Rockets review

Another Halloween classic today with our review of Rockets. Or in the States you may know these as Smarties!


Walking the Candy Aisle rates Rockets - 4 / 5

For more on Rockets please visit them on the web at http://www.rocketscandy.ca/

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.

Smarties (UK) review

Today we've got another UK candy review for you. This is Smarties.


Walking the Candy Aisle rates Smarties - 4 / 5

Smarties are a Nestlé product. Find out more about them on their website or at this fun Canadian Smarties site. For more on us here at the Candy Aisle please browse through our Reviews Page, and Subscribe to our ongoing UK Candy and Chocolate review series over at the YouTubes.

Valentine's Bites

Well tomorrow is the big day, and since I'm going to be giving you a review tomorrow I'll just say it now. Happy Valentines Day to all of you who love that sort of thing.

For me, I find Valentines a bit meh. I mean I have lots of great people I love in my life, but the artificial stuff involved in the holiday is so tough. Its not like Christmas where you can have general goodwill and love towards everyone. This is such a specific holiday with such specific and strange cultural rules. Its hard to pick something out, I mean the right thing out. Its tough if you're alone, its tough if you're in a new relationship, its tough if you're in a long term relationship. In fact the only people I think Valentines is great for are the people in that honeymoon phase of a relationship where being cheesily romantic is totally acceptable. For everyone else Valentines can be a tough time.

I do like the candy though, even if oher than box chocolate the shelves are a bit bare. I'm giving you only one Valentine themed review this year. Maybe I'll have time for more next year, but for now you'll get something from me tomorrow, and then we'll move onto Easter.

Today though I've got a few last minute Valentine bites I wanted to share from the candy aisle.

 

I don't know why but I'm always surprised to see Mrs Fields outside of the mall food court. And doubly so when its not in a cookie context. These are straight up Mrs Fields chocolates. Now I know they sell these chocolates in the actual stores... but really who is going to a Mrs Fields for the chocolates?!

Honestly it sounds like a pretty great selection of flavors. I'd probably pick the Strawberry Truffle as my go to chocolate here.

This has to be my pick for the school kid who is being forced to give something to all his classmates. Smarties are awesome and I appreciate packaging that lets me conveniently address it to and from.

Finally, these Kinder eggs are actually pretty awesome. They break apart into solo eggs, so this pack is good for 4 friends, and a Kinder is one of those things that everyone really enjoys but hardly anyone actually buys for themselves. I totally dig it as a gift and despite the fact that these Valentines are packaged with 2012 toys I'd still get it for the people I love.

Anyhow, I hope you all have a great Valentines Day tomorrow. I definitely encourage you all to tell someone you love them. And check in tomorrow for a fun Valentines review.

XOXOXO

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.