Junk Food Nation, I believe I mentioned this before, but it warrants mentioning again. Today on the Metro subway here in DC I encountered another guy determined to be a Metro surfer!  A Metro surfer, for the uninitiated, is a guy who refuses to hang onto any poles during the subway ride, so that with each turn and bend of the high speed train, he leans and contorts his body every which way to maintain his balance. By the way,it’s rude as F*ck to do this because what ends up happening is that the dude bumps into everyone around him, aka uses them to help maintain his balance.

Such was the case this morning where a normal looking dude (although he was wearing cargo pants with a shirt tucked in, which is already suspicious in my eyes) was just happily Metro surfing in the middle of the train car right in front of the doorways.  The train would speed up and he’d lean one way. As the train would turn, he’d bend at the waist slightly to compensate. As the train would slow quickly into a stop, he’d bend the front leg and straighten the back leg like he was doing a forward lunge, bracing for the momentum.

Do you know how unnerving and annoying this is.  Meanwhile, all of us riders around this idiot have to watch this Neo from the Matrix impression the entire way, moving ourselves out of the way to avoid getting hit in the crotch by his protruding ass as he shimmies his way to his destination. If I ever see him again, maybe as we pull into a station and he’s doing a tai-chi move to maintain his balance, I’ll just shove him. “Hey buddy!  Knock it off with the Cirque de Soleil impression – stop dodging imaginary bullets and just grab a bar, please! You’re putting all of us on tilt. This is no time to do a core workout, Tony Horton.”

Today’s junk food: Limited Edition Mackie’s of Scotland Scotch Bonnet Chilli Pepper Potato Crisps!

Limited Edition Mackie's of Scotland Scotch Bonnet Chilli Pepper Potato Crisps: The Money Shot

I have reviewed Mackie’s of Scotland chips on this site before when I indulged in their Haggis Chips.  Yeeeeg.  Well, I’m back with these Limited Edition Mackie’s of Scotland Scotch Bonnet Chilli Pepper Potato Crisps. I picked these up in Ireland, and have been waiting to try them.

Like many of you, I watch all those food challenge shows on TV, so words like Capsaicin and Scoville Units are common in my vocab. And I know that Scotch Bonnets are hot. REALLY hot.

Limited Edition from the British Isles! WOOT!

I also needed to buy these Limited Edition Mackie’s of Scotland Scotch Bonnet Chilli Pepper Potato Crisps because they were a British Isles Limited Edition snack! I mean, eating Irish and English snacks was weird enough, but a limited edition snack over THERE!? It’s like finding the Holy Grail.

I like the design elements

Limited Edition Mackie’s of Scotland Scotch Bonnet Chilli Pepper Potato Crisps has a really cool bag, and I like how the words Potato Crisps are lit with flame.  The Mackie’s website notes that these chips won the Food & Drink Excellence Awards 2011;  Winner in Retail – Confectionery & Snacking,
Great Taste Awards 2011;  – 1 Gold Star Winner.

Not a bad start. Will these live up to the hype?

THAT's what a scotch bonnet is named after!?

Wait, they named a pepper after a hat?  A Tam O Shanter hat??? I mean, look at the pictures…it’s SORT of the same, but not really.

Scotch Bonnet curiously absent from the ingredients list

Limited Edition Mackie’s of Scotland Scotch Bonnet Chilli Pepper Potato Crisps has a lot of chili and spicy ingredients listed, but no scotch bonnets!  WTH, Mackie’s?  I feel like I’m being duped here…

Nutritional info I don't understand

Limited Edition Mackie’s of Scotland Scotch Bonnet Chilli Pepper Potato Crisps contains some amount of calories.  I love how Irish/British snacks calls it “energy,” which, in a scientific sense, calories are. Most people I know see calories and see them not as energy but as big butt Lego blocks.

Thicker cut and powdered well

When I opened and smelled this bag of Limited Edition Mackie’s of Scotland Scotch Bonnet Chilli Pepper Potato Crisps, I got a LOT of black pepper smell strangely.  A savory black pepper smell as well as a little bit of smokiness, almost like a meaty smell. Weird.

Spicy? Sort of.

I chomped on a big thumbfull of these Limited Edition Mackie’s of Scotland Scotch Bonnet Chilli Pepper Potato Crisps, AND…..I both Liked and Dislike these!  OH NO!

Here’s the thing: how do they taste? They taste good!  They have a savory taste that is a little smoky and well seasoned with onion powder, tomato powder and garlic, as well as aniseed.  The tomato powder gives it a LITTLE sweetness, similar to the sweetness you get from a pizza Pringle.

And was there spice? Yes, definitely.  Pretty spicy, the chili spice rippled through my entire tongue and left a nice kick to the tomato-ey sweetness.

So what’s the problem? They weren’t spicy ENOUGH, and after the whole scotch bonnet promotion of these being one of the hottest peppers in the world, I was expecting FIRE!  …and these just weren’t.  Would I eat these again? Sure, they were tasty…but they definitely didn’t live up to what I was thinking in my head. Honestly, Red Hot Chips from Utz are WAY hotter.  They have the most similar taste, but Utz kicks it up a notch.

My friend Sean warned me that what I thought was spicy would not come close in the British Isles.  Looks like he was right.

Thoughts? Hit me in the comments below or hit me on Twitter @junkfoodguy or on my Facebook Page.

Sincerely, Junk Food Guy