At Christmas time, we’re overwhelmed with choice when it comes to mince pies. Here at Bristol Bites, we’re working our way through as many as we can and ranking each mince pie on a range of scales to give you a run down of the best and the worst (in our opinion!) that 2014 has to offer.
Each mince pie has been given a score out of 5 (where 5 is the best) for how it looks, how well it is filled, the flavour of the filling and the pastry, with these scores added up to give an overall score out of 20.
Ranked with the worst at the top and the best at the bottom, we’ll be adding to these rankings as we try more…if you have any recommendations, let us know!
Asda Chosen By You Mince Pies (85p for 6)
Look: Very pretty! 4/5 
Quantity of filling: Not too shabby for a cheap mince pie at all! 3/5
Flavour of filling: Very sweet and not much texture. Good flavour but a little sour at the end 3/5
Pastry: Too crumbly, and fairly bland 2/5
TOTAL: 12/20
Waitrose All Butter Mince Pies (£2.50 for 6)
Look: Quite plain, but BIG! 3/5 
Quantity of filling: Fairly well filled, would expect more for the price 3/5
Flavour of filling: Great texture. Boozy. Can taste the apple and other individual flavours 5/5
Pastry: Very buttery, very solid. More like shortbread than pastry. 3/5
TOTAL: 14/20
Aldi Specially Selected All Butter Mince Pies (£1.19 for 6)
Look: Love the snowflake, rustic around the edges 4/5 
Quantity of filling: Far less generous than some of the others 3/5
Flavour of filling: Good texture, brandy comes through well. Rich and fruitt 4/5
Pastry: Buttery and crumbly, great flavour 4/5
TOTAL: 15/20
Essential Waitrose Shortcrust Mince Pies (£1 for £6)
Look: Very traditional 4/5 
Quantity of filling: Impressive! 5/5
Flavour of filling: Mostly raisins, currants and sultanas. Quite overpowering! 2/5
Pastry: Good, sweet and crumbly – but not overly so 4/5
TOTAL: 15/20
Aldi Deep Filled Mince Pies (79p for 6)
Look: Quite attractive with the holly leaves 4/5 
Quantity of filling: Generous for the price 4/5
Flavour of filling: Really good – plenty of texture and very rich 4/5
Pastry: Very sweet, very crumbly. A little too powdery… 3.5/5
TOTAL: 15.5/20
Mark’s Bread Mince Pies (£5 for 6)
Look: Rustic and traditional 4.5/5 
Quantity of filling: Filled to the brim! 5/5
Flavour of filling: Very fruity but very tart – and not sure about the texture 3/5
Pastry: Buttery but consistency a little too solid 3.5/5
TOTAL: 16/20
I have to watch out when buying them as some are made with real mince and I am a veggie.
Asda may have the best price but the ones from Mark’s look far more appetising.
You HAVE to try M&S mince pies- they are soooo good xx
The bakery on Cotham Hill does the most amazing Cognac + Nut Luxury Mince pie! As if the filling isn’t enough it’s topped with a Viennese biscuit!!