Bottom Line: The two flavors in Flamin’ Hot Cool Ranch Doritos compliment each other and deliver a snack with some heat.
Doritos is at it again, adding another twist on their Flamin’ Hot chips by pairing it up with Cool Ranch which is a flavor you can find by itself on the shelves. Those that have been following this blog know that I am no particular fan of the Flamin’ Hot flavor as I find it to be overly sour with not enough heat or taste to counterbalance the pucker (and adding Limon just makes it worse). I am also not too enamored with the Cool Ranch seasoning, though I at least find it edible. Surprisingly, though, when these two flavors are combined together, they actually work out quite well.
These chips immediately bring that tang and creaminess you get from Cool Ranch chips, as that is the dominant flavor, but it is quickly followed by the heat from the Flamin’ Hot seasoning. They is neither too sour nor too tangy as the flavor combinations end up complementing each other. Note that some chips have more of the Cool Ranch seasoning whereas others favor the Flamin’ Hot, so if you eat these one at a time, you will notice some variance.
Heat-wise, I would put these at about the Medium level. You get an immediate kick of spice when you bite into the chips, but the Cool Ranch seasoning tapers that off pretty quickly. They do build up heat as you gobble down more from the bag, but never to the point that it sets off an inferno. Still, the average mortal might find these on the hotter side. But if you like the Flamin’ hot flavors (which I count as slightly above Medium heat), you should have no trouble with them.
Taco Bell has immediately added this flavor to its Doritos Locos line, obviously as an effort in cross-promotion. The flavor works quite well in that taco, and you can read my review of that here. I would be perfectly happy if Doritos kept the Flamin’ Hot Cool Ranch as a regular chip on the shelves, but they tend to cycle through these (while unfortunately keeping the ersatz Flamin’ Hot as a fixture). If this is limited-time-only, then how about bringing back the Diablo Doritos in the next cycle? Those were some chips that delivered the heat!
Tale of the Tape:
Ingredients: Corn, Vegetable Oil (Corn, Canola, And/Or Sunflower Oil), Salt, Maltodextrin (Made From Corn), Onion Powder, Cheddar Cheese (Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes), Tomato Powder, Garlic Powder, Sour Cream (Cultured Cream, Skim Milk), Sugar, Monosodium Glutamate, Corn Starch, Skim Milk, Whey, Dextrose, Artificial Color (Red 40 Lake, Yellow 6 Lake, Yellow 6, Yellow 5, Blue 1, Red 40), Malic Acid, Medium Chain Triglycerides, Buttermilk, Lactose, Romano Cheese (Cow’s Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes), Whey Protein Concentrate, Spices, Natural And Artificial Flavors, Sodium Acetate, Disodium Inosinate, And Disodium Guanylate.
Serving Size: 28g (About 12 Chips)
Calories: 150
Fat: 8g (1g Sat/0g Trans)
Protein: 2g
Carbs: 18g
Sodium: 190mg