Pepper and cinnamon infused beverages can occasionally deliver a spicy albeit fleeting distraction, as can certain trendy snack foods, but for a reliably complementary yin to one’s chile laden mealtime yang, look no further than certain salivation-triggering candies.

Ah yes, ever-enduring Hot Tamales certainly fit the bill. Though Americans may have a torrid, love-hate relationship with the chewy cinnamon candy, it has nonetheless continued dazzling daring palates for the better part of 62 years.

To this day, Just Born’s classic cinnamon triumph remains the top selling candy of its kind in the U.S., but the Lehigh Valley manufacturer is hardly resting on its laurels. From limited edition cinnamon jelly beans and Easter-themed spice versions to gum and the latest entry in their tongue-tingling empire, Hot Tamales 3 Alarm, your taste buds are going to kick into salivary overdrive.

Each package contains a hearty assortment of oblong jelly bean like candies in three different flavors – the orange is “hot”, while the remaining two red pigmented varieties are “hotter” and “hottest”.

My tasting panel and I unanimously agreed that Just Born zoned in on a great idea, especially in light of current spicy culinary trends and the fact that our culture embraces novelty just as much as diverse flavor choices. However, all of us had a bone to pick regarding the poorly chosen color palate of this particular product, which we though could have easily been more distinctive.

Sure, genuine cinnamon bark has far more of a bronze tone than it does red, but none of us thought that the orange-colored Hot Tamales in this flavor selection were properly indicative of the cinnamon nuances within. Similarly, the remaining red pigmented 3 Alarm candies were so close in tone that unless you’re highly scrutinizing or you hold each one up to the light while comparing them to the color chart on the back of the package, you might inadvertently chow down on a “hottest” rather than a “hotter” Hot Tamale. Editor’s Note: I had no problem picking out the difference in color between hotter and hottest.

After chewing, chit-chatting, combining flavors, critiquing, and then chewing even more, this is what four adults with very different culinary backgrounds thought of each individual Hot Tamales 3 Alarm flavor…

True Hot Tamales aficionados may view this product as slightly more gimmicky than an absolute must have, but the “hottest” flavor in this spicy cinnamon assortment may still happily engage the daredevil within. Regardless of your particular spice tolerance, whip out a pack of these cinnamon treats among mixed company and watch the conversational juices start to flow.

• Hot Tamales 3 Alarm

Candy Addict® received this product as a sample from the manufacturer. No payment was received for this review and all opinions represent an unbiased view of the product.

The chocolate bar has been around since 1847. In one form or another, cake has been around since long before then. But in recent years we’ve seen a surge of interest in cupcakes, designer cakes and cake pops. Wouldn’t it be fantastic if someone somehow combined both the candy bar and the cake worlds to prove to all of the naysayers out there that this whole cake fascination is more than a fad? Well, that’s exactly what Ryan Taylor did.

Along with little sister Krystal as baker, cake-loving Ryan began experimenting with recipes that married cake and candy. The result? Cakedy (pronounced cake-uh-dee, for all you word nerds).

The Cakedy website lists three flavors—best-selling Peanutter, RedHead and Choco Chocatus—with a fourth, Red Velvet, currently in the works. (I’m assuming Mint Chocolate is another new flavor.) Each bar is made from cake nougat and candy chips, all coated in a candy shell. RedHead is strawberry cake nougat mixed with strawberry chips, covered in a vanilla shell. The other two are, of course, made with peanut butter and chocolate cake nougat.

I received two Cakedy samples—Mint Chocolate and Peanutter. The first thing I noticed was that the packaging looked semi-professional. I was impressed with the labels and happy to see ingredients on the back. There are no nutrition facts but this is common among independent products, manufactured in small quantities. I did find both packages a bit difficult to open though. But I’m sure that once mass produced this won’t be a problem!

First up, Mint Chocolate. As I sunk my teeth into the outer layer of chocolate and inner pillow of chocolate-mint cake, my first thought was that I was eating something cake-like…perhaps a brownie. The cake center made for a texture unlike other candy bars I’ve eaten. And it was pleasant. The mint flavoring was a bit overpowering though.

Next, I tried Peanutter. I bit into the chocolatey outside and peanut butter-butterscotch middle expecting more of this unique cake texture. But instead I found the texture to be more like that of a peanut butter cup. While the center didn’t resemble cake, it was certainly delightful. I could taste subtle butterscotch in each bite, resulting in a sweet, rich flavor with a hint of a tart aftertaste. Good balance of flavors in this bar.

Editor’s Note: I also received two Cakedy samples… the Peanutter was fabulous and I enjoyed the heck out of it. Sweet, but not too sweet, a great mix of flavors. Delicious! I also tried the Redhead flavor which is described as “strawberry cake nougat mixed with strawberry chips and covered in a vanilla shell”. I wasn’t as fond of this one. The “vanilla shell” tasted like white chocolate (which I have never liked) and the strawberry flavor inside was lacking.

Overall, Cakedy is a great concept and I hope these make it to the rest of the US/world and Minnesota doesn’t hoard Cakedy for themselves. You can order them online though!

• Cakedy Official Site
• Cakedy Facebook
• News and Video Footage

Candy Addict received this product as a sample from the manufacturer. No payment was received for this review and all opinions represent an unbiased view of the product.

Despite the crystal clear recollection of being cajoled by my uber-health conscious aunt into gnawing on roasted carob pods as a mere pup – and the unholy sensation of sweet yet bitter tannins lingering long after I spit the chewed up tree bark-like bits out into a trash can (yes… I even scraped the residue off of my tongue with a paper napkin, to no avail) – I try to maintain an open mind when it comes to more wholesome treats.

My admitted hatred for the cocoa bean imposter notwithstanding, Oh Yes You Candy! has pulled off a massive lip-smacking coup, one which – not surprisingly – has resulted in them coming soon to the shelves of both Dylan’s Candy Bar and Whole Foods. Their remarkably satisfying, truly flavorful yet undeniably good-for-you Heavenly Bites – available hazelnut-vanilla-chai, mint-lime-sea salt, peanut butter-brown rice, and coconut-almond-sea salt (my personal favorite) – are free of all chemicals, dairy, animal products, and refined sugar.

Each cellophane-wrapped package contains three square, dense truffle morsels made with a combination of grain-sweetened carob chips, organic coconut oil, and (depending on the flavor selection) additional ingredients such as nuts, coconut, spices, brown rice crisps, and organic flavoring oils. Allowing one to melt on your tongue is an exercise in pure mock-choc bliss, made all the more enjoyable by the fact that it’s shockingly absent of all the bad stuff that always seems to make candy so guiltily yummy.

Due to the inclusion of coconut oil (a vegan-friendly, nutrient-rich, yet highly saturated fat) each treat is bestowed with the full bodied texture one might expect of a mainstream, empty calorie offering. That’s good from a mouth-feel standpoint as well as an artery perspective thanks to its high lauric acid content, which is believed to bump up good, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels.

Alas, despite the hard-to-fathom deliciousness of Heavenly Bites, a proper serving (one petite little square) clocks in at roughly 75 calories. No one really wants to put a damper on their sweet escape by counting calories, so here’s a ray of sunshine: eating a single eensie weensie portion will actually make you feel incredibly satisfied since the coconut fat molecules will linger on your taste buds long after you’ve tucked the remaining two squares away… um, in your bellll-aaayy, that is! (If it’s any consolation, I could swear that I felt my arteries giving me a high five after I did that.)

Even more notable is the fact that Oh Yes You Candy!’s carob base lacks the much reviled flavor profile and dastardly aftertaste of the unadulterated pod that haunts me and so many others to this day. Plus, the stuff just tastes creamy-rich-decadent-goooooood.

Whether you’re eager to liberate yourself from sugar enslavement or you merely just appreciate surfing the wave of confectionery offerings for something new and exciting, I heartily recommend giving Heavenly Bites a whirl. Indulging just once will inspire you to become a devout carob believer!

• Oh Yes You Candy! Website

There are just so many gums on the market right now that it’s hard to make any kind of decision on what you wanna chew. There must be at least 4 or 5 different mint flavors per brand from what I see in the checkout lines, not to mention all the fruit or combination flavors. I’ve even seen gum that’s supposed to taste like desserts. Now Stridehas come out with a new Wintermint gum sponsored by snowboarder Shaun White.

Unfortunately, this is just another one of those gimmicks. If you love snowboarding or you’re a Shaun White fan, Stride knows you’ll buy this gum. On the outside of the white package you can see there’s a partial face shot of Shaun White with his blazing red hair. On the inside of the package there’s all kinds of drawings of Shaun with comic book like talking “bubbles” along with some quotes from Shaun. Beyond that, this is just another mint gum.

The sticks are a decent size, as seems to be the standard with Stride gum and they are pure white. There’s nothing exciting or different about this “Wintermint” flavor. It really just tastes like peppermint. I’m a big fan of mint gum just because I’m always paranoid about my breath so that’s the flavor I’m always chewing. I tend to lean towards the softer mint flavored gums, that’s the mint I like. The really sharp mint gums just end up making me thirsty instead of feeling refreshed. This Wintermint is more of those sharper mint gums and even though it was a good strong flavor, it ended up making me thirsty.

As far as how long the flavor lasts, I’d say 30-45 minutes. That’s a decent amount of time, especially with a sugarless gum. And, we know Stride prides itself on its long lasting gum flavors. It does keep the breath fresh and I really didn’t have any stinky breath for awhile after throwing the gum out so it does have that going for it.

As for whether or not you should buy it, well I will leave it up to you. If you want to give it a try you’re welcome to it but I will warn you that this Shaun White gum will cost you more just because his face is on the package. I was at Wal-mart the other day and saw both regular Stride mint gum and the Shaun White Wintermint at the checkout line. The regular Stride flavors only cost 96 cents while the Shaun White Stride gum was $1.28. Must be more because Sean’s mug is on there, right?

• Stride Gum Website
• Shaun White’s Website
• Buy Stride Gum Online

Candy Addict received this product as a sample from the manufacturer. No payment was received for this review and all opinions represent an unbiased view of the product.

Nintendo continues to cash in on its classic video game character, the Italian plumber – Mario!. This time they’ve come up with sour and non-sour gummy candies called Super Mario 3-Dees. I tried the sour version because I love sour candy! The gimmick here is the fact that the gummy candies are actually three dimensional figures, like gummi bears. They come in four flavors and four shapes. The flavors are: orange, watermelon, strawberry and mixed berry. The shapes are: Mario, Yoshi, Diddy Kong and Donkey Kong. The shapes do not denote the flavor as some candies do, but rather you could get say 3 Mario shapes in your bag but they can be all different flavors.

The candies are all brightly colored with pretty much standard colors denoting the flavors (ie: blue for the mixed berry, orange for orange, etc.) The texture is that of a pretty standard gummy and of course they have the nice sour coating on top that gives a little crunch if you bite into it right away. As for the flavors, they are pretty much standard fruit flavors, there is nothing really outstanding about them.

It’s pretty obvious that these Nintendo candies will appeal more to kids who just love Nintendo games or the Nintendo collectors out there. The Super Mario 3-Dees really have two things going for them: one is the fact that these are three dimensional candies, not flat like Sour Patch Kids, and two that they are Super Mario characters. Otherwise, they don’t stand out as any better than other similar candies on the market today. If you’re buying them for the flavors, I think you’ll be disappointed but if you love Nintendo stuff or have kids that love Mario, these are great!

• 3-Dees Website
• Buy Nintendo Candy Online
• Huge list of Nintendo candy

Everybody knows the name Hershey and everyone out there has probably had a Hershey bar. After all, they aren’t called the “Great American Chocolate Bar” for nothing ya know. Now they’ve come out with this new chocolate bar called Hershey’s Air Delight. It’s essentially a regular Hershey bar full of air holes which is sort of like the Nestle Aero bars or even the Bubble Chocolate.

I’ve had the Aero bars and they have air pockets more like a honeycomb. The air holes are large and very noticeable. I was never impressed by that feature, it really never added or took away from the flavor, and it just added a weird texture. The Hershey’s Air Delight has really tiny air holes – it looks a lot like the middle of the bar got kind of melted and smooshed. You have to look really really close to even see the tiny air pockets.

The texture is just a softer version of a Hershey Bar. The air holes don’t really add anything except to make it feel softer inside, almost like there should be some sort of filling in it, but there isn’t any filling. As far as taste, it takes just like a regular Hershey bar, just with that soft texture on the inside. It seems to be a new gimmick that Hershey is trying out in their bars and their Kisses too, like they’re trying to dip their feet in the water. I like Hershey’s chocolate and it always brings back childhood memories, but this Air Delight is nothing phenomenal. I’ll eat it if you give me one but I’d be fine with just a plain good old regular Hershey bar.

• Hershey’s Website
• Buy Hershey’s Candy Online

Right before Father’s Day, I had posted about Beercandy and how it would make a great gift for Dads everywhere. I mentioned in that post that I was planning to order some of their products for my beer loving husband for Father’s Day. After all, what could be better for a beer-loving guy? Well, I spoke true and now I can tell you all about their Beer Taffy. I would have also reviewed the Beer Caramels, but sadly, since it was a Father’s Day gift after all, they were consumed before I could taste the. I had asked him for some details that I could include in the review but all he could tell me was that they were the best caramels he ever had.

If you are expecting that the Beer Taffy is going to be a sweet piece of chewy taffy with just a hint of beer flavor, like I did, then you’ll be in for a surprise. It’s nothing at all like I expected. If you like your taffy thick and chewy, then you’ll be very pleased. It literally took me 5 minutes to chew one of these. Your mouth will definitely get some exercise.

If you like the taste beer, then you’re going to love this candy. There are only two beers used to make the taffies, IPA and Stout. Both the IPA and the Stout taffy were equally strong in flavor, even though Stout is a normally a much stronger beer. There’s not much sweetness to this taffy, just enough to qualify them as candy, but the main flavor is beer. The best way I can describe this candy is “chewable beer”.

So, if you’re a beer lover and a taffy lover, you’ll really enjoy this candy. It’s a great combination of both handcrafted beers and candy. I like a good beer myself every now or then but to me it was strange to chew some beer rather than drinking it down. Then again, there’s no cans or bottles to worry about, you won’t need a beer cozy to keep it cool, and you sure don’t need a bottle opener!

• Beercandy Website

Skinny Cow ice cream has been around for a while and I think it’s pretty darn good so I was curious as to how their new line of candies would taste. The Skinny Cow candies are made by Nestle so I figure that I’d find some similarities in taste and quality to those Nestle candies I already like. The idea is that these are calorie-counted candies so that you know how much you are eating in one sitting.

Heavenly Crisp Bar: Milk Chocolate

The Heavenly Crisp Bar is a combination of crispy wafers and a chocolate crème covered in milk chocolate. It looks like a big Kit Kat Bar except that it’s a little crispier and the chocolate coating is much thinner than a Kit Kat. As far as taste goes, the milk chocolate is decent and the combination of the crisp wafers with the crème is pretty good. It’s a good chocolate candy but nothing really makes it stand out for me. Although, at 110 calories, it’s a pretty satisfying treat.

Dreamy Clusters

The Dreamy Clusters are a combination of crispy rice and caramel coated in milk chocolate. It’s basically like mixing a Nestle Crunch Bar with caramel. The caramel is thick and chewy and goes nice with the crisp texture of the rice. And of course, the chocolate rounds out the taste real well. You get about 4 crisps in each bag for 120 calories. For me, it’s just enough to get that craving taken care of.

If you’re watching your calories or are on Weight Watchers (they are Weight Watchers approved) then these are a pretty good way to satisfy your chocolate cravings and your sweet tooth. You get a decent amount of product for the amount of calories. However, as far as taste goes, these didn’t really stand out to me as anything different from what’s already on the market.

Editor’s note: I tried both also and thought both were very good, especially given the calorie count. I actually thought the Dreamy Clusters were delicious and would not have known they were low cal unless I was told (or read the label or saw they were called Skinny Cow).

• Skinny Cow Website

Candy Addict received this product as a sample from the manufacturer. No payment was received for this review and all opinions represent an unbiased view of the product.

I’m just going to come out and say it, Gimbal’s Sour Lovers Mix is the absolute BEST sour candy I have ever had! I’ve never had any Gimbal’s candy before and honestly I had never heard of them before I got this bag of goodness. I sure do know about Gimbal’s Candy now! They are so good that I let my husband have a few and from his reaction, I had to hide the bag in order to have enough for me to write this review. It was tough.

These sour gummy candies are shaped like hearts and come in 12 flavors: Meyer Lemon, Grapefruit, Pomegranate, Fuji Apple, Watermelon, Tangerine, Margarita, Blueberry, Mango, Strawberry Daiquiri, Mango, Bing cherry and Georgia Peach.

The best thing about these is not only the flavors (which are phenomenal), but the fact that they aren’t just sour on the outside; they are also sour on the inside. I noticed this when I sucked off the outer sour coating and figured out that the gummy in my mouth was still sour. It was confirmed when I visited the Gimbal’s website. They actually put the sour making ingredients into the gummy mixture and then coat the gummies in the sour mixture too.

The gummy is that good, tooth-sticking kind of gummy that makes the flavors linger for so long. You get such a good long chew with these and in combination with the incredible flavors and the double sour whammy… these are a phenomenal candy that is not to be missed. I hereby award them the coveted Candy Addict Awesomely Addictive Candy Award!

• Gimbal’s Candy Website
• Buy Gimbal’s Sour Candy Online

Candy Addict received this product as a sample from the manufacturer. No payment was received for this review and all opinions represent an unbiased view of the product.

Dentyne Pure

Dentyne Pure gum touts that it will “purify your breath” with natural botanical accents. The claim is that it “Neutralizes bad breath odors caused by bacteria and food.”

Mint with Melon Accents

The gum is a standard square shape, white with a harder candy coating over top of it. Upon the initial “chew”, the mint flavor is almost chemical in taste. This was almost a complete turn off from chewing it any more. But, as a Candy Addict, I must persevere. The candy shell breaks easily and the gum underneath is a good soft, but not too soft gum. The mint flavor is very sharp at first but does mellow off into a more natural mint flavor as I chewed. As for the “Melon Accents”, I never found them. Once in a while there might have been a hint of something other than mint but it disappeared just as fast as it came on. As for purifying my breath, it only did that so long as I was chewing the gum. Once I finished the piece, there really wasn’t any long-lasting effect.

Mint with Herbal Accents

This one was almost identical to the Mint with Melon Accents. Honestly, whatever herbal accents are in this gum, I have no idea what they are. There is really no other flavors to this gum other than mint. This time, I chewed the gum after lunch. I had some of my homemade bruschetta which is full of tomatoes, red onion and garlic. I thought it was a good challenge for this breath purifying gum. I would say that about 80% of my bad lunch breath was neutralized. However, after I threw the gum away, my breath crept back. So, yes the gum does neutralize bad breath, but truly only while you’re chewing the gum. Once you’re done with chewing it, you’re on your own breath-wise.

Stride Spark Gum

This new gum from Stride boasts B6 and B12 vitamins to give you a boost of energy. Based on the amount of time I chewed this gum, I can say no boost of energy was experienced.

Stride Spark Kinetic Mint

The stick of gum was colored a brilliant blue and is a skinny rectangle in shape. I was actually grossed out by the initial flavor of this gum. It was obvious that there was some sort of vitamin in the gum. The flavor was so off it was offensive. However, after giving it a couple of minutes, that funky taste goes away and you’re left with this awesome mint flavor. It’s not super-sharp like some mint gums get, but rather a softer and sweeter mint. I rather enjoyed chewing this gum after that initial yuck factor. The flavor lasted longer than a half hour and gave my mouth that cool mint feeling (you know when you breathe in through your mouth and you get that cooling sensation).

Stride Spark Kinetic Fruit

The Kinetic Fruit gum was the same size and shape as the mint but colored a bright orange. As with its mint counterpart, the Kinetic Fruit gum does have that “vitamin” taste to it. However, it fares much better with this fruity flavor than with the mint. I could still taste it, but not nearly as much as that initial chew with the mint. The fruit flavor is pretty generic and is not much different from the other fruit-flavored gums out there. The flavor disappeared much too quickly. I would say after about 10 minutes of chewing it the flavor went bye-bye. I was more impressed with the mint and definitely would not bother with the Kinetic Fruit flavor again.

If I was to choose one winner from these four gums, I would have to pick the Stride Spark Kinetic Mint. Even though it had that initial yuck factor, the flavor ended up to be great and it lasted a long time. The gums only kept my breath clean and fresh while the gum was being chewed and not after. The energy boost from the vitamins in the Stride Spark just wasn’t happening for me. So, even though both these gums tout some great new feature and ability, I honestly didn’t find that to be true for me. I know I could find another gum that I’d enjoy more and spend less on it.

• Dentyne Pure Website
• Stride Gum Website
• Buy Dentyne Gum Online
• Buy Stride Gum Online

Candy Addict received this product as a sample from the manufacturer. No payment was received for this review and all opinions represent an unbiased view of the product.