Why Everyone Is Talking About The Weird New Doritos Flavor

Doritos have always held a special place in our hearts. We love them because they've always been able to deliver on the flavors and textures that we crave. We love them because they can get away with experimenting with unexpected flavor combinations (Mountain Dew Doritos, anyone?) and even though there may have been a few near misses (we're looking at you, Flamin' Hot Nacho Doritos and Screaming Sriracha Doritos), we've never really met a Dorito we didn't like. 

So when our national obsession for pickles first came around in 2018, you would have expected Frito-Lay, which owns Doritos, to get creative and bring two popular foods (pickle juice and Doritos) and make pickle Doritos a thing. After all, we've seen pickle flavor has appeared in just about every type of food you can think of — from ice cream, cotton candy, and candy canes to beers and cocktails, and don't forget the bar snacks that are served alongside them (via The Sauce).

Now (drumroll please) the wait is over, and Doritos has announced the debut of Tangy Pickle Doritos... in the United States, that is.

Turns out, pickle-flavored chips have already been a thing in Canada, where it's known as Intense Pickle Doritos or "Cornichons Intenses" for a while now. And by a while, we mean about a decade, which was when an early review of the Intense Pickle Doritos first came to light. 

"Slightly creamy with a whole lot of dill, garlic, and sour vinegar, all on top of the standard Doritos tortilla chip base," Iain Ilich wrote (via Nearof!) "These easily compete in the same flavor class as dill pickle potato chips. They've got the sour zip of salt and vinegar chips, but the garlic and dill are a knockout addition. They're not stingy on the seasoning. Much better than I was expecting."

And it may have taken years, but Intense Pickle Doritos have finally made the trip south — and picked up a name change along the way. Instagrammer @theimpulsivebuy uploaded a photo of Tangy Pickle Doritos, along with the tidbit that the new flavor had been unearthed at a Dollar General store. "As someone who enjoys pickle-flavored Pringles and ate pickle and tuna sandwiches as a kid, I'm disappointed the U.S. hasn't had pickle-flavored Doritos before," the social media user said. "But now we have them and I can enjoy the buildup of pickle-flavored Doritos dust on my fingers. Also, the I in pickle on the front of the bag has been replaced with a lightning bolt. That right there makes me forgive Frito-Lay for taking so long to bring pickle Doritos to the U.S."

There's no word on whether Tangy Pickle will join Cool Ranch as a regular Stateside flavor, but we're betting there are plenty of pickle/Doritos fans that are grateful they don't have to be going north to forage — at least for a while.