Kit Kat Rubies review

I am not sure if Kit Kat Rubies are special or limited edition around the holidays but I got a box and was excited to give it a try.... Take a look at the video below and see what you think.

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Oreo Chocolate bars?! True.

Yes they do exist. I recently reviewed two Japanese Oreo Chocolate Bars!
Check them out right here!

Raspberry Oreo Chocolate Bar.


And the Strawberry Oreo Chocolate Bar.


Pretty crazy... coming soon to the CandyAisle YouTube Channel we'll get some more international flair with a series on Australian Kit Kats! Subscribe and enjoy :)

Kit Kat White & Milk review

We've got a fun Kit Kat sku up for review today, the Kit Kat White & Milk.


Walking the Candy Aisle rates Kit Kat White & Milk - 4 / 5

This is a Nestle product. For more on Kit Kat please visit them online at - http://kitkat.com/labs/

Halloween 2013 in the Aisle already!

Yes that's right, Halloween has struck the candy aisle already. I had heard that Costco has had costumes on the shelves for the past 2 weeks, but I finally saw some candy on the floor of regular grocery stores this week.

Other than the big bulk boxes of mini candies, which I documented fairly extensively last year here, the only other real Halloween candy I've seen so far has been the Nestle Halloween editions of their most popular bars. Again this is something I saw last year and I have to say it worries me slightly that these may be the actual same chocolate bars.... but they couldn't be. right?

Since they're all the same flavor and just spooky packaging I feel pretty fine just observing from afar. I mean I like it and all, but I don't know that packaging alone is making me rush out to get these. Although that said they are still great chocolate bars :) so that might get me on board.

As for Halloween, I'm sure the next time I go to a Shoppers Drug Mart or the Dollarama I'll see more.
 Its definitely coming soon.

Aisle Walking - July

Every day while walking down the candy aisle, or the toy aisle, or the ice cream aisle I see fun and weird things. Some of these I want to mention but lots of them are just so brief that I can't be bothered making a stand alone blog post, so to alleviate that I thought I'd try a new blog monthly series called Aisle Walking. Essentially this will be a mish mash of things seen in the aisles. I'd love it to hear about it you have fun things you've seen. New stuff is always showing up and I'm always interested in strange variants on existing products. Now I'm still planning on posting some things on their own, but for the lots of little items this will be the round up.

So lets have a look and see what we can see for this past month or so :)

I found this out at a Staples of all places (that's an office supply store). I don't know why I am surprised to see this, I mean of course Planters should be competing with Reese I'm just surprised that I've never seen this before.

We all know that Red Velvet is the hippest of all cakes, and in cupcake form it cannot be beat. I'm impressed that this package comes with some frosting packets included.

This is just a small note that all of the formerly named "Dessert Delight" products seem to now be called simply Desserts. I noticed this a while ago with the Lemon Square flavor, but am surprised to see the entire line change it up. Could this be an only in Canada thing???

I've seen these Kit Kat flavors (only available in the 8 packs) out at the local Wal Mart for a while now, but they seem to be expanding their reach. I had assumed that they were just going to be limited editions around for a little while, but maybe they'll actually be staying.

So this exists. It shouldn't really be a surprise since Nestle also owns the Carnation brand, but for some reason seeing chocolate bars in other places always strikes me as interesting.

Lets talk cookies for a sec. Seriously these Chunks Ahoy look great! I am sold :D

Birthday Cake flavor Oreos are back. Seriously does it count as a Limited Edition if its been on shelves for like 4 years?!

Now this is new, and it looks amazing! Chocolate and Mint together in a triple stuff? yes please!

I've seen Rolo ice cream before, but did you know there was Rolo Peanut Butter ice cream? Sounds great.

So that's all I've got for you this month. I'll try to make this a regular feature. Its fun to just touch on all of the quick stuff that's going on in the candy aisle and beyond.

Kit Kat Chunky review

Another Friday, another regular review. Please enjoy one of my favorites today with a look at Kit Kat Chunky.


Walking the Candy Aisle rates Kit Kat Chunky - 5 / 5

Kit Kat is a Nestle product (except in the US where its made under the Hershey company's Reese imprint). For more on Kit Kat please check out their site http://www.kitkat.com/  and of course you can always watch the classic original Kit Kat review right here! Stay tuned for more next time :)

Kit Kat Chunky PB Spotted

So I was pretty surprised to see this limited edition (?) Kit Kat Chunky Peanut Butter staring back at me from the aisle in Shoppers Drug Mart this past weekend. I don't think I've ever heard of a Kit Kat Peanut Butter before. And while I know I haven't reviewed it yet on the Candy Aisle, I am a MASSIVE fan of the Chunky line. So needless to say this is very exciting.

To add to the interesting it looks like Nestlé Canada is (or was) having a little vote on their Facebook page - the Kit Kat Chunky Challenge page linked here. You see they actually released two variants on the Chunky bars just before Easter: Peanut Butter and a Hazlenut. Then people were challenged to vote on the best tasting one, presumably that one would stick around while the other went away. Unfortunately thats not how things worked out.

Now I know I'm late to the game on this, but seriously this isn't a candy news blog. The thing is hat there were several reports of people finding bits of plastic in their new Kit Kat Chunky bars.... I know, gross. According to reports the Canadian Food Inspection Agency issued a warning to consumers, and then Nestlé voluntarily had the products recalled. I believe this affected other countries but I'm finding it hard to confirm that. According to The Grocer blog (which is a very good food and candy news blog btw)  Nestlé also recalled some Easter Eggs, and Chunky bars in Chocolate Fudge and Caramel varieties (although I don't know if those variants were sold here in Canada).

Not to worry though my intrepid Kit Kat lovers, check out the page linked here to see the affected product lines and make sure you cross check you next Kit Kat Chunky before eating. I'm pretty sure all the big chain stores would have gotten rid of the bad product by now, but better safe than sorry right.

I definitely would like to try a Kit Kat Peanut Butter, but now I'm a bit nervous. I'll have to make sure the best before dates on it are new before getting one... and even then I expect I'll be a bit squeamish. Its a shame when things like this happen, but at least Nestlé stepped up and did the right thing.

It's Begining to Look A Lot...

Like Christmas Candy time!!!

I was of course wandering down the aisle this week, and my goodness the Christmas stuff is out already!

There's some good stuff out already, but I expect more to be hitting the shelves around town soon. I picked up a few select goodies for review here, and you can expect some great stuff coming down the pipe for the holidays here at Walking the Candy Aisle. Starting most significantly with double reviews from now until Christmas. One regular and one Holiday themed (at least through November). Then I may switch over full time to Xmas candy.

A few specific Holiday treats jumped out at me that I thought I'd share.

Nice Kinder packaging here.  I'm thinking about kicking off the new year doing some stuff on Kinder here on the blog. Maybe now's the time to dig in.

I've been seeing these 3-Dees all over the place lately, but they just seem so dumb that I've been trying to avoid them. I mean fruit gummies come and go every day... are these so different? Anyhow, these certainly got the licenses.

Now here's a gift box I'd like to receive!

You knew it had to happen right. I mean the Angry Birds are EVERYWHERE!

I get that Mini Eggs are everywhere now, but why exactly are they Christmas themed??? What animal lays its eggs in the middle of winter?! That seems totally reckless for both chickens and rabbits.

Hooray for alcohol chocolates! Both Lindt and Baileys themselves have gotten into the game. Awesome. I can't wait to try (and review) these for the blog!

Something that could surely only be made and sold in Canada, the Reese Half Pound Peanut Butter Cup!!! Holy Moly that's a big peanut butter cup!

Zami launching into competition with Kinder comes out swinging with these holiday themed Winne the Pooh ornaments inside milk chocolate eggs! Is this a good idea or a terrible one?

And holiday themed Kit Kats. These are essentially just Kit Kat minis (the same size as the 2 stick ones) but they've got a picture of jolly old Saint Nick on them. I picked one of these up immediately.

 Very cute. I like the smile, and the mittens.

Weird thing to break a kit kat across the middle... but that's how this was designed. Still tastes just as good though :)

I'm looking forward to a great Christmas here on the Candy Aisle blog. I hope you'll stick with me and enjoy the festive season!

The Halloween Edition

Wow, I can't believe its this close to Halloween and I haven't even really mentioned it here except in passing. Sure I've been busy moving thousands of miles and literally to another country, but that's no excuse to ignore one of the biggest candy holidays of the year! So this is a situation I hope to rectify starting right now.

I've still been feeling around, figuring out what my best locations are for candy, and finding my way through the mire of new - yet oddly familiar - Canadian candy and chocolate, but I have to say when I saw these first 'Halloween edition' bars I had to check them out.

Nestlé is certainly on the case with a bunch of their classics re-branded to fit a spooky theme. Not any actual change in flavors but this is just a fun way to keep the products relevant and interesting. I give them real props for these designs.

 My favorite has to be Coffin Crisp. That's awesome. Of course if you don't know these bars are usually called Kit Kat, Smarties, Coffee Crisp, and Aero respectively.

A few weeks ago I mentioned the awesome Cadbury Screme Eggs, but now I find that they come in mini as well :) Love that green goop inside...Expect a review of this one very soon.

Not to be outdone though the fine folks at Lindt are getting into the spirit of Halloween with some thematic packing of their amazing chocolates and truffles.

Wile the mini pumpkins above are great, it does seem odd to me that a Swiss company is celebrating Halloween. When did the holiday make it over there? Or is this just for the US market. The Lindors below make a bit more sense, the Halloween touches are pretty subtle.

Very nice. Now none of these companies so far have changed their actual candy flavor, these changes are just cosmetic, even to the creme egg. I'll be interested to get my hands on some of the more specific Halloween themed chocolates that are flavored like pumpkin and what not.

While not strictly speaking candy these Pillsbury Halloween cookies sure look good! Here's a thought though, that Doughboy really needs a better costume. I can totally still tell who he is with that eye mask on... 

These Hershey Drops have very cute Halloween designs on them. I give any company props for making actual changes to the candy itself for the holiday, even if like the creme egg its just cosmetic. These are pretty spooky fun. I don't think I've ever actually had tHershey Drops before.... maybe I'll have to pick some up.

And finally Twizzlers have issued these ghost shaped cherry licorice bites for Halloween. They're pretty cool, if you like Twizzlers. My worry would be that they're closer to Nibs than regular Twizzlers. I am not a Nibs fan. Also Cherry is definitely not my favorite candy flavor. I'll probably pass on these, but nice try Twizzlers :)

Expect more Halloween coverage including a bunch of reviews to roll into full swing in the next few days. I know I'm looking forward to this year. Let me know what you're most excited to try.

Walking the Canadian Candy Aisle

A few weeks ago I took a little vacation back up to the Great White North and visited some family. A great time was had by all, but I didn't get away without checking into the local Shoppers Drug Mart and seeing what candy there was to see. Seeing as today is the Victoria Day holiday in Canada I thought now would be a good time to share what I saw.

I've been a Canadian transplant living in the States for about 8 years now and my memory isn't always as reliable as it should be so I was interested to look with a more discerning eye specifically to see what candy and chocolates are to be found walking the Canadian candy aisle. Sure there are a few items that cross over from the States up to Canada but I was surprised to see really how few there were, particularly when a lot of them are from the same companies.

Let's start though by having a look at the big British player in Canada that you don't often find Stateside: Cadbury.

These of course are the standard Cadbury classics, Milk chocolate, and Milk Chocolate with Fruit & Nut. Most Americans will be familiar with these only probably not in this small bar size.

 Caramilk has always been a favorite of mine. The name says it all, milk chocolate and caramel. The combination is great, the caramel is really gooey, but the design is smart and lets you eat it in squares and stay clean. As for the Caramilk Secrets and Thick. These are new iterations of the bar to me, and I'd be interested to try them.

Crunchie is one that a lot of people will have tried. Its such a unique candy bar that its definitely made the rounds. If you're not familiar, its a golden honey flavored sponge toffee covered in milk chocolate. Really one of a kind.

For the life of me I can't remember what a Mr Big actually tastes like, but I know there was a very brief period where I counted it as one of my favorites. I think it's a combination of wafer and peanuts AND rice crispies that makes it original. Its also apparently the biggest candy bar produced by Cadbury. Great bang for the buck.

I've already talked about my love for Wunderbar on the blog before. If you have a chance this is definitely not one to miss.

In my mind Crispy Crunch is up there alongside Coffee Crisp and Crunchie as one of the best and most popular Canadian chocolate bars. It's got a snap and flaky-ness similar to Butterfinger, but is more about the textured experience rather than butterfingers melty goo.

These small sized Clusters are new to me as well, but the entire trend of making bite sized chocolate pieces has only gotten big in the past few years so I suppose my missing out on them isn't too surprising. I'm not exactly sure what the simply titled Clusters is exactly, since as far as I know there isn't a full sized chocolate bar associated with it. I'll have to check it out when I get a chance.

The other big player in the (mass produced) Canadian chocolate market is Nestlé. Oddly though, other than a few crossovers like KitKat and Crunch, they have a wildly different group of products available in Canada than they do in the States. Lets have a look.

Does this exist in the States??? Looks delicious!

The "real" Smarties Kind of like original M&Ms. Their tag line back in the day was "when you eat your smarties, do you eat the red ones last?" Good stuff :)

 Kit Kat is everywhere. Feel free to check out my review.

Never one of my favorites I can see why some people like Aero bars. The chocolate is light and its definitely the most airy chocolate bar I've ever had. I've had the original and mint, but never seen the dark chocolate version before.

Coffee Crisp is a true classic.If you like coffee and chocolate, you'll love this bar.

More bites. This time for Coffee Crisp and KitKat, yum!

Another nougat, peanut and caramel bar. A commenter recently posted on the WTCA Youtube channel that this bar is akin to Baby Ruth, and I'd kind of agree. Apparently this one is available in limited quantities in the States.

There are of course a few outliers and some that I didn't get to like the ever popular Mars Bar, and for coconut fans Bounty. I've never had a Mars Caramel before...

 

 Hershey does have a presence in Canada, its just overshadowed by Cadbury and Nestle. I thought this Cookies 'n' Mint bar sounded good, and I don't believe its anything I've seen here in California.

 Yes Kinder is big in Canada too. But they're much more prevalent than they seem to be down south.

While I'm not particularly familiar with Kerr's. Scoth Mints in general are really popular in Canada. They're kind of the same size and shape as a Mentos, but full on mint, with a bit more of a chalky flavor. They're really good and I'd recommend you try some.

 The only other group of candy that I had to mention here is one you'll see not just walking down Canadian candy aisles, but also in movie theaters, and corner stores. Maynards is the brand behind the popular Wine Gums. But they've also got a lot of other 'theater' style candies.

I'm mostly used to getting thee in the rolls instead of this kind of big bag, but even though I've had these a lot of times and always want to like them, I never seem to...

 

 Love the Swedish Berries, the only thing that tops them is Swedish fish ;) I'm not a huge watermelon fan, but these sour ones are very good.

 Never had the Cherry Blasters and I don't really intend to. BUT I love Fuzzy Peaches.

 Yuck.

I'm about to say something controversial but I stand by it. Gummy bears are simply not as good as gummy worms. 

I'm sure there's more if you look in other stores, but that  was all I saw that stood out while walking the Canadian candy aisle. Let me know what you like in other countries. And I have a feeling we'll be seeing more Canadian candy and chocolates here on WTCA in the coming months.