I love butterscotchy, toffee-y, complex caramelized flavors, but they’re hard to come across in the protein bar universe. The rare couple of times I’ve gotten caramel or toffee flavored supplements they’ve either been generally underwhelming or so over the top sickly sweet with artificial sugar that they turned me off. Suffer no more – I have found my saving grace. BSN‘s Syntha-6 line branched off from the typical vanilla and chocolate to bring us the unique and expertly executed Salted Toffee Pretzel.

Right off the jump I’m hit with a strong buttery toffee flavor that when combined with the texture of the bar reminds me of caramel popcorn. It has that kind of “day at the circus” nostalgic quality to its aroma that is deep and refreshing with a solid balance of sweet and salty. There is no weird aftertaste or strong protein-y flavor to the bar at all, it’s just like a delicious salted caramel Rice Krispie Treat with crunchy pretzel surprises sprinkled throughout.

Embedded within the crisps you can actually see and taste the chunks of pretzel, which enhance the texture of the bar as well as give it a slightly bready flavor to balance the sweetness. Impressively, all of the claimed elements from the description are represented here with saltiness, richness, and a wonderful back and forth between soft and chewy and hard and crunchy.  It’s a true flavor that takes no stretching of the imagination to really taste the toffee undercurrent.

While not too flavorful when tasted in isolation, the creaminess from the base dip and top drizzle help highlight some of the buttery notes you want from toffee. There are so many different aspects to this bar yet somehow they all work together harmoniously and the flavor never falls flat or gets boring. Each bite has a slightly different texture or flavor punch and it’s without a doubt the best take I’ve had on salted caramel, pretzel, or toffee for a protein snack, let alone nailing all three at once.

Rating: 9/10

Quick Nutrition: 240 cals – 7g fat – 260mg sodium – 24g carbs – 4g sugar – 5g sugar alcohol – 20g protein