Trader Joe's Ruggedly Adventuresome Cowboy Bark

The pros: Trader Joe's Ruggedly Adventuresome Cowboy Bark is uniquely named and very rich.

The cons:  This product isn't really bark and it isn't appropriate for cowboys. Maybe if this were chocolate covered jerky the name would be more fitting.

The verdict:  Welcome to the product that has the most interesting name in all of Trader Joe's. It is named in a way that it should be featured in a Dos Equis beer commercial with the “most interesting man in the world” from those commercials.

Those two belong together because they do the impossible. So let’s take the name of this product apart in the most interesting way possible.

Is this product rugged?  No. Not at all. Nothing about chocolate is remotely rugged. It’s thick and can be used as a door stop. But that is about as rugged as this product gets.

Is this product adventuresome?  No. Unless you consider that this product pretty much empties out a snack closet with a touch of salt.

Is this made for cowboys? No. I can’t imagine any of them keeping this around for a snack. Chocolate melts.

Is this bark?  No. This is far too thick to count as bark. Unless you think that chocolate bark should be the thickness of a thousand year old redwood tree. A good bark should should not be paper thin, but thin enough to get the mouthfeel of chocolate while holding up at least some toppings. This had enough structural support to be considered chocolate Lincoln Logs.

And yes, you could build a chocolate fort with these. Not only do you have dark chocolate you have Joe Joe cookies for additional support. If that wasn't enough the pretzels are like steel reinforcements. Almonds, peanuts, and toffee round out the flavors here, but they get lost in all of the supportive other items.

What you are left with is a bite that will remind you more of being Macho Man Randy Savage biting into a Slim Jim. It's not dainty, but that is the limit of the ruggedness here. Sadly, this is dark chocolate, but just average dark chocolate that gets lost in all the other elements. Bummer.

For $3.69 there are so many other great choices in the chocolate section. I just don't think this is the top choice or one that I would ever reach for again. While it has the most interesting name at Trader Joe's, it does not live up to the most interesting product at Trader Joe's.

Here is the visual run down of what you get if you buy this product:

The bag of Trader Joe's Ruggedly Adventuresome Cowboy Bark:

The nutritional information:

The ingredients:

How Trader Joe's describes this product:

Out of the package you get:

Would I buy this again? No, I would not buy Trader Joe's Ruggedly Adventuresome Cowboy Bark again. It wasn't quite bark and it was too sweet for my liking.

Want to see more items I've reviewed from Trader Joe's? Click on Thoughts & Reviews of Trader Joe’s for a searchable list.

Did you try it? Let me know what you think in the comments section!

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