Raisin bran cereals are the oatmeal raisin cookies of the cereal world.

Now I’m not just talking about the ingredients, because that’s certainly not a hard comparison to make. What I mean is that raisin bran cereals are the breakfast aisle underdogs. Just like how oatmeal raisin is so often overshadowed by chocolate chip—its suave, popular older brother—raisin bran has had its spotlight unfairly stolen by, well, every other cereal ever.

It must be the word “bran” that naturally turns people off. And for that reason, I recommend that all raisin bran cereals change their name to something cooler, like “Raisin Bandoliers,” “Raisin Bandits,” or even “Raisin Badasses.”

While we wait for this mass raisin bran rebranding to occur, I thought I’d review another existing raisin bran variety to help inform all my fellow defenders of raisin bran and oatmeal raisin cookies. Today’s raisin badass bran? An old school classic: Skinner’s Raisin Bran.

No, not that Skinner (I just wanted an excuse to post my favorite Simpsons scene). In fact, I don’t know who the real Skinner is behind these “Toasted Whole Wheat Berry Flakes.” But I can give you the skinny on his cereal.

Those aforementioned wheat berry flakes are the most striking part of this cereal. Rather than the mammoth, jagged, and crunchy chunks of bran tree bark in most raisin bran cereals, there are about a million of these tiny, crisp shavings. In fact, their size and texture are almost the same as loose oats.

When it comes to flavor, heavy emphasis is put on the toasted. The flakes aren’t very sweet, and they instead have a very pronounced, golden-toasted grain savoriness. It’s so golden, they could have called this stuff “Ponyboy’s Raisin Bran.”

But munch with caution, because after a mouthful of these grainy raindrops, it felt like I had slivers of wheat wedged into my teeth, gums, and—somehow—even my belly button.

The raisins are also considerably less sweet (this cereal has less than half the sugar of Raisin Bran Crunch), but even though they’re not oozing with sugar juice, they have an authentic, dense, and chewy fruit tang that makes me genuinely think I could reanimate these raisins by injecting them with a syringe full of grape juice.

That’s right. Now you’re picturing zombie California Raisins too, aren’t you?

Eaten together, there’s a healthy “farm fresh” feel to the golden grain and chewy fruit bit combo. And if you pour milk on top, be sure to use a lot of it. You might even want to move to Wisconsin, buy a plot of land, and start a new life as a humble dairy farmer, because these grain berry flakes are thirsty. They greedily absorb milk and quickly take on the texture of chewy oatmeal.

Milk’s added sweetness is pleasant, but if you’re used to Raisin Bran Crunch’s all-out granulated assault like me, you’ll want to go even farther. Allow this cereal to be a sandbox for your innovation; with a few creative mix-in choices, you can turn a healthy desert of dry and grainy wheat into a real dessert oasis.

My choice? Maple syrup and cinnamon sprinkles. Because who doesn’t want a big ol’ bowl of mushed up cinnamon raisin bagels?

So while I still hoped for a little more sweetness from this cereal (though what did I expect? His name is Skinner, not “Fatter”), I still commend it for doing something different. While a lot of raisin brans foolishly try and fail to emulate Raisin Bran Crunch’s success, Skinner’s use of wheat berry flakes makes it more memorable. Though I guess, since technically this is America’s first raisin bran, it’s just always been way ahead of its time.

Or maybe Skinner is just a time traveller. Hey, after 27 seasons of The Simpsons, I wouldn’t be surprised to see that in next week’s episode.

The Bowl: Skinner’s Raisin Bran

The Breakdown: Not very sweet, but a savory golden grain and real raisin fruitiness makes this a good canvas for creative cereal mixology

The Bottom Line: 7.5 “SkinneeEEEEERR!”s out of 10

***The kind folks at Attune Foods provided me this box as a sample.***