It’s been back for a couple of weeks now, but the ‘Do Us A Flavour’ voting has returned with six brand new flavours to wrap your tastebuds around. Millions of us put our ideas across to Walkers HQ, using one of the ‘key’ ingredients they had shortlisted, for Gary Lineker and the like to whittle down. So what is there to make of these finalists?
Chip Shop Chicken Curry: 
We’ve had Roast Chicken flavour and now there’s time for Chip Shop Chicken Curry. It doesn’t really taste like curry sauce but thankfully it doesn’t taste like roast chicken flavour crisps either. There is a slight punch to them once they’ve gone down but the disappointing factor is that it doesn’t have an original flavour. It’s either a flavour Walkers has done before, possibly Pizza flavour, or a flavour that Pringles have done, whichever the case is, this taste sensation has been done before just under a different name.
Cheesy B
eans on Toast:
Out of the six, this is probably the flavour that most households would want to try as it is a British staple food almost. It’s the truly easy meal and now it has been turned in to a crisp. As previously mentioned, cheese and meat flavours have been done almost to the death and therefore new flavours will always be compared to them. The cheesy flavour comes through instantly. It doesn’t match the Cheese & Onion cheesy flavour but it does taste like the plain Cheese flavour crisps. But it isn’t just a cheese flavour, there is a slight tomato flavour after taste, more of a side taste actually. Again though it’s not a pure tomato taste and it is a similar tomato taste to that you’d get from Baked Beans. For authenticity purposes, this is probably the best of the six.
Picture taken from americansweets.co.uk
Hot Dog with Tomato Ketchup:
The problem with finding new crisp flavours is that the only real thing that goes well on a savoury crisp is a meat or cheese, but pretty much every meat has already been done before. It was inevitable that the Hot Dog flavour was going to be compared to its Smoky Bacon, previous Sausage and other Pork counterparts. However, Walkers have seemingly gone the other way and have made these crisps taste like the Tomato Ketchup flavour crisps they used to produce. Meaning that its authenticity is once again reduced.
Picture taken from Americansweets.co.uk
Pulled Pork in a Sticky BBQ Sauce:
This is arguably the most disappointing flavour of the six. It follows on from the Hot Dog problem, all meat flavours have practically been used and it’s impossible the reinvent the wheel. So despite the fancy title, Pulled Pork in a Sticky BBQ Sauce, this flavour is just the BBQ Rib Walkers crisps in a different packet.
Picture taken from americansweets.co.uk
Sizzling Steak Fajita:
Out of the all the meat flavours, excluding Ranch Raccoon, this is the most original. The colour scheme and even the name screams Steak & Onion imitation and, in fairness, it does taste like its Steak predecessor. But whereas the Pulled Pork tastes like BBQ Rib and that’s it, Sizzling Steak Fajita seems to have added a twist to Steak & Onion. These crisps seem to have a peppery taste, as in the vegetable not the condiment. This gives a slightly unique flavour and doesn’t overpower the Steak. It doesn’t taste like a steak fajita, but it is an addition to an already household flavour.
Picture taken from Americansweets.co.uk
Ranch Raccoon:
This raised a lot of eyebrows. There isn’t much known about where this idea came from or even where this delicacy began, if it has existed at all. Google searches raise nothing but a few feral raccoons spreading rabies across some ranches in America. So, as the majority of customers have no idea what raccoon tastes like, Walkers couldn’t exactly get this flavour wrong. On ingenuity and originality alone, I think this is the best flavour. Unlike other reviews, I didn’t find it to have a meaty taste and was overpowered by a taste of sour cream. It was a different taste, but a likable taste nonetheless and not like any other sour cream flavour crisp. It has also been suggested that this could just be ranch dressing flavour, which could be more accurate.
Voting for the nations favourite is open until October 17th. If you want to cast your vote you can via Twitter, Facebook and on their website at https://www.walkers.co.uk/.
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