There’s a line between adventurous and absurd, and I’m not sure which side these crisps fall on.
Roast duck with spiced rum. It sounds like something dreamed up during a boozy product development meeting, and honestly, it tastes like it too. There’s a lot happening here. Meaty, fruity, sweet, savoury, with a strange boozy aftertaste that confuses more than delights.
The duck component
The duck flavouring is actually decent. There’s a gamey richness that distinguishes it from chicken or turkey crisps. A slight fattiness to the taste that feels authentically ducky. If they’d stopped there, these would be solid.
The rum problem
They didn’t stop there. The spiced rum element adds sweetness and a warming spice that fights with the savoury duck flavouring. It’s like two crisps arguing in your mouth, neither willing to back down.
Some bites work. Some bites are baffling.
The verdict
I admire the ambition. Aldi’s Specially Selected range clearly has a brief to be bold, and these are certainly bold. But boldness alone doesn’t make a great crisp.
Interesting more than enjoyable.
