My dad has a story that he loves to tell each Christmas. When he was a boy, he and his sister ran down the stairs on Christmas morning, rushed to their stockings and pulled out… oranges? Yes, oranges. And that was in a good year.
My dad’s family considered this orange an exotic treat. My only comment on that? Good thing my mom was in charge of Christmas shopping when I was a kid. Of course, my dad also says he walked 10 miles uphill each way to school, so who knows what really happened on those long-ago Christmas mornings. My dad’s tale of Christmas oranges, though, along with the snow beginning to fall here in the Midwest, convinced me to try Altoids’ Tangerine Sours.
(Yes, I know tangerines and oranges aren’t the same thing. But it’s like crocodiles and alligators: Are they really that much different?)
Like every other candy company out there now, Altoids has created a gazillion flavors of the same product. There’s Altoids’ candies in peppermint, spearmint, cinnamon, ginger, etc. All come in very cool little designer cans. Even their website is strangely entertaining. Well, maybe it’s just strange. (Click the link at the bottom of this review and see what I mean.)
Shaped like little tangerine halves, Altoids Tangerine Sours look like the old-fashioned hard candy your grandparents used to hate. (They were waiting for the Jelly Belly factory to open up.) The sours start off with a nice tangerine flavor and finish with a grapefruit kick in the tongue. The candy is extremely refreshing and perfectly addictive. The Altoids people recommend five pieces per serving, but that’s nonsense. I recommend however many fit in the palm of your hand.
This candy gets a definite stocking-stuffer-approved from me. It’s zingy, but not too sour or too sweet.
So if you’ve been good, maybe Santa will drop a can of Altoids Tangerine Sours in your stocking. Sure beats an orange.
Buy Altoid’s Tangerine Sours Online:
- at Amazon.com
I got cavities from sucking on these too much. :)
December 1st, 2008 at 10:45 amMmm… tangerine is one of my favourite fruit flavours ever. I’m going to have to keep an eye out for these.
December 1st, 2008 at 11:46 amI remember reading in the Little House on the Prairie Books about how Laura and Mary would get an orange and a candy cane and a penny in their stockings and they would think that was the most amazing Christmas ever, and I was glad I didn’t live back when stuff was totally lame.
So are these things sour like normal citrus sour or crazy sour like sour patch kids?
December 2nd, 2008 at 12:48 am