2016 - Harrods - Christmas - Alcohol-free Cranberry and Clementine Mince Pies

Most likely my last review of the year, but time to end with a banger! Harrods are back to defend their top spot on our ultimate leader board of all time great mince pies. The mince pies are not quite the same; the addition of clementine to thier mincemeat means these need to be re-assessed.... for you of course.

2016 - Aldi - Specially Selected - Exquisite - Luxury Hand Crafted 6 Mince Pies

I've been introduced to these by a few people all of whom have raved about them. Unfortunately, my local Aldi never seems to have these in stock. I've finally managed to get hold of them. Lets see what all the hype is about. Is there something I'm really missing out on.

2016 - Pret a Manger - Mince Pie

I thought it had been a while since I approached the high street coffee shops so here is the first of a popular coffee/lunch joint. They say you're never more than 10ft away from a rat in New York, well if you're in London, you're never more than 100 meters from a Pret! It seemed difficult to ignore them.

2016 - Iceland - Luxury 6 Mince Pies

So far each year, a certain housekeeping magazine seems to gain an inordinate amount of media attention with their "top 10 mince pies"... I mean, what do they know!? Literally, one sentence reviews, no evidence of how they reached their decision, have they even tried all the mince pies?? Nevertheless, they claim these Iceland Luxury mince pies are 2016's best. Well... now we have a real mince pie tester on the case, lets see how they fair (with our open, comprehensive and honest reviewing process).

2016 - Waitrose 1 - 6 All Butter Mince Pies

Okay, so you can probably tell, I bought these at the same time as the previous two. Like almost all movie trilogies out there, the third one is usually the weakest of the three! I'm no believer of a self-fulfilling prophecy, so I'm not going to let that dictate this mince pie review.... or have I already done that by just by acknowledging it? .......Moving on...

2016 - Waitrose Christmas - 6 All Butter Mince Pies

Following on from the success of Heston and Waitrose's partnership, lets see if Waitrose, when left to their own devices, can be equally as good, or whether they need some help to make a decent mince pie

2016 - Heston [Blumenthal] from Waitrose - 4 Spiced Shortcrust Mince Pies with a Lemon Twist

We haven't really seen or heard much of Heston Blumenthal recently, so when I saw these on the shelf in Waitrose, I think I let out an uncontrollable squeal of joy. HESTON IS BACK! He's been busy in the kitchen with Waitrose coming up with these and a number of other Christmas related treats. My review of Heston's previous mince pies is the most viewed review to date. Can these new ones upstage the old in every way?

2016 - Co-op - Irresistible All Butter 6 Luxury Mince Pies

As I sit down to write this, I'd just read that Co-op Energy has just had to fork out £1.8m for customer service failings. Maybe they were busy investing in their mince pie recipe for this ye.... haha sorry I couldn't even finish writing that its so crazy - after all they're energy and food divisions likely to be separate legal entities, but I digress. With negative Co-op news circulating, lets see if their mince pie regains those lost energy customers as food customers.

2016 - Aldi Specially Selected All Butter Cognac Laced 6 Mince Pies

Aldi have returned with what appears to be the same mince pie last previous years, as hawk eyed readers will notice the same pattern on the mince pies. However, eagle eyed (because I'm assuming an eagles eyesight is better than a hawks) will notice that in our last review the mince pies were laced with brandy, now they have cognac. So, now I've publicly justified reviewing them, lets see how they do.

2016 - Sainsburys Taste the Difference 6 All Butter Mince Pies

Sainsburys are up next. I'm going to say it from the start, its not going to be a pleasing mince pie review. Sainsburys have done it again...

2016 - M&S Christmas 6 All Butter Mince Pies

Okay, so Tesco's finest annoyed me, so I've turned to one that I would call a "safe bet". M&S' Christmas All Butter Mince Pies. However, I haven't reviewed an M&S mince pie since 2013. Lets see if they are still a solid entry.

2016 - Tesco's Finest - All Butter Pastry Deep Filled Mince Pies

Next up we have Tesco's finest*. It hasn't always been the finest in the strict definition of the word - I've always wondered where the asterisk next to the finest links to... but I digress. Lets see where this years' entry fit in.

2016 - Mr Kipling - 6 Deep Filled Mince Pies

We're back and we thought to kick off this year's mince pie reviews with one we haven't reviewed for a couple of years. Mr Kipling; almost a British institution in itself, we're wondering whether they've kept up with the times.