Kotas Reviews Gingerbread Oreos

I think we have reached Peak Flavor Differentiation. Almost anything and everything imaginable is being flavored like something else. Reuben flavored potato chips. Sriracha Mango Yogurt. The Twizzlers that Should Not Be. And still, more and more flavors are being produced, but they seem...I don't know, lackluster? Anyway, let's look at some holiday Oreos from last year.

Oh boy. LIGHT BROWN. How appealing.

Oreos, I wish I could quit you, but I can't. I don't know why I keep coming back to you, but hey, there it is. This was the last of their holiday efforts for 2015, and well, gingerbread is not exactly the flavor I would have chosen for an Oreo. Most gingerbread has nothing resembling creme filling, and besides we already have a perfectly fine ginger flavored cookie in the ever present snap. Still, gingerbread men are a traditional holiday treat (and occasional breakout movie sidekick), so hey, why NOT gingerbread? The packaging is cheerful, at least. Let's crack this sucker open, even though it continues the current Oreo trend of not having the "easy open" panel that their regular line of cookies has. WHY DO YOU FORSAKE US NABISCO?

Well, we have tan and light brown. Such variation!

Well, the smell is certainly ginger-ish, though much closer to a gingersnap than gingerbread. There is a chemical sharpness to the scent that is slightly off putting. The look is...well, brown. It's just not very appetizing because the brown isn't the warm comforting brown of fresh gingerbread, but the sickly, inconsistently colored brown of dried tree sap. The vanilla cookie is fine, but also an odd choice. I guess because vanilla icing is often used on gingerbread? Am I just a gingerbread purist in that I like it without icing? Does anyone care? 

The flavor is once again much, MUCH closer to a ginger snap than gingerbread, only without the zing of a good ginger snap. This is more like...cheap off brand gingersnap flavored frosting. The cookie helps dull the "fake flavorness" of the creme, but it doesn't really improve the flavor otherwise, nor does it accent or compliment the flavor. It is just there. Did you guys let the intern design this cookie? I mean, it seems like a sort of slap dash cookie. "Hey, this is more like a ginger snap than gingerbread...and why vanilla cookie anyway?" "Close enough and custom cookies are expensive. SHIP IT."

On the FACE Rating System, this gets 0 faces. This is a rather pedestrian effort than in almost all ways misses its mark, but not by a huge margin. They aren't terrible, but there is really no reason to get these unless you are a flavor completionist (SHUT UP IT IS A REAL THING) and simply MUST try them. If you have a hankering for a ginger cookie, either go make real gingerbread cookies, or have a ginger snap.