MILDEW WOLF, taking note of Aldi's premium-price "Specially Selected" own-label brand: Oh, brother--and they call it "Specially Selected"! Just HOW do they make the selection that makes the cut anyway, "eenie-meenie-minie-mo"?

Pancetta & Parmesan Kettle Chips from Specially Selected (Aldi)

I’m not able to specifically identify the two listed flavors, but the flavor here is still unique. It has that subtle umami flavor, with a bit of meat spice (but not heat!) The chips are savory and salty, with a really nice crunch.

Purchased from Aldi

Ramon Allones Specially Selected Robusto

To borrow a phrase I heard on Youtube, this cigar looks like its bene into a couple of fights and lost. Dark bronze, oilier than most Cubans. Very wonderful barnyard and earth smell that is even more intense through the foot

Good draw, with cold draw of mint and tea leaves. First light, very spicy, tingling all over the lips, dark chocolate on the tongue coating the mouth, sweeter milk chocolate with no spice on the retrohale. The foot smoke smells like honey glazed grilled meat - pleasant, but not as perfumey as some of the Nicaraguans I've had lately. As the cigar warmed up, getting a stronger taste of that sweet earth that made me fell in love with this cigar. If nothing else, this stick.

Halfway through, the Cuban twang took center stage with a persistent, pleasant, tinge of sweet coffee and nuttiness in the mouth and through the retrohale. These flavors intensified in the last third as the cigar heats up even more, with more sweetness through the retrohale. Unfortunately, the burn slightly deteriorated for no apparent reason.

616. Ramon Allones Specially Selected

From my own collection. Location: This review was made outdoors during a cloudy evening, with 18C and 59% air humidity. Information:Wrapper: CubaBinder: CubaFiller: CubaOrigin: Cuba Factory: CubaBox: Sold in 25 count boxes.Release: 1980sAvailability: Regular Production. Size: 4.8×50, Robusto. Wrapper: Hazelnut, smooth with small and protuding veins. Construction: Fairly firm and even when…

[Whereupon Hokey Wolf and his compadre, Ding-a-Ling, notice on the shelves the "Specially Selected" appellation on certain gourmet-type foods....]

DING-A-LING: Jeez, Hokey ... and you wonder why, for a cheap supermarket like Aldi is, they have a brand called "Specially Selected", which makes you wonder just who made the selection to begin with?

HOKEY WOLF, with the usual Sgt. Bilko-model swagger: That, Ding, is beyond our ken--and besides, I noticed these Clancy's snack crackers are probably a few cents cheaper than that faux-high end stuff they call "Specially Selected"! Now, just add some Happy Farms cheese and whatever they call the salame or summer sausage here, and we could have ourselves some serious (and yet sensible) chartucerie!

DING-A-LING, taking stock of the Clancy's label for snack foods used by Aldi: And you're probably wondering just who this Clancy is behind Clancy's chips and crackers, Hokey....

HOKEY WOLF: Ding, you can't always be serious ... and besides, can you just imagine Yogi Bear having the run of one of these in Jellystone Park, if they actually allowed Aldi to open one of their stores on a Federal Reservation?

DING-A-LING: Such must be life these days ...

[Meanwhile, close behind Hokey and Ding-a-Ling--]

YOGI BEAR: Did somebody happen to mention my name just now?

HOKEY WOLF, somewhat excitedly: Was it just me, Ding, or was it really Yogi Bear we just ran into?