Top Four

◼   ► hi everybody welcome to a new episode of

◼   ► top 4 this is our special Valentine's

◼   ► Day love episode anyway so um I thought

◼   ► we should go back to eating things

◼   ► because why not I mean we we are pretty

◼   ► good at it I mean yeah we are all right

◼   ► and nothing says Valentine's Day more

◼   ► than cheesy heart-shaped boxes of

◼   ► chocolates so my idea originally was to

◼   ► go pick up one of the you know Russell

◼   ► Stover is whatever brand you know the

◼   ► big heart-shaped box and we sampled the

◼   ► different flavors and rank the flavors

◼   ► that are inside the box well when we

◼   ► went to the grocery store today we saw

◼   ► that there were many types of boxes and

◼   ► Marco thought you know what

◼   ► we should buy all of them of course so

◼   ► yeah as usual we have in our head to to

◼   ► rank some kind of food thing we arrive

◼   ► we arrive at the food location and

◼   ► realize there are way too many choices

◼   ► and rather than cut back the ambition of

◼   ► what we were doing we just bought all of

◼   ► them you know and we're working through

◼   ► these you know individual chocolates

◼   ► themselves you know that everyone's

◼   ► preferences vary and everything I think

◼   ► it will be more productive instead of

◼   ► trying to rank the individual flavors of

◼   ► the chocolates to rank of the boxes

◼   ► themselves like which brand box of

◼   ► chocolates should you get is it the

◼   ► Russell Stover's is it the Dove is it

◼   ► the other one like you know that we have

◼   ► all these all these different brands and

◼   ► different tiers within the brands like

◼   ► Russell Stover's makes like nine

◼   ► different options yeah but I'm pretty

◼   ► sure inside it's all the same but

◼   ► basically if you haven't seen these

◼   ► heart-shaped boxes it's pretty much the

◼   ► heart-shaped box that a you know

◼   ► thirteen year old would give to the

◼   ► lover of their choice in school so yeah

◼   ► have you ever actually gotten one of

◼   ► these as a gift do men receive them

◼   ► usually I not I don't know I've never

◼   ► far as I know I've never gotten one as a

◼   ► gift I've given one or two I think to

◼   ► like high school girlfriends because

◼   ► they're super cheesy like okay so we got

◼   ► two different ruffle Russell Stover's

◼   ► boxes one is um wrapped in this red

◼   ► cellophane it's the same like like if

◼   ► you buy a Christmas cactus

◼   ► like the the pot is wrapped in that yeah

◼   ► yeah yeah yeah like a poinsettia yeah

◼   ► yeah and then we also got the Russell

◼   ► Stover's elegant collection and that's

◼   ► in kind of a red velvet box there was

◼   ► also the same collection you could have

◼   ► the lace black lace variety so I guess

◼   ► depending on what you want to say and

◼   ► was that one that came with the American

◼   ► flag and military camo oh no that was

◼   ► another Russell Stover his one yes there

◼   ► was an American flag and camouflage were

◼   ► a military like the digital America yeah

◼   ► so you know if your lover is into that

◼   ► then that's the box you get we also have

◼   ► a dove which is in kind of a nice tin in

◼   ► it's an unconventional heart shape it's

◼   ► kind of like a sushi heart like a it's

◼   ► like if you it's like the italics

◼   ► version of a heart it's like if you blew

◼   ► a bubble of the heart or if the heart

◼   ► was melting slightly yeah or a melted

◼   ► heart okay melting or italics or a

◼   ► bubble heart then we also have a much

◼   ► more any kind of pink and red striped

◼   ► standard heart box with a gold bow and

◼   ► that's by Hershey's it's called pot of

◼   ► gold and then the piece de resistance

◼   ► which looks like an old lady's sofa

◼   ► living room cushion more than the

◼   ► Russell Stover premium velvet one yeah

◼   ► because this has like the satin bow with

◼   ► the with the roses that are all curled

◼   ► up the ribbon roses on the front and

◼   ► it's all padded so it's really funny

◼   ► it's the white man sampler that's

◼   ► pronounced I believe so I think it's

◼   ► missing an e oh yes I'm sorry the

◼   ► Whitman's Wow all right so cheesy it's

◼   ► the one yeah I mean I got to say like

◼   ► there Russell Stover velvet one though I

◼   ► mean that's that's really something like

◼   ► I was like I was like heading it in this

◼   ► store like we should get this I reached

◼   ► over to get it that's why we got it so

◼   ► you could pet it this is kind of a night

◼   ► spot it feels really good yeah I think

◼   ► collection if I was to receive one of

◼   ► these I would probably want to receive

◼   ► that one from their Private Reserve of

◼   ► chocolates actually has it says a

◼   ► decadent nineteen piece Private Reserve

◼   ► chocolate assortment now

◼   ► what is that what does Private Reserve

◼   ► really mean for Russell Stover's Brando

◼   ► maybe they used a little bit extra cocoa

◼   ► in some of them because all right

◼   ► everybody make their Private Reserve

◼   ► until they ship out of the factory I

◼   ► don't know what's the regular Wednesday

◼   ► he doesn't say Private Reserve

◼   ► it just says fine chocolates handcrafted

◼   ► in small batches but they both were

◼   ► there both handcrafted in small batches

◼   ► I especially love that there's so much

◼   ► small batches there's so much of this

◼   ► chocolate there's no way this is a small

◼   ► badge yeah I think maybe small is a

◼   ► relative term relative to the entire

◼   ► output of the Hershey's corporation like

◼   ► maybe I don't know that our Russell

◼   ► Stover is part of Hershey's I don't know

◼   ► just guessing but yeah cuz they have a

◼   ► different box this one's made in America

◼   ► that's why it had the American flag oh

◼   ► one of the problems with the Russell

◼   ► Stover is that the one with the red

◼   ► poinsettia wrapping around it is that

◼   ► you can't see the labeling on the back

◼   ► so you can't see like ingredient lists

◼   ► or like anything about it yeah there's

◼   ► nothing the red film around it is so

◼   ► tall just has a big sticker that says

◼   ► assorted well that's okay isn't alright

◼   ► I'm gonna open this up alright so we're

◼   ► starting out with the Russell Stover's

◼   ► yeah this is like oh the box is even

◼   ► better okay so after you remove the

◼   ► layer of fresh red red colored trash

◼   ► then you kind of have like a shiny what

◼   ► would you call this it's like a no like

◼   ► glossy cardboard right yeah yeah like

◼   ► kind of metallic looking board with an

◼   ► embossed rose on it so there we go oh

◼   ► wow

◼   ► okay I gotta say it looks really nice

◼   ► when you open it up like the

◼   ► presentation of all those chocolates is

◼   ► really nice as Mel's good it smells like

◼   ► a valentine's job it does it smells like

◼   ► found hoods do we have any kind of key

◼   ► oh we do oh thank god

◼   ► okay they have some sort of key here so

◼   ► we have all kinds of different things

◼   ► like peanut butter crunch maple nut

◼   ► maple

◼   ► okay there's lots of maple nut butter

◼   ► coconut cream orange cream yeah it just

◼   ► kind of repeats so we can shout out to

◼   ► any chocolate maker that gives you a map

◼   ► or a key of what's what so you don't

◼   ► have to use guess based on how they look

◼   ► that is a huge wonderful feature

◼   ► advancement that as far as I know when

◼   ► we were younger didn't seem to be done

◼   ► really and now

◼   ► seems a lot more common and anybody who

◼   ► does that gets extra points in my book

◼   ► because as somebody who occasionally

◼   ► likes to eat such things I always like

◼   ► to know what I'm getting beforehand cuz

◼   ► like I'm you know I'm an adult I'm not

◼   ► gonna have a million chocolates unless

◼   ► I'm doing a podcast about eating

◼   ► chocolates and you know in other cases

◼   ► like I only want to have like one or two

◼   ► and so I want those to be really good

◼   ► flavors that I actually really enjoy if

◼   ► I'm only gonna have one or two I don't

◼   ► want one of them to be like coconut or

◼   ► one of those like big gross cherry

◼   ► liquid bomb hey now I love both of those

◼   ► things okay

◼   ► things differently but we're not ranking

◼   ► the chocolates we're putting these boxes

◼   ► against each other yes okay so let me

◼   ► can I see the map or the flavor key

◼   ► whatever it is what's Roman nougat I

◼   ► don't know I know what nougat is I know

◼   ► what Rome is I don't know what Roman

◼   ► nougat is anyway I'm gonna go for the

◼   ► maple nut butter alright first

◼   ► appearance it is defective oh wait

◼   ► there's maple nut butter and there's

◼   ► also maple in a cream which one do you

◼   ► want

◼   ► Oh creme maple nut cream is the one in

◼   ► the very center right about 12 o'clock

◼   ► they look the same

◼   ► the maple nut butter one is defective

◼   ► and oozing out well that's pretty big

◼   ► strike again for us to like what does it

◼   ► say about your relationship or your

◼   ► intense with somebody if you give them a

◼   ► box of defective Valentine's chocolates

◼   ► I mean it's not really your fault

◼   ► it's it's not your fault if it's

◼   ► defective but I guess is it then you

◼   ► sprung for like the cheap one no fault

◼   ► but it is your problem

◼   ► is your problem Russell Stover did had

◼   ► the biggest box available that's true

◼   ► yeah we didn't get the app we got the

◼   ► second biggest box we got the one that

◼   ► was like fifteen dollars instead of 20

◼   ► all right the maple one doesn't taste

◼   ► very good alright I will try I love

◼   ► peanut butter but I don't know how

◼   ► common that's going to be maybe I'll try

◼   ► out the vanilla cream that's that's nice

◼   ► and basic yeah I'd try that this is

◼   ► impressively mediocre like it's just

◼   ► like cheap basic after eating one of

◼   ► these I would never in a million years

◼   ► think I would like another one of those

◼   ► okay I've gone I've gone ahead I have

◼   ► taken bites have a lot of these

◼   ► chocolates already haha just kind of

◼   ► plowed through I'm gonna go for a peanut

◼   ► butter crunch because in general the

◼   ► fillings don't seem to matter much I

◼   ► mean it changes the taste slightly but

◼   ► it's not extremely great chocolate

◼   ► but I'm curious I think we should put

◼   ► this directly against their private

◼   ► reserve I agree yeah this yeah the the

◼   ► regular Russell Stover I give it a

◼   ► thumbs down really it's really like just

◼   ► like cheap bland yeah it's very romantic

◼   ► to open no I could I could take off the

◼   ► velvet box also has a key it's covered

◼   ► in chocolate for freshness okay the

◼   ► little um the chocolate paper guard this

◼   ► one is dark brown with gold writing Yeti

◼   ► so the the interior like plastic like

◼   ► kind of rack that holds them all in is

◼   ► shinier and that there are there are

◼   ► fewer larger chocolate pieces in this

◼   ► one and they are much more fancily

◼   ► finished with different like colors and

◼   ► like icing squiggles on the outside and

◼   ► so yeah it's definitely it's visually a

◼   ► noticeable step up I would say generally

◼   ► you know assuming that these turns to be

◼   ► better if you're giving a gift for

◼   ► somebody like this I think a a smaller

◼   ► box of better chocolates it's probably a

◼   ► better option

◼   ► oh absolutely big box of the cheap ones

◼   ► alright let's see if we have any common

◼   ► flavors oh no we have like Oh some of

◼   ► the I don't I don't even know these

◼   ► words I think they were French they're

◼   ► in French to be fancy oh really

◼   ► I don't know do we get like the wrong

◼   ► sheet the wrong key does a key count for

◼   ► bonus points if you can't okay

◼   ► so there I think they gave them all like

◼   ► weird names so that they sound fancier

◼   ► okay so the signature almond cream

◼   ► all right that's that's Collazo

◼   ► raspberry cordial the monogram almond

◼   ► mousse comp Anjali

◼   ► that's all you I know when I speak

◼   ► French I don't even know what that

◼   ► saying alright which one is the Sigma

◼   ► cream creston refined hazelnut praline

◼   ► ooh I do like the Monaco raspberry

◼   ► caramel look at these names I want to

◼   ► try the the almond one signature almond

◼   ► cream right there in the middle did you

◼   ► seriously get yourself water and not me

◼   ► you one way street in the water oh I

◼   ► think I might as well make carried in

◼   ► the water this is our romantic episode

◼   ► and you don't even get me water let me

◼   ► try this than I'll get Susan this is the

◼   ► signature almond cream from the Russell

◼   ► Stover elegant collection Private

◼   ► Reserve

◼   ► there's curdled what happened in here

◼   ► yes it isn't a smooth cream it's it's

◼   ► very like grainy

◼   ► I wouldn't say kernel I just say badly

◼   ► made the chocolate is a little bit

◼   ► better it's better than the base Russell

◼   ► Stover thank for sure okay this one's a

◼   ► grainy - this is the mocha cream let's

◼   ► see say that word say the word above

◼   ► mocha cream I think it's Amalfi I'm

◼   ► trying the hazelnut praline which is in

◼   ► the shape of a giant hazelnut kind of

◼   ► nice okay so the flavors are a lot more

◼   ► nuanced than the standard Russell Stover

◼   ► chocolates a little bit better so that

◼   ► is legit

◼   ► but in general it's still not really

◼   ► really great chocolate I've had much

◼   ► better chocolate yeah I really enjoy the

◼   ► flavors in this one but the like they're

◼   ► very they're pretty heavy-handed on the

◼   ► flavors like they kind of hit you over

◼   ► the head like the hazelnut one tastes a

◼   ► lot like artificial hazelnut flavoring

◼   ► and not a lot like actual like good

◼   ► refined hazelnut flavor

◼   ► these are definitely better than the

◼   ► base Russell Stover and I would way

◼   ► rather have this box then than the basic

◼   ► roasted over box for sure but yeah I'm

◼   ► not sure this earns its Private Reserve

◼   ► designation and velvet box

◼   ► I think the velvety box cover is nicer

◼   ► than I just tried the coconut cream it

◼   ► was really good on the chart which one

◼   ► is that oh I'd really like some of that

◼   ► water looks really good you're drinking

◼   ► it over there how about you get someone

◼   ► to the sponsor read okay all right we

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◼   ► chocolates where's this coconut cream

◼   ► one and it from the Private Reserve one

◼   ► further and there's a lemon - I ate half

◼   ► of it this is labelled the Kon lemon

◼   ► souffle all right I'm gonna preemptively

◼   ► say I think this box might be the best

◼   ► out of all the boxes I don't have high

◼   ► hopes for the others the lemon and

◼   ► coconut that I just tried they're both

◼   ► good they're not great they're good I

◼   ► they're both again very very like heavy

◼   ► hand like hit you in the face flavors

◼   ► like the lemon cream was very very

◼   ► strong and very very sweet the coconut

◼   ► was like really like intense and the

◼   ► flavoring so if you like very intense

◼   ► like fillings and creams this is a

◼   ► decent pick so far this at least feels

◼   ► like you're eating something special ish

◼   ► yeah yeah like the basic four also

◼   ► Stauber box it just tastes like gift

◼   ► basket chocolate that's been like

◼   ► sitting in a gift basket warehouse for

◼   ► six years and it looks like gift basket

◼   ► chocolate there's nothing it's all just

◼   ► so monotone I mean they have a dark and

◼   ► a light chocolate and the original

◼   ► Russell Stover's ones but it's not

◼   ► anything special the shapes are kind of

◼   ► like mmm yeah kind of like poured a

◼   ► little sloppily the Private Reserve ones

◼   ► appear to have come out of a mold or

◼   ► they've been dipped in a special way so

◼   ► they're a little bit smoother yeah they

◼   ► still seem mass manufactured there's

◼   ► some white chocolate involved in them so

◼   ► that's nice yeah

◼   ► yeah like they're there it is a

◼   ► noticeable step up and I think it was

◼   ► like five dollars more it was not a big

◼   ► price difference so I would say no

◼   ► question go for those even the plastic

◼   ► that's in between them is a little nicer

◼   ► exactly all right what's our next box

◼   ► we have the Hershey's pot of gold but

◼   ► it's not a pot it's shaped like a heart

◼   ► box it's a heart of gold why do why

◼   ► wouldn't they say heart of gold missed

◼   ► opportunity totally missed opportunities

◼   ► wrong with them

◼   ► I think they're just trying to double up

◼   ► on their marketing for st. Patty's Day

◼   ► and Valentine's Day big ears like didn't

◼   ► want to change the template when they

◼   ► yeah they got the labels printed they

◼   ► just put the card on here let's change

◼   ► the color okay now this one has the key

◼   ► printed on the underside of the box it

◼   ► doesn't have a special little paper like

◼   ► the Russell Stover's did well I see I

◼   ► respect that move because then you can't

◼   ► lose the key oh that is a good point you

◼   ► know it's like if you still have the box

◼   ► which you almost certainly will cuz

◼   ► that's how these are eaten then you have

◼   ► the key yes that's nice after taking off

◼   ► the layer of garbage yes I mean that

◼   ► really the first rows disturber with

◼   ► with the point set of wrapping that was

◼   ► like clearly wrapping garber you throw

◼   ► these are just like you know excusable

◼   ► amounts of plastic wrap okay so these

◼   ► are a lot fancier these are definitely

◼   ► poured molded chocolates they have some

◼   ► striations of different colors they have

◼   ► colors of the chocolate they have some

◼   ► swirl patterns that are nice that

◼   ► definitely look like they came out of a

◼   ► mold they're much prettier and the

◼   ► plastic around them although thin is

◼   ► also styled nicely the only thing that I

◼   ► would that I would call them out for is

◼   ► that they are very monochromatic

◼   ► compared to the private the private

◼   ► reserved ones there's enough use of

◼   ► white chocolate here and there but

◼   ► either as like a zigzag icing or as the

◼   ► base layer for some of them that you get

◼   ► a nice like you know mostly brown with

◼   ► like spots of white and stripes look

◼   ► from the Private Reserve whereas this

◼   ► one it's just all brown so it's like I

◼   ► could use a little a little bit more

◼   ► visual variety on this one although I

◼   ► suppose Hershey's is known for their

◼   ► brown chocolates because it can't be

◼   ► that's a price but still a little bit of

◼   ► white chocolate even like some white

◼   ► chocolate drizzle just makes the

◼   ► chocolate look a little bit more special

◼   ► this is Valentine's Day after all yeah

◼   ► all right so let's see the key what what

◼   ► kind of flavors do we have like kind of

◼   ► like a fancy name for usual stuff for

◼   ► dark chocolate truffle almond cream milk

◼   ► chocolate truffle let me see the almond

◼   ► cream where's Carmen oh there's a pecan

◼   ► caramel cluster so like a turtle I guess

◼   ► but yeah there's not a lot of variety in

◼   ► here it repeats a lot

◼   ► the Russell Stover has more variety in

◼   ► both the Private Reserve and

◼   ► regular box but this her she's one does

◼   ► not have tons of variety going for the

◼   ► caramel and almonds option Hershey's

◼   ► chocolate tastes like nothing to me

◼   ► it always does the caramel and almonds

◼   ► option literally looks like a Snickers

◼   ► bar is the vanilla caramel just tastes

◼   ► like caramel here I tried the almond

◼   ► creamy but it didn't maybe that's better

◼   ► yeah the chocolate the Hershey's

◼   ► chocolate is just like it's just like

◼   ► hard crunchy nothing like there's no

◼   ► there's no depth of flavor there's no

◼   ► flavor to it whatsoever it's literally

◼   ► like eating I don't even know it's just

◼   ► it's holding together the filling

◼   ► there's nothing going on outside it

◼   ► doesn't add to it at all

◼   ► well that tastes like nothing yeah the

◼   ► almond cream is all is similarly like

◼   ► you don't say the cream tastes like

◼   ► nothing it's very it's very like hard it

◼   ► almost looks like styrofoam when you

◼   ► bite into it like there's no flowing of

◼   ► the cream it's like it just like a very

◼   ► like dry dense like you know you bite

◼   ► through it and it you get a perfect

◼   ► slice right there yeah I rather have the

◼   ► over flavored almond cream

◼   ► yeah and that whatever that was I feel a

◼   ► the Hershey's she's like I feel like I'm

◼   ► not eating much of anything yeah doesn't

◼   ► feel like a thumbs down for the hers it

◼   ► doesn't feel worth it yeah it's I would

◼   ► say the Hershey's it might I would we'll

◼   ► see we'll see how he into breaking them

◼   ► I think I might rank it slightly above

◼   ► the base line Russell Stover's but it's

◼   ► certainly in the ballpark of the same

◼   ► thing and so much of it is caramels like

◼   ► it's just caramels over and over yeah

◼   ► thumbs down this is supposed to be their

◼   ► variety box no you know they're their

◼   ► box with their box was pretty on the

◼   ► outside much more modern and the visuals

◼   ► of the chocolate are better than the

◼   ► original Russell Stover's but man they

◼   ► fail on taste agreed alright next I'm

◼   ► gonna open up the dev this is like a

◼   ► hard hard tin situation remove the layer

◼   ► of garbage and bow now this one also

◼   ► doesn't advertise much variety ah

◼   ► oh man the ribbons not even all the way

◼   ► around it's like fake glued to the cover

◼   ► that's hilarious day they couldn't maybe

◼   ► the rest of the ribbon that goes around

◼   ► the back of the lid Wow

◼   ► alright this essentially has creamy

◼   ► caramel caramels dark chocolate peanut

◼   ► butter truffle hearts and dark chocolate

◼   ► truffle hearts that's it

◼   ► it's only those like so at least of

◼   ► those four flavors in the tag it's only

◼   ► those though yeah but it says assorted

◼   ► chocolate so it only has three varieties

◼   ► of a sordidness yeah there's the tin

◼   ► situation I guess you could reuse that

◼   ► if you're a weirdo I think the the

◼   ► minimum number of distinct flavors for

◼   ► it to qualify as assorted should

◼   ► probably be something like six or eight

◼   ► yeah I don't think for qualified so we

◼   ► got stuff branding all over it it is

◼   ► nice that the tag has a two from on the

◼   ► other side so you can make this really

◼   ► gift tastic very minimal effort should

◼   ► when you are sieving one of these should

◼   ► should you need to label it or should it

◼   ► be obvious to the recipient who its

◼   ► affirming isn't it kind of a problem if

◼   ► they don't if they can't remember or

◼   ► don't know there appears to be no guide

◼   ► as to what these are is it just like the

◼   ► tag that has the guide oh yeah actually

◼   ► it is the tag that has the guide the

◼   ► plastic that they're all sitting in is

◼   ► clear so that's kind of nice and then

◼   ► you win

◼   ► this is a little cheesy you lift up the

◼   ► chocolate and underneath there's a nice

◼   ► little saying laughs often dove live

◼   ► passionately dove just seemed create

◼   ► passion dove we all love the small

◼   ► things dove a look a smile a touch it's

◼   ► just the same company as the soap or is

◼   ► that a different dog I don't know be

◼   ► mine dove that seems kind of weird for a

◼   ► company being it to be known for soap

◼   ► and chocolate here's a fail this heart

◼   ► isn't in its little pocket in the right

◼   ► direction share a secret now let me try

◼   ► the milk chocolate peanut butter truffle

◼   ► which is the light colored heart all

◼   ► right I'm trying to tidy up here a

◼   ► little bit and the Russell Stover box

◼   ► already broke so the Dove one to me the

◼   ► fillings are a little bit boring but the

◼   ► chocolate is significantly better than

◼   ► the other ones that we've had so far the

◼   ► peanut butter doesn't taste very good

◼   ► it's fine it's not it's not amazing the

◼   ► the the caramel was better it is

◼   ► unfortunate that there are literally

◼   ► only three only three varieties here I

◼   ► would like more than that

◼   ► but the chocolate itself I would say is

◼   ► very nice I think very is a very strong

◼   ► word

◼   ► I wouldn't say that relatively nice okay

◼   ► it's the nicest chocolate itself that

◼   ► we've had so far I don't know I think I

◼   ► like the Private Reserve better but I

◼   ► think maybe ice because the feelings are

◼   ► more interesting yeah the dove just does

◼   ► not you might as well just get a bag of

◼   ► chocolates

◼   ► yeah the dove one like the chocolate is

◼   ► great but for the purposes of a

◼   ► Valentine's box of chocolates unless you

◼   ► know that the person only likes these

◼   ► three very basic flavors I love

◼   ► chocolate yeah and then you need to

◼   ► teach those people that they need to

◼   ► like better chocolate and get them

◼   ► something good from like a chocolate

◼   ► place yeah these are good but they're

◼   ► not particularly memorable the chocolate

◼   ► is very nice the fillings are just

◼   ► really boring yeah and again and I

◼   ► really want more variety than three

◼   ► flavors out of a box like this this is

◼   ► um oh this this franking is going to be

◼   ► like I think maybe one clear winner and

◼   ► the rest just I I'm forming some some

◼   ► rankings in my head alright is that it

◼   ► or is there one more there is one more

◼   ► that's what the white man chocolate yeah

◼   ► right mm-hmm all right let's see let's

◼   ► see that one when you put away this

◼   ► heart tin put on this pile of other art

◼   ► tins and box

◼   ► I'm keeping the Private Reserve near me

◼   ► this funny that's the only one that's

◼   ► been really great there's not even great

◼   ► just like less correct I think if you

◼   ► were to purchase a heart-shaped box of

◼   ► chocolate for your lover on Valentine's

◼   ► I think that so far that's gonna be my

◼   ► choice oh yeah it's so it's my it's

◼   ► definitely my number one and it comes in

◼   ► the black lace variety which is very

◼   ► nice that was a little weird but the

◼   ► soft velvet box you know you can like

◼   ► use that as a pillow afterwards oh this

◼   ► one is like alright so it's the white

◼   ► man sampler I can't quite get the cover

◼   ► off oh it's taped on there's like a few

◼   ► spots of taper on the this is basically

◼   ► grandma chocolate and grandmas are great

◼   ► maybe they like this chocolate they

◼   ► could always use some tape yep

◼   ► even the box is kind of like this red

◼   ► crisps like dated fifties Christmas

◼   ► color yeah it's definitely it's a very

◼   ► dated look for sure yeah basically

◼   ► like it's a made of dress remnants from

◼   ► the 1950s all right very similar okay

◼   ► the white man key and the Russell Stover

◼   ► key is basically identical let me see

◼   ► that do you think maybe it's the same

◼   ► company and is just like a different

◼   ► like brand of him

◼   ► we'll have to inspect it's it does look

◼   ► identically printed really similar yeah

◼   ► well this is suspicious because it looks

◼   ► very simple it's just like it alright so

◼   ► let's see so what other white man

◼   ► chocolate with flavors that we have here

◼   ► whoa okay opening this up it has gold

◼   ► plastic around it not really much color

◼   ► variety but still better than the

◼   ► Russell Stover's and they have very

◼   ► different types of chocolates in here

◼   ► you have some like chocolate-covered

◼   ► almonds and chocolate-covered it looks

◼   ► like they might be raisins they have

◼   ► there's a fruit and nut caramel there's

◼   ► a there's cherry cordial there's one in

◼   ► the middle called milk chocolate

◼   ► messenger boy which is a little scary

◼   ► yep there's a boy on it yeah chocolate

◼   ► buttercream is that a post made it sound

◼   ► like the original post made me I think

◼   ► it supposed to meet but maybe it's also

◼   ► Whitman all right you mean it's not it's

◼   ► not the white it's not wearing it post

◼   ► mate so close all right there's a lot to

◼   ► choose from here I think I might try the

◼   ► let's see maybe among lasses choo a

◼   ► peanut butter cream well I got to try

◼   ► almond cream to be consistent it passed

◼   ► me the Russell Stover

◼   ► because they have some sort of like cup

◼   ► cluster thing in here - yeah I'm gonna

◼   ► compare those oh my gosh oh very hard

◼   ► the Russell Stover ones very hard yeah

◼   ► alright let's not open this box anymore

◼   ► you know they passed me them the Whitman

◼   ► as you say this ruffles the whore box

◼   ► every time I open it's falling apart

◼   ► even more it's structural integrity is

◼   ► just shot the women's are very chewy

◼   ► like there's a lot a lot of like thick

◼   ► sticky fillings I tried like three or

◼   ► four of them so far oh my god I bit into

◼   ► the cherry cordial and there is just

◼   ► kind of this neon your hands are red and

◼   ► dripping pink lick

◼   ► you tripped on your pants oh gosh I mean

◼   ► it's everywhere you should go on the

◼   ► floor oh god no I don't want the dog to

◼   ► get it why is this so pink it's it it

◼   ► looks like I spilled ink on my hands

◼   ► it really does yeah why is it this color

◼   ► it's a scary amount of dye oh can you

◼   ► get my headphones off all right so while

◼   ► two free covers from that yeah the the

◼   ► so far the Whitman's is the flavors some

◼   ► of the flavors are actually pretty good

◼   ► but each one of them has some kind of

◼   ► weird execution like the filling is too

◼   ► stiff and sticky or like the almond

◼   ► cream had a really good almond flavor

◼   ► but there was also like a raw dry almond

◼   ► in there you'd like get through this dry

◼   ► almond and it'll otherwise good cream

◼   ► the little peanuts were equally dry yeah

◼   ► everything's very dry and chewy but okay

◼   ► I think that this box was actually made

◼   ► in 1950 mm-hmm but all right so my

◼   ► theory is that this box appeals to older

◼   ► people of a certain generation where

◼   ► don't have dentures because if they did

◼   ► they would rip right out but so with the

◼   ► decor on the box and the gold gaudy

◼   ► decor inside and the dryness and the the

◼   ► types of flavors and the little post-boy

◼   ► on there it's really making me think

◼   ► that this is a I don't know either

◼   ► extremely dated and and the white man

◼   ► company does not understand modern times

◼   ► or it's just made to appeal to people of

◼   ► a certain age that would find this good

◼   ► people who have mistreated as white man

◼   ► I think that's a feature on a bug

◼   ► yeah I'm thinking this is very I don't

◼   ► know because it's it's definitely not

◼   ► quirky nostalgic it's just a little bit

◼   ► sad nostalgic is definitely the

◼   ► chocolate that you would have bought a

◼   ► million

◼   ► years ago and it would have been great

◼   ► because it would have been the only ones

◼   ► that you had but now we have others so

◼   ► I'm thinking not with this one yeah I I

◼   ► do like the flavorings of it better than

◼   ► the cheap Russell servers oh I don't

◼   ► know because have you did you retry the

◼   ► cheaper stores like after trading rooms

◼   ► try it again it's it's surprisingly

◼   ► crappy mmm well let me see the chart for

◼   ► the Russell Stover cuz I feel like at

◼   ► least their flavors are a little bit

◼   ► better like maple nut cream butter cream

◼   ► caramel where's the Whitman chocolates

◼   ► you just have like oh wait maple nut

◼   ► cream butter cream really the the

◼   ► Russell Stover standard one every flavor

◼   ► I've tried has been disappointing in

◼   ► pretty big ways the Whitman some of

◼   ► those actually tasted a lot better they

◼   ► the Whitman ones are worse better are

◼   ► they Russell Stover just tastes like

◼   ► garbage plastic and sugar like it's just

◼   ► there's no refinement there like there's

◼   ► nothing really you know smooth or

◼   ► decadent or advanced about them at all

◼   ► whereas the the Whitman one there's at

◼   ► least like somewhat like every one of

◼   ► those bites like oh this is kind of nice

◼   ► oh except for that dry part but like

◼   ► before before the dry part it was pretty

◼   ► nice

◼   ► like I so I think my ranking I think I'm

◼   ► pretty good on my ranking I think I'm

◼   ► ready

◼   ► um wait can you open up the Hershey's

◼   ► again it's kind of got a pic which least

◼   ► bad I do enjoy the care that was put

◼   ► into creating those chocolates the

◼   ► Hershey's ones yeah compared to the

◼   ► regular Russell Stover box

◼   ► alright well my number one easily is the

◼   ► Russell Stover Private Reserve the

◼   ► limited limited batch limited edition

◼   ► what was the official name of it and

◼   ► under that it's a private reserve the

◼   ► Russell Stover is in the velvet box that

◼   ► was definitely the best out of this

◼   ► showing although I got to say it like if

◼   ► you have anywhere near you like a nice

◼   ► like fancy cause a fancy chocolate shop

◼   ► yeah like a chocolatier oh yeah like if

◼   ► you have some point that near you

◼   ► chances are whatever you get from them

◼   ► would probably be more expensive but

◼   ► would also be a lot better even than

◼   ► this Private Reserve one that said the

◼   ► private ruler won for I think it was 15

◼   ► books that's that's pretty good for that

◼   ► and we did just go down to our local

◼   ► grocery store two days before

◼   ► Valentine's Day and we got to pick up

◼   ► everything was in stock so we just kind

◼   ► of picked up a box of everything um so

◼   ► it is all available so that's a benefit

◼   ► yeah yeah it's easy to get you know it's

◼   ► gonna be available everywhere so yeah

◼   ► Russell Stover Velda box

◼   ► Private Limited Edition reserve whatever

◼   ► it is that's the best for me yeah me

◼   ► it's my number one as well

◼   ► my number two I think would be the dove

◼   ► because even though I wanted more

◼   ► variety out of it and the and the

◼   ► fillings were boring the chocolate was

◼   ► pretty nice my number three is gonna be

◼   ► the white man Whitman whatever it is

◼   ► because again that the flavors were good

◼   ► even the executions was pretty bad on

◼   ► those and then my number four is going

◼   ► to be the her she's nowhere on my list

◼   ► is gonna be the Russell Stover basic box

◼   ► that I never want to eat those again but

◼   ► the Hershey's one is you know just

◼   ► crappy chocolate but decent fillings but

◼   ► mostly they just seem like candy bars

◼   ► but ultimately a if if the show was not

◼   ► called top four I wouldn't have even had

◼   ► a number four not that it stopped me a

◼   ► lot in the past but like like I dislike

◼   ► the Hershey's almost as much as I

◼   ► dislike the the basic Russell Stover if

◼   ► I was going with the typical top four

◼   ► rules

◼   ► I would only pick the Russell Stouffer's

◼   ► Private Reserve to put on my list at all

◼   ► anywhere because M everything else is

◼   ► just there's so much wrong with so many

◼   ► the other ones that it's really hard but

◼   ► guess if I had to rank them I would put

◼   ► Hershey's second hmm I would put the

◼   ► Dove third because they're just so

◼   ► boring

◼   ► and oh it's just such a toss-up between

◼   ► what's bad between them Russell Stover

◼   ► regular and the Whitman's the Whitman's

◼   ► just feel I don't know they're just too

◼   ► chewy nuts like I don't like a lot of

◼   ► nuts in my chocolate

◼   ► there's too much nut happening it's a

◼   ► fair criticism of them I'd say in the

◼   ► Whitman chocolate so I will put the

◼   ► Russell Stover regular as my fourth

◼   ► choice just because they're more cream

◼   ► heavy

◼   ► and that's the chocolate I prefer but

◼   ► the creams like have you tried it but

◼   ► they're so ugly did you throw the

◼   ► strawberry cream it's awful yeah no I

◼   ► it's my fourth it doesn't there was only

◼   ► five boxes and yeah this this Whitman

◼   ► sampler man this is this is special

◼   ► listen to a hat well we'll try to get

◼   ► this episode out fast enough so that you

◼   ► all can go out there and buy the Russell

◼   ► Simmons what is it just go out buy the

◼   ► Russell Simmons private velvet box yep

◼   ► avoid the white man and yeah but if you

◼   ► have a neighborhood chocolatier go to

◼   ► them and sticks it's gonna be way better

◼   ► than one yeah you see is a shop local

◼   ► yeah and happy Valentine's Day I'm not

◼   ► feeling very romantic right now no let's

◼   ► let's go have something better like ice

◼   ► cream or better chocolate no no more

◼   ► sweets but ice cream who are you here

◼   ► husband coffee yeah that sounds nice

◼   ► let's go for a cuddle