Candy Blog

Here’s a little shift of gears in my All Alcohol Theme Week. I have a couple of rolls of Mentos that are inspired by mixed drinks:

Mentos Pina Colada & Mojito is available in Europe right now, but should be sold in the United States shortly.

The pieces are divided, each flavor is on the advertised side of the roll. But if you get them confused, they’re all white with either green or yellow speckles.

Pina Colada tastes a little different than the standard Pineapple that’s available in the Rainbow and Japanese Pine Fresh rolls. That’s because it is actually a pineapple and coconut combination. The coconut here is less of the toasted variety and more of the creamy coconut milk flavor. The pineapple is floral and only slightly tart. On the whole it’s a rather sweet chew, but has a satisfying combination that keeps it from getting too sticky.

Mojito is not one of my favorite mixed drinks. It’s weird. I don’t know who decided that citrus and mint are supposed to be good together, but I guess if you put in enough rum, no one will care. I’ve had a few citrus and mint combinations, so I’m not coming into this candy unaware of good and bad versions. The mint here tastes like dried spearmint leaves, like a spearmint herbal tea. The lime is tart but has no zest to it. Some lime and mint combinations can taste a bit like cough drops, but that’s not the case here. Instead this just tastes a little old. I didn’t get anything even remotely like rum, but that wasn’t there in the Pina Colada either.

On the whole, I liked the idea of two flavors in one roll. But I didn’t care much for the Mojito, so half of the roll was suddenly off the table for eating.

Mentos Duo only seems to be sold in Europe. I tried them last year in a licorice version. Those were like the version above where there were two flavors in the roll. The added bonus on top of that was that the outside was one flavor and then the center of the chew was another. Mentos Drop Citroen & Drop Aardbei

I wanted to be fair to the poor lime after being so harsh on the Mojito, and the good news is that this version called Mentos Duo (Strawberry & Lime) is like a Strawberry Daiquiri.

All of the pieces are the same, a strawberry outside with a center of lime. The outside is a soft pink and smells like cotton candy. The initial strawberry flavor was light and fragrant, a little floral and sweet. The chewy center gets a little more intense with a tangy lime note. It’s not very sour, but different enough from the strawberry layer that it creates a counterpoint. Lime can be too sour and sometimes bitter; strawberry can be bland and too sweet. But together they make a great flavor combination that I think is all but ignored in candy.

Both European versions of Mentos are made with natural flavors and natural colors.

I’m more likely to buy the Duo than the Pina Colada/Mojito, but both are great additions to the range.

Related Candies

1. Mentos Rainbow
2. Bebeto Jelly Gums: Berry, Turkish Coffee & Tropical
3. 12 European Licorices
4. Mentos Jam Filled
5. Jelly Belly Cocktail Classics
6. Fresh Cola Mentos
7. Mentos - Pine Fresh (Pineapple)
8. Starburst Baja California & Tropical
9. Mentos Ice Pomelo

This Zotter Scotch Whisky bar has everything that I would want in the perfect decadent candy bar. It’s made by Zotter in Austria from fair trade, bean to bar chocolate. The ingredient list is mercifully short and virtually all organic with more than a smidge of Scotch Whisky (9%).

The things that make it hard to give the bar my fullest recommendation would be how difficult it is to actually buy it (I picked mine up while in Germany) and when purchased in the US, it’s rather expensive at about $6 to $8 for the 2.47 bar. (There’s also a little bit of a question about one ingredient, fructose-glucose syrup, which sounds like high fructose corn syrup, though since it’s organic it’s not from GMO sources.)

I’ve had a few Zotter bars over the years and have read plenty more reviews of their products as well. They have a weird twist to a lot of their flavors, some that I think work well in unexpected ways, and others that seem strange simply for the sake of it. I’m talking about combinations like Coffee-Plum with Caramelized Bacon or Cheese-Walnuts-Grapes to just a little unorthodox like Pear Cardamom to the downright unthinkable like Cornelian Cherries and Pig’s Blood. Think of them as the Jones Soda of fair trade candy bars.

The bar is the same format as all the others I’ve ever had. It’s about 5 inches long and about 2.3 inches wide. It’s not a thick bar but it is filled. They call them hand-scooped bars but they’re rather angular and always rectangular. This bar is enrobed, which is my preferred construction method. (My second favorite is panned, third is molded - that’s the kind of lists Candy Bloggers keep.)

The full name of the bar on the front is Scotch Whisky “Highland Harvest”. There’s no other information on what kind of Whisky it is. The bar is glossy and has the slightest ripples across the top. The chocolate is 70% for the shell, the center uses the same but with he addition of the whiskey, milk, cream and fructose-glucose syrup.

It smells a lot like Scotch, leathery and smoky with notes of vanilla, tobacco and of course the deep cocoa flavors.

The coating is thin, but still has a bold flavor, a smooth melt and woodsy flavor profile with a touch of coffee notes. The center is like a truffle, soft and with a silky melt. It’s barely sweet, with more than a touch of salt to it as well. The whiskey is quite evident, with a light burn on the tongue and throat. There’s a dryness and sort of acidity to the filling that’s unlike the profile of the chocolate in the coating. The leathery and smoky notes are strong and for some, probably, repulsive. I enjoy the pipe tobacco flavors to it, the mix of vanilla, red berries, oak and a touch of black walnut.

I loved the bar. It’s completely decadent and I found it difficult to eat more than a third in one sitting. The 9%alcohol is pretty intense, too. I would buy this bar again, most definitely. I think I prefer Zotter’s more traditional formulations. I like their spirit though I don’t care much for the pork products in my chocolate, even if they’re not in this particular bar. (I know, I’m a hypocrite since I eat gummis, which also contain gelatin.) I haven’t been able to find Zotter bars in Los Angeles, so there’s little hope of these becoming my weekly habit.

For other thoughts, check out Chocablog, who liked it overall, and Jim’s Chocolate Mission, who didn’t care for it much.

On my trip to Europe last month I was eager to see what sort of interesting candies were at the airport shops. I departed from Stuttgart, Germany late enough in the morning that the stores were open. (My layover in Paris was a bust, as I had barely enough time to get from one terminal to the other, go back through security and only glance at the Maison du Chocolat kiosk and buy two macaron at the Lauderee cart.)

Even though I was in Germany, there were quite a few varieties of Fazer confections. Fazer is a huge Finnish brand that’s also available in the United States. The sets there were rather reasonably priced boxes for 5.95 Euro (a little less than $8.00) that held about 11 ounces. They had a mix called Geisha, which was themed with lots of Japanese elements but had little milk chocolates with various hazelnut and almond fillings. The other mix was of the classic Fazermints and the third was the one I chose to buy for review: Fazer Liqueur Fills Vodka. I figured Finland is known for Vodka, so this should be something they do well.

It’s a long box that was nicely textured and looked like a good size and shape for gifting but easy enough to tuck into my carry on luggage (I left lots of room in case I saw things at the airport.)

The box has a lid to it that lifts to reveal a perforated opening sealed with plastic, so they’re well protected from evaporation. It’s kind of like poking out that little piece of cardboard on a tissue box. The pieces are individually wrapped in color coded mylar.

The Vodka Liqueur Fills Chocolates come in three flavors: Original, Cranberry and Lemon-Lime.

Inside the mild dark chocolate shell is an inner grainy sugar shell and then a full liquid vodka syrup filling.

Each piece is long and nicely formed. They’re not quite shiny but still well tempered and all were in good condition. However, I noticed the longer I went after opening the package the more likely it was that the underside would be a little dented as the alcohol filling had evaporated.

It’s like a little geode. The chocolate shell cracked well, usually uniformly where I bit it. I liked to bite off a little bit of the end, keep it tipped up so that I could sip out the vodka instead of eating it all at once. The inside of the chocolate was lined with large sugar crystals.

The vodka filling is not very strong, though certainly the real thing. The sugar lining keeps the vodka from leaking out.

Cranberry is sweet and fragrant without any hint of tartness of actual berries. The sugar inner shell is grainy and extremely sweet. The vodka is a little syrupy but also doesn’t have the throat burning bite of full proof alcohol. I liked this one least of all.

Lemon-Lime is mild. It doesn’t have a lot of zest or any bitterness, it’s just lightly citrusy and vaguely generic.

Original is slightly medicinal, like there’s a touch of gin in there. It’s okay, sweet but at least in this version the chocolate flavors come through. I liked this one best, though it seemed I had the fewest of these in the assortment.

For the most part, I found the sugar shell to be far too prominent. It was grainy and sweet and distracted from the other textures and flavors. I’ve had plenty of other alcohol filled chocolates, and I don’t think any had this much sugar by proportion. I’ll finish the box, but I don’t see myself buying these again. It might that I prefer an liqueur that’s more distinctive than vodka, as I do enjoy brandy beans and other flavored liqueurs. I also wanted better quality chocolate. As you’ll see in the other reviews this week, what alcohol does well is help reveal the flavors in good dark chocolate. It does nothing for mediocre chocolate.

As a little bonus review, I picked up a handful of Fazer’s classic Fazermint while at the Fancy Food Show in San Francisco, since I’ve never reviewed them before. They’re a simple candy. It’s a dark chocolate shell with a flowing fondant with a light touch of peppermint. I had six of them and tried photographing all of them by biting into it and taking a photo. In all instances I only ended up cracking the thing into sticky pieces. So take my word for it, there’s a flowing white filling, like a Junior Mint. The chocolate is better than a Junior Mint though not fantastic either. The mint is fresh and it’s not all too sweet. It’s really only a one bite item, so it’s a good little treat after a meal or with coffee or tea.

Related Candies

1. Eat with your Eyes: Scotch Balls
2. La Higuera Rabitos Royale (Chocolate Truffle Filled Figs)
3. Trader Joe’s Irish Cream Chocolates
4. Rum Cordials
5. Anthon Berg Filled Chocolates
6. The Birth of Candy Blog

Valentine’s Day is all about red. Red is the color of love and passion; candies for Valentine’s Day play upon the flavors that follow with red: cherry, strawberry, raspberry and cinnamon. The fruity flavors are usually easy to find, but cinnamon is a little less common.

I was excited to see this small bag of Ferrara Pan White Hot Red Hots Jelly Beans for sale at Walgreen’s in their Valentine’s candy display. What does White Hot Red Hots actually mean? The package doesn’t say, but the little window shows that the small jelly beans come in two colors: red and a red speckled pink. Any additional questions could be answered for a mere buck.

The beans are pretty and well made. They’re glossy, consistently shaped and I appreciated that the bag was sized appropriately for the amount of candy actually in it. (Sometimes bags are absurdly large but have very little candy in them.)

The white hot part, I think, means that these are very spicy cinnamon. Red Hots is just a brand of cinnamon imperials made by Ferrara Pan.

They’re a little larger than a Jelly Belly but smaller than the classic pectin bean. (Shown above with a Tic Tac.)

They are actually very spicy. I just ate a bag of Hot Tamales last week and I can confirm that these are just slightly hotter than those. The shape is good, it’s small and packs a powerful cinnamon punch. There’s a slight clove note to them and every once in a while I also got a little whiff of artificial watermelon, which may just be a manufacturing thing.

I liked them. It was easy to just pop a few as both a pick-me-up and a little breath freshener. They go well with coffee or tea. I’d definitely pick these up again especially because I like the smaller sized bag. Ferrara Pan already makes Lemonheads & Friends Jelly Beans but I would be curious to try a standard spice flavor array or maybe a mint blend. (Ferrara Pan is known for their Lemonhead and Atomic Fireballs, but they also do a lot of contract manufacturing for house brands and other major candy companies, so chance are you’ve had their jelly beans before.)

They’re made with confectioners glaze, so they’re not considered vegetarian (though there’s no carmine in there). They’re made in equipment that also processes dairy, soy, tree nuts and peanuts. No mention of wheat/gluten but “modified food starch” is listed as an ingredient without any indication of the source.

Related Candies

1. Valentine’s Day Candy Spotting 2011
2. Mentos Cinnamon
3. Brach’s Cinnamon Jelly Hearts
4. Heide Red Hot Dollars
5. See’s Cinnamon (Hearts & Lollypops)
6. Dots Elements: Earth, Air, Fire & Water
7. Cinnamon Imperial Hearts
8. Chewy Lemonheads & Atomic Fireballs
9. Atomic Fireballs

Trader Joe’s has its own version of a lot of standard food items. One that’s quite popular are the Trader Joe’s Joe’s O’s Cereal. I’ve never had it. It’s probably been 20 years since I’ve eaten Cheerios as well. I’m not a breakfast cereal sort of person, I prefer eggs and other more savory and protein heavy items in the morning. But I’ll go for some chocolate covered breakfast cereal, so that that’s exactly what Trader Joe’s did, with their Milk Chocolate Covered Joe’s O’s.

They come in a tub, which is rather light at only 6 ounces as it has lots of the airy cereal in it.

They’re really shiny.

They smell like milky and a bit like sweet breakfast cereal.

The chocolate has a light glaze on it, so it doesn’t melt immediately, but I’m a cruncher so that didn’t bother me. The chocolate is sweet and does have a creamy texture once it starts to melt. The Joe’s O’s are a little malty and not too sweet or salty. It’s a good snack, but it didn’t quite rise to the level of candy for me, even though there was a enough fat in it to bring the calories per ounce up to 131 (more than a 3 Musketeers, not as much as straight chocolate).

I’m enthusiastic about trying everything covered in chocolate at least once, but this wasn’t quite it. I’d eat them if you put them in front of me, I certainly had no trouble finishing the tub. But looking back on it, I didn’t find it a notable experience. Maybe some Chex style cereal (especially one of the gluten free varieties) would work better. The ultimate cereal and chocolate is still chocolate covered Corn Flakes.

The Joe’s O’s use a confectioners glaze, so are not vegetarian. They may also contain traces of wheat, peanuts and tree nuts plus contain dairy and soy and GMO ingredients. There is no indication of the ethical sourcing of the chocolate or other ingredients on the package or Trader Joe’s website.

Related Candies

1. Organic Moo Milk Chocolate with Crisped Rice & Corn Flakes
2. Belgian Milk Chocolate Thins
3. Trader Joe’s Milk Chocolate Covered Potato Chips
4. Cracker Corn Choco
5. Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Crisps
6. Q.Bel Crispy Wafer Bars
7. Theobroma Chocolate y Maiz
8. Wheat Chocolate
9. Ritter Sport Assortment