Gilliam Candy Company has been around since 1927 but it’s only been under the Quality Candy banner since 2003. Lucky for me Gilliam joined the Quality family because I got to try their Stick Candy.

I remember these hard candy sticks from when I was a kid. The tantalizing colors and stripes would glisten from the shelves and they all looked so luscious it was really hard to pick just one.

I’m afraid you may have the same problem with these sticks. I sat ogling my stick candy in gluttonous glee before I finally chose a few to sample. For those of you who don’t like trying to guess what flavor the stick will be, they’ve got the names of the flavors printed on the ends of the sticks. But if you want to go for the mystery and choose by color, just don’t read the wrapper!

You won’t have a shortage of colors and flavors to choose from – here’s the list of flavors I got a look at: banana, blackberry, blueberry, bubblegum, cherry, cherry cola, chocolate, cinnamon, clove, cotton candy, grape, horehound, island punch, lime, orange, orange pineapple, passion fruit, peaches & cream, peppermint, pina colada, pineapple, raspberry, root beer, rum & butter, sassafras, sour apple, spearmint, strawberry, tangerine, tutti frutti, watermelon, and wintergreen.

Obviously, it’d take me a month to try all these so I narrowed it down to five: bubblegum, horehound, rum & butter, sassafras, and sour apple.

I tried the bubblegum because just the thought of it made the kid in me giggle. This flavor tastes like bubblegum with some barley sugar and a little bit of fruitiness thrown in.

I tried the horehound because I didn’t know what “horehound” meant. Miriam Webster said it’s a kind of minty plant or a candy made out the plant, but this wasn’t minty at all. Mostly it tasted like barley sugar to me and I found it really mellow and pleasant to eat because it was just the right amount of sweet. I had trouble putting this one down.

I tried the sassafras because I think the name is fun. I know that many root beers say “sassafras” on them, but this tasted kind of like black licorice to me with some root beer in the finish.

I LOVE butterscotch so I couldn’t wait to try the rum & butter. This stick isn’t actually a butterscotch wannabe. It has its own, distinct sweet rum flavor with some buttery flavor sneaking in here and there. I found it light and enjoyable.

Finally, I tried the sour apple. While this definitely had a mild apple flavor, I wouldn’t call this sour. I prefer my sour apple flavor to be strong and quite tart, but if you like your apple flavor on the light and sweet side, you’ll enjoy this.

Overall, these were way fun to eat – the flavors were satisfying and the colors and shape evoked a sense of nostalgia that just added to the fun factor. As a bonus, they last a good long time so they should keep you occupied for quite awhile.

• Quality Candy Company Website

Get ready for a slew of Quality Candy Company goodness because I’m in possession of a treasure trove of quality goodness! First up: Choco-Crisps, a new release from Quality Candy.

I thought these were going to be some kind of chocolate wafer thingy, but I was surprised to discover they are nothing of the sort. These little guys are hard candies on the outside with chocolate in the middle. The “crisp” part comes in with the candy shell: it’s not as hard as it looks. Rather, it’s thin enough that you can easily bite through to get to the chocolate inside. I really enjoyed the texture of the candy shell. It’s not as thin as, say, an M&M shell, but it’s thin enough to make it fun rather than a lot of work. Plus, it doesn’t get all sharp and painful when you chomp it up – it just adds a crunch factor to the chocolate.

Speaking of the chocolate, that was a nice surprise too. It’s got this really creamy consistency that melts slowly so you can really savor it. The creaminess of the chocolate contrasts with the crunchiness of the candy shell so you get this mix of textures that’s dynamite.

At first, I thought the chocolate filling tasted kind of like a Tootsie Roll. But the more I chewed, the more chocolaty it got. As the chocolate flavor dominates the flavor from the shell, I got this constantly changing flavor combo that kept my tongue interested.

I tried three flavors of shells. The orange had an orange and cream flavor that reminded me of Dreamsicle. Now the pink flavor I was told was raspberry, but to me it tasted a lot like a strawberry Twizzler. Either way, I really enjoyed it. The peppermint, my favorite, had that great, classic peppermint candy cane flavor that makes your mouth tingle. After the chocolate faded I had this tingly, minty chocolate flavor lingering in my mouth that just rocked.

Like the rest of the Quality Candy offerings, the Choco-Crisps remind me of old-fashioned candies in a way that makes me smile. They may have an old-fashioned look but the great taste and texture sure do keep up with the here and now. The Choco-Crisps are coming out soon and I recommend you give them a whirl.

More Quality Candy Company reviews coming soon!

• Quality Candy Company Website

To me, one of the most exciting announcements at this year’s All Candy Expo was the addition of three new additions to the Pieces lineup. Never knew there was a Pieces lineup? Well, there is now, with Hershey’s Special Dark, Almond Joy and York Pieces joining the familiar Reese’s. But are these new additions worthy successors to the mantle of everyone’s favorite candy-coated peanut butter treat? (The Hershey’s folks threw in a sample pack of Reese’s Pieces too, so I’m doing a bonus review of those as well.)

Reese’s Pieces:

Colors: Orange, yellow, brown
Filling: Peanut butter

When I was a kid, it blew my mind when I discovered that you could put things inside a chocolate shell other than, well, chocolate. That the filling in question was delicious Reese’s peanut butter certainly helped.

If there’s anyone out there who hasn’t had them before, Reese’s Pieces are about the size and shape of M&M’s, and have a similar texture – under the candy coating, the peanut butter filling is denser and smoother than in a Reese’s peanut butter cup, closely mimicking the texture of the more traditional chocolate.

The filling has a milder flavor than a Reese’s cup’s – without the added element of chocolate, it doesn’t need the same intense saltiness. In all, Reese’s Pieces are a good mix of contrasting textures and flavors – the sweet, crunchy candy shell and the creamy, mildly salty peanut butter combine for a taste that’s not too heavy and definitely addictive, and they remain one of my favorite candies to this day.

Almond Joy Pieces:

Colors: Brown, blue, white
Filling: Milk chocolate, coconut, almond

Admittedly, I’ve never eaten an Almond Joy bar before – the similar but nut-free Bounty bar is more commonly available here in Canada. But I love the combination of coconut and chocolate, so I was pretty pumped for these.

They smell like toasty almonds and coconut mixed with milk chocolate – yum. The individual pieces are a little bigger and thicker than Reese’s Pieces, and their shells look a little lumpy and uneven, without the uniform gloss of the Reese’s.

This is definitely a candy for coconut lovers, as that’s the dominant flavor here. The milk chocolate is very creamy and mild, and isn’t overpoweringly sweet. It actually does a good job of mimicking the peanut butter center of Reese’s Pieces, only with the added textural elements of bits of nuts and coconut shreds.

The candy shell isn’t terribly thick, but thanks to the almond and coconut bits, these have a pretty substantial crunch. I can see where they might not be everyone’s thing, though – if the idea of little gritty bits in a chocolate shell doesn’t appeal to you, these probably aren’t for you. I, however, found them just as addictive as the originals.

Hershey’s Special Dark Pieces:

Colors: Red, brown, dark brown
Filling: Dark chocolate

For mass-market dark chocolate, Hershey’s Special Dark is actually not bad. But much as I love dark chocolate, I have to question whether a Pieces with a straight chocolate center really belongs in the same lineup as the chocolate-free Reese’s Pieces.

The Special Dark Pieces match the Almond Joy ones in terms of shape and texture – they’re a little bigger and thicker than the Reese’s, with a less glossy and even coating.

Unsurprisingly, they remind me a lot of M&M’s, but I find the chocolate center a bit acidic – it reminds me of semisweet Chipits rather than anything I would want to eat by the piece. Maybe I haven’t eaten enough dark chocolate M&M’s, but I just kind of expect a creamier, richer filling inside a chocolate lentil, especially one that’s being marketed as a variation of Reese’s Pieces. Overall, I’m not a fan of these.

York Pieces:

Colors: Blue, white
Filling: Peppermint-flavored dark chocolate

I was really hoping these would take a page from the Reese’s ones and just be peppermint fondant inside a candy shell, but they’re actually just filled with mint-flavored dark chocolate. (Boy, I’m really ragging on chocolate today, aren’t I? I must be sick or something.)

They don’t have the fondant, but the dark chocolate filling does have the same intense mintiness of a Peppermint Pattie, plus the slight sweetness and crunch of the candy shell. Not the original taste sensation I was hoping for, but really, you can’t go wrong with peppermint and chocolate, and the texture element of the candy crunch is a very nice addition.

Overall, all of these flavors were really tasty except for the Special Dark. I just wish they had been a little less chocolate-focused. None of them really blew my mind like the original Reese’s Pieces did back in the day – it seems like the purpose of them is just to compete with all the new flavors of M&M’s rather than doing anything truly innovative. There have to be more interesting non-chocolate things that you can put inside a candy lentil – but it doesn’t seem like Hershey’s is trying very hard to find them.

• Hershey’s Website

Buy Reese’s Pieces Online:

• at Candy Direct
• at Amazon.com

I’m back for Part V of my jelly bean adventure. For some reason Brach’s calls their jelly beans “Classic Jelly Bird Eggs,” but to me they are jelly beans!

When I think of the jelly beans I ate as a kid, the Brach’s jelly beans are what I remember. In terms of flavor, these jelly beans are similar to the Necco jelly beans I reviewed a while back. If you’re looking for super sweet, chewy jelly beans, look no further. Don’t expect any tartness or realistic flavors – these jelly beans are all about the sugar. They’re artificially flavored, sugary goodness in all its glory.

Color: Black, Flavor: Black Licorice – I’ve noticed that they’ve taken the black licorice flavor out of a lot of the modern bags of jelly beans. In fact, of the six bags I’ve reviewed so far for this series, this is the first time I’ve found the flavor. As a kid, the black licorice jelly beans would tend to be ignored by everyone – except me. So I’m delighted to report that black licorice jelly beans still exist and you can find them here in the Brach’s mix. Actually, I found out that Brach’s makes whole bags of just the black licorice flavor – great news for those of us who are black licorice addicts. Expect a really strong black licorice flavor from these jelly beans – yum!

Color: Red, Flavor: Cherry – Did you ever have to take liquid cherry penicillin as a kid? I’m so sorry to tell you that’s what this cherry jelly bean flavor reminded me of. It’s not bitter like the penicillin, but something about the artificial cherry taste sent me right to icky medicine flashbacks. But if you never endured childhood cherry penicillin, the artificial cherry taste should be trauma-free for you.

Color: Yellow, Flavor: Lemon – There’s something a bit wonky with the lemon flavor in this jelly bean. Even with all the sugar, there seemed to be a hint of bitterness to it. Still, if super sugary lemon brightens you day, this is the jelly bean for you.

Color: Pink, Flavor: Strawberry? – Ok, I think the pink jelly beans are supposed to be strawberry but then again maybe they’re cotton candy. The flavor I got was sweet with some kind of faint fruit flavor, so I’m leaning toward strawberry as the flavor. But basically, the sweetness overwhelmed the flavor in the pinks.

Color: Purple, Flavor: Grape – The grape flavor reminded me of grape Kool Aid! Eating the grape jelly beans actually made me smile – it had me harkening back to being a kid in the summer, drinking grape Kool Aid, and eating those sugary grape Popsicles. Needless to say, I really enjoyed these!

Color: Green, Flavor: Lime – Like the lemon, the lime jelly beans have a wee hint of bitterness to them. However, I liked the lime a lot more than the lemon. The flavor had a better balance with the sweetness.

Color: White, Flavor: Pineapple? Coconut? – I’m guessing again, but I think the white flavor is supposed to be pineapple. I remember debating this with my siblings when we were kids and we never really reached a consensus. The white color made me think that maybe it was coconut but there’s a weird tang that makes me think this is supposed to be pineapple. In any event, this is the most unusual flavor in the bag.

Color: Orange, Flavor: Orange – As super sugary orange flavors go, this is pretty good. It didn’t taste as artificial as some of the other flavors and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it.

So, basically if you want to feed your sugar jones, you might want to check out these jelly beans, er, “jelly bird eggs.” As a bonus, the classic flavors might take you on a nice, nostalgic trip down memory lane.

• Brach’s Website

Buy Brach’s Jelly Bird Eggs Online:

• Amazon.com
• Candy Crate

The Heath bar is not one of Hershey’s more talked about products, but it certainly is known throughout the world. Without thinking twice, people recognize it as “that toffee in chocolate bar.” That simple description is pretty accurate. Yes, the Heath Bar is a piece of English toffee, made of almonds, sugar and butter, coated in milk chocolate.

The bar debuted back in 1928 as the lead product for Heath Brothers Confection. Like many retro candies that amassed a following from that time, the Heath Bar sprang onto the national scene during the Great Depression, when candy was consumed in large amounts due to its abundance and reduced cost.

Sales for the product took off during WWII, after the army became one of the leading purchasers because the bar had an amazing resiliency and could be carried to the battlefield. After the war, soldiers helped spread the news of the candy. It wasn’t long after that this candy became entrenched in the confection world by becoming a leading ingredient in everything from cookies to ice cream.

I have consumed a good deal of various toffees recently, so I was interested in returning to what I remember as my first piece of toffee and comparing it to my recent experiences.

The Heath Bar that I picked up had a strong chocolate aroma, signaling it was fairly fresh. Taking a bite, I was instantly reminded of my memories of the candy. The toffee center is bold, and a bit strong on the sweet side, with nice coffee notes. The piece is slightly bitter, but that’s more of a result of the chocolate than the toffee. The chocolate coating, while not very prominent, isn’t bad.

One of the downsides of the Heath Bar is that its toffee center is sticky, gritty, and breaks into small pieces that love to get lodged between your teeth. I think these would probably have tasted better back in 1928, when they were handmade and undoubtedly abstained from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil.

Candy Addicts like to argue the merits of this bar with its cousin the Skor Bar. Both are produced by Hershey and are respectable candies that aren’t going to blow you away, but are great for their price tag while offering a nice variation from the traditional chocolate bar.

• Heath Bar Website

Buy Heath Bar Online:

• at Candy Direct
• at Old Time Candy
• at Amazon.com

Is there anything to rival the innocent sweetness of a Little Debbie treat? From the extreme simplicity of their classic goodies to their chemist-friendly ingredient lists to the cute little girl whose portrait adorns every box, the brand embodies pure, sugary nostalgia. Ever since the 1960s, when the CEOs of McKee foods decided to name a line of snack cakes after their granddaughter, this line has brightened many a day.

Crossing paths with Debbie at the supermarket or gas station always brings a smile to my face. These chance encounters bring to mind lunchtimes in preschool and kindergarten, during which Debbie and I became acquainted. Those years were simpler for us all, and whether or not we could expect to find something so tasty in the day’s lunchbox seemed an important issue. Too often, the presence or absence of a Swiss Cake Roll would determine my mood for the afternoon.

Yet for whatever reason, my relationship with Little Debbie has become less intimate in recent years. We see each other, sure, but we don’t touch, or (most importantly) taste. I feel at times that the freckled, curly-haired youth and I have grown estranged. So it came as a pleasant surprise one recent evening when my boyfriend arrived carrying an armful of Little Debbie’s beloved Nutty Bars.

Nutty Bars were as beloved in my youth as the previously-mentioned Swiss Rolls. Before I learned to differentiate a trans-fat-and-flavoring combo from chocolate, before I developed a preference for distinctly Reese’s peanut butter and yes, before I’d actually developed much of a candy-palate, the Nutty was my buddy. They may not have been expensive or gourmet, but I didn’t care. The Nutty Bar was sweet, crunchy, and peanut buttery. It left me with enough optimism and energy to see me through until my Mom’s end-of-day arrival – and more to spare.

Warmly anticipating my reunion with Debbie and her Nutty Bar, I opened the familiar box and withdrew a plastic packet containing two bars. Immediately, I became aware of the cynicism I’d accrued over the years. The quadruple-layered peanut butter wafers, enrobed in their barely-there layer of waxen mockolate, now appeared… cheap. Shaking the bars slightly inside their wrapper revealed tracks of “choco”-grease along the plastic. The phenomenon reminded me of dollar-store cinnamon rolls, which made the bars quite a bit less alluring.

But a single bite was all it took to offset the jaded mindset of old age. Once I crunched into those layered wafers, like a perfect Kit Kat/sugar wafer hybrid, I was four again – and happy as could be. Each wafer layer in the Nutty Bar is balanced by a layer of grainy peanut butter paste which I’m sure is more sugar than nut. But you know what? For the purpose of the bar, that particular flavor/texture combo works far more effectively than Reese’s would.

The bar’s mockolate coating tastes slightly waxy, but it doesn’t ruin the bar, considering the coating is approximately 1/100th of a millimeter thick and pretty close to tasteless. This is called a Nutty Bar for a reason – the peanut butter flavor and overall crunch-effect are what matters, not the chocolate. The bar is unsophisticated in both concept and flavor – even a super-taster would be hard-pressed to find subtle secondary notes here. That being said, it tastes darned good no matter your age – particularly if you happen to be a fan of highly-sweetened peanut butter!

As we age, we sometimes tend to eschew the simpler pleasures of youth. This is as true for favorite candies as hobbies. So next time you need a break from the stresses and pressures of modern adult life, break out the finger-paints. Play some vintage video games. Oh, and while you’re at it, call up Debbie and invite her over for a Nutty Bar – you’ll be glad you did.

• Little Debbie Website
• Candy Addict’s Little Debbie 100 Calorie Nutty Bar Review

Buy Little Debbie Snacks Online:

• at Amazon.com

Before it became a Pokemon character, Slo Poke was a caramel sucker produced by the Gilliam Candy Company. Now, it is a true sucker, as opposed to a lollipop (though they are interchangeable words in our diction, they are not necessarily the same thing).

Originally manufactured by the Holloway Company in 1926, these eventually were appropriated by Gilliam. I can’t really say when since it appears the Gilliam Company is retro in its own right, i.e., there’s no website to speak of and very little information about this mysterious company exists.

Despite its maker’s unknown status, these are pretty well-remembered by those who lived during the “nostalgic age” of candy. I had heard about them from my father, but seemed to be unsuccessful in ever finding one until I spotted them this last week at Central Market for thirty cents.

Slo Pokes are vanilla caramel candies that are shaped in a rectangle with a tiny stick inserted to make them suckers. The caramel is firm and a dark brown shade.

I popped one into my mouth unsure of what to expect from them. To my surprise, my sucking on the candy didn’t seem to soften the firm caramel nor did it shrink. I bet you could stick these in your mouth for a good hour if you have the patience not to chew through them.

I, however, do not have such patience. After about five minutes, I took my first bite. That was a mistake. This caramel candy is extremely sticky and got lodged in my teeth.

As for taste, they are quite simple. They taste like your standard caramel with a hint of vanilla. The flavor is not overwhelming or too sugary, but it is rich.

I am neutral about these. They aren’t bad, but nothing is going to make me seek them out. If you’re in the mood for caramel, I recommend Long Boys. I guess if you were seeking a candy you could enjoy for about an hour or two, these might be your thing.

Buy Slo Poke Online:

• at Candy Crate
• at Candy Direct
• at Old Time Candy Co.
• at Amazon.com

So there’s a disclaimer to this article. When I was asked if I wanted to review this product, the e-mail sent to me asked if I would be interested in reviewing cinnamon toothpicks. I am sorta neutral when it comes to cinnamon candy, tending to prefer the lot when it’s a mild cinnamon flavor.

But I figured these couldn’t be that bad because they’re only toothpicks after all, right? So I agreed to review them. Imagine my chagrin when I opened a small package in the mail that contained a small vial of toothpicks with the name Nuclear Hell Cinnamon Toothpicks. So umm… mild? Me thinks not.

The vial contains twenty-four toothpicks that are carved from American Birch and later coated in cinnamon oil. For those not familiar with cinnamon toothpicks, they debuted in 1949 as a drugstore product, which amassed great popularity into the eighties, but later fell out of fashion.

Twisting the lid off the vial, I take a cautious sniff of the goods, as I am afraid this “nuclear” intensity might melt my nose. Oddly, I don’t mind it. It has the aroma of cinnamon imperials, but far richer due to the woodsy quality bestowed by the birch.

Still tentative about the product, I nibble on one of the toothpicks. The immediate cinnamon flavor is quite nice in a refined way – specifically the one that you can only find in true cinnamon or cinnamon oil, as opposed to cinnamon flavoring or Cassia.

Then the “nuclear” part kicks in. It begins with a tingle on the lips that offers a slight burning sensation. As you bite/chew through the pick, more oil is released, and the potency magnifies.

At its peak, the flavor burns, but not in a painful way. It reminded me of how fans of spicy food enjoy the heat of the dish because there is a difference between spicy being a flavor component and spicy getting in the way of the overall flavor. In this instance, it is the former.

I will admit that I found my lips sorta numb by the time I had finished toying with the toothpick. A bonus of these, if you enjoy such a flavor, is that it retains the cinnamon burst for a long period of time. The wood isn’t flimsy and never splintered despite my copious masticating.

Despite my reluctance to enjoy anything so overwhelmingly cinnamon, I think these are rather good. I still have twenty-three toothpicks I don’t plan on using, but I respect this product. The cinnamon is genuine and complex in flavor, which are qualities often lacking in the confection world.

Anyone who enjoys cinnamon, I am fairly positive these will delight you to no end. For those who dislike spicy/cinnamon candy, don’t buy them. If you fall somewhere in the middle, I think you might be pleasantly surprised. If nothing else, I’d take these over a regular toothpick any day.

• Nuclear Hell Cinnamon Toothpicks Website

To me, jelly beans are fun. There’s just something about them that speaks to the kid in me and makes me want to hop and play. I don’t know if it’s the bright colors, the fun shape, or the fact that I can peg my siblings in the head with them. Or all of the above. I just know I want to share the fun. Thus begins my spring hunt for jelly bean goodness.

Part I: Necco
I can usually find Necco jelly beans year round so I figured this would be a good place to start. I consider Necco jelly beans to be your basic jelly bean. There’s nothing fancy about them and they seem to be more about the sugar than the flavor.

The outside of each of the jelly beans has a sugary coating that’s harder than the inside, which is softy and chewy. The outside shell mixes with the inside when you chew, giving you a grainy sugar texture mixed in with the chewiness.

The Flavors:

Red: Well, ok, I’m going to call this red although in some lights it looks pink. I could call the flavor “red” too, but I think they’re going for cherry.

Orange: The flavor of the orange jelly bean is, unsurprisingly, orange. Given the amount of sugar on the shell coating, I was surprised to find the orange a little bit bitter.

Yellow: I only had one yellow jelly bean in my box, which may be a good thing. It had a very artificial lemon flavor. There was none of that nice tartness I associate with lemons to round out the sweetness, either. This was my least favorite flavor in the mix.

Green: I’m not always a fan of lime, but I gotta tell you this was my favorite of the three citrus flavors. The lime flavor was strong enough to balance out the sugar nicely. I wanted there to be a lot more of these in the mix.

Purple: As expected, the purple jelly beans turned out to be grape flavored. It’s the kind of artificial grape taste that reminds me of all the grape flavored stuff I devoured as a kid. I even checked to see if it turned my tongue purple (only a little). Very fun to eat.

Overall, lime and grape are my favorite flavors. I find the Necco jelly beans to be a nice snack that makes me nostalgic. If fancy or realistic-tasting flavors are your thing, you might want to skip these. But if you like a lightly flavored sugar chew, these might be for you.

• Necco’s Website

I am always on the lookout for random marshmallow candies (preferably chocolate-marshmallow candies, as they are the best) so I was intrigued when I came across an Elmer’s Heavenly Hash Egg, a delightfully old-school confection that I had somehow managed to miss over the past 28 years of my life. But after having one, I can tell you this: I shall never go without an Elmer’s Heavenly Hash Egg again. EVER.

The greatness of the Heavenly Hash egg comes from it’s simplicity: smooth, creamy chocolate, a giant glob of marshmallow, and a crunchy, fresh almond stuck in the center of the candy, to give a bit of crunch to an otherwise gooey concoction. It’s a bit like eating a giant spoonful of super-marshmallowy rocky road ice cream; the flavors of the chocolate, marshmallow, and roasted almond come together to form a wonderful combination of crunchiness, creaminess, and stickiness. It is, perhaps, the perfect egg.

Sadly, I have only seen the Elmer’s Heavenly Hash egg around my area over the past few weeks, leading me to believe that I should stock up on the seasonal treat while I still can. Sorry, New England! You’re going to have to beat me to them!

• Elmer’s Candy Company