Wrigley’s recent purchase by Mars is just the most recent instance of a candy company being “congloberrated” by a larger one. Though you might not realize it, many of your favorite candies were once manufactured independently of the big names that now produce them. Jolly Ranchers is just one popular example.

This also helps to explain one of the most annoying naming blunders in the history of candy. I am talking about Hershey’s and Reese’s. To the untrained eye, there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong about this, but Reese’s is owned by Hershey’s. Maybe I am also a grammar addict, but I don’t like having to say Hershey’s Reese’s products.

But there is more to my rant, including a valid point. You see, as Reese’s operated on its own merits for so many years, its original products were not supposed to match Hershey’s line, as they were two different entities. Reese’s was the peanut butter candy company that carved a niche for itself with its unique flavor.

When purchased by Hershey’s in 1957, Hershey’s did not change the brand names because Reese’s was already associated with such a popular product that it would be bad marketing to make people start buying Hershey’s Peanut Cutter Cups or Hershey’s Pieces (it just doesn’t have the same ring to it, does it?).

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The last of the three expired limited edition pieces of candy I purchased from the Dollar Tree Store was the now defunct Reese’s Big Cup with Caramel and Nuts. Honestly, I don’t remember hearing about them when they were out.

Also being frank, I wasn’t too thrilled to get my hands on these any more than I am with any new candy that presents itself. At least with the Hershey’s Special Dark Raspberry Flavored Macadamia Bar and 100 Grand Dark Bar they sounded appetizing. But a Reese’s Big Cup? With caramel? And with peanuts?

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One of my favorite candy bars in the entire word is the Reese’s Nutrageous bar, a slab of choco-peanut goodness that comes wrapped in the beloved and obnoxious orange packaging of all Reese’s products. The Nutrageous bar came on the scene in 1994, when I was in 7th grade, and it was love at first bite, as far as I can remember.

The Nutrageous has everything I look for in a candy bar: peanuts, caramel, and milk chocolate. As an added bonus, there’s the ingredient that really makes the Nutrageous special: whereas most peanut/caramel bars have nougat as their centers, the Nutrageous is held together by a thick, creamy layer of the famous Reese’s peanut butter. It doesn’t get much better than that.

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The way I see it, there are two ways to make a Reese’s special edition candy, and they hinge on the two main elements of a peanut butter cup: the peanut butter, and the cup. You can take that distinctively dry, salty, crumbly peanut butter and use it in a non-cup format, with results like the Reese’s Crispy Crunchy Bar, and even non-candy items like Reese’s Puffs Cereal and Reese’s Cookies. Or you can take the cup format and mess with it: change the size (Reese’s Big Cup), the shape (Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs), the chocolate coating (Reese’s White Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups), and/or the filling (Reese’s Elvis Cups).

Since there are so many ways to alter the Reese’s formula and still be able to get away with putting a Reese’s logo on it, it’s no surprise that Hershey has been milking this cash cow for all it’s worth - Reese’s has had more special edition flavors and other spin-offs than almost any other candy (except maybe Kit Kat). Keeping that in mind, today’s candy was probably inevitable: the Reese Hazelnut Crème cup. (They’ve decided to keep the accent on “crème,” perhaps hoping to evoke, say, crème brulee rather than marshmallow creme or numerous other “We can’t legally call it ‘cream’ because there’s no dairy in it” products.)

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One of the most exciting new candies that I came across at the All Candy Expo was the new Reese’s Select Cluster, a bite-sized piece of sweet, peanut buttery goodness consisting of Reese’s peanut butter, caramel, peanuts, and pecans, all held together by a creamy layer of smooth milk chocolate. It was as if all of the candy stars aligned to make the perfect sweet for me - all of my favorite ingredients, held together by my favorite peanut butter in the whole world! Needless to say, I couldn’t wait to try one.

The first thing I noticed about the clusters was that the dominating flavor is the familiar (and delicious) taste of Reese’s peanut butter. A generous dollop makes up the base of the cluster, which is exactly how it should be, for Reese’s instantly recognizable peanut butter, with its gritty and rich consistency, is the reason why people buy Reese’s products in the first place. I have to hand it to Reese’s - though they continue to spin off new and interesting Reese’s treats, they never forget or downplay the importance of Reese’s peanut butter as their star player.

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Hershey’s has some great candy hitting stores during the rest of 2008. We’ve already reviewed some of them and thanks to Hershey and the All Candy Expo, we have samples of many of these so look for reviews of these soon. Here is some quick info on the upcoming candy from Hershey.

• Hershey’s Bliss™ – Hershey’s Bliss individually wrapped chocolates feature a smooth, creamy texture for an indulgent personal chocolate experience. Hershey’s Bliss is now available in Milk Chocolate, Dark Chocolate and Milk Chocolate with a Meltaway Center. Hershey’s Bliss chocolate will welcome Raspberry with Meltaway Center to its line in December 2008.
  Candy Addict’s review of Hershey’s Bliss
• Starbucks Chocolate™ – When coffee dreams, it dreams of chocolate.™ Distinctive, artistic and handcrafted, Starbucks Chocolate combines the highest quality chocolate with Starbucks® coffee, tea and coffeehouse flavors. Product offerings include: truffles, tasting squares, signature bars, and chocolate-covered coffee beans. Now available where groceries are sold.
  Candy Addict’s review of Starbucks Chocolate
• Twizzlers® Pull-n-Peel® Cinnamon Fire Candy – New hot cinnamon flavored Twizzlers offer consumers a bigger, bolder licorice flavor. Now available.
  Candy Addict’s review of Twizzlers® Pull-n-Peel® Cinnamon Fire Candy
• Reese’s® Select Clusters – Reese’s Select Clusters wrap pecans, peanuts, peanut butter and caramel in milk chocolate. Individually wrapped, Reese’s Select Clusters will be available in August 2008.
• Hershey®’s All Natural Extra Dark Chocolate with Pomegranate and Infused with Raspberry Flavor Assortment – Hershey’s Extra Dark delivers velvety smooth, rich dark chocolate from a select blend of cacao beans for just the right balance of taste, aroma and sweetness. The line will add two new flavors including Pomegranate tasting squares in June 2008 and a Raspberry-infused flavor assortment in December 2008.
• Cacao Reserve by Hershey’s® Truffle Crunch – The latest addition to the Cacao Reserve by Hershey’s chocolate line, Truffle Crunch delivers a three-layer tasting experience that begins with an intense outer layer of rich chocolate surrounding a silky center of creamy chocolate and delicate cacao bits from the heart of the cacao bean. It’s a deliciously unexpected flavor adventure in 35 percent Milk Chocolate and 65 percent Dark Chocolate. Available August 2008.
• Jolly Rancher® Doubles – A new twist on Jolly Ranchers, Jolly Rancher Doubles combines two bold Jolly Rancher flavors. Combinations include: Cherry-Orange, Grape-Apple and Blue Raspberry-Watermelon. Now available.
• Good ‘N Fiery™ Candy – A new twist on an old favorite. The Good ‘N Plenty® and Good ‘N Fruity® family will welcome a new member with a hot cinnamon flavor – Good ‘N Fiery. Available December 2008.
• Hershey®’s S’mores Snacksters® – The Hershey’s Snacksters line expands with the addition of Hershey’s S’mores Snacksters – a delicious combination of graham cracker cereal squares, mini marshmallows and Hershey’s Milk Chocolate chips housed in 100 calorie packages. Available June 2008.
• Ice Breakers BURN™ Mints – A new mint variety will join the Ice Breakers wellness line delivering a combination of flavors and ingredients designed to enhance the mind, body and spirit. The Peach-Mango flavored Ice Breakers BURN Mints provide a unique, tasty way to add the B complex vitamins of Thiamin, Niacin, B5 and B6 to the day. Available June 2008.
• Ice Breakers® Chewy Sours – New Ice Breakers Chewy Sours deliver an intense sour flavor and exhilarating mouth experience. The soft, chewy fruit-crystal center is wrapped in a crunchy candy shell. Sugar-free Ice Breakers Chewy Sours will be available in two flavors: Strawberry and Pomegranate Lemonade. Available June 2008.
• Ice Breakers® Ice Cubes® White Chewing Gum – The power of whitening gum will bring an extra blast to the cool cube shape of Ice Breakers Ice Cubes Chewing Gum. Frosted with a proprietary process, the sugar-free gum is an extra-cold, refreshing alternative to stick and shell gums. The cool cube shape, reflective of an ice cube, reinforces its refreshing, ultra-cold and now teeth-whitening benefits. Ice Breakers Ice Cubes White Chewing Gum will be available in Wintergreen Splash and Mango Kiwi Cooler flavors. Available December 2008.
• Breath Savers® Strong Mint Menthol and Energy Mint Caffeine – The popular and powerful Breath Savers Mints adds two new varieties. Breath Savers Strong Mint Menthol takes breath freshening to a new level while Breath Savers Strong Energy Mint Caffeine offers a “boast of energy” with a touch of caffeine. Available December 2008.

Reading through this list of upcoming candy from Hershey makes my mouth water!

• Hershey’s coverage at Candy Addict
• Review of Hershey’s Bliss
• Review of Starbucks Chocolate
• Review of Fire Twizzlers
• Hershey’s website

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Thanks to a brilliant merging of the minds at Hershey’s and The Styles Check Company, you can now broadcast your love of confections to any and everyone with whom you dare to share your wealth. Your landlord? Check. The phone company? Check. Your impossible-to-shop-for nephew whose birthday is just around the corner? Check! Forget online bill pay – writing checks is back and better than ever! (And you’ll be doubly excited to drop those babies in the mail when you see the matching address labels.)

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Our good friends at Hershey’s are at it again - taking two favorite and much loved products and rolling them into one. In this case it’s the lovely malted balls of Whoppers and the peanut butter filling of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Original Whoppers are a small, crunchy malted milk ball covered with a thin layer of chocolate. These Reese’s versions are exactly the same thing, but the chocolate layer is replaced with peanut butter.

This product is another case of something with a lot of potential which just misses the mark. I busted this cute milk-carton inspired packaging open, threw a few of these in my mouth, chomped down and thought, “Oh.” That’s it. No declarations of my undying love for these, no desire to just pour the rest of them right down my throat (as convenient as the packaging would make that!).

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After reading the Awesomely Addictive raves about Reese’s Peanut Butter Egg, I was ecstatic to find Reese’s Peanut Butter White Egg and Reese’s Peanut Butter Fudge Egg at Walgreen’s for fifty cents each. I generally love all Reese’s candy, and couldn’t wait to get home and try the eggs. I wasn’t sure what to expect - would the peanut butter be mixed with different flavors, or would the coatings just be different from the usual milk chocolate?

I randomly chose to open the White Egg first, and took note of the flat-back egg shape similar to the Almond Joy and Mounds Eggs. The White Egg was solidly encased in an off-white substance that looked and felt a little oily. My excitement dwindled, and I cautiously bit into the candy.

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Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are amazing, there’s no question about it. Who doesn’t have happy childhood memories of indulging in rich, peanutty treats at Halloween, birthday parties, or pressed into Christmas cookies? Yet most would say that Reese’s doesn’t reach its apogee of peanut-butter-goodliness but once a year; hold onto yourselves, Candy Addicts, for Reese’s Egg season is upon us.

That’s right. When the rest of the world watches for blossoming flowers and baby ducks, true Candy Addicts know Spring has arrived when the supermarkets stock a certain type of egg. An egg that promises sheer joy and decadence, all for under a dollar.

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