Friday Cat Blogging: Al Objects To Candy

I was getting somewhat creative with the candy "glamour shot" when Al, with his keen sense of taste and style, wanted to correct my staging. We had classic creative differences. I wanted the bottle lying sideways, he thought it looked better on the floor. Eventually we settled our disagreements.

However he still sniffs at my photo shoots. Sigh...models. What do they know?

Candy Review: Liquor Chocolates

When I was a little kid I have a vague memory of find a box of these chocolates shaped like liquor bottle in my grandparent’s house. I remember tasting one, and then immediately spitting it out. Ewww, those weren’t tasty chocolates at all!

Well that might have had to do with the fact that my younger self had no taste for alcohol, which, heh, clearly now I do.

So when I prowling a candy shop in Tyson’s Corner and saw boxes upon boxes of these curious candies, I wondered if my adult palate was ready for them again.

The candies were made by different liquor companies (and were pricey!) but eventually I settled on buy five for $.75 each. I selected Sambuca, Frangelico, Stolichnaya Orange, Southern Comfort, and Drambuie.

The chocolates are hallow, filled with a liquid which isn’t quite liquor. The texture was like that of maple syrup but for the most part just tasted like a sugar syrup.

Unfortunately the chocolate part for all of them was entirely disappointing. Part of the reason seems to be that these chocolates probably sit around for a while before someone eats one. But the chocolate was waxy and completely flavorless.

Sambuca: The licorice flavor was fairly strong.

Stolichnaya: Even though I have a fondness for vodka I was a little worried about the combo. This was also the one I cut in half and poured the liquid portion into (appropriately enough) a shot glass. The amount of liquid is, of course, miniscule. But it was pretty flavorfully and not like vodka at all. A good orange-y flavor which, had the chocolate been better, might have been a good combo.

Frangelico: This was entirely disappointing! Of all of the chocolates I thought the hazelnut liquor would match best with the chocolate. I’m not sure what I was tasting, but it seemed like a simple sugar syrup.

Drambuie: Admittedly this one left me at a disadvantage because I don’t know what actual Drambuie tastes like. Again, mostly just sugar syrupy tasting.

Southern Comfort: By the time I got to this one I was ready to chuck the whole experiment. These were still terrible chocolates! I also found at least three of them, Frangelico, Drambuie and Southern Comfort to be indistinguishable. I now believe they are merely the same chocolates just wrapped in different foils.

They are cute but terrible.

Candy Review: Strawberry Milkshake Whoppers

Every once in a while you find a rare candy...and then you realize exactly why some things aren’t meant to have a wider market. Whoppers Milkshake Strawberry (yes that is the correct name as you can see on the box) is one of those. I found them at the candy store in Tyson’s Corner mall which I regularly prowl for new test products.

At first I thought Whoppers Milkshake Strawberry was a new product, but I’ve found a few reviews, including Candy Addict’s Brian dating from Nov. 11, 2006. It seems November 2006 was probably about the time it was released.

Now a word about the name, I know most of the reviewers call it Whoppers Strawberry Milkshake, but the reality is that there was actually two “Milkshake” versions of Whoppers. Strawberry and (wait for it) Vanilla. I'll let you readers know if I ever find the vanilla version.

However after tasting this strawberry milkshake version I can see why they only have limited circulation. They’re just not that good. They smell more like cotton candy than strawberry and there’s barely any flavor other than malt. The color is really disappointing, see for yourself. I'm strongly against dull-colored candy, especially when the color can enhance the experience. And dull pink is even more baneful.

I was very disappointed in the lack of strong strawberry flavor because I thought it would mix well with the maltness. Instead I tend to agree with the other reviewers, its mostly just an extra strong sugary taste with a slight wiff of cotton candy-strawberry scent.

Peanut Butter And Banana Reese's Cups

I haven't done a candy review in a while but this product rather inspired me. Last weekend some friends and I went to Hershey Park in Hershey, Pa. I may have to write separately about the infamous "Chocolate World" ride and its Duff-World-on-Acid freakout weirdness, but after that ride I ran around the Chocoloate World gift shop like a kid in some kind of store. (Sorry I can't help the Simpson references.)

The gift shop was surprisingly disappointing. I'm not quite sure what I was expecting -- maybe Willy Wonka's Chocolate factory -- but it ended up being more like the candy isle of a grocery store. They had pretty much every Hershey's product you could ever ask for. And we all know how hard it is to find Hershey's products.

In any case they were selling the new Limited Edition Reese's Peanut Butter & Banana Creme candy and for $.55 I decided it was worth trying.

As you can see from the picture the product got a little melted on the way home.

The banana flavor was actually not bad and the combo was surprising at first, but later pretty tasty. I put the other cup in the freezer for an hour and it was even better semi-solid. In a way I think they almost didn't have enough banana creme in it.

Unlike Hershey's Chocolate Gum this is something I would definately buy again. For another take here is Brian from Candy Addict. Cybele at Candy Blog also has some beautiful photos along with her review. Apparently these cups have only been on sale for a month now.

Vegetable Skittles?

It's good to know someone else is also obsessed with noticing the many different varieties of candy bars. I'm waiting to "taste the garden" but I think Jelly Belly already has that market cornered. Hat tip Candy Addict.

Chocolate Gum?

I love chocolate and I love gum. So what better than to combine the two great foods together?

I was in the local 7-11 (stomping ground for special additions and "new" candies) and I saw the Bubble Yum Chocolate. It was $.89 but I decided worth it just to try it out.

Chocolate-the-flavor doesn't often translate well. (See Skittles Ice Cream flavor, which includes "chocolate"). To give Bubble Yum credit, their verison of "Chocolate" is better than Skittles. Its chocolatier than Tootsie Pops (which I think is technically supposed to be fudge, isn't it?) but it's still not really chocolatey.

The other thing about the gum is that the flavor (while pleasant) fades really fast and then turns into an unpleasant flavorless gum with an artificial aftertaste. Yeah, chew this gum for 15 minutes and you'll want to start replacing the flavor in your mouth with mint or something.

Also, has anyone ever thought that Bubble Yum puts too much gum per piece? Chewing a full piece of Bubble Yum starts hurting my jaw after a while. I've been in the habit of only chewing a half-a-piece for a while now. Makes the gum last longer, although in the case of Bubble Yum Chocolate, I don't think I'd buy another pack.

Another candy review: Razzles

So ignore the angstiness of the last post. I was reading some of the other candy bloggers and I remembered I really wanted to talk about those Razzles I bought on the same trip to World Market. If you've watched that Jennifer Gardner vehicle 13 Going on 30 you know that the candy Razzles becomes a major plot point. Or minor. Or whatever because its mentioned about 500 times in the course of the movie and they could have literally inserted dialogue that said "I really long for [1980s candy] my 30-year-old Love Interest," "Yes, I remember when as 13 year olds we used to eat [1980s candy] together all the time. So why was I so fat but you were you so skinny?" I'm basically the same age as the character in the movie, but I don't remember Razzles all that much. I'm not sure I had even tried them as a kid although the name rings a bell. (Perhaps because it's just a great candy name?)

Since the movie went on and on about this particular candy I got interested in trying it. Also, I really love gum. But it was kind of surprising because I didn't see Razzles sold in that many places but when I did, it was kind of over priced. Like $1.75 each, overpriced. I think there must have been some deliberate attempt to restock the product after the movie came out as a nostoglia candy.

But on the same trip to World Market that I bought the Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans and the Jelly Belly Dinosaur Egg, I found the Razzles and decided to just bite the bullet and pay the whopping $1.25 for them.

Prognosis: Way too much hype. I didn't really get the whole "candy" part of the ad campaign for this product because it really is just a gum. It's kind of like a softer version of Giant Chewy Sweet Tarts that just falls apart in your mouth and has to be worked back together into gum. The gum itself wasn't that bad but I felt you had to have at least 3 pellets to make a good-sized chew. If this sold for $.50 it wouldn't be a horrible product but it's not a good enough gum or candy really to justify the price. Frankly the only candy-gum combo I think works well is Charms Blowpops where the gum is almost better than the lollipop.

The end of candy blogging, part II...the thrill of the scoop

Ironically a couple of candy bloggers have urged me not to stop just because others are doing it. I think my perspective on this dates back to my days as a reporter where there was quite a thrill to being the first (or only) person to cover a story. I can't quite translate why being the first matters. Or why having your story picked up by others means so much, or when its not credited to you, conversely annoyes the hell out of you. That it's an ego thing is pretty much the only way to explain it, and while I imagine it doesn't make much sense to people outside of the profession, now that more people are blogging I suspect the deep interest in being first, and/or being credited with being first by others, becomes a little more understandable.

Granted many in the media take the concept of being "first" and/or exclusive way too far. Especially if its some story that is going to be reveiled naturally anyway. A real scoop in my mind is when you are the first to cover a story that no one else would have ever covered without your reporting. Being the first to report the weather or pregancies isn't exactly news.

There are so many news/politics bloggers out there I think this is kind of why I have stayed away from that aspect as well despite the title of my blog being "Newscat." I don't want to be the 500th blogger to chime in my opinion about Cheney shooting a guy in the face unless actually have something unique to add to the discussion.

So when I realized how many other candy blogger there were out there, well I hate the feeling that I would be going over the same ground that, frankly, they can do better. There are other things I've contemplated reviewing food-wise, everything from Slim Fast Shakes (which I have every day) to varieties of Lean Cuisines. At least so I can offer reviews of other products people haven't already gone over with a fine-tooth comb.

Anyway when I have the time I need to write about the one big blog-type scoop I had in 2003 involving a certain Howard Dean quote. I wasn't blogging back then, but if I had been if might have been the one news item I had that could have gotten me some attention. I think of it now as "the one that got away" because the e-mail account where I stored the information was closed a while ago, and I didn't even think to save the important e-mails with my evidence. Anyway I will talk about it soon.

The end of candy blogging

I may have to get out of the candy reviewing business. I've been having a nice e-mail discussion with The Candy Addict today and I didn't realize how vast candy/snackfood review blogging is. It's a whole subgenre of blogging that I hadn't been aware of until last week and now that I'm aware of it I don't know if I want to "compete" by offering the same product they are. Especially when they can do it better knowing how to make pretty graphics. (I especially like Candy Blog's visual look. Gummi Bears are so iconic yet pretty.)

When people specialize their blogs, be it about candy or coffee, they can attract a certain audience that then knows they can depend on their blog for that kind of commentary. Whereas while my blog is scattershot in topic, its probably less likely to attract an audience, but more fun for me to produce.

The other reason to end the candy blogging...it's making me hungry. I was mentioning a couple of types of candies I've liked such as Sweet Tarts Rope and Trolli Brite Crawler Eggs that are so sugary that after I ate them (or more likely a LOT of them) I would start worrying that I just gave myself diabetes. Sort of like that you know that joke from The Simpsons featuring Grandma Plopwell's low-fat pudding that gave Carl diabetes.

A Review of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans

You've probably seen these Harry Potter inspired Jelly Bellys "Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans." I was in World Market and for $5 they had a box of 10 flavors to try but essentially were the gross ones. I've spent $5 on worse stuff and since I've been inspired by Candy Addict's reviews I thought I would try my own.

Prognosis: I don't make a good tester.

Now honestly I've seen these around for a few years and just assumed the flavors were put-ons. Sure they may claim to be vomit-flavored but I just assumed there would be some unremarkable taste instead.

Boy was I wrong!
The flavors included in the box are: Earwax, Booger, Bacon, Black Pepper, Vomit, Dirt, Soap, Rotten Egg, Grass, Earthworm. There is also a Spinach, Sardine and Spagetti-flavored ones but they were not included in my box set.

Soap: Sweet, sort of a nothing flavor but there is a faint after taste of something that could be called “soapy.” Almost like tasting the smell of Tide.

Grass: Doesn’t taste like much. Just sweet. Some people have noted it does taste a little like grass, but I didn't taste the flavor.

Pepper: Definite “pepper” taste that’s pretty unmistakable. Not hard to eat but not particularly pleasant. Flavor sticks around a particular while. I ended up having to drink some milk to get rid of the taste in my mouth.

Bacon: A really bizarre combo. There is a definite “bacony” flavor that is sort of like eating Bac-Ohs but coated in sugar. You know it’s artificial but your brain says “bacon-flavor.” First one I had to spit out. Also the taste is kind of long-lasting. Even after eating Dirt I can still taste the fake bacon flavor. Ewww.

Dirt: For some people this could almost be an edible flavor. Sort of reminded me of black licorice which is not a candy I enjoy. I don’t think the flavor for any of these candies comes from the gummy inside but the shell so as you bite down the first flavor is usually sugar and it take a while for your tongue to melt the shell and get the flavor. So is it “dirt?” It has earthy, dark taste which is why it makes me think of black licorice.

After reading other reviews of the rest of the flavors I gave up. I think I'm going to put the box on my desk and pay anyone $1 if they are willing to try the Vomit one.

Here is a really funny letter to Jelly Belly about this product written by an 83-year-old.

Candy is a sugary sacred treat. A reward, a prize. Something you can count on to satiate a craving. You're turning it into a sick game of Russian Roulette. I've played that game in a German prison camp in World War II after my battalion was captured, and girl, you don't want to go there. So please, for the sake of the children, please stop manufacturing this product. If that Harry Potter wasn't so damn popular, you'd never be able to find a reasonable excuse to wreak havoc on supermarket isles like this. J.K. Rowling is probably mortified that someone would turn her fiction into reality. You people are no more intelligent than a kid who emulates "Jackass" stunts and winds up in the hospital or (better yet)dead.

Read the rest of it...

UPDATE: Apparently I didn't look close enough. The letter is a joke written by a Hamphire graduate. Hampshire College! I should have known. Awfully clever people go there. My cousin went there...but also one of my nemesises did too.

Super Valentine's Day Chocolate Edition

Well its Valentine's Day and speaking of chocolate and "love" I find it pretty interesting that for 25 years hershey's kisses kisses were just plain chocolate. Weren't they invented in the '70s. Then sometime in the '90s they added white chocolate "Hugs." (I think they're still around). Now there are:

1. Hershey's Kisses (plain)
2. Almond
3. Dark
4. Caramel
5. Peanut Butter
6. Hugs (white chocolate)

Forgive me if there's any I'm forgetting. Maybe they'll have a peanut version soon. There's also a "Kissables" which are basically M & Ms but in hershey kiss form. I actually like them a lot. But I can't rightly add them to the list. I think I remember hearing an Adam Corrolla rant on Loveline about the issue of candy branding. That basically instead of "inventing" new candy bars confectioner's are now basically adding an old recognizable brand name to a new combination. Like "Kissables" instead simply calling them "buttons" or whatever. They've done that with Snickers Almond and Snickers Crunch. The new Take 5 (which I haven't tried) is one of the few "new" candy bars to get an original name.

I just wanted to add that I finally made a blog post that had a topic (chocolate) , theme and title to match. Yay, me!

UPDATE: Apparently I have missed quite a few other Hershey Kiss variations. There's also a new Cherry Cordial and Dulce de Leche versions as well.