Saturday, January 01, 2005

Clif Bar and Nectar Clif Bar Ratings / Rankings / Descriptions

This post will be regularly updated as I try more flavors of Clif bars.

I get strange ideas in my head sometimes. This time, I noticed that my employer stocks many flavors of Clif energy bars and I decided to try them all to see which I like. (Why I only review Clif bars.) Reviews in each section are in chronological order.

Clif Bar (energy bar) Rankings / Ratings / Descriptions

Oatmeal Raisin Walnut
Good. Surprising given the ingredients have bad rap for being healthy but not tasty.
Crunchy Peanut Butter
Good. Exactly as advertised.
Chocolate Brownie
Good. Exactly as advertised.
Cranberry Apple Cherry
Decent. One flavor is wrong: I don't think I like the cherry?
Apricot
Bad. Nasty taste.
Carrot Cake
Good. Exactly as advertised. Visible slivers of carrot.
Chocolate
Decent. Like a chocolate brownie but with less brownie sweetness or something?
Mint Chocolate
Ick. Not my thing.
Cookies 'n Cream
Okay. Chocolate and dough and something vaguely diary-like.
Lemon Poppyseed
Ugh. Overwhelming lemony.
Banana Nut Bread
Good. Aptly named. Contains whole walnuts: a nice touch.
Crunchy Peanut Butter
Aptly named. Even has the standard peanut butter effect of drying out one's mouth. I like it, but then I like peanut butter.

Nectar Clif Bar (organic fruit & nut bar) Rankings / Ratings / Descriptions

Cranberry, Apricot & Almond
Decent. Fruity gooeyiness. Taste resembles that in my apartment-mate's apricot scones but highly condensed. Sweet in the same way as dried fruit.
Cinnamon Pecan
Eh. Odd cinnamon gooeyiness. Not much distinctive taste besides that. Also, high in fat.
Lemon, Vanilla & Cashew
Fine. Very redolent of vanilla. Taste is mostly indistinct gooeyiness.
Dark Chocolate and Walnut
Quite good. Like a chocolate brownie (though slightly denser). Has visible diced nuts that add a minor flavor. (It's too bad they aren't big enough to add texture.)
Why I only review Clif bars? My employer also stocks other energy bars, mostly Powerbars and Luna bars, but I decided not to try those. I usually eat energy bars when I ski or snowboard and although I do like some Powerbar flavors, they tend to freeze so I don't bring them anymore. And Luna bars aren't targeted at my (male) demographic.

Questions? Comments? Thoughts? Post to the comments section of this blog.

Additional keywords: Clif bar rating, Clif bar ranking, Clif bar descriptions

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey nice reviews but I'm going to have to disagree with you about Clif apricot. Give it another chance and see if you can't come to savor its unique taste. Of course, none of the classic Clif bars are actually that good for you - lots of sugar calories. The Nectars are a far wiser choice.

Anonymous said...

I've a small obsession with Clif Bars.
I think the Apricot is..meh.. okay, too. Not the best, but not, at all, bad. A few of my favorites you haven't reviewed and should definitely have taste: Black Cherry & Walnut, Chocolate Brownie, & Peanut Toffee Buzz... all dangerously delicious.

Those who are not lucky enough to have a boss that stocks them, and are therefor not privy to probable discounts, should get them at Amazon. You can subscribe and get a 24 bar case every month or 2 or 3 or 4 (you decide) for only about $19 (free shipping). That's a pretty good discount on bars that usually cost over a dollar a piece. You can cancel after the frst box, or any time, if you don't want more than that.

On another note, I haven't tried the Luna bars yet, but I think it's pretty ridiculous to not try them just because they're not marketed to your particular demographic. (Who gives a * who they'r trying to sell them to, right?). I know guys who eat them. It is not like they inject estrogen into them or anything... they just have roughly half the calories. They are made by the same guy/company, so I am sure they're pretty tastey.