Ok, so the last review set a new low for the blog and to be honest, I felt a little guilty, so I'm giving Asda another chance, but with their Extra Special range. I have actually reviewed these before, but not under the new scoring system (see the old review here). Lets see how these do...
Presentation - 6 / 10
As I always say, it takes a lot of guts for a mince pie maker to have a window on the front of their box. If those mince pies don't come out looking perfect, people are not going to buy then. However, these Asda mince pies do look the business. They look well baked and all very much identical, with a nice star-like snowflake on each one. As for the box itself, its very purple and not at all "Christmasy", which does let it down. Asda has stuck to their corporate identity quite rigidly!
Nutritional content and price - 5 / 10
£1.25 is a great price for what is cited as luxury mince pies, but surely there is a barrier somewhere around here under which it's too cheap for anyone to believe it's luxury?
This is a decent sized mince pie so the slightly higher nutritional info is slightly understandable. Its 9g of fat, 22g of sugar and 247 calories.
Pastry - 14 / 35
It's sweet. I have a sweet tooth, but this is a little sickening. They claim all butter, but I don't really taste it. They claim crisp, but i'd say that's a slight exaggeration, its more powdery. You will also see from the image below that the pastry is not even all the way around. What appears to be a manufacturing defect has given one wall of the mince pie perilously thin support. A misplaced finger could be this mince pie's demise.
Mincemeat - 19 / 35
If you run out of Port or Brandy on Christmas day, just give the mincemeat in these a little squeeze, you'll probably have enough for a shot! Yes, these are pretty boozy (maybe that's also part of the corporate identity!). Asda, haven't held back on this front at all. I will give this credit through, while heavy on the alcohol, these are generously filled, fruity mince pies. It is also sweet, but the alcohol levels this out.
Overall Satisfaction - 5 / 10
These have redeemed Asda. If Asda take anything away from my reviews, its that they need to replace their regular mince pies with these. I would not call these luxury because you've poured a little more alcohol in them, but they are not a terrible mince pie. Their position on the leader board doesn't look great, but that's because they're not quite great all round, but if you've got a sweet tooth and like a lot of alcohol in your mince pies, then these are right up your street.
OVERALL SCORE - 49 / 100
Look at where these fit in on our ultimate leader board.
(Don't forget to follow us on twitter @TheMincePieBlog, Facebook and Google+ to ensure you don't miss out on new reviews.)
Presentation - 6 / 10
As I always say, it takes a lot of guts for a mince pie maker to have a window on the front of their box. If those mince pies don't come out looking perfect, people are not going to buy then. However, these Asda mince pies do look the business. They look well baked and all very much identical, with a nice star-like snowflake on each one. As for the box itself, its very purple and not at all "Christmasy", which does let it down. Asda has stuck to their corporate identity quite rigidly!
Nutritional content and price - 5 / 10
£1.25 is a great price for what is cited as luxury mince pies, but surely there is a barrier somewhere around here under which it's too cheap for anyone to believe it's luxury?
This is a decent sized mince pie so the slightly higher nutritional info is slightly understandable. Its 9g of fat, 22g of sugar and 247 calories.
Pastry - 14 / 35
It's sweet. I have a sweet tooth, but this is a little sickening. They claim all butter, but I don't really taste it. They claim crisp, but i'd say that's a slight exaggeration, its more powdery. You will also see from the image below that the pastry is not even all the way around. What appears to be a manufacturing defect has given one wall of the mince pie perilously thin support. A misplaced finger could be this mince pie's demise.
Mincemeat - 19 / 35
If you run out of Port or Brandy on Christmas day, just give the mincemeat in these a little squeeze, you'll probably have enough for a shot! Yes, these are pretty boozy (maybe that's also part of the corporate identity!). Asda, haven't held back on this front at all. I will give this credit through, while heavy on the alcohol, these are generously filled, fruity mince pies. It is also sweet, but the alcohol levels this out.
Overall Satisfaction - 5 / 10
These have redeemed Asda. If Asda take anything away from my reviews, its that they need to replace their regular mince pies with these. I would not call these luxury because you've poured a little more alcohol in them, but they are not a terrible mince pie. Their position on the leader board doesn't look great, but that's because they're not quite great all round, but if you've got a sweet tooth and like a lot of alcohol in your mince pies, then these are right up your street.
OVERALL SCORE - 49 / 100
Look at where these fit in on our ultimate leader board.
(Don't forget to follow us on twitter @TheMincePieBlog, Facebook and Google+ to ensure you don't miss out on new reviews.)
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