such a resemblance to a Mars. Curious times!

Putting the similarity aside, this bar was lovely. The chocolate was sweet, the caramel soft and thick, and the nougat had a lovely soft texture. It was a delight and a proper treat.

For me, this is the perfect afternoon chocolate to have with my coffee. And, thankfully, without a trick-or-treater in sight.

Mochi - Tiramisu & Creme from Royal Family [@NLi10]

 My nan loves a Tiramisu - I love weird snacks - this seemed like a decent combo.  But would it freak out a 99 year old to eat rice-balls?

They certainly look quite fluffy and fun

And while they are very exotic, they definitely only contain things she already likes.

They are individually sealed which I heartily approve of, less messy.

I wonder if the V means veggie - they do kind of look veggie from the ingredients.

And it was very easy to convince her that they are essentially 'Japanese marshmallows' but a bit heavier and with an odd texture 

They are pretty sticky inside - it took a chewing but she liked it - and kept one to eat later.

I was also a big fan of these - 12 in a pack (for £2.50) is a lot of one flavour - but they certainly will get finished.  I've promised a trip to the big store that has these to someone, so maybe I'll get to try more of them.

Two Scoops Honeycomb Ice Cream Stout (Morrisons) By @SpectreUK

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream, and especially in this weather. It’s baking hot outside and I’m cooking a big steak and chips for dinner. I like a stout with my steak. I found two stouts in my cavernous beer fridge. I decided to pick this one.

This Brewdog collaboration with Mackie’s of Scotland has come up with Two Scoops Honeycomb Ice Cream Stout. I love honeycomb ice cream. At 7% in volume, this milk stout has natural flavourings added in the brewing to produce its honeycomb flavour.

On opening the can there was a creamy sweet toffee aroma from the almost jet black liquid. Two Scoops Honeycomb Ice Cream Stout pours thick and dark. It had a creamy velvet texture with sweet honeycomb from the initial flavour right through to the aftertaste. There was a little bitterness in the middle from the hops, and sumptuous body from the oats and chocolate malts. Simply gorgeous.

Cherry and Pomegranate Refresha (Starbucks) by @cinabar

We are back to the hot weather again in England, and so, in an effort to stay cool and hydrated, I’m exploring the Starbucks summer menu. Here we have the Starbucks Cherry and Pomegranate Refresha.

This is an ice-shaken drink, for those of us who suffer with ice cream headaches if given a crushed-ice drink. The pain from those is real. I had an ice cream headache from a slushie at Warwick Castle and would still have another one, so clearly I have learned nothing. Plus I still want a Ninja Slush Maker. I really make no sense.

Anyway this Starbucks Cherry and Pomegranate Refresha drink also has actual cherries in it, which made it look very pretty when served. I gave it a try and loved the sharp, juicy cherry taste. The sour edge made it super refreshing, and the pomegranate added a little sweetness in the aftertaste, but it was all about the cherries. Sharp, zingy, fruity goodness.

That just leaves me with one last problem: the actual cherries. As pretty as they looked, all I had was a chunky straw and they didn’t fit through it. They were also pretty soggy by the end, so I left them. Perhaps they were just decoration?

McVitie’s Penguin Bites - Salt and Vinegar (Ocado) By @Cinabar

What is going on here with these McVitie’s Penguin Salt and Vinegar Bites? I mean, when you think McVitie’s Penguin, you think thick chocolate biscuit bars. We’ve written about quite a few McVitie’s Penguin products over the years, but one thing has always been consistent: they’ve been chocolatey and biscuit flavoured. This is about as far away from that as I can work out. Salt and vinegar? And I think they’re crisps?

Well, we decided to open them and have them as a snack while watching The Devil Wears Prada (the first one, as a reminder before the new one). I opened up the bag and was surprised that they’re tiny too. From the image on the packet, I assumed these would be crisp-sized. In fact, the Penguin pictured on the front are a few centimetres tall, while the actual ones are finger nail sized! They’re teeny tiny and, consequently, not that easy to share. They are at least Penguin-shaped, just baby Penguins. Maybe premature.

I gave a few a try. One on its own doesn’t feel like it’s worth it. Now, here are the positives: they have a nice crunch and a taste of a cream cracker, but with lashings of salt and vinegar. And that’s where they win me over. They’re full of flavour and really nice. We ended up pouring them out into our own bowls, though, just because scooping them out of the bag when they’re so small was kind of awkward.

So, I’m not sure the connection to the Penguin brand is that strong, but as a cute salt and vinegar snack, they’re all good.