Who doesn’t love candy bars? Not only are they one of the most contested debates on what the greatest ones are, you have the crazy variance in brands from country to country. Those territorial differences force you to to sample the bars from where you are and eventually you find something that you have never tasted before and convinces you that you should hunt said bar down every time you come back.
Most of us in Canada are partial to some of the exclusive-Canadian chocolate bars that you can’t find elsewhere. Crunchie, Coffee Crisp, Mirage and Mr.Big are examples of bars that aren’t found outside of Canada. Canadians take that stuff serious and are almost offended when you consider a non-Canadian chocolate bar better than our home grown supply. The truth is that there are good bars in other parts of the world too and I have tried many of them. In the tradition of the Mount Rushmore monument, here are my top four candy bars of all-time.
- Crispy Crunch – Cadbury Canada
You can’t be Canadian and have never tried one of these bad boys. Originally made by chocolate counterpart Neilson, this bar hit the landscape in the 70’s and it’s mixture of peanut butter and a crispy flake mixed with a milk chocolate coating. The signature taste of that glorious flaky peanut better centre is unmatched by anything else I have tried. Go down to the corner store right now and grab one of these glorious buggers. The only thing better than Crispy Crunch is someone else’s!
2. Peanut Butter Oh Henry – Hershey Canada
Oh Henry! is a great bar in it’s own right but add in the magic of Reese and you have a chocolate bar that will change your life. The original version started in the 1920’s with its combination of peanuts, caramel and fudge has been a Canadian staple since that point. You don’t see the PB version of the bar nearly as often as the original yellow bar but chase one down and tell me it isn’t the best thing you have ever had. On top of it all, they created Canadian commercial lore with their memorable “Big chunk of fudddddggggggeeeeee”
3. Baby Ruth – Nestle USA
As a sports fan, this was the one bar that I always wanted to have as a kid but couldn’t get as it was only available in the USA. It took me several years before I could try it and although it resembles the aforementioned Oh Henry bar, it is very different. A couple of factoids around Baby Ruth’s history:
- The original manufacturer was located on the same street as Wrigley Field in Chicago and it has always had a strong baseball them since then.
- The bar is not named after the baseball player BABE RUTH but actually claims to be named after the daughter of former President Grover Alexander.
- The bar is featured prominently in the movie “Caddyshack” as the floating chocolate bar in the pool scene. Obviously they didn’t think it was a chocolate bar…
4. Kit Kat – Nestle Canada
It’s one of my vice’s at Halloween time. I used to say to the kids that when they would bring their bags home they had to immediately “pay the tax man”. They have always remembered that term in life but never really realized what the tax was. Mini Kit Kats. There is something about the way the chocolate tastes against the wafer and how it melts in your mouth. Just amazing stuff and there is something equally satisfying about snapping off a stick and chowing down. Great bar.
Where did I go wrong here? There are some great bars that didn’t make my list that may have made yours. Have some fun with it and let me know what bar you have to have on your list.