Snack #219- Appalachian Jerky Company Wicked Hot Thermonuclear Beef Jerky

Appalachian Jerky Company Wicked Hot Thermonuclear Beef Jerky 

The texture of this beef jerky was unpleasant.  It was super dry and it required some really strong jaw muscles to gnash up and get the flavor out.  So the beef flavor was pretty minimal but the thermonuclear seasoning was very strong and overpowered everything else.  This is very spicy beef jerky that burns the mouth and causes the eyes to water.  It's not a particularly flavorful heat but definitely a palate wiper.  

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 8/10

Bottom Line: Spicy but not tasty or tender.

Snack #218- Jack Link's Cholula Hot Sauce Beef Jerky

 Jack Link's Cholula Hot Sauce Beef Jerky

This beef jerky is a pretty standard dry, chewy jerky that has a strong beef flavor.  The Cholula flavor is true to the bottled hot sauce and combined with the chewiness of the beef jerky it packs a real punch of hot sauce flavor.  It does battle some of the natural beef flavors but if you're looking for a spicy kick in a meaty snack then this a is a good snack choice.

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 5/10
Bottom Line: Cholula-infused beef jerky.

Snack #217- Blue Diamond Almonds Bold Habanero BBQ

Blue Diamond Almonds Bold Habanero BBQ

These are standard roasted almonds with a spicy barbeque coating.  The smooth and creamy texture of the almonds contrasts well with the sharp, spicy seasoning.  The heat definitely builds and has a strong barbeque flavor.  Definitely a good snack alternative to chips and not lacking in habanero heat.

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 5/10

Bottom Line: Spicy nuts!

Snack #216- Chester’s Puffcorn Flamin’ Hot Puffed Corn Snacks

Chester’s Puffcorn Flamin’ Hot Puffed Corn Snacks

So we can’t really give this snack a fair assessment because these were sitting around too long and were incredibly stale (meaning mushy).  The texture at peak freshness would probably be crispier but at least the flavor was still there.  The Flamin’ Hot line of Cheetos products tends to be on the spicier end of convenience store snack options and these are no exception. We only ate a few each because of the textural problems but we could feel the fiery red powder heat. The heat doesn’t last too long but it is pretty sharp so these live up the their name.

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 6/10

Bottom Line: Another Flamin’ Hot snack.

Snack #215- Cheetos Cheddar Jalapeño Crunchy Snacks

These Cheetos are the classic cheddar flavor crunchy corn snack but kicked up a notch with the addition of some jalapeño flavor.  While the combination isn’t anything new, Cheetos balances the flavors well and the heat is present but not overwhelming so the whole bag can be enjoyed without the spice level building too much.  A decent snack to grab when you’re feeling like nacho cheese and jalapeño in crunchy stick form.

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 3/10

Bottom Line: Basic Cheetos amped up a bit.

Snack #214 Lundberg Spicy Black Bean Organic Rice Chips

These crunchy rice chips had a nice toasty flavor from the rice.  And while I didn't taste any black bean (or maybe I did, I'm pretty sure black beans have almost zero flavor...), I picked up on some garlic and onion.  It actually tasted like the chips somehow already had guacamole infused into them, which was kind of amazing.  The heat was there, but not overwhelming.  No need to go running for the milk because the heat didn't build, but there was a definite tingle.

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 4/10

Bottom Line: pretty darn tasty

Snack #213 - Jalapeño Jack Pretzel Crisps

I really like Pretzel Crisps.  You get the great baked, almost burned, flavor of a hard pretzel without breaking your teeth.  Unfortunately, the jalapeño jack flavor was so unbelievably salty that I couldn't taste anything else.  These pretzels definitely packed some heat, but as for flavor, salt overwhelmed.  Out of curiosity I checked the sodium content of the other spicy snacks I had on hand, and the pretzel crisps had on average 4-5 times more sodium than anything else. That's a whole lotta salt.

Bottom Line: spicy salt lick  

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 5/10

Snack #212- Eldorado Chilinøtter Innbakte Peanøtter (Chili flavored coated peanuts)

Eldorado Chilinøtter Innbakte Peanøtter (Chili flavored coated peanuts)

While traveling to Norway for a friend’s wedding we stumbled upon this unique spicy snack which is basically a whole peanut surrounded by a crispy, savory coating and dusted with paprika.  In form they are similar to the Asian peanuts tried in Costa Rica but in flavor they are the standard European paprika seasoning which tastes like pepper but is not spicy.  The peanut center is tasty and the coating adds a well-seasoned paprika taste so they are an enjoyable snack but not spicy at all.

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 1/10

Bottom Line: Paprika coated crunchy peanuts.

Snack #211- Perri Hot Lips Nice ‘N’ Spicy Flavour

Perri Hot Lips Nice ‘N’ Spicy Flavour

These baked corn puffs were brought to us by a Hot Chick associate who traveled to Ireland.  They are low-calorie and baked instead of fried but the positives pretty much end there.  They are packing peanut consistency and melt in your mouth with no crispiness.  The flavor is extremely mild and there is only the barest hint of tomato and paprika seasonings.  The corn flavor is also dull so this snack basically takes like nothing.  We always enjoy trying international spicy snacks but this one certainly fell flat!

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 0/10

Bottom Line: Lip-shaped packing peanuts.

Snack #210 - Way Better Snacks Sweet Chili Tortilla Chips

These way better snacks are way better for you than your average chip.  In fact, each serving of chips has the same nutrients as one and a half servings of fresh broccoli.  So actually, these chips are way better for you than your average salad.  Or something like that.  These chips pack such a nutrient-rich punch because of all of the sprouted grains, including quinoa, radish and broccoli seeds.  Seriously.  Plus, they tasted good!  They were a little sweet for my taste, but there was a nice heat that didn't build to an uncomfortable level.  Weirdly, there was also a creamy flavor, but with no dairy products in the ingredients, I'm blaming the radish seeds.  And true to the rule that the fancier the chips, the less you get in the bag, the extra fancy chips only filled the bag about a quarter of the way.

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 5/10

Bottom Line: way better than a bowl of broccoli.

Snack #209- Pretzel Pete’s Spicy-hot! Sour Cream & Habanero Seasoned Gourmet Pretzel Nuggets

Pretzel Pete’s Spicy-hot! Sour Cream & Habanero Seasoned Gourmet Pretzel Nuggets

I picked these sourdough nuggets up at Christmas Tree Shops and didn’t expect much despite claims of eye-watering habanero seasoning.  Habanero is a very hot pepper though and these snacks do actually manage to live up to the name.  The initial flavor is a milky, sweet sour cream flavor but once the nuggets are chewed for a few seconds a searing pepper heat takes over.  The burn is a strong tongue and throat burn and had me taking deep breaths to cool my mouth.  The pretzels themselves are not very crunchy or salty but they have some serious added seasoning.  The creamy initial flavor is a bold contrast from the following heat and makes these enjoyable in addition to being spicy. 

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 7/10

Bottom Line: Creamy and super spicy pretzel nuggets.

Snack #208- Herr’s Jalapeño Poppers Flavored Cheese Curls

Herr’s Jalapeño Poppers Flavored Cheese Curls

These cheese curls taste overwhelmingly like dusty, old cardboard.  Once that taste melts into your mouth there is a moderate flavor of fake cheese and jalapeño and they are definitely a little hot.  It’s just so hard to get past the sensation that you are eating cardboard flavored Styrofoam that these are not an appealing snack.  They definitely take the standard cheese curl and kick it up though so for a cheese curl fan these are a good spicy option.

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 4/10

Bottom Line: Spicy cardboard flavored Styrofoam.

Snack #207-Munchies Jalapeño Cheddar Flavored Snack Mix

Munchies Jalapeño Cheddar Flavored Snack Mix

This mix includes Cheetos, Doritos, Sunchips and pretzels.  The Cheetos are jalapeño cheddar flavor but are very mild.  The Doritos are Poppin’ Jalapeño flavor and also very mildly jalapeño flavored.  The Garden Salsa flavored Sunchips and very sweet with a strong flavor of tomato and not spicy. And the pretzels are just plain pretzels.  Overall this is a mildly cheesy and pepper-flavored snack mix but it is a far cry from spicy.

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 1/10

Bottom Line:  Savory snack mix but no heat.  

Snack #206- Zapp’s Voodoo Potato Chips

Zapp’s Voodoo Potato Chips

These chips are Zapp’s ‘mystery flavor’ that is a limited edition flavor combination created when a bunch of spices were spilled in the warehouse and someone tasted the combination.  They taste like a lot of things all at once and it is hard to discern the mystery flavors!  They taste like salt and vinegar but there is also a sweet note.  These chips also don’t have much going on in the spicy department but the flavor is savory and they are a tasty chip.  And of course they are standard crunchy Zapp’s kettle chips.

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 0/10

Bottom Line: Uniquely sweet and salty kettle chips.

Snack #205- Zapp’s Cajun Dill Gator-Tators Potato Chips

Zapp’s Cajun Dill Gator-Tators Potato Chips

We weren’t really expecting these to be spicy, and they aren’t really, but they looked really yummy and in general Zapp’s chips are very tasty so we decided to rate them anyway.  The flavor is exactly what you would expect- they have the sweet hint of Cajun seasoning but also a strong tangy dill flavor that makes them taste a little like they were dunked in a jar of pickle juice.  I am a fan of dill flavoring and these are well flavored; the dill doesn’t overpower the chip flavor but is strong enough to really taste.  The chip itself is a classic crunchy kettle chip and very good.

Rating on the Spice-O-Meter: 0.5/10

Bottom Line: The perfect dill flavored kettle chip.