2018 - Aldi - Specially Selected - 6 black forest mince pies

It's clearly a year where everyone is taking a leaf out of Heston's Blumenthal's book and making mince pies with random fillings. Aldi is not one to be left behind with their specially selected black forest mince pies.

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.

Morrisons Festive Mince Pies

Okay, so I've already done one from Morrison's but I saw this eye catching box and just couldn't resist. I love mince pies don't you know!

Harrods - Walnut and Honey Mince Pies

I was in London yesterday attending a friends birthday celebrations. I don't venture into London very often, so took the opportunity to visit Harrods and pick up some of their mince pies. Now, you will notice that I did not buy last year's winners, the alcohol free cranberry mince pies as they were exactly the same; from box design to ingredients.

Sainsbury's - Christmas by Sainsbury's - 6 Deep Mince Pies

The moment I saw these on the shelves I know this was going to be a short review. So, lets not waste any more time than I have to.

Aldi - Specially Selected - 6 Mince Pies

Last year's very close runner up is back to see if they can take over that top spot from Harrods. Have Aldi kept with the same recipe, or have they tried something new. Lets find out.

Aldi - Specially Selected - 6 Luxury Mince Pies

It's here. The one that has made headlines by coming top in Which? Magazines blind taste test of mince pies of 2013. Aldi was always on our "to do" list, but unfortunately they do not have a store near my home or my place of work or along the 40 mile commute in between the two, so it has taken longer than usual to get hold of these. However, here they are. Ready for us to find out whether they really are that good.

Harrods Alcohol-Free Cranberry Mince Pies

Last year you were all treated to the review of a puff pastry mince pie from Harrods' in-store bakery. They were good, but we didn't get to try their standard, boxed mince pies. This year, I am pleased to say I braved the Saturday morning tourist and Christmas shopper traffic and squeezed into one of the busiest stores I have been to in a long time. Not being a regular Harrods shopper, I had no idea where I was going and with some general directions given to me by staff, I eventually emerged (20 mins later) with a box of these alcohol-free mince pies. I'm not sure whether there were other types of mince pies around, but due to the sheer number of people I had to negotiate around, I picked the first thing that said mince pies, paid and left.

Morrisons Christmas 9 Mini Mince Pies

Here at the Administration, we tend to overlook the mini mince pies as generally being mostly pastry and never really being that great or noteworthy. That is until some are thrust in your direction. They cannot be overlooked in those circumstances! We decided to dust off the crumbs from the larger mince pies, print out new score sheets and take a very small bite out of these mini mince pies to see whether anything has changed.

Fortnum & Mason - Six Traditional Christmas Mince Pies

Yes, that's right mincers, the (non-existent) revenue generated from reviewing mince pies has resulted in the Administration being able to splash out on some very posh mince pies for your viewing pleasure. We braved the gale force winds and torrential rain and arrived at the doors of the most well decorated supermarket in the country. You know you have walked into an upper class world when their staff are better dressed than you are. With the worry of being thrown out for wearing trainers, jeans and a rain jacket, I quickly found the mince pies and left. Let's see if you really do get better quality when you spend more.

Tesco 6 Christmas Mince Pies

We seem to be getting through the big supermarket mince pies rather quickly this year. Our next stop on the mince pie express is Tesco. My most accessible Tesco is one of their express stores, but it is not these stores (shockingly) that have started stocking mince pies. At the time of writing this, I could only find their mince pies in the larger branches. Not sure why this the case, but lets hope my drive to their larger branch was actually worth it.

Coles Bundaberg Rum Mince Pies

Our first international review!

Heston Blumenthal (made for Waitrose) - Puff Pastry Mince Pies with Pine Sugar Dusting

After much questioning as to whether I would try "the other Heston mince pie", I have finally made my way to a Waitrose to pick up a box. Can Heston's pies take the top two spots on my leader board?

Pret A Manger - Mince Pie

This gourmet sandwich shop that started in London has grown substantially. With stores as far east as Hong Kong and as far west as Chicago, I want to know whether they still care about their home town by making a decent mince pie this Christmas.

Costa - Mince Tart

After sampling Starbucks' offering on the mince pie front I was intrigued to find out just how seriously the other big name coffee shops took their mince pies.

Starbucks Mince Pie

I don't drink coffee or tea. Don't like the stuff. Therefore, Starbucks is not a place I visit often and so would not have thought to get a mince pie from there had it not been for my work colleagues mentioning them as a possible contender.

Asda - Extra Special (created with Leiths School) - All-Butter Mince Pies

It would appear Asda have an "Extra Special" line for their mince pies. These surely cannot be as bad as their current mince pies. Can they?

Iceland Christmas Mince Pies

Iceland. The place where mums go, supposedly. Like the country, their mince pies have always been a bit chilling. If this year is different, there will be more than just mums flocking to their stores.

Aldi - Holly Lane - Specially Selected - Luxury Mince Pies

The second of the two boxes my colleague's mother bought for me are Aldi's luxury brand. Their regular mince pies were good, so these should be even better, right?

Aldi - Holly Lane - Deep Filled Mince Pies

I have been hearing a lot of promising things about Aldi and thanks to a work colleague's mother, I have kindly been given a couple of boxes of their mince pies. Let's hope they beat their direct competition, LIDL (although that's probably not hard!).