Mackie’s at Taypack
Mackie's, Taylor's Welsh Crisps
Address: Inchcoonans, Errol, Perthshire, PH2 7RB
Phone: 01821 641250
Website: www.mackiescrisps.co.uk, www.taylorsfoodgroup.co.uk
Email: Nicola@taypack.com
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Mackie's Potato Crisps

Mackie's at Taypack is the name of our joint venture company. We are two Scottish farming family businesses and have joined forces to make "the perfect Scottish Crisp".
The Mackie family used their experience in making luxury ice cream to best effect when creating another indulgent, yet savoury treat. 
Mackie's crisps are made with all natural ingredients, carefully selected to give you a choice of the best of traditional tastes along with a variety of new Scottish Speciality flavours. Taste them to see, and remember that the pack also comes with a warning... taste one and the rest just disappear! 
The Taylor family have been growing potatoes in Perthshire for several generations. Good crisps can only be made with the best types of crisping potatoes and in carefully selected soil types. 
The Taylors (company name is Taypack) provide the required expertise to guarantee that Mackie's are made with the best potatoes, grown ourselves here in Scotland. 
Together Mackie's and Taypack grow most of our potatoes and deliver these direct to the production line. Mackie's potato crisps are made at the Taylor's Moncur Farm in Perthshire, from where we now supply our customers in Scotland, the UK and many other countries around the world with a range of 9 flavours of potato crisps and crinkle cut Dippers.

Mackie's of Scotland also produce Taylors Welsh Crisps. You can read the reviews at this link.​
Mackie’s of Scotland Ridge Cut Venison &
Cranberry Crisps 
It was a little difficult to pin down the individual flavours of these crisps. This is usually a good thing because it means there is invariably a good balance. There was undoubtedly a game like backdrop with a slight sweetness, which was apparently of the cranberry persuasion.   
​(17)
​Mackie's of Scotland Ridge Cut Sweet Chilli 
These really were very nice crisps, but while the chilli was perfectly balanced it was not by the familiar sweetness often found with this flavour variety. I would have preferred a little more heat.   
(17)
​Mackie's of Scotland Ridge Cut Cheddar &
Onion Crisps 
The seasoning was not evenly spread among my bag's constituents. Those at the top seemed more potato than cheese or onion, but at the bottom, where the seasoning often gathers, they were clearly cheesy with a slight backdrop of onion.   
(16)
Mackie’s of Scotland Honey & Mustard 
Something strange happened with these crisps, and I cannot explain how. One crisp and I could taste the English mustard but not the honey. A handful at once and the balance between honey sweetness and mustard levelled off. Great stuff, and fairly unique.   
(15)
Mackie’s of Scotland Scotch Bonnet Chilli
​Pepper Crisps 
A Nose Plunge Test revealed a rather odd smell. It was a kind of milky chilli. Goodness knows how that combo came about. Unlike many chilli flavoured crisps, these did not have an underlying sweetness to soften the blow. No mucking about, straight in with a hit of spicy chilli heat. I would even go as far as saying Scotch bonnet is a fair and adequate description of what are certainly among the hottest British Crisps. And here’s the kicker, despite the spicy heat they managed to stay just the right side of the enjoyable line which is no mean feat with hot and spicy crisps.   
(17)
​Mackie’s of Scotland Tangy Tomato Crisps 
A Nose Plunge Test revealed a mild milky onion aroma, which may sound odd but a quick check of the ingredients and those were characteristics of the flavouring. There was indeed a tangy sort of tomato seasoning, but it was not strong. The mild flavouring was somewhat warm and fuzzy, and thoroughly enjoyable.   
(19)
Mackie’s of Scotland Crispy Bacon Crisps 
A Nose Plunge Test revealed the warming aroma of bacon flavoured crisps. Unlike many bacon crisps there was not an overwhelming bounce of bacon seasoning, but instead a nice balance of bacon and potato. Interestingly, a good lick of a crisp found an abundance of seasoning.   
(17)
Mackie’s of Scotland Ridge Cut Sea Salt & Cider Vinegar Crisps 
There was a distinct difference between these and traditional salt and vinegar crisps. The usual vinegar is malt, but this was evidently cider vinegar. The salt was rather muted as the vinegar dominated.   
(16)
Mackie’s of Scotland Ridge Cut Prawn
Cocktail Crisps
Prawn cocktail crisps are unique in the wonderful world of chips and crisps - They do not taste like prawn cocktail, which has either a Marie Rose sauce in the UK or shrimp cocktail sauce in the US. The former is predominantly mayonnaise and the latter is predominantly ketchup. Prawn cocktail flavour crisps taste like prawn cocktail crisps, which is a rather sweet and peppery flavour with a layer of ketchup. There is certainly nothing prawn or shrimp-like in the flavour. So, to Mackie's version of this flavour - Well, it was actually quite pleasant. Nothing serious and nothing particularly heavy - It was after all battling with a lot of thick potato, but there was a layer of inoffensive ketchup sweetness.   
(17)
Mackie's of Scotland Ridge Cut Lightly Salted Crisps 
At first, I thought there wasn’t much salt on these thickly cut crisps, but on closer inspection, I was reminded that the flavour was in fact 'Lightly' salted. And this is where Mackie's cracked it. Thickly cut crisps often suffer from a lack of seasoning because the additional thickness soaks up a lot of the flavour into the potato. These were perfectly balanced. An ideal lunch partner for one of those oh so disappointing supermarket sandwiches which upon opening, appears to be missing half its alleged contents.   
(22 *)
Mackie's of Scotland Ridge Cut Whisky &
​Haggis Crisps 
On opening the bag, I had a bit of neck recoil. The aroma was very strong. And unfamiliar. In fact, the flavour that followed was both weird and wonderful. It is very easy for me to review a crisps variety that is completely original to one company. There was a whisky backdrop to a slightly spicy flavour. An acquired taste, but an abundance of originality. 
(21 *)
​Mackie’s of Scotland Ridge Cut
Caramalised Red Onion Crisps
A Nose Plunge Test revealed a hint of onion, but as these crisps were thickly cut, any flavour was influenced by the thick potato. There was a hint of sweetness, but the overriding flavour was pepper. These were very tasty crisps, but they could easily have mentioned the word pepper somewhere in the title.   
(16)
​Mackie’s of Scotland Haggis & Cracked
Pepper Crisps 
A Nose Plunge Test revealed a mildly spicy, almost beefy aroma. They are undoubtedly one of the best two haggis flavoured crisps on the market. The fact that Mackie’s produce both is a mere coincidence because these crisps not only had a gentle haggis backdrop to a warm potato flavour but there was a load of spicy seasoning and pepper on lips and tongue. Great stuff. Perhaps the best compliment I can pay these impressive crisps are – They should not be considered a novelty flavour. 
(21 *)
​Mackie’s of Scotland Flamegrilled Aberdeen
Angus Crisps 
A Nose Plunge Test did not reveal much, and it would be fair to say that with crisps this thickly cut there will always be more potato than added flavour. That said, there was a distinct if a little muted beef flavouring. The taste that was evident was pleasant. I should also add that the nutrition label aligns with most peers, but as a snack food, it was more filling.   
(14)
Mackie’s of Scotland Sea Salt & Vinegar  
A Nose Plunge Test revealed a mild vinegar aroma. The vinegar overwhelmed the salt a little too much, but the remaining residue on lips was salty, so there was a balance there.   
​(14)
Mackie’s of Scotland Sea Salt Crisps
A Nose Plunge Test revealed a salty aroma. These were proper, traditional ​plain crisps, or ‘Ready Boring’ as we called them as kids. There was just enough salt to make me reach back in the bag and wonder why it ended so quickly when empty. A perfect accompaniment to a dull sandwich.   
(19)
Mackie’s of Scotland Mature Cheddar &
​Onion Crisps 
There was a slightly cheesy aroma when the bag was opened. In a tough market, as the cheese and onion comparisons certainly propose, these enjoyed a rather muted flavouring. A nice balance between cheese and a tinge of onion, with a warm and fuzzy potato backdrop.   
(16)

Withdrawn

Mackie’s of Scotland Turkey & Stuffing (W)
This seasonal offering was fun and welcome. The stuffing was herby and the turkey was muted. Hardly surprising really, as turkey does not have the most memorable or stand-out flavour. Nice, though.   
(16)
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