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Review: There’s plenty of repetitive themes in the mince pie world, and if there’s a alcoholic twist to a mince pie it’s usually brandy/cognac or maybe a hint of gin. But here we have my favourite drop, a spiced rum mince pie.

These Tesco Finest pies are nice to look at with a lattice top and a sprinkle of icing sugar. The box is a fairly standard Tesco Finest affair but pretty festive.

On first bite I thought the pastry was too thick – but in actual fact the pastry is really nice. Yes, slightly thicker that others maybe but it’s sweet, smooth and really tasty. There’s obviously slightly less pastry on top with the lattice effect, so it works out really well.

The mincemeat and filling are equally good – no, better. The mincemeat itself is full of fruit and the mix of festive spices and the hint of sweet, spiced rum is a real winner.

I eat *so* many mince pies between Oct and Christmas Day, and so it’s rare I eat more than one from each box – but I ate two in a row of these little beauties. Actions speak louder than words I guess…but this is a review website so it kinda needs some words too. See the score below and maybe hunt these down?

Cost: 33p each (£2.00 for a box of 6)

Link: https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/301907723

Overall rating: 9/10

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Review: Amongst the many special deals and myriad toys and games in Aldi today, I spied their entry level mince pie. A very red, festive box…but what’s inside?

Well there’s 6 mince pies inside of course. Just a shame its *these* 6 mince pies.

They look quite nice with 3 stars on top, a crimped edge and a very light sugar sprinkle. However, that’s where any of the positives come to a screeching halt ‍♂️

The pastry is quite thin and very soft verging on soggy. The mincemeat is a paste – no other way to describe it. The spices they’ve used aren’t adding much and if anything make them taste quite odd.

Do not like.

Cost: 13p each (79p for 6)

Link: https://groceries.aldi.co.uk/en-GB/p-holly-lane-deepfilled-mince-pies-6-pack/4088600039473

Overall rating: 3/10

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Review: Having recently recovered from Covid suffering nothing more than the loss of taste and smell, I find myself seriously behind on mince pie reviews.

Therefore I’ve decided not to spend excess time on writing up poor mince pies – if they’re bad I’ll just say so and move on. More time and more words put aside for the best mince pies

Does that bode well for these Aldi frangipane pies? No, it does not. They’re dry and powdery. Nothing like the photo on the box either – far too much of the Frangipane topping and not enough mincemeat. Bad Aldi

Cost: 33p each (£1.99 for 6)

Link: https://groceries.aldi.co.uk/en-GB/p-specially-selected-rich-buttery-6-frangipane-mince-pies-260g/4088600178653

Overall Rating: 3/10

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Review: We’ve seen these before, and they’re usually really good. But I’ve just eaten a really poor Aldi mince pie (see previous review) so it’s no guarantee…

Phew. Bullet dodged. These tarts look almost identical to last year and I’m glad to say the taste is right up there too. Such an enjoyable mince tart

Whilst not really a mince pie, they’re really tasty with the sloe gin clearly coming through in the mincemeat.

The all butter pasty is sweet, glazed and finished with almonds. They look the part – something pretty different to a standard mince pie and would go down really well hot with clotted cream I bet.

Cost: 42p each (£2.49 for 6)

Link: https://groceries.aldi.co.uk/en-GB/p-specially-selected-all-butter-6-sloe-gin-mince-tarts-topped-with-flaked-almonds-290g/4088600040363

Overall rating: 8/10

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Review: Sainsbury’s have a wide range of mince pies again for 2021 but these could be the pick of the bunch. A fancy Frangipane topping – could it be top marks?

We start with a really festive box, and a good looking pie too. The smell of almond wafts from the box and suggests we’re in for a treat.

The trick with a speciality mince pies is to ensure they still taste of mincemeat, otherwise what’s the point? The good news here is that Sainsbury’s have achieved that and more.

They’ve added the Frangipane topping which delivers soft, sugary and almond flavours – but they’ve also got a lovely fruity & full mincemeat in there too. Loads of filling and a lovely lower half of more traditional pastry too.

These are a real triumph from Sainsbury’s and, assuming you like almond, they’re well worth hunting down this Christmas.

Cost: 50p each (£2.00 for 4)

Link: https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/product/Christmas-Bakery/sainsburys-frangipane-mince-pies-taste-the-difference-x4-180g

Overall Rating: 9/10

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Review: A nice looking mince pie from Lyons for 2021. But wait what’s this…? The box is identical to their 2020 offering, the pies looking the same and they even cost the same. Good sign? These scored 8/10 last time.

I could copy and paste the 2020 review here, but I won’t. These are really good mince pies again – they look festive with a nice sprinkle of sugar on top too.

The mincemeat scores well on a few fronts, firstly the filling (full) and importantly the taste (sweet, fruity and spiced). Bravo.

The pastry is biscuit-y and holds together well which makes these a really great package. I’m giving these the same mark as last year – a very solid 8/10. Well done Lyons.

Cost: 17p each (£1.00 per box)

Link: https://www.bmstores.co.uk/products/lyons-mince-pies-6pk-366891

Overall Rating: 8/10

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Review: I’m not sure why they make mini mince pies? For kids? People with tiny appetites? Anyway, there’s always issues with them…despite the fact they look cute.

The most common issue with a mini mince pie is the ratio of pastry to filling. There’s only so much space inside these tiny pies, and you still need a top, bottom and sides.

These pies suffer from the same issue. Despite the very lofty claims about the quality and flavours of their mincemeat, you don’t really get chance to taste it.

If your pie is going to be 80% pastry it had better be good, but in this case its not very tasty, it’s a little pale and maybe slightly anonymous here. Shame.

All in all, it’s not very tasty and it’s far too small.

Cost: 17p each (£2 for pack of 12)

Link: https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/279513185

Overall Rating: 3/10

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Review: Some of the standard mince pies have been good this year and with Sainsbury’s operating at the slightly higher end of the market, I had high(ish) hopes for these.

The box is a fairly standard Christmas affair with loads of red and a couple of baubles. The pies themselves have a Christmas tree and a sprinkle of sugar. And that’s where the good stuff ends.

The pastry doesn’t have a nice texture or flavour – quite anonymous really – and the bottoms are as close to soggy as you’ll get in a boxed pie. The crumble is acceptable though, even when they’ve been open a few days.

The mincemeat is quite stodgy and there’s little whole fruit – like it’s been blended to a paste almost. And what makes it worse is an overly aggressive helping of ginger, maybe to try to give these a richer spiced flavour. It hasn’t worked in my opinion…not a nice flavour at all.

What a shame Sainsbury’s. Let’s hope your Taste the Difference mince pies live up their name and taste *nothing like these*.

Cost: 17p each (£1 for a pack of 6)

Link: https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/product/sainsburys-deep-filled-mince-pies-x6

Overall Rating: 4/10

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Review: It’s a while since I’ve had chance to review an “alternate” mince pie item, but I’ve had mince pie ice cream before and it was great.

Gladly this Lidl effort is equally as good. It has a nice flavour of mince pies running through it, as well as a generous helping of whole fruit. The ice cream is made with double cream and the mince pie flavour comes from a mince pie “sauce” which I think must be a blend of festive spices and mincemeat. Whatever it is – it’s pretty good and I can only imagine it’s epic popped inside a warm mince pie.

Cost: £1.99 (for a 480ml tub)

Overall Rating: 8/10

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Review: I always find the ‘standard’ mince pie reviews really interesting, mostly because they’re all really cheap but often there’s a few hidden gems. A large number of these standard Tesco mince pies will be sold to people who idly pick up a box as they do their shop. But are they good?

In previous years the Tesco standard mince pie has faired reasonably well – a 7.5 and an 8, followed by the 2020 effort which scored only 4 You’ll be pleased to hear the 2021 mince pie is really good.

The pastry is sweet and not soft or stodgy, it’s almost biscuity in texture. Has a lovely crumble to it which makes it pleasant to handle and eat. No soggy bottom here.

The mincemeat is sweet too, and full of whole fruits – there’s no alcohol in these as they’re a standard pie – but they’ve made up for that by adding some nice citrus tones thanks to some orange & lemon peels.

Top that off with a nice but simple star on top with a sprinkle of sugar and it’s a belter. The big bit of news is that Tesco have these at 14p each, down from 31p each in 2020…bargain.

Cost: 14p each (87p for 6)

Link: https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/274308085

Overall score: 8.5/10

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