Dark and darkness.
There’s the darkness one experiences when there’s no light. There’s the dark colors of evening wear. Then there’s the darkness I keep deep down in my soul that so badly wants to come up but prevent it from doing so with every bit of my energy because I don’t want anyone to ever experience it for fear that doing so shall cause me to be shunned for an eternity by those who get the slightest glimpse at that darkness. And then there’s milk chocolate’s sibling, dark chocolate.
Nestle has been reaching into its own darkness this year by rolling out Crunch Dark and this new Butterfinger Dark. It has the same crispety, crunchety, peanut-buttery center as the original, but with a darker chocolatey coating.
Yes, chocolatey. Not chocolate.
The Nestle Crunch Dark Bar boasts how it’s made with 100 percent real chocolate, but this candy bar doesn’t make that claim. A quick ingredients list comparison shows that while the Crunch bar has dark chocolate that uses cocoa butter, this Butterfinger doesn’t.
But that doesn’t make it a bad candy bar.
After eating a couple, I find it to be a tad better than the original Butterfinger and the reason why is the same as why I love the Crunch Dark Bar. Although it doesn’t have the real chocolate deal, whatever that coating is, it makes the candy less sweet.
I know less sweet candy sounds like a bad thing, like less murderous or nudity Game of Thrones or less Dew-y Mountain Dew, but I find regular Butterfinger to be overly sweet nowadays. Get off my lawn. For example, I had a fun size Butterfinger around Halloween and after eating it I came to the realization that I wouldn’t have been able to finish it if it was a full bar. But with this, I found myself chomping away through the whole thing easily.
But with that said, while the coating takes away sweetness, it doesn’t add anything because it doesn’t have the bitterness of dark chocolate. Actually, the exterior isn’t too noticeable. The whole thing tastes like what I imagine eating a naked Butterfinger with just the crispety, crunchety, peanut-buttery, crumb-causety center is like, which is still pretty good.
With the Crunch Dark Bar, the chocolate gets to shine because the rice crisps are for texture. But with this bar, the crispety, crunchety, peanut-buttery, teeth-stickety center is bold enough that it hides the coating’s flavor as well as I hide the darkness inside of me.
Nestle’s Butterfinger Dark is a pleasant variation of the classic candy bar. While I’m fine with the peanut buttery flavor standing out, I would’ve liked it more if the chocolatey layer added something. But if you enjoy Butterfinger, this candy will brighten your day.
DISCLOSURE: I received free samples from the folks at Nestle. As always, receiving free samples did not influence my review in any way.
(Nutrition Facts – 260 calories, 10 grams of fat, 5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 100 milligrams of sodium, 39 grams of carbohydrates, 1 grams of fiber, 23 grams of sugar, and 3 grams of protein.)
Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 1.9 oz. bar
Purchased at: Received from Nestle
Rating: 8 out of 10
Pros: Less sweet than regular Butterfinger. Perhaps a better Butterfinger. Will brighten your day. Crispety, crunchety, and peanut-buttery.
Cons: Dark chocolatey coating’s flavor doesn’t stand out. Doesn’t seem to use dark chocolate. Still crumb-causety and teeth-stickety. The darkness inside of me that I have to battle with every moment in order to prevent it from seeing the light of day, which it will turn into darkness.