Think Gum

The nice people at Think Gum got in touch with me and asked me if I would like a sample of their gum to review at the perfect time. I'll never lie to you guys: lately, my attention span has been about as good as the dog's in "Up". I sit down to try and write, and it's like "WAIT! There's something shiny!" or "Oooh, Dr. Phil has on moms who dress like they are cast members of Jersey Shore!" or "Damn, gotta go to work!" (Sadly, the glamorous world of food reviews does not allow me to avoid a "real" job.) Well, now is the perfect time, I suppose, so here goes the review...

Some of Think Gum's benefits are supposed to be that it has (I'm cheating and using the package blurb here) "brain-boosting herbal ingredients that are proven to enhance concentration and improve memory." Ummmm, what were we talking about again? Oh yeah, gum...

Think Gum was actually founded by a young whippersnapper named Matt Davidson who came up with the idea for the gum while studying molecular and cell biology in college. Matt went to U.C. Berkeley -- and Berkeley, of course, is known far and wide for its enduring love of all things herbal. Matt happened to be reading a study about how in a particular factory, the factory managers kept track of how the workers performed while working and breathing in different herbal extracts. While to me that sounds like the stuff bad sci-fi movies and conspiracy theories are made of, Matt actually took the time to learn something and paid special attention to the fact that the workers responded well to scents like peppermint and rosemary. He then set about on his own idea, and after a lot of work, Think Gum was born.

All of that is interesting and everything, but how does it taste?

Good question. Each piece contains not only the peppermint and rosemary, but also ginkgo biloba, bacopa, vinpocetine...and guarana, which is a natural source of sweet, sweet caffeine!



Each piece has a thin candy coating. I liked that the candy shell yielded softly and didn't cause crunchy shards to break off like most candy coats do. Actually, it reminded me more of the coating on the Premium M&M's. Rather than being a crunchy candy coat, it's almost a soft, lacquer-like shell. The texture is also a little different from most gums. Sure, it's chewy -- but it is also soft, and it's not sticky.

Tastewise, it starts out all about the peppermint. It's a fresh, earthy taste -- sort of like chewing on a fresh sprig of mint. It's sweet, but not in a candy way. The mint flavor stays at the front and is strongest for about the first three minutes of chew. After that you start to taste the rosemary.



The rosemary side is distinctly more bitter...but in a good way. It takes some of the edge off the peppermint before it reaches the point where you'd get that menthol-ish burn peppermint sometimes causes. It's an herby, robust flavor. The more you chew, the stronger that flavor seems to get. If it gets to be too much for you, or if you just want to recharge it, I suggest simply holding the gum in your mouth for a few seconds without chewing. That seems to "reactivate" the mint, and the gum will taste sweeter again. Between the mint and the rosemary, the flavor of this gum has amazing staying power. I chewed a piece for about half an hour before it started to weaken.

As for feeling like I was retaining things better, or whether my concentration had improved, etc., that's harder to say. I am currently on so much medication that I'm probably the worst person to even try to review it in that context. But I can say that I felt more alert after chewing, and I'm guessing that's at least partially from the caffeine. Each two-piece serving of gum contains about the same amount of caffeine as half a can of soda. And that's not overdoing it. I like that I got a little boost without it being so much caffeine that I feel like my heart is going to burst out of my chest, or I may want to do extreme sports or party like a drunken frat boy, or any other overly caffeinated cliché you can think of that I didn't.

Overall, I liked this gum a lot for its unique flavor. I like the fact that it's both herby and minty, and manages to pull it off without tasting either like medicine or like chewy dried spices. I also liked the little energy boost I got, and I will definitely keep on chewing!




PURCHASED FROM:
Sample from company.

CALORIES:
5 calories per two piece serving.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE:
thinkgum.com

King Leo Peppermint Bark Bites

If you have read this blog for any length of time, you probably know that I love love looooove me some peppermint bark. Sadly for me, peppermint bark seems to be one of those things that a lot of people love, but that you only really see out en masse around the winter holidays...

Well, maybe not. Because tucked inside the enormous box of loot the good folks at Quality Candy sent me was this nice box of King Leo Peppermint Bark. Peppermint Bark in June?! SCORE!

Reading the blurb on the box, I was also quite happy to see that this is one of the products King Leo breaks out the real chocolate for -- and not only was it actual chocolate, but according to the box "only the richest chocolate" was used to make it. Woohoo, no mockolate! We're off to a promising start here!

Since it's a tried and true fact that King Leo does indeed make some of the best peppermint out there, let's see how we did with the bark.



First off, I like that the peppermint chunks are huge. You know from the moment you open the box that the bark is going to be chock full of peppermint. You can smell it even before you open the cellophane bag the candy is packaged in.

The slab is a thick layer of dark chocolate followed by a thinner layer of white chocolate, which is topped with crushed peppermints.



The chocolate: in the case of the dark chocolate, it is indeed real chocolate -- and it also has real vanilla as well. Maybe it's just the strength of the peppermint, but the chocolate doesn't have the most assertive taste. If anything, the whole thing tastes (minus the peppermint on top) like like a big slab of Andes Mints. That's by no means a bad taste; it's just kind of generic. The texture of the chocolate is oily. It does melt in your mouth rather than seize into a lump, but it's not the rich, creamy melt I was hoping for.

As for the white chocolate, it's very understated. You can hardly taste it at all...which in my book is a good thing, as I don't care for white chocolate anyway.



The star of this bark is really the crushed peppermint on top. As I said at the start, the pieces are large and plentiful. It's fresh, it's sweet, it's bold. And I love crushing the shards with my teeth.

Bottom line, the peppermint is very nice and the chocolate is...well, forgettable at best.



PURCHASED FROM:
Sample from company

CALORIES:
130 calories per 1 oz piece.

ADDITIONAL INFO:
Made on equipment shared with peanuts, tree nuts, soybeans, milk, eggs and wheat.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE:
qcandy.com

Vosges Holiday Bonbon Collection

Let me say a big thank you to Vosges Haut Chocolate for ignoring the fact that I rank rather high up on the Naughty List, and for treating me to an early Christmas present by sending me this collection of holiday-inspired truffles.




There are four different truffles in the collection:

* Mascarpone & Ceylon Cinnamon Snap
* Holiday Plum Pudding
* Candy Cane Peppermint
* Eggnog & Jamican Rum

And just try tell me they aren't beautiful to look at, I dare you! Anyway, for this review, I will start with...


Mascarpone & Ceylon Cinnamon Snap:



I love mascarpone cheese so much that I have been known to eat it plain, straight from the container. Mascarpone, should you not know, is a type of super-rich cream cheese that can be eaten on its own -- or mixed into anything and everything. In my family, we make cannoli filling with it. (Should you want to try my family's version pick, up a copy of Henry Hill's The Wiseguy Cookbook. The cannoli recipe on pages 86-88 is actually my mother's.)

And keeping with the Goodfellas theme, Ceylon cinnamon is basically the Godfather of the cinnamon world. All other cinnamon-type products, while still members of the family, are various levels of underbosses, capos, and plain old soldiers. The cinnamon is sprinkled generously atop the 45% deep milk chocolate shell. Inside is the mascarpone. This truffle also contains organic sour cream.



Giving the truffle a sniff from the top, it's the deep woodsy spice of the cinnamon that you notice. Once you get into the center of the truffle (normally I would just bite and dig in, but for the sake of pretty pictures we sliced the truffles first), what immediately stands out is the rich dairy smell of the cheese.

When I bit into this truffle, for a split second I swear all I saw was blinding white light and unicorns! There might have been a rainbow or two, and Barry Manilow was in the background singing a soaring crescendo. Yeah, this truffle is just that good. You start with a little heat from the cinnamon on top, then when you break through the deep milk chocolate shell, the cool silky filling flows into your mouth. It's sort of like an extra creamy chocolate mousse, mixed with a healthy dose of my beloved mascarpone cheese. The deep milk chocolate was the perfect choice. It's creamy enough that it didn't get lost in the strong dairy of the cheese, and yet not dark enough that it was bitter or upstaged the cinnamon. If I didn't know the sour cream was in there I wouldn't have noticed it -- but you know what? I don't care! If you only try one Vosges truffle in your lifetime, make it this one!


Holiday Plum Pudding:



I don't have much base of reference for plum pudding. About all I really know is that the Cratchits (the family from Dicken's "A Christmas Carol") seemed to think it would not be Christmas without it. Oh, and that the traditional version is a type of steamed pudding made with different dried fruits, liquors, nuts, and is often topped with hard sauce. But I can't say I've actually had one.



The Vosges version contains plums, Armagnac (a type of brandy), and marzipan, and is covered with 65% dark chocolate.

The truffle is topped with a pretty little piece of edible silver foil. What made this one stand out was the texture. The center, rather than being completely smooth, is layered. The top portion of the filling is the same silky creme as the others. Then right below that is a layer of what looks like finely chopped plums, and on the bottom of that is the grainy marzipan layer.

I loved the overall flavor. It was lightly boozy, and the plums were plump and sweet. The dark chocolate takes the edge off of the sweetness and melts nicely. I hate to say that what ruined this truffle for me actually was my beloved marzipan. Mind you, the flavor of the marzipan was good: almonds with mild cherry notes. It was the texture I didn't like. It was like a very loose, grainy fondant. Had it been smoother or firmer, I would have really loved it as is...did I mention that the plums were really sweet?


Candy Cane Peppermint:



It's hard to get more simple than all natural candy cane pieces, peppermint, and 65% dark chocolate. And simplicity is often a virtue.



I liked the fact that the top is where the crunchy bits of candy live. It gives a little contrast in texture, and the red bits look like shards of stained glass. The outer 65% dark chocolate shell is a really deep woodsy, earthy chocolate. There's some coffee flavor. On its own it would be a bit too bitter for me -- but paired with the sweetness of the smooth mint center, it's perfect.

The center is very cool on the tongue and the texture is almost like pudding. The chocolate is so smooth and rich I could practically drink it. The peppermint is brisk. It's very natural, not mediciny or artificial. Overall it worked beautifully.


Eggnog & Jamaican Rum:



WOOHOO! Eggnog! Eggnog with RUM! As I have said before, in honor of my best friend who is from St. Croix, I am partial to Cruzan rum. But Vosges didn't get that memo and instead they opted to use Appleton Estate rum. Appleton has been distilling rum since 1749 and is the oldest distillery in Jamaica -- so it's safe to say that they know a thing or two about making rum. The truffle also contains nutmeg and ginger, and it is all wrapped up in white chocolate from the Dominican Republic.



I went into this truffle excited because it's eggnog and rum, but also a little worried, because it's a white chocolate truffle and I am just not a fan. But if anyone could make white chocolate doable for me it would be Vosges, so...

The truffle smelled sort of like rum and steamed milk. I didn't get the eggnog or the ginger at first. But the truffle center is like the best eggnog ever. It's creamy, it's rich, it's custardy. The nutmeg is there. The rum is strong enough that its presence is known, but it doesn't over power the other flavors. The ginger is represented by little soft bits of ginger that go unnoticed until they explode in your mouth. Yum! The white chocolate... OK, again let's remember that I don't like white chocolate. I did find that the outer shell seemed dry -- and that was not the case of the dark or the milks. It was creamy tasting, and there were good vanilla notes. If you are a fan of white chocolate, I expect you will love the shell. I loved the filling...oh, the bad things I would do for large quantities of that filling...

Overall, even with the couple of (minor) qualities I didn't care for, this remains a truly stellar collection. The Mascarpone/Ceylon Cinnamon Snap alone is so good that no matter how the other three flavors had turned out, I still would have been happy.

Absolutely outstanding.



PURCHASED FROM:
Sample From Company

Let me remind those of you who are still shopping for the perfect gift for the old friends and loved one (or for yourself) that Vosges Haut Chocolate is offering my readers 10% off orders placed by December 31st. Just be sure to use the special code BLGF09 when checking out.

Trader Joe's Candy Cane Joe-Joe's

So this is the last post of mint week. And since we started with cookies, I thought we should end with cookies.

Last year when I fell in love with the Candy Cane Oreos, I got several suggestions that I should try Trader Joe's version: the Candy Cane Joe Joe's. I agreed but sadly, I couldn't get a box; I guess last year's batch was just that good.

But this year I made sure to get me some! (Wait, that sounded bad...)



Joe-Joe's come in a nice cardboard box and are sealed into in an Oreo style plastic tray inside. The box contains a pound of cookie goodness. The cookies themselves are chocolate wafer cookies. Nestled between the cookies is a layer of vanilla flavored cream, studded with actual pieces of candy canes! OK, the description sold me.

This is not going to be an easy challenge for Trader Joe. And since Oreo is pretty widely available, that is what I am going to use for comparisons sake.



The wafer is softer than its Oreo counterpart. I actually sort of liked that. The pieces broke off in sort of a flaky way. Texture-wise I really liked them. Flavor-wise...eh, not as much. The chocolate flavor is not as strong as the mass-market Oreo. I don't often say this about cookies, but I think it could benefit from a little salt. It's still tasty, but I thought the wafers were kind of bland.



The creme: It is a pretty looking filling. It's a delicate pastel pink, and you can actually see the candy bits. And speaking of the candy bits, I really liked the crunch. The pieces aren't big enough that you find yourself wondering why they didn't just throw the whole cane in. I know the creme is supposed to be vanilla flavored, but I didn't really pick that up. The creme is pretty smooth and the portion is generous (I would compare it more to a Double Stuffed Oreo than a regular Oreo)

The milk test: The wafer quickly becomes soggy -- which I love. And the sogginess makes the crunches pop even more, which was also good. I did like the cookies better in milk.

I know that Joe-Joe's have a hugely dedicated following, which I am now probably going to annoy...right...about...now...

I do give Trader Joe props for using ingredients that one can actually pronounce and that are probably Dwight Schrute approved and/or supplied (beet color). But while I found the Joe-Joe's to be a decent cookie, I still prefer the big, bad, mystery ingredient-laden competitor.

I know, I know. I am kind of ashamed of myself too.



PURCHASED FROM:
Trader Joe's

York Peppermint Pattie: Snowflake Shape

York Peppermint Pattie is yet another classic candy that I was somewhat shocked to realize I'd managed not to review yet. You would think it would have snuck in somewhere among the 667-odd reviews, but no. Well, let's all thank Mint Week for finally giving me the perfect excuse to have one.

Out of all the mass-market candies out there, York Peppermint Patties are the ones that are actually the most "Christmasy" to me. In my house while growing up -- and oddly enough, in both of my parents' homes to this day -- you will still find the holiday mini-versions in the candy dishes. As a kid, Christmas was often the only time we would have them in the house. And I always loved them.

A York Peppermint Pattie, as the commercials have always told you, gives the chilling sensation of being on a frozen mountaintop -- although why anyone would ever want to be on a frozen mountaintop is beyond me. It's cold...there's no Internet...highly unlikely for any hot topless babes to be around. No, I'll just stay home on my couch with my DVR in a temperature-controlled environment, thank you very much. Anyway, in addition to being cooling, the Pattie has a thin layer of dark chocolate over a center of peppermint fondant.

Normal Peppermint Patties are round and come in single servings of 1.4 ounces. I got the holiday Snowflake version, even though it was smaller at 1.2 ounces (and cost more as well). I thought that the Snowflake itself might be nicely molded...and wouldn't that make for a pretty picture?



Well, had it been nicely molded it very well might have made for a nice picture. But as it was out of the package, it more resembled a flabby Patrick Starfish from Sponge Bob than the snowflake design I'd hoped for. (Like these -- I have never tried those candies, but that does represent what I thought the York might have tried to look like, given any effort.)

OK, it's not always about looks. Yeah, sometimes it's size that matters too -- oh wait, that's right -- not only did York make this version ugly, but they are smaller than the normal Peppermint Patties. York, you are making this hard for me...

All right, forget looks and size. All that really matters here is taste. And luckily for York, taste is the area where they really shine.



As you have probably guessed, a York Peppermint Pattie all about the peppermint. The inner fondant has the perfect texture. It's soft but kind of crumbly. The melt is smooth and fast. The flavor is like pure peppermint. It's not too sweet, there are no extra flavors getting in the way.

The dark chocolate outer shell is thin, and while you might guess by the pictures that it's too thin, somehow York has found the magic perfect balance. The dark chocolate adds just enough chocolaty goodness to complement the mint without distracting from it.

Just go get some. They are a classic for a reason. (Get the regular circular ones, as they are both larger and cheaper.)



PURCHASED FROM:
Albertsons Supermarket

Trader Joe's Peppermint Bark White Chocolate Bar

Yesterday's Mint Week entry was Dove's Promises Peppermint Bark offering. I thought an interesting counterpoint to that review would be to try Trader Joe's Peppermint Bark White Chocolate bar today.

Confession: I actually bought this bar last year (well, not this exact bar), but never got around to opening it, let alone reviewing it until long after Christmas. And by the time I did, it was no longer in stores, and the bar itself had seen some better days. Hey, when you have a closet full of candy these things happen.



Anyway, Trader Joe's version of Peppermint Bark is a brick about the size of an energy bar. It has a bottom layer of dark chocolate, topped by a thicker layer of white chocolate. Just below the surface of the white chocolate enrobing hide little shards of peppermint candy.

Once again, trying each layer separately: The bottom dark chocolate is smooth and has a cool feeling on the tongue. It also melts fast. There's not much else to say about it. It doesn't have the strongest flavor. I mean, I can tell you it's chocolate and it is a little bitter, but that's about all I can say.



The white chocolate, on the other hand, makes up the bulk of the bar. I am not the world's biggest white chocolate fan, but I liked this bar. It's a super creamy white. Not oily, it has a rich mouth feel, and the melt is smooth. The peppermint flavor is also in the white chocolate -- and it's more of the full-bodied peppermint I had been hoping for with the Dove Bark. The little bits of peppermint add some nice crunch. I wish there had been more mint pieces, but it is still good.

All together now: The effect of eating everything in one bite? It's creamy. Nicely chocolaty. The mint is brisk. There's a nice little vanilla note.

This bar is addictively good!



PURCHASED FROM:
Trader Joe's

Dove Peppermint Bark Promises

I like Dove. I like the "Promises" line. Truth be told, the milk chocolate Promises are a candy dish staple in my house. So naturally, I snapped up the Peppermint Bark Promises.

This Promise is layered, with a base of dark chocolate, topped by white chocolate that is studded with bits of peppermint hard candy. It was disappointing when I opened the bag and there was pretty much no hint, scent-wise, that there was peppermint goodness hidden within. Even once unwrapped, the Promises themselves smell more like dark chocolate than anything else.



When you bite into the bite-sized square, the chocolate is smooth, but there is some crunch provided by the peppermint nibs. Biting into each layer separately, starting with the white chocolate top, the white chocolate is smooth and creamy. It has a very milky quality that I liked. And of course since this is where the peppermint pieces live, it has the added crunchy texture. The mint also makes this portion a little cooler on the tongue.



The dark chocolate layer is standard Dove Dark. It's more like a really good semi-sweet chocolate chip than a true dark. It's smooth and has an outstanding melt. It's not as intense as some of the top of the line darks out there, but it has a woodsy, coffee-like taste that keeps it interesting.



The two layers combined have a flavor I can best describe as slightly mint-flavored milk chocolate. Overall I liked these Promises. I just found myself wishing the mint were stronger. But if you like your mint subtle rather than assertive, this may be the candy for you.

Oh, and speaking of the actual "promise" that lurks on the underside of each wrapper...

Should I be excited or slightly horrified that inside each Promise wrapper, instead of some inspiring little quips like "Life is Sweet" or "Listen to the music of your heart and dance" or some other quote that sounds like it may have been written by a thirty-something woman while listening to Michael Bublé with her cat on her lap....oh wait, that would be me...never mind! Fine job those writers are doing...

Anyway, instead of that, these promises feature holiday tips from Martha Stewart. And what are some of Martha's nuggets of wisdom?

"String lights on border edges to line your walkways"

"Dress packages in candy stripes for a sweet presentation"

"Use fishing line to hang wreaths"

"Glittered lemons make cheerful center pieces"

So that was it? Martha, c'mon! Shouldn't we be whittling antlers for the family pet or mining our own coal for the naughty on our lists? Don't get me wrong; I actually like Martha. Unlike a certain hideously overexposed quasi-contemporary of hers, she gives her audience credit for having the desire and/or the skill set to do more than chop up hot dogs and bake them into mac & cheese. And even if Martha did ask her audience to do that, it would be with the understanding that they would of course make the dish using hot dogs from animals they not only raised, but butchered themselves. The cheese would also be homemade, using the milk from the animals on the farm; and certainly the mac would have come from the homegrown semolina. (Extra points for using kitchen implements hand-forged in your home smithy, conveniently located on the spare shelf above the spice rack.)

What? Are you telling me you haven't turned your 75 square foot apartment balcony into a fully operational, self-sustaining .001721763 of an acre organic farm? You guys are seriously just not trying!

Anyway, the Dove Peppermint Bark Promises weren't bad. They weren't special enough to buy again, but yeah, I'll probably finish the bag.

Be sure to check out Cybele's review here. I think she liked them more than I did.



PURCHASED FROM:
Albertsons Supermarket

Dreyer's/Edy's Slow Churned Light Ice Cream: Peppermint (Limited Edition)

Looking through my site archives, I was shocked to find that somehow I had never reviewed the Dreyer's/Edy's annual Peppermint offering. It has always been a favorite of mine. Of course, in years past, it has also been an actual ice cream. This year's full fat/calorie version is -- and I am sure you are sitting down for this -- one of the non-ice cream "Frozen Dairy Dessert" Fun Flavors line. And to be fair, the Fun Flavors version could be quite good...but, as I have placed a self-imposed ban upon the Fun Flavors, I won't be finding out.

Luckily for me, Dreyer's/Edy's has added a Light Ice Cream version to this year's roundup. Would I prefer a real full-bodied ice cream? Absolutely. But as a rule, I do like the Slow Churned line, and even if it's "light," at least it's still ice cream.



So how is it?

The base of the ice cream is peppermint flavored, and there are crushed bits of mint candy sprinkled throughout. Visually, it's interesting. The white of the ice cream combined with the bright red pieces of the candy -- whose dye is more than a little runny -- gives the impression of bleeding ice cream. It's like Bill Compton's childhood holiday dessert.

The actual flavor is a nice mellow peppermint. It's clean and fresh, with a little vanilla. It never gets so strong that it tastes like toothpaste, and at the same time never gets too sweet.

The candy pieces are also perfectly sized. Not small enough that they barely register, but not so big that it's like gnawing through a candy cane.



In terms of flavor, this is one of those times that the Slow Churned line really nails it. It may not be the full fat/calorie version, but this flavor is just good.

The texture is what gives its "light" identity away. The texture is very, very soft. And if you really love the rich, fatty mouth feel of full-fat ice cream...well, don't be expecting it. Personally, none of this bothers me, because it is a light ice cream. And the loss of texture and mouth feel are going to be tradeoffs in exchange for the lesser amounts of calories and fat. In this case, the tradeoff is a good one.



PURCHASED FROM:
Albertsons Supermarket

Junior Mints: Peppermint Crunch

Junior Mints are one of those candies that I like, but I never seem to actually eat, just because...uh, I dunno why. Any candy awesome enough to make it in as a reference in a Jimmy Buffett lyric is OK in my book. (Bonus points if you can name the song without Googling!) But somehow, I just never seem to think of them.



This holiday version of Junior Mints features the classic dark chocolate outside, the mint fondant center, and -- purely based on the name and the picture on the box -- one would assume crushed up pieces of actual mint hard candies.

Reality, however, is a harsh mistress. And just as I have had to accept certain truths as I've gotten older -- i.e., that I will never be over five feet tall, that my hair will not outgrow its natural tendency to form a Seth Rogen style 'fro, and that my best friend will never admit that Kirk in fact WAS the better Captain (this debate has been raging for more than 15 years) -- I have also had to accept that there are not really little crushed up bits of hard peppermint candy in the Junior Mints Peppermint Crunch.




Oh, don't get me wrong -- there are little hard bits of something embedded in these Junior Mints. That's inescapable. As you can see from the pictures, the surfaces of the not-exactly-an-orb candies are freckled with what look like little candy zits. But are they teeny-tiny bits of broken candy cane or Starlight mint? I tried my best to isolate the little zit-bits and about the only answer I can come up with is that they are simply red-colored hard sugar. And about the only flavor I could pick up was the bitter aftertaste of the food dye.




Let's be honest: the chocolate on even the standard Junior Mints is nothing great. It's waxy and not exactly complex, but it does hold its own with the mint fondant. With this version, maybe it's because the proportions are different (these are a bit bigger than standard Junior Mints), maybe it's the little crunchy zit things...but the chocolate outer shell is worse for the wear. It seems more crumbly. And the aftertaste from the zit-bits is so strong that it overrides the chocolate flavor.

The mint fondant center is still the best part. It's slight grainy and yet weirdly smooth at the same time. It's cool on the tongue and tastes more like peppermint oil than candy.

Overall, I think the addition of the crunchy pieces make this candy a fail. The aftertaste from the red dye is the strongest flavor next to the mint. It makes the overall texture strangely gritty. It takes everything nice about classic Junior Mints and makes it funky -- and not funky in the good way. I don't think Jimmy will be writing a special song about how great this version is.

And neither will I.



PURCHASED FROM:
Albertsons Supermarket

Altoids: Cool Honey

It's been a long while since we last had a new Altoids flavor. (If I am not mistaken, it was the Creme de Menthe.) And I was really stoked to see the new Cool Honey flavor in the kiosk at Walgreens.



Cool Honey, one would assume from the tin art, is a mint/honey combo. Since Altoids are advertised as being "curiously strong," I was a bit unsure of how that was actually going to work out.



I wasn't sure if it was going to be a super-sweet fake honey taste (which, oddly enough, can sometimes be good) with a little hint of mint...or if it would be a super-strong mint that picks up that sort of toasty flavor that honey sometimes gets when used in hot tea.

Fortunately, it is sort of a hybrid of the two options. Peppermint is definitely the stronger of the two flavors; and while it is bold and refreshing, it doesn't have quite as powerful a kick as a regular peppermint Altoid. The honey adds sweetness and mellows the mint while not overwhelming it.

It reminded me of a hard version of a Butter Mint. And I loved the little bumblebee patterned tin!

Nice. Very nice.



PURCHASED FROM:
Walgreens