Bentley's Premier Popcorn

Think of the tastiest kettle corn you’ve ever eaten in your life. Got it? Now take that, increase the deliciousness by ten to the power of yum, put it in a single-serving fresh-lock bag with a label featuring a full-color illustration of Bentley, a cute little Wire-haired Fox Terrier, and you have the eponymous Bentley’s Premier Popcorn.

The fresh-lock bags (in 3 and 4 ounce sizes) are no gimmicky ruse — this is some über-fresh popcorn. The Butter Pecan sample featured six large pecan halves tossed in with the lightly coated popcorn. Bentley’s is kettle roasted using only natural ingredients, and it shows: the result is a subtle yet satisfyingly sweet and buttery mixture, not overpowering or artificial.

The two available flavors, Toffee Caramel and Butter Pecan, feature the same secret recipe, but with the deceptively simple addition of roasted pecans to the latter. A new Cinnamon Almond flavor is expected soon.

Individual popped kernels were uniform in size, all equally coated in toffee caramel and with virtually no popcorn “dust” in the bottom of the bag. The small individual bags were more than enough for one person, but I still had to resist the temptation to lick the inside of the package when I was finished. Our dog Zoe, however, put up no such resistance; maybe the smell of free human food and Bentley’s picture on the label sealed the deal for her.

Named for a beloved family pet who adores popcorn, Bentley’s donates a portion of each sale to the Homeless Pets Foundation based in Marietta, Georgia. The family-owned and operated purveyors of premier popcorn originated in a household kitchen, but became so popular that the founders went national and now operate out of a friendly and unique building near Peachtree City, GA. Plans for worldwide sales are in the works.

Look out snacking world - here comes Bentley!