Exclusives
Michael Palan / Static Media
ByMichael Palan|
In 2012, the masterminds at Doritos rolled out a new snack design where a tortilla chip was rolled up into the familiar shape of a mini-taquito. Dubbed Doritos Dinamita, Ram Krishnan, vice president of marketing, Frito-Lay North America, said in an initial press release that the goal was "to transform the bold taste of Doritos tortilla chips into a snack that captures the exciting essence of Hispanic snack foods through the shape and flavors you would find in Latin American cuisine."
For over a decade, Dinamita has come in a few flavors, but only the Chile Limón variety has persisted on shelves since the launch. In 2024, Doritos is going bigger and bolder with the line, even looking to shape things up a bit. Four new flavors are joining the fold — Flamin' Hot Queso, Hot Honey Mustard, Smoky Chile Queso, and Tangy Fiery Lime, and for the latter three, in a comely novel form — a stick.
With a lot of seasonings, shapes, and similar sounding flavor names at hand, I wanted to get my own hands on this new batch of Dinamita chips to see what's what. Are they dynamite or dyna-meh? Without further adore, here's my chew and review.
Some recommendations are based on first-hand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer.
What does Doritos Dinamita Hot Honey Mustard taste like?
Michael Palan / Static Media
The Dinamita line of Doritos are housed in bags, but the ones I received for the taste test came in small glass bottles. These bottles actually proved to be great holders and revealers of the new flavors' smells and essences. Twisting off the cap of the Hot Honey Mustard, I was taken with a very strong white vinegar odor, which I welcomed, as it happens to be one my favorites for snacks.
Removing a few sticks from the bottle to examine them, I had almost mistaken these corn snacks for petrified McDonald's fries, with small brown birthmark flecks. Before taking a bite, I gave it a lick. The flavoring was not at all vinegary as I anticipated. It reminded me of the hot mustard you'd find on a table at a Chinese restaurant, with a bitter horseradish-like aftertaste. When I did finally bite down on the stick, it was like dipping soup crunchies into a dab of that beloved Chinese hot mustard.
Even though these Hot Honey Mustard Dinamitas containhoney, as well as molasses, and brown sugar, I didn't get any sense of sweetness at all. Instead, these snacks pack a fun-ion wallop of pungency, where onion powder, mustard powder, turmeric, red peppered spice, and cheddar cheese all play mighty nicely together.
What does Doritos Dinamita Flamin' Hot Queso taste like?
Michael Palan / Static Media
If there was a bowl of Doritos Dinamita Chile Limón and one Doritos Dinamita Flamin' Hot Queso sitting next to each other, it would be quite the challenge to be able to tell the two apart. They are both rolled tortilla snacks, identically drenched in an unholy shade of lava red. The look is completed with black grill marks, and some pock marks, with peeks at the yellow interior.
Opening the bottle, and taking a whiff, notes of tortilla — perhaps with a touch of the seasoning laced over Frito-Lay sister snack Chili Cheese Fritos — fill the nostrils. A simple lick conjures up the familiar flavoring found in bags of Doritos Flamin' Hot Nacho, or other like minded products, like the new Flamin' Hot Cheetos Pretzels.
I'm not sure if it was just my batch of rounded tortillas trapped in a bottle, or if they're always made to be like this, but the chips tasted kind of stale. After being thrown off by that, the chip quickly gave rise to enrapturing heat that eventually opened my pores and led to a case of the head sweats. They are very similar in taste to the Dinamita Chile Limón flavor, but sorely lacking that citrus punch that helps to ease the heated pain. Be careful with the Doritole dust remnants here, as you don't want to put any of this seasoning in places it doesn't belong. That may or may not include your mouth.
What does Doritos Dinamita Smoky Chile Queso taste like?
Michael Palan / Static Media
While Doritos Dinamita Smoky Chile Queso is noted as being on the higher end of the medium "Dinameter," make no mistake, these stick figures will quickly spice up any party. Unbottling this flavor unleashed an aroma of powerful nacho cheese, slightly simmering down in a tub of sour cream.
These Dinamita sticks look like julienned Cool Ranch Doritos, and a quick lick also bears some taste resemblance to those excellent classic chips. Nibbling on the Dinamita Smoky Chile Queso started off in the same pleasurable way as the licking did, but then everything took a dark turn when the rush of a peppery jalapeño punch followed through. Guess that's what happens when a hodgepodge of ingredients like onion powder, cheddar cheese, tomato powder, buttermilk, sugar, vinegar, garlic powder, and lime juice get thrown into a chip cauldron and get mixed up.
This flavor definitely delivers on its name, as the promise of smokiness actually made me cough after eating a few. Not sure if that's a good thing, but it's a thing regardless.
What does Doritos Dinamita Tangy Fiery Lime taste like?
Michael Palan / Static Media
If there's already a Dinamita Chile Limón on Doritos' roster, what exactly is newbie Dinamita Tangy Fiery Lime bringing to the table? Is it essentially the same thing, but with a name change thanks to some help from a thesaurus? The quick answer is that they're two totally different beasts. Also, the Chile Limón flavor is delivered in one of those hardened rolled tortilla chips, while the Tangy Fiery Lime uses the puffy crunch stick body as its host.
Dinamita Tangy Fiery Lime immediately lets its citrus bona fides be known as soon as one takes a whiff of it, where a pungent artificial lime smell battles that of taco seasoning mix. A lick of this seasoning makes one think of a super spiced-up magic that is Tajín. A taste confirms this juxtaposition, and the balance between the citrus and the spice works quite well for this flavor.
The Dinamita Tangy Fiery Lime comes off like a more palatable version of Dinamita Chile Limón. Sadly, the names are so similar that I'll probably forget which one is which the next time when I reach for a bite.
Where to buy the new Doritos Dinamita flavors and how much they cost
Michael Palan / Static Media
The four new Doritos Dinamita flavors are currently available at nationwide retailers like Target and Walmart. You can also purchase them online.
Along with the existing flavor Chile Limón, the five Dinamita flavors come in two sizes — 4- and 10.75-ounce bags. Their suggested retail prices are $2.49 and $5.99, respectively.
The final verdict
Michael Palan / Static Media
I love Doritos, and I love spicy snacks, but I prefer them to be flat and left to their "natural" triangle shapes. The five flavors of the Doritos Dinamita line are certainly interesting ones to munch on and decipher, but not sure why they need to be embodied in the formats they are presented in.
The rolled up tortillas that Flamin' Hot Queso and Chile Limón roll out in don't seem all that fresh or crunchy, and the airy consistency of the sticks that Hot Honey Mustard, Smoky Chile Queso, and Tangy Fiery Lime are outfitted with distractedly remind me of eating veggie straws, if they were spicy for no particular reason. Is the goal of the new Dinamita shape to try and take down Andy Capp and his Hot Fries? Not sure that's a battle actually worth fighting, unless Frito-Lay is trying to conquer the very niche market of faux-French fry chips.
Still, there is something really special about the Hot Honey Mustard flavor. I couldn't stop thinking about it and its unique flavor profile. It's not often you get to capture the taste sensation of hot mustard from a Chinese restaurant in an American chip. So when life hands you a chip that tastes like it, you make time to eat it. Any chance we can get it in the flat shape of a triangle? And can we get a Dinamita Duck Sauce flavor next?
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