Coffee Crisp Egg - video review

A pretty odd review for you today, here we've got the elusive Coffee Crisp Egg.


For a look at my review of the classic Coffee Crisp please click here. Or for a more detailed Egg review, please look at the written review. Also you can always check out all of our reviews over on the reviews page.

Coffee Crisp Egg review

Today we are looking at a real oddity, the Coffee Crisp Egg.

This should be a quick and hopefully fun little review for you today. I took a look at the full version of Coffee Crisp a few weeks back here on the blog, and gave it top marks. A full 5 out of 5 for its ingenuity, design, and most importantly awesome taste blending coffee and chocolate into one fantastic candy bar. Today we're looking at that same bar but in another form. Can the egg live up to its big brother bar? Lets have a look.

Right off the bat I'm a bit wary of this. Why is an egg being sold around Halloween / Christmas time? That doesn't fit thematically. And why is this thing on super discount everywhere I look? I have a sinking feeling that this is an Easter holdover that Nestlé Canada is trying to unload before their Christmas goodies come onto the shelves. And most importantly before their 2013 Easter chocolates show up. But hey, maybe I'm wrong...

I think the packaging is fine, kind of a little version of the big packaging. I always liked the cCoffee Crisp font, and especially the steaming cuppa coffee in the letter O. I'm definitely concerned about the picture showing the inside of the egg though. The chocolate bar version of Coffee Crisp that I love so much features a chocolate / coffee mix layered between crisp wafers, this looks like a big blob of chocolate.

Also I understand that eggs are all the rage and everything, but if you're going that route then why put the chocolate into a full bag? why not just a foil wrapper like all the other normal eggs? Maybe this Coffee Crisp has special needs...

Opening it up we see a standard looking chocolate egg. I like the spiral patterning and design work here, and the Nestlé imprint is a nice touch. It feels solid, heavy, and smells alright. Not like coffee, which is something I get a lot of from the bar, but this may just be its own thing. Lets bite into this egg.

Hmm... ok, well this is interesting. So what we've got here is a fairly solid, definitely hard piece of milk chocolate. There is a little flavoring in it... could that really be the coffee? If it is I'm surprised. This is very mildly flavored if it is coffee. The real misstep though is the texture. The texture is nothing like a regular Coffee Crisp. This is not what I'm expecting, or really looking for at all. There are wafers, yes; but they're not layered. There's no line of wafer, no crisp crunch to them. The wafer is broken into tiny pieces and scattered throughout the egg. The closest thing I can think of that this resembles is a Crunch bar. Yes the wafer tastes like wafer, and not rice crispies as in the case of a Crunch, but they are placed thoughout as you'd find in that chocolate, and it has much of the same texture. Well, it would if it weren't such a thick piece of chocolate that I need to chomp through.

I'm not sure what Nestlé was thinking but this does not taste like a Coffee Crisp. I wouldn't be nearly so disappointed if I didn't have that in my mind. And frankly this is so different they could've called it anything else and it would be ok. I mean this isn't terrible, but its not very good. This is just ok. And the fact that they've tricked me into thinking I'm getting Coffee Crisp in one form or another is shameful. I simply cannot recommend this chocolate egg.

Walking the Candy Aisle rates the Coffee Crisp Egg - 2 / 5

For more on all things Nestlé please check out their site here.

Old Ads Tie Ins

Another day, another check in with our ongoing series on old ads. Today its the rare tie in candy spot. I always love it when Spider-man or Hulk is hawking bubble gum,. Somehow it just fits :) Check these gems out.

Wait a second... that's not my typical issue of What If... Something is up here :) Yes its that delicious pre-cursor to Poppycock, the beloved Crunch 'n Munch. Wow does this bring me back. Crunch 'n Munch is awesome. Whatever happened to it?! Almost like an offshoot of Cracker Jack I know I always loved it, but I guess it just couldn't survive, despite the pairing with Marvel on some awesome exclusive trading cards. I am definitely the target market for this ad. Love the candy, love the cards, love the comics, and the presentation of the ad as an issue of What If... is just classic.

From the looks of eBay you can find these sets of cards now (they apparently had a few different runs of cards), and they'll cost you anywhere between $20 and $65 for a full set.

Next up we've got two of my favorite superheroes together at last. Spider-man and the Kool-Aid man, Oh Yeah! I believe this is an ad specifically for the launching of the Wacky Warehouse program in Canada. Pretty sweet. I like how Spidey is joining Kool-Aid on his trademark wall breakage... seems slightly out of character for him, but I still enjoy it. Also I like the noting of New Rock-a-dile Red. That's a classic :)

Finally a Grrrrreeeeat! team up with Spider-man and Tony the Tiger. How could that not be awesome! These guys are awesome, and with a free comic book on the line this is something I'd definitely be down to read. Not sure how much good it'll do promoting the whole "drug free" messaging, but who cares. Spidey and Tony... These guys could kick some serious butt together!

These ads are from X-Men Adventures #9, and the Amazing Spider-Man limited series Canadian PSA issues #3 and #4 respectively.

Baileys Chocolates - video review

Another festive review for you as we approach the Christmas holiday. Time to check out Baileys Chocolates.


Definitely not what I was expecting. Anyhow, if you want a bit more on this please check in with the written review, or all of the reviews over on the review page. And please stay turned to this very blog for more holiday reviews as we get closer to Christmas.

Baileys Chocolates review

Festivus is approaching fast, and we've got another review to make you happy on those cold winter nights. Today we're looking at Baileys Chocolates.

Yes liquor filled chocolates have long been enjoyed over the holidays. As a kid I'll always remember getting that weird foreign chocolate box with like 2 rum filled chocolates. It was always exciting to get a liquor filled chocolate, despite the fact that it never really tasted that good. It just seemed like I was getting away with something. Ah yes... my love for alcohol started at an early age. Anyhow, as I posted last week Turin, and Italian chocolatier that I'm not particularly familiar with, has come out with a line of alcoholic chocolates, and they've got some pretty great licenses. Baileys sits alongside Grand Marnier, Kaluha, and probably the second most interesting of the lot... Malibu. Today though we're looking at Baileys Chocolates so lets get into it.

I'll say this about the packaging: it doesn't beat around the bush. Yes Turin is branded all over the place, but even more prominently here is the Baileys logo. This chocolate, and their entire line of alcohol chocolates is much more about the liquor than the chocolate. People are buying this for the novelty... and that has me a bit worried. However I do love Baileys and once you add a "hint" of caramel I'm sold.

The box, also has this rather long winded explanation of who they are on the side. Its mostly superfluous stuff, but I like the part about a "unique luscious experience"... lets just see about that.

I like the box, its actually resealable on the back and I don't think I've ever seen this design before. Inside the box there are some 7 candies unceremoniously wrapped in cellophane. That's not too classy... but I suppose it had to be done. Inside that the individual chocolates manage to stand out nicely. They're about the size I expected, not too big, but decent. I'm glad I got so many in the box, I was worried I'd only get 4 so this is a bit of a bonus.

The chocolate itself does definitely smell like Baileys Irish Cream. With that though I'm really not exactly sure what Bailey's is... I suppose its a liquor. Baileys is not exactly coffee flavored, and not exactly chocolate flavored, but it definitely has elements of both in it. I'm actually not sure what to call it... I do believe they bottle a caramel infused Baileys nowadays though. Anyhow, the chocolate smells good and alcoholic. I like the touch of the Turin logo on the top. Its probably also a good idea  for Turin to get their branding in there where they can.

 Lets get into this though. Biting into the chocolate is a bit of a layered experience. First there's the liquid alcohol. Like most alcohol filled chocolates the alcohol is a bit too liquidy and more or less falls out of the chocolate as soon as its open. I know this is supposed to be mixed with the caramel, but let me tell you this is NOT blended well. this is a case of first the Baileys, then the caramel, then the chocolate as an after-taste.

The overall effect is pretty lousy actually. Although the alcohol is definitely Irish Cream, I'm not happy how seperate it is from the rest of the experience. Every piece of this equation suffers from the relationship to the others. The alcohol is bad because of the poor caramel mixing, the caramel tastes all alcoholly, and the chocolate... I'm sorry, I want to give them the benefit of the doubt that this might be good chocolate but I can't. Its not good. The chocolate is chalky, and has a sour after-taste in an already alcohol soaked mouth.

This is one you should  definitely pass on. I hope Turin did a better job with their other alcohol chocolates, because this is pretty lame.

Walking the Candy Aisle rates Baileys Chocolates - 2 / 5

From more on this please check in with Turin's website here, or the Baileys site here.

Bigfoot Candy Cane Spotted

Its true! I saw it I swear! And I've got the photographic evidence to prove it.

Allan Candy, the company known for making the Bigfoot candy, has actually come out with some pretty original sounding Candy Canes for the holidays. Check this out.

 

 

It's not the fact that they have regular and sour, nor the very cool fact that the canes themselves are adorned with cute little footprints. What surprises me most about these is the "Amazing Chewy Center!"

What on earth is that all about... Do you want a chewy candy cane? Is it a goo? or more like a Bigfoot kind of chew? (for those who don't know Bigfoots are kind of like Hot Lips or Swedish Fish in their chewiness). This whole thing has me puzzled. Maybe I'll have to pick some up and try it. I am definitely curious to find out more...

M&M's Coconut - video review

Another awesome review for you today, please enjoy this look at M&M's Coconut.


For more please check out the written review, or all of our reviews over on the review page.

M&M's Coconut review

Here we find ourselves once again looking at some M&Ms. Today we've got a really fun review for you, its time to check out Coconut M&M's.

What?! Coconut?! Yes in fact these do exist. They may have been talked about in hushed tones across the candy world for the past while, but now you can see them for yourself. For some reason the idea of Coconut M&Ms seems totally outlandish to a lot of people. While this started out as a limited edition flavor its turned permanent in the US, Canada and a few other places. That said many people have still never actually seen these in stores. While they may sound mythical they are in fact real, so lets have a look :)


Starting with the packaging, I have to say I'm impressed. White, with the little ball patterning on the background, and the use of the Green M&M as the mascott all strike me as very coconutty (is that a word?). Anyhow, I like the fun look, it reminds me of a bottle of Malibu (coconut flavored rum), which of course always makes me happy. I like how little miss Green M&M has the flower in her hair, or shell... whatever. And if you look up close at the actual M&Ms on the package you get a little preview of the fun designs on the candy shells. I see palm trees, flowers and more. Very fun all around. Lets break into these shall we?

The M&Ms themselves are slightly larger than you'll find in regular plain M&Ms. This is typical for specialty M&Ms though. They come in Green, White, and Brown colors, all of which continue the coconut theme nicely. Overall I'm very impressed so far.

Now comes the one real question here. When you bite into a coconut M&M will you find a white chocolate inside, or a white coconut inside??? This is of specific concern to me as I've personally always shied away from chocolate and coconut mixtures because of the coconut texture. Its just never been to my taste. Will we find the same shredded coconut texture inside here?

Actually no. Not at all. The inside of the Coconut M&M looks disappointingly, just like a regular milk chocolate M&M. But it taste very coconutty! I think I would've liked it if the inside was white, but I'm glad it doesn't have the coconut texture. Now I'm not sure exactly how they did it but it tastes like it has been infused with coconut flavoring, juice, water, or whatnot. I sure don't see any specks of coconut in there, but I can definitely taste them.

This is actually pretty great. Its got the taste of chocolate and coconut but none of the texture. This suits me perfectly. The chocolate is just as good as you'd expect from M&Ms, and the overall impression is totally solid. I've got to give them props for this one. They've made a fan out of me, and I'll certainly recommend them.

Walking the Candy Aisle rates Coconut M&Ms - 4 / 5

M&Ms is a Mars product. Please find out more about them at http://www.mms.com/us/about/products/coconut/

Old Ads Candy

So many old ads so little time, as we roll on with our series check out these awesome retro candy ads :)

Well this Nerds ad can't be that old can it. They've go the Willy Wonka design on it. But I love the "Intense" design for this super Intense -tasting candy! Neon Nerds! Can you get any more 90s than that! I mean neon in general is awesome, but by making our candy neon you've stepped into truly radical territory. And to top it off, in true 90s fashion the ad features some totally 90s extreme sports. Skateboarding (note the old school board) and inline skating. Totally tubular! Below the graphic the cool neon pink sunglass wearing Nerd lets us know about the new flavors - Pinktricity and ElectricOrange! this is some truly amazing design and marketing work. Then to top it off you've got a rebate coupon, giving you absolutely no reason not to try these awesome new Nerds. My only real complaint here is Wonka showing up. As much as I like the guy, its conflicting imagery to have him stumbling into the middle of my Nerds ad. Still, overall this is an amazing 90s advertisment.

Next up, we've got Brach's Rocks candy. Honestly I've never had this before, in fact I don't even remember if I've ever heard of it before, but I definitely like this ad. Rocky D. Dinosaur is obviously a totally cool dude. I mean he's wearing a letterman jacket, and sunglasses! How could he not be cool. He's definitely the James Spader of 80s candy icons... kind of  a prick, but you love him anyhow. And look, he's actually chilling out on the hood of a pink Cadillac. I can't decide if this is more of a Denver the last Dinosaur ripoff or a Cadillac's and Dinosaurs ripoff, either way, its pretty awesome. Honestly the candy is secondary to the mascot in my opinion, Sure Rocky, you want me to eat rocks... ok, I'm down with that, lets just hang out and look cool together ok?

Finally today we've got a fun, and relatively simple Twizzlers ad. It takes the simple defacement of a poster to the next level. Fun, witty, devilish, and just the kind of play with your candy that every kid loves. I love the fact that Twizzlers are a playable candy. It just adds a whole other dimension to the fun of eating it. This ad is great at playing up that angle. I remember distinctly when the Twizzlers Pull-and-Peel was introduced and this was really a big deal in the licorice world. I'm not even a licorice fan and I knew about it. The one other thing that has to be noted here is something I don't think I would've noticed as a kid, but that guy, the face... its pretty funny to start with. Is that guy someone I should know? If he is I've missed it. He's definitely got a great look though, and defacing his picture makes it even more fun :)

These ads are from X-Men Adventures #9, and Jughead with Archie digest #124 respectively.

More Christmas in the Aisle

I just can't help posting some more fun pics from the Christmas displays of candy and chocolates, it all looks so good!

 

Lots of goodies to check out here!

First ghost shapes at Halloween, and now skates for Christmas. How very Canadian of them. However, with everything thats going on with the NHL right now, it might upset some people...

 Look at that great Toblerone Christmas wrapping. I love over-sized chocolates and Toblerone is the king!

 Kinder has a nice display, although I'm not sure about the dolls. But just look at that Santa Claus. Seriously that is some Christmas magic right there :)

Berries grow in winter right? I guess in Sweden they do...

Cute Kisses packaging :)

 Hershey also has re-molded and re-packaged their milk chocolate, and cookies 'n cream bars with fun holiday designs. Very cool. I especially like Frosty, he looks like the old Frosty cartoon version.

Toblerone, and Lindtgift boxes to wrap it out. There certainly is a lot of Christmas cheer in the Candy Aisle this year!

Lindt Milk Chocolate Santa - video review

Another Christmas review for you today, lets have a look at the delectable Lindt Milk Chocolate Santa.


Great stuff! For more on this please check out the written review, or all of our reviews over on the reviews page.

Lindt Milk Chocolate Santa review

Well we've got another Christmas review for you today. This one should be pretty straightforward, its the Lindt Milk Chocolate Santa.

Let's just be clear before we get into this. I know Lindt has a great track record and all, but I don't think that this example of their milk chocolate should be considered necessarily on par withtheir regular milk chocolate. Most companies have tiers of quality and often the holiday chocolates get the lesser grade stuff. I wouldn't hold this as a review for regular Lindt milk chocolate.

Ok, so with that I do have high hopes here. Lindt is a great Swiss chocolatier, known around the world for their awesome Lindor chocolates. I am definitely a fan going in. And looking at this Santa I have to say I am impressed. The package design is very nice. I like the mix between old school 'father christmas' type of santa (with the robe and the bell), and the newer coca-cola type of santa (with the red suit, beard and furred collar).

I like the fact that he's accented by stars on his trim, thats kind of magical. And I like that he's got a few toys spilling out of his golden sack. There's are some very nice touches to all of this.

 My favorite though has to be the eyes. Great work all over, but the face and eyes are awesome. That's a wonderful playful expression, and the eyes, and eye wrinkles really sell me on the Christmas vibe. Lets get into this a bit more.

Now we come to the weirdness. This guy inside the wrapper looks nothing like the guy on the outside of the wrapper! I mean sure he's got a beard and some toys but wow, what a startling difference. I wonder if some marketing person told them that the outside had to be more commercial. This guy here looks like the fiddler on the roof (yes I get the irony of that). I'm not saying its at all bad, just totally surprising.


He's got a weird sash, or is it a cricket bat or something that he's holding in his right hand... I think it must be a sash, and then on the left side he's got these toys dangling down by a rope. boxes of presents and a bugle! Seriously a bugle. That's some excellent molding to have that kind of detail. This guys is definitely an old school Santa. Definitely a European Santa. I have to say I love it.

 Again the face has the best work. The eyelids, and the slight twirl to the beard... absolutely stunning stuff. I mean if it didn't smell so good I'd just like to keep looking at it. BUT the show must go on!

 Biting into this Chocolate Santa is amazing. I mean I literally can't stop from smiling this thing is so good. The chocolate is creamy and smooth. It melts in my mouth into buttery goodness. This is just the right balance and I can't imagine at all that Lindt skimped on anything here. I suppose if I have to find something wrong I could say that it could be thicker... but then again it just doesn't matter with chocolate of this quality. This is not a question of quantity at all. This is just utterly fantastic.

I strongly urge you to go out and find this chocolate while its around.

Walking the Candy Aisle rates Lindt's Milk Chocolate Santa - 5 / 5

For more goodness on all things Lindt & Sprüngli please click here.

Not for Minors..

Chocolates are for kids right? Well, all except the rare and highly taboo liquor filled chocolates :D

I know when I was a kid I almost never got to try liquor filled chocolates, except maybe around Christmas time. But even then it was usually just an accident that I stumbled onto the delicious Grand Marnier filled chocolate in the box. Of course I loved it. Even as a child alcohol tasted pretty great. Especially sweet alcohol like sherry or schnapps.

Well the tradition  of alcohol infused chocolates has been around really for a long time, and I suspect other people got them more regularly than I ever did. This year though that's about to change, because as I mentioned last week, I have come across Groupo Turin, and their Italian alcohol filled chocolates. Perfect for the holidays. While last week all I saw was their Bailey's variety, they actually have  a ton of different ones on the market!

Check this stuff out!

 I've picked up a box of the Baileys Irish Cream, so expect a review of those soon. These crazy Italians... bless their alcoholic hearts! I'm really looking forward to trying this.

Big Turk - video review

Another fun review for you today, sorry this is getting up a bit late, but please enjoy this look at Big Turk.


Pretty different, I'll give em that. Anyhow, for more fun and games, please check in with the full written review, or all of our reviews over on the reviews page.

Big Turk review

The time has come, the blogger said,  to talk of many things, where chocolate bars, and candy lurk disguised in odd forms like Big Turk.

Welcome to another review from Walking the Candy Aisle. Today we look at that oddest of odd Nestlé bars the Big Turk. As far as I know this is only made for the Canadian market. Does Canada have a penchant for Turkish Delight that I didn't know about? Perhaps, because I can't think of a single other instance of the dessert being made so readily commercially available. Oh I've really nothing against it in theory, but isn't it like say finding baklava at every corner store? Not something you'd normally expect.

Yet here we are, with a red white and blue package that reminds me of Bazooka Joe gum, or if not that then a tube of toothpaste. The name doesn't seem to fit though. "Big Turk" sounds blunt, very deliberate, and possibly a touch racist. Turkish Delight is something incredibly refined though, at least as far as I recall. Actually all I can seem to remember about it at the moment is that it's the dessert that Edmond went crazy over in The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. Anything that could make someone turn on their family though must be pretty serious. For some reason I think it may be Russian, and not Turkish... maybe I should just look it up.... but where would the fun be in that.

It's marketed as low fat with the packaging note that this has "60% less fat than the average chocolate bar". Is that enough to pass muster though? And what constitutes the "average chocolate bar"??? The Big Turk is a weird chocolate bar but certainly original, let's have a closer look.

Again, very odd.Just look at this design! Rounded bits must be shaped like this so you know how much to bite off at once, right? The bar has a smell too... kind of fruity. I believe Turkish Delight is kind of gummy, and I remember that it's purple, but I don't actually remember the taste is like though.

If you watch the video review you'll see how this bar has a bend to it as well. It's solid, but a bit... floppy. I've got to just get into this one.

Biting into a Big Turk, the first sensation is... gumminess. It's not as sticky or chewy as say a gummy bear, but it has many if the same qualities. Immediately you'll see that your teeth will slice through the slightly more gel like substance of the Turkish Delight than a normal gummy product. There's a familiar initial chew, but after 3 or 4 chews it will al kind of dissolve away. Yes you'll still find gummy bits stuck in your teeth, but its not as annoying as a gummy bear, this is a candy that will dissolve given a little bit of time. The texture is definitely different, but is that enough?

Well from there you have to look at the taste. The chocolate on the outside isnt exactly negligable, but its so slight you'll find that after the first chomp into the bar it dissolves away so quickly in your mouth that it makes no difference. That's not a terrible thing, I mean people are here for the Turkish Delight, not the chocolate but it does smack a bit of Nestlé hedging their bets on this bar. Can't the Turkish Delight stand on its own?  or would it just get too sticky in a wrapper alone? The Turkish Delight has a taste... like some kind of berry, kind of between a cherry and a grape. Its probably like an Asai berry or one of those ones that we all only kind of know. Any which way, the whole thing is indistinctly fruity, but overall pleasant.

Ultimately this isn't bad, but its really not for me. I don't hate it, but I can't see myself turning over my entire family to a Snow Queen for some more.  The taste just isn't enough, and the gumminess isn't that special. I give it points for originality, and that's probably what's bumping this up to the next point level, but in terms of taste this is something I say you can pass on.

Walking the Candy Aisle rates Big Turk - 3 / 5

For more on Big Turk, you can check in with the Nestlé Canada web page right here.

Old Ads Cereal

The funniest thing about these old ads for kids cereal is that they really take the format in a weird direction. Either of the two ads I've got for you today could've been directly lifted from a tv spot. They play as full blown action. I get that they may not be used to doing print advertising but this is a bit silly. Sure you can tell a story in a comic, but these seem to go overboard. How much time do they expect kids to invest in their ad???

Click to em-biggen as needed.

Ok, so color me crazy. I just looked it up, you know just in case... and I'll be damned but this actually WAS a real tv commercial! check out the vid below, it runs from :04 - :24

So what's the game here? I mean why put basically the exact same ad in comic form as is on tv? Is it just laziness? Did they think this was really the best way to get to kids? There are a few more mentions of "Honey Sweet Wheat" in the comic ad, and the tag at the end of the commercial "Now with more honey" is missing but otherwise its really the same.Sugar Bear is still a bad ass mofo kickin some bumblin bee butt... I guess I'd rather see something a bit different, maybe that played more to the medium of a comic more. Don't get me wrong, this is a good little story, but I bet you could do the same thing in one cool splash panel or maybe 2 or 3 frames at most. Then you'd really be doing something impressive.

Of course now after knowing that I should be looking for it I have to assume that this Cocoa Pebbles ad is also a direct tv port. Both are Post cereals from the same comic so I guess it makes sense. Maybe they even had the same ad guys working on it. I can't for the life of me find this specific one but I'm sold that it must've been one. Check out the super sweet Fruity and Cocoa Pebbles commercial compilation.

I love how all the modern ads are kind of the same deal. Barney tricking Fred with some topical yet totally cockamamie disguise. These are real classics. Also I love how at the end of most of the commercials they insert a shot of a real bowl of cereal against the cartoon Barney and Fred running away in the distance. This is classic advertising and I have to say I love it.

Both of these comic ads are from the same issue of the Archie comics Laugh line, issue #14. Nest week you can look forward to some more straightforward candy advertising. Until then, stay hungry.