Saturday, June 4, 2016

Trying All The Oreos

I've got a sweet tooth hankering right now. To help either fuel or disperse that feeling, let's talk about the many flavors of Oreos that I've had throughout the year.

Much like Cheez-its, which I will definitely write about some day, I used to bring the various varieties of Oreos that would come out and share them with co-workers so we could all give them a taste. I got a list pulled up next to me that goes back to 2012, so away I go.

Candy Corn - This was one of the first that I brought in to work to see how the experiment would go. Sure enough, they tasted really bland, just like candy corn. If memory serves me right, they lasted a couple of days on the shelf next to me, so that is telling that they weren't very good at all. 4/10

Gingerbread - A step up! Gingerbread was also on the vanilla Oreo cookie, and it had a cinnamon blast to it that was much appreciated by all who had it. 7/10

Rainbow ShureBert - Not sure what was going on with the name, but this Oreo was also on the vanilla cookie and had a bit of the candy corn flavoring to it, meaning that it tasted a little waxy. There was a definite improvement form the formula that was used for candy corn, and having some of the lime taste in there was a great balance. 6/10

Halloween - Not really a flavor variety, but I did bring it in to work. A regular Oreo with your creme dyed orange with a decorative Halloween themed shape on one side of the cookie. These were popular, but I think more so because they were just a regular Oreo and that was a good palate cleanser from all the variety ones. 9/10 - only because it is standard with no special gimmicks, and this is about gimmicks!

Birthday Cake - Now this one was a definite winner. Oreo made them on both the chocolate and vanilla cookie, and there were at times tense debates in the office about which was better. For my money, I liked the vanilla cookie better, only because the mix with the chocolate cookie seemed to cut at some of the taste of the filling. You'll find that for the most part, unless you need a chocolate balance, some of the better varieties were on the vanilla cookie so you could taste the special cream flavoring. Chocolate - 7/10 Vanilla - 9/10

Watermelon - You would think this would be similar to the sherbert one, but having just watermelon made it taste like you were dunking a vanilla cookie Oreo in to a glass of Hi-C. Really sweet, and really missed the target for what it could have been. 3/10

Strawberries n Creme - This was a variety for the chocolate cookie. It had a good blend of the strawberry and creme flavor to it. I'd be half tempted to see if they could make a strawberry cookie to go with this one, but then you would miss out on the chocolate taste that reminds you of a half and half shake from Steak n Shake. 7/10

Caramel Apple - Now this one was on the weird side. This was made on a vanilla cookie, and tried to mix a caramel and apple flavoring that just wasn't a good mix. It could have been because I wasn't a fan of caramel apples, but I do remember this one sitting around on the desk for a long time after it was opened. 3/10

Limeade - Now this was a good Oreo. Solid choice. For a long time I had a desire to take this one, mix it with the lemon Oreo, and have one mega Sprite flavored Oreo. My boss was living in Boston when this was out, and so she specifically brought over a box on a trip to the office and left it at my desk. Taking that first bite of the Sprite flavor...magical. It was everything I was hoping for, a lemon/lime mix that held up so well. But if I am looking at grading just on the lime itself, it would still be solid. 8/10

Root Beer Float - I don't recall this one. I think I picked it up, but I might have missed it. If that is the case, then the flavoring obviously didn't hit and it was easily forgettable. ?/10

Fruit Punch - Apparently Oreo did not learn anything from the watermelon, as this seemed to try and repeat the old recipe of that one. Not a fan, and glad it went away. 2/10

Pumpkin Spice - Calling all you basic bitches! Just joking (maybe). This was a standard flavoring not really doing anything too daring. It was on the vanilla cookie, and was just forgettable to me, but appreciated by all the pumpkin spice loving people around the office. 6/10

Reese's Peanut Butter Cup - Now this was a good combination with the chocolate cookie. I've seen this back at the store often enough that I think it might be a regular flavor that they put out like the lemon. Imagine taking a bite of a Reese's with an extra layer of chocolate covering it. The flavoring was that spot on. 9/10

Marshmallow Crispy - Rice Krispies in the cream of an Oreo on their vanilla cookie. This was magical. It was so good, I seriously wanted them to put out a frosting for cakes with this. In fact, if I ever see that they put out an Oreo frosting, I'm buying a box of Rice Krispies with it to make this frosting. I've been a fan of Crispy M&Ms for years, even going to the extent of a having a friend buy a package from oversees to bring it here to the states when they weren't available. I imagine Oreo wanted to call it Rice Kripie Oreos, buy a licensing deal must have fallen out. Too bad, because I would definitely have diabetes if this was a flavor available all year round. 10/10

Cookie Dough - Blegh. This came out on the chocolate cookie the same time as the Marshmallow one. Was there a competition between these two or something? I don't know, but the winner in our office was clear, as this one was just left on the desk for days in the office. Being a fan of cookie dough, I wondered how Oreo was going to translate that taste. They didn't, as it tasted more like bad coffee than anything resembling cookie dough. Would it be better on the vanilla cookie? Probably not. 1/10

Red Velvet - a chocolate flavoring on a chocolate Oreo. Nothing really special here, except the price of the packaging effectively went up as this came in a package that was about 2/3rds of the size of a regular package of Oreos, but cost just as much. Very blah all around on this one, but there were some in the office who appreciated it. Since I was buying, I stopped after the two packages were gone in a week. 5/10

S'mores - There was a bad marketing decision, as this should have easily been called S'mOreos. The cookie changed on this one to a graham cracker cookie instead of your usual vanilla or chocolate. The move was a smart one, as going in any other direction might have made this cookie go south. This was a solid one, and one that I backed up and shelled the extra cash to have a few extras in at the office. 8/10

Toasted Coconut - This one I don't remember much. I remember having a coconut flavor, but there wasn't much said about it around the office outside of "I don't like coconut." Maybe you have to be a fan, but this one was just thrown out there and kinda worked. 6/10

Key Lime Pie - Back to the graham cracker cookie, and it was a good choice. I don't think I have ever had key lime pie, but this was essentially the limeade Oreo on the graham cracker cookie. It was a good choice, solid cookie, and was popular with co-workers who had key lime pie before. Solid. 8/10

And this is where the journey ends. This was the point when I moved to Austin. If I wanted Oreos, I would have to buy the whole package for myself. I did with the cinnamon buns Oreos, as well as the fudge filled Oreos, and the cake batter Oreos. None matched the way that the Marshmallow ones did, and they didn't do as bad as the Fruit Punch ones. Effective flavors.

I'm thinking of maybe getting back in to the routine of bringing in the variety in to work for everyone to try at my new job, but this can get a little pricey if I try to consistently leave a package going in there. I think I'll stay away from it for now, but I'm hoping that changes someday soon.

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