Walkers Robert's Ranch Raccoon

Product name: Walkers Robert’s Ranch Raccoon
Purchase details: £1.00 for a multipack of six bags (Poundland)
Calories: 132 per 25g bag
Country of origin: UK

I’ve always thought that honesty is the best policy so I won’t be beating around the bush with these Walkers Robert’s Ranch Raccoon crisps from the Do Us A Flavour selection 1 multipack. I have no idea what raccoon is meant to taste like and I didn’t really want to know...I would never have opted to buy these but it just worked out cheaper to have them included with the other flavours in the selection than to have bought the flavours I wanted separately!

My colleague had warned me that these were ‘foul’ and, with a mustard yellow wrapper that reminded me of roast chicken crisps (another flavour I don’t like!), I wasn’t at all hopeful. However, the inclusion of powdered sour cream from Dorset seemed like a positive, and they were vegetarian so I knew there was no actual raccoon included!

The crisps seemed thinner and more fragile than Emma C's Cheesy Beans On Toast, for example, and there were certainly a lot more broken ones in the packet. They were paler in colour, too, but had visible speckles of dried parsley. They certainly looked inoffensive, and the aroma was also reassuring – they barely smelt any different to standard ready salted crisps.

Oh how I was lulled into a false sense of security...these were disgusting! They had a horribly strong and weird flavour which made me feel like I was eating turkey ham in crisp form. I don’t like ham anyway, but I particularly dislike ones made out of white meat, so this was by no means a good thing. I really didn’t want to try another but decided to persevere with the packet. Somehow, I managed to get through them, and eating them quickly did help me focus on the herby aspect, but I couldn’t help but feel queasy for the rest of the evening. 

I’ve tried to give my second packet away but people are very reluctant to try them! The one person who’s braved a taste, so far, grimaced and didn’t want to try another. It wasn’t all bad, though...the texture was nice! But I know which variety I won’t be voting for – urgh.

Appearance: 7/10
Aroma: 7/10
Taste: 3/10
Texture: 8/10
Overall score: 6.25/10