Favorite Day Caramel Apple Bourbon Trail Mix

Apple harvest is right now. I know because there are a couple apple trees across the street and their fruit is falling on the sidewalk and passersby often pluck a ripe specimen from the branches. So...it's definitely apple season. Is it bourbon season? I don't know. Is bourbon ever out of season?

Perhaps. What I can tell you for sure is that this trail mix absolutely bursts with the smell of bourbon from the moment you open the bag. Like...maybe don't even eat this at work because your cubicle buddies will think you're hitting the sauce on the job. Caramel and apple? Yeah, they're there. But bourbon is the dominant scent and flavor here.

The pretzel balls are pretty much just pretzel flavored. Little crunchy, salty round pretzels. Meh.

Honey bourbon cranberries. These little guys are a tad on the leathery side. I've had plenty of dried cranberries aka craisins aka Ocean Spray® Craisins® to know these are not the best in taste or texture. They don't taste like honey at all. They taste like salt and liquid smoke.

The salted caramel cashews are good. And there were about five of them in my bag. Total. Five or six in the whole bag. Not exaggerating. Okay maybe I'm exaggerating. But not that much. You'll easily go through half a dozen handfuls of the mixture without a single cashew. Boo.

Dried sweetened apples. There aren't enough of these, either. You'd think there would be plenty of apple pieces since they're kinda the centerpiece of the mix. There are way more smoky cranberries than apple bits. I do like them, though. They actually taste like apple.

Honey bourbon-seasoned almonds. These actually taste like honey bourbon and there's definitely more of them than the cashews, but they're not nearly as plentiful as the pretzel balls or craisins.

All together, the mix is unique and fun. It doesn't taste bad, but it's nowhere close to the best trail mix at Target. It's not even close to the best fall trail mix. I wouldn't buy it again, but I'm glad I tried it. $4.49 for the bag.

I give this trail mix 6 out of 10 stars.

Favorite Day Scarecrow Crunch

No squash. No pumpkin. No apple. No maple. Not even nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, and clove. Nothing fall-ish about this product but the name. I mean, I guess the colors are there. Orange, yellow, and brown are vaguely autumnal.

Nevertheless, it's a tasty indulgent mix. Quite a few of the ingredients are the usual suspects as far as Target trail mixes are concerned, although there's a surprise or two as well. Let's break things down.

Peanuts. Good-quality whole peanuts and in some cases, halves. Can't go wrong. The quantity of them in the mix is just about right by my estimation.

Peanut butter candies. AKA generic Reese's Pieces. I've always liked Reese's and these store-brand gems are a pretty tasty knock-off. No complaints here.

Milk chocolate-covered cereal squares. You know, like from "puppy chow"? Except there are so many PB ingredients in the bag that these might as well be covered in peanut butter too. They taste like chocolate peanut butter puppy chow. Pretty good.

White chocolate oat cereal. So basically...generic Cheerios with orange-colored white chocolate on them. I'm a fan of white chocolate, and I'm a fan of Cheerios, but these don't really do much for me. Meh.

Milk chocolate marshmallow bits. Alongside all the peanut butter, these little do-dads bring something fluffernutteresque to the equation. Despite my fondness for fluffernutter sandwiches, I don't think these were necessary in this Scarecrow Crunch bag.

All things considered, I'm glad I tried it, but I doubt I'd purchase it regularly. If you want sugar shock after taking a hike, then this is the trail mix to reach for. At least there's peanuts and peanut butter in there, so you'll get a bit of protein. The ingredients list reads like a novel...a very long, very boring novel. Also there should be at least one real fall/autumn ingredient.

I give this trail mix 7 out of 10 stars.