Last Call: What Are The Best Kit Kat And Oreo Flavors?

During my quest last weekend to hunt down the elusive Mint Chocolate Twinkies, I stumbled across a new special Oreo flavor for the holidays: Peppermint Bark. It was a revelation. The little bits of peppermint bark in the filling made the whole thing taste like mint, and for once the whole cookie was better all together instead of deconstructed. It was also better than the Mystery Oreo (which I am now willing to concede, based on the clues on the website, is churro, although I still think it tastes more like graham cracker). The other day, though, I met up with a friend who told me that in her coworking space, they have a drawer full of every flavor of Oreo. As Jonathan Van Ness from Queer Eye says, "Can you believe?"

Also last week I finally tried the salted lemon Kit Kat that has been sitting on my desk for a month or so now. I'd heard it was one of the more popular flavors in Japan, but I was waiting for a special occasion to try it. Halloween seemed as good a time as any. It was light and lemony and tasted a lot like a wafer cookie until the salt flavor came in at the end. It was unusual, but not bad. At least it had a distinct flavor, which is more than I can say for the cinnamon Kit Kat. My colleague Marnie Shure brought in a bag, and we tasted them with a regular Kit Kat for comparison and truly, there was no difference in taste, only in smell. (Although smell can be very suggestive.) I'm still holding out for the Mint and Dark Chocolate Kit Kat Duo, which I tried at the Sweets and Snacks Expo last spring and was amazing. It's something to look forward to in December, along with the Cosmic Crisp apple.

Based on this evidence, I maintain that Kit Kat and Oreo are the only brands that should be allowed to do special flavors because they are the only ones who do them well.