Kotas Reviews Pumpkin Spice Twinkies

So it has come to this. I knew this day would come, I just didn't expect it to be this soon. Hostess has joined Nabisco in evolving the flavor of its signature product to try and catch the spark of the viral flavor sensation in hopes of garnering ever more market share. An empty pursuit? Perhaps in the long term, but in the real of the now, it can only lead to glory...or infamy. Let's turn to today's subject: The Pumpkin Spice Twinkie.

My name is Ozymandias, king of kings....

Everyone's getting into the limited edition flavor train, and let's hope it hasn't already gone off the rails. Did anyone anywhere ask for this, outside of an executive board room? I can picture it now "Uh, sir, what new flavor do you think we should invest in for the fall? Apple perhaps? Oh, maybe revamp the Halloween Twinkie from last..." "Naw, I gots it! Pumpkin Spice is the hot new flavor, right?" "Uh, maybe from 3 years ago." "Right! Perfect. Ship it." "But.." "SHIP IT." I will say the box art is pretty much spot on. The product is front and center, surrounded with images of what the product should taste like. Or at least, remind us of other, less artificial tastes, right? I pity the poor flavor engineers that were tasked with this one, but hey, let's see how they did.

Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!'

Well, they are Twinkies all right. No real changes to the sponge cake in this one, so the glory is all in the filling. The filling itself is pretty much "dirty fluff" in appearance, with a very strong "spice" component to the scent. There is a lot of cinnamon to be found, but hints at nutmeg and clove. Very, very little pumpkin though. The flavor is pretty much the same. Very heavy on the spice, not so much on the pumpkin but it is there, if only just. The sponge cake does not pair particularly well with this, but it also does not detract. It's not bad, though I doubt I would seek it out again. All in all, a fairly pedestrian cash in on a flavor trend that was on its way out anyway. I kind of expected to either love or hate these, but it gets a resounding "meh".

On the FACE Rating System, this gets 0 Faces. Nothing special, but I wouldn't turn it down if offered. If you like Twinkies, you will most likely enjoy trying them, but if you hate cinnamon stay the hell away from these. Good try, Hostess, but c'mon. You can do better.