Oh Henry! Peanut butter

Product name: Oh Henry! Peanut Butter
Purchase details: £1.93 for a 58g bar (cybercandy.co.uk)
Calories: 300 per bar

I first heard of the Oh Henry! bar from my brother-in-law who has family in Canada. He raved about it so I tried one last year and, to be honest, I wasn’t that impressed. As much as I adore peanut butter, I get less excited about peanuts themselves – at least, on their own. For me, the original Oh Henry bar was just too much like a Snickers and, for that reason, I was disappointed. However, I was still keen to try the peanut butter variety so it was with great excitement that I added this bar to my recent Cybercandy order.

This hunk of a bar (58g!) was ‘imported by’ Hershey Canada but the colourful wrapper didn’t actually state where it was produced. However, to the best of my knowledge, this variety is only widely available in Canada.
 

Unlike the smoother chocolate bars we’re used to in the UK, Oh Henry! Peanut Butter was lumpy in appearance due to the visibility of peanuts beneath the outer chocolatey coating. Cutting into the bar, I was pleased to see that all of its components were clearly visible. There was a smooth Reese’s peanut butter core down the centre of the bar which was surrounded by a thin film of ‘creamy caramel’. This in turn was covered in real peanuts and then topped with a chocolatey layer. Due to the common ingredients of peanut butter and an artificial coating, this bar did smell similar to Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, although the inclusion of the real peanuts did add an additional nutty element which made the aroma even more mouth-watering.

Once again, I felt the chocolatey coating to be a disadvantage over real milk chocolate. In this case, it actually caused the bar to feel slightly greasy between my fingertips, as if the ‘chocolate’ couldn’t melt quickly enough. However, apart from the missed opportunity for extra creaminess, I can’t say this dampened by enjoyment of the product too much. Quite frankly, this bar took my tastebuds on a brilliant journey – there was just so much going on. The saltiness of the peanut butter blended well with the mellower peanuts and, combined with the sweetness from the caramel and outer coating, this really was a taste sensation.

Furthermore, this combination of ingredients made for a fantastic texture. The initial crunchiness from the peanuts was met with a slight chewiness from the caramel, which then combined with the softness of the peanut butter core. My only criticism is that the rugged nuts meant that the smoothness of the peanut butter couldn’t be appreciated. However, I did love the way the peanuts stayed perfectly in place within the bar, but easily separated out in the mouth. For me, this was a sign that the quantity of caramel was just right – enough to do its job, but not to cause so much chewiness that eating the bar became a hassle.

I genuinely loved this bar, although I’m aware that the concept is identical to that of the Reese’s Nutrageous, which is another favourite of mine. At this stage, I can’t judge which is better, but I currently have the latter in my stash so I guess the decision will be made when its time for review comes! At the moment, though, I suspect that Oh Henry!: Peanut butter might just clinch it since it is the bigger of the two bars and, therefore, may feel like more of a treat. Watch this space!

Appearance: 8/10
Aroma: 8.5/10
Taste: 9.5/10
Texture: 9/10
Overall score: 8.75/10