3 Musketeers Mint
The 3 Musketeers bar’s name used to make a lot more sense: back when it was introduced by Mars in 1932, it actually consisted of three bars, each with a different nougat: chocolate, strawberry and vanilla. In 1945, the bar we know today emerged: one solid piece with a fluffy chocolate nougat center. Although Mars makes a big deal in commercials and on wrappers about the fact that the 3 Musketeers bar is 45% lower in fat than other similar bars, this is not surprising. Nougat, of the type used in the 3 Musketeers bar, consists of egg whites (which are virtually fat free) and sugar. Therefore, the bar is noticeably lower in fat but contains about the same number of calories as other candy bars.
The new 3 Musketeers bar, the 3 Musketeers Mint, is enrobed in dark, rather than milk, chocolate and consists of two pieces, (think Mounds or Almond Joy). While the regular 3 Musketeers bar features a chocolate nougat center, the Mint sports mint-only nougat rather than what I thought would be chocolate-mint. In fact, my first impression of the bar was rather negative: for starters the bar, at just over 35 grams, is quite small when compared to the standard bar weight of somewhere in the 44-50 gram range. The taste was also rather disappointing, since the mint center had a slightly soapy flavor (probably partially attributable to the texture) and the dark chocolate was of rather low quality and therefore had a flat flavor.
I went back to try the bar again in order to write this review, hoping to improve my view of this new addition to the Mars bar family. I stand by my earlier opinion: while edible, I would not recommend this bar to either a lover of dark chocolate, regular 3 Musketeers, or mint. However, I will say that I am very impressed with the fact that the mint filling was not colored green, as could have been expected, and that it was rather mild in flavor. A fellow candy blogger also noted the high salt content of the bar and while I do not taste it quite as readily as she did, I can certainly notice it now that she mentioned the fact. In all, I think I’ll stick to York Peppermint Patties to get the (mint) sensation.
August 8th, 2007 at 12:04 pm
I’ve steered clear of these when I’ve seen them at the store, and I’m glad my instincts were right! Who wants to be reminded of soap when eating chocolate?
October 10th, 2007 at 11:34 am
Okay I had to laugh at this when I read it. Why would you even say that the flavor of the 3 Musketeer Mint Bar had a soapy taste? I don’t know what you ate but it wasn’t this particular Candy Bar.