Allen's Milk Bottle Mania

The second new release from Nestle's Allen's brand is bag of flavoured milk bottles, aptly named 'Milk Bottle Mania'. Milk bottles are far and away known for being a milky white in colour, and flavoured with vanilla. They are a bit like vanilla ice cream - always there but nothing to write home about.

Allen's has decided to turn this idea on its head, and has released five new flavours, plus original vanilla, in its new bag. The new milkshake flavours are banana (yellow), lime (green), caramel (pale brown), strawberry (pink) and chocolate (dark brown).

Unfortunately most of the lollies all smell like each other. It's only when I pull off the lid (stretch it out) that I can reach the untainted inner product.

Strawberry is as a sweet, strong scent. It's very strawberry ice cream orientated flavour, and that's exactly what it tastes like.

Chocolate smells like a dusty version of Chicos. There's a mild cocoa scent, and the milk bottle tastes like a watered-down chocolate milkshake. Nice, but too bland.

Bright yellow banana is very much a chalky lolly banana made into a foam lolly. It's that artificial, tastes-nothing-like-real-bananas taste that affirms the association. There's even that chalky aftertaste.

Caramel smells promising. The scent is warm and toasty, a little bit like caramel popcorn. The flavour is much the same, warm and a little buttery and familiar. If they made a whole bag of these I would devour them.

I was hoping the green milk bottle would be mint, but no, someone decided lime milkshake would be more popular. Surprisingly, the flavour is tart and sharp, more than I expected for a milkshake flavour. The milky aftertaste is a letdown.

Vanilla is just as I remember; bland and uninteresting. There are vague warm-milk flavours, but nothing that strikes me as vanilla inspired.