The 100 Grand bar is a candy bar that I grew up with. So to me, it’s at least 100 years old. But the truth of the matter is that this confection doesn’t even qualify as a Retro Candy Flashback because it debuted in 1966 (I think a candy has to be at least fifty before it gets that privilege).

Having one of the more unique mechanisms for invention, the bar began its life as a byproduct of the then-popular television game show The Big Surprise. In this show, contestants answered questions in order to win a prize that totaled, you guessed correctly, 100 grand. It’s akin to someone issuing a millionaire bar to play off the Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? craze a few years back.

The candy originally billed itself as the $100,000 Bar, but the brand we think of today developed in the eighties due to the popular term for that denomination of currency.

In tune with most Nestle products, this one is pretty simple in terms of its ingredients: milk chocolate, caramel, and crisped rice. One unique difference between it and a good portion of Nestle’s confectionery lineup is that this candy still uses real chocolate.

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Crisp rice has always been a favorite staple of mine in the various niches of candy out there. Krackle, Crunch, and of course, 100 Grand all come to mind. It’s never been a candy I think has been fully pushed to its amazing potential, and since the retirement of the Caravelle Bar, I don’t think the world has had any close competitors to assume that challenge.

Regardless, I still like Krackle and 100 Grand bars a great deal (and to a lesser extent Crunch). I just always wished there could be something more to them. I would be willing to try anything that could give crisp rice bars the success they deserve. And in this case, anything meant purchasing the Limited Edition 100 Grand Dark Bar from a candy bin at the Dollar Tree Store, a product that had ceased to be marketed about two years ago.

Like so many candies I didn’t get to try, this one debuted while I lived outside of the U.S., and had made a quick exit before I had the chance to return. But the fact that it had long since expired did little to dissuade me from ripping open the wrapper.

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