Review: Snackle Mouth Granola Nut Clusters

When Eick asked if I would review Snackle Mouth Granola Nut Clusters I jumped at the chance.

I love granola and so does most of my family, so this one was a natural fit for me. Granola has made its way into a variety of products through the years like yogurt, cottage cheese or of course the ubiquitous bar. Oftentimes it is just sweetened oats, nuts, honey and some other ingredients. It is not something that gets too many people excited, my 5 year old daughter being the exception.

So lets get on to the product itself. I received all three varieties from the  folks at Snackle Mouth and tried them by themselves and mixed into plain Greek yogurt.

First up was the almond berry. As soon as I opened the package I was immediately hit with the smell of blueberries. While the mix contained cranberries as well, the blueberry scent was the predominant one, in a very good way. That was a great start. My daughter’s review was “I like that smell, mmmmm”. I agreed.  Next, I pried her nose from the box and we tasted. The berry flavor was strong, but not overpowering, not too sweet and the hint of sea salt was really perfect. The cranberries were an excellent counterpoint to the sweetness. The almonds also gave it a great crunch. My only minor issue was with the clusters that didn’t have any fruit in them – they were still good but somehow the fruit flavor just didn’t carry over to the clusters themselves. Overall this was my favorite of the three, and my daughters 2nd favorite.

We moved on to the almond pecan maple next. Again when opening the package the smell was fantastic. The maple was the strongest scent and was very reminiscent of  Quaker maple and brown sugar oatmeal. Maple and pecan is a classic combination and it worked very very well. This one was my daughter’s favorite, and a close 2nd for me. The balance of the sea salt, raisins, cranberries and nuts was very well done.

It is a difficult task to counter the sweetness of maple in something like this and they nailed it.

Last up was the peanut cranberry. This was the 3rd flavor we tried and it came in 3rd place. Of the three it was the most traditional flavoring, and perhaps that contrast, between its typical flavoring and the more dynamic flavors of the first two was what set it apart. Not that it was bad mind you, the smell and taste reminded me of Nature Valley oats and honey granola bars. They were a lunchtime staple for me as a kid so it got some serious nostalgia points.

The next morning I tried all three flavors in some plain Greek yogurt. The almond maple pecan was the standout here. The maple flavor is strong enough in each cluster that you never lost the taste. The almond berry was 2nd for this round, my note about the clusters without fruit not having quite as much flavor held true here. It still provided the great crunch and the hint of sweetness you need to cut through the yogurt, but the berries didn’t survive the trip. The peanut cranberry kept it’s 3rd place here as well.

And now we need to talk about the packaging. The Snackle Mouth description is “Most Fun Package Design on the Planet” the review in my house was a resounding “creepy” across the board. Something about the design just screamed clown , which is definitely not fun. Have I mentioned I hate clowns?

Packaging aside I would recommend these products on taste alone. They stood out from the crowd from a flavor perspective and did not last long in my pantry at all.