Mangoes on the Run - Beer (Aldi) By @SpectreUK

The name of this limited edition mango IPA amused Cinabar so much that she bought it and decided to torture me with it. I'm not a fan of mangos, unless they're in a chutney next to a decent spicy curry. Putting mango in beer seems sacrilege to me, but hey-ho! Innis & Gunn are a favourite brewery of mine, so this can't be all that bad, can it?

It states on the side of this 5.6% volume mango IPA that whilst drinking, you should listen to Son of a Gun by JX. My initial reaction to this was some impolite swear words, but it didn't take long to find it on YouTube. It's actually a classic and took me straight back to 1994, a favourite year of mine, a coming of age year so to speak. I finally reached manhood, as well as danced and drank most nights away. I certainly don't remember anything like mango IPAs in those days!

There was a fruity yet mild mango smell on opening the beer that struggled to win through against some pretty strong herbal hops, with a little sweetness from the barley malt at the back of the aroma. On taste is where it gets a bit whacky. You see everything seems to be trying to happen at the same time. There's mango. There's herbals hops. There's pale malt and sweet barley malt. It's a bit of a jumble. Mangoes on the Run is a beer like no other. It's like running at a crowded doorway and everyone or every flavour falls through it all at the same time. It certainly woke me up from a dozy afternoon resting after a morning at the gym!

Cadbury Double Decker Ice Cream (Asda) By @Cinabar

I do like a Double Decker chocolate bar, I’d say they were one of my favourite Cadbury’s chocolate bars. I tend to buy whatever is new chocolate wise, but if I had to go back to a classic I think I’d happily pick this one. Although there hasn’t been a new or limited edition Double Decker bar the next best thing is this Cadbury Double Decker ice cream, especially as the weather seems to be brightening up. There may have been a spot of rain this week but there was sunshine too, so that is always a good time to buy some new ice cream.

I like bright colours and this tub of ice cream is certainly that. Even with some frost on the side that packaging was glowing. Inside the tub there were two distinct colours, a beige and chocolate, but once served three sections became more apparent, and a darker beige appeared.

The chocolate ice cream was decent and had a plentiful supply of chocolate pieces. There was a nougat core that was supposed to have a different texture, but to me was only a little bit thicker than normal and a nougat flavour ice cream complete with crispy cereal. I have to say I was totally impressed that the crispies remained crisp, usually those sorts of things goes soggy in an ice cream, but the crisp texture was a pleasure and was impressive. The taste of the nougat was spot on too, creamy and made this distinctively a Double Decker in taste. Definitely worth checking out this Cadbury Double Decker Ice Cream if you are a fan of the bar.

Strawberry Dream - Roses Cake Bars (@NLi10)

When I was a small person Roses were the height of luxury. Short of getting a proper box of chocolates that Roses selection box was the pinnacle.  Sure you may see Thornton’s in a few more expensive places, but a tiny box of these or Quality Street was the top.

Now, like the Cornetto, the brand has fallen a long way and become commonplace. It does mean that we get a few interesting hybrids - where Cadbury’s will now use these brands and flavours on other products - like these cake bars.

They are standard Cadbury cake bars in new wrappers

Surely? Maybe that pink goo is special?

Nicely wrapped, but small for me.

The pink goo is indeed new and interesting, like a mouse version of the Roses chocolate. Interesting enough to try, but not world changing. Now - a cake bar selection pack with all the Roses flavours would get me excited...

New Babybel Spirolls (Asda) By @SpectreUK

I've always been fond of Mini Babybels since I can remember. These Babybel Spirolls taste just like Mini Babybels, but are in a 'spiral' shape, hence the name… well sort of! There are five in a bag and they are roughly the same size as a Mini Babybel, so they should fit just as easily in any lunchbox. Having said that, they may not be as good for the environment as a normal Mini Babybel….

You see the Spiroll comes in a plastic container in a plastic packet, whereas a Mini Babybel is covered with wax, then wrapped in some plastic film, and sold in a plastic net bag. You may argue that the plastic net bag isn't good for wildlife, as well as the plastic bag for the Spirolls, but I guess we could argue what's good and bad for the environment all day, when I'm sure most people will agree that any form of non biodegradable plastic is bad for the environment. Most plastics decompose in landfill between 450 years to 1000 years. I know some plastics are supposed to be recycled, but lets face it, most of it seems to be dumped in our oceans and seas to choke our sea life and sea birds.

On taste I can say that Babybel Spirolls do taste just like a Mini Babybel. "So what's the point?" you may say. Or maybe I say, because I'm feeling grumpy about the whole plastic container side? Well, I guess it's supposed to be fun for kids to open yet more plastic that's probably going to end up choking a sea turtle, so they can unravel some cheese they might choke on themselves if their parents don't read the warning on the side of the bag to cut the Spirolls up into bite sized chunks? Perhaps the kid would like to grow up with sea turtles, and other sea life and sea birds still existing in their adulthood instead?

Information on the packet;

The 85g packet contains 5 Spirolls at 47 calories, with 3.1g of fat, traces of sugar, and 0.26g of salt. Please see photograph for ingredients.