Favorites

Since we're just getting Walking the Candy Aisle off the ground and I'll be posting probably 90% of the content here, to start with at least, I thought now would be a good time to go into some of my favorites.

If you watched the Skittles review then you know that my personal bias will come into play on reviews. Frankly it has to, this is a blog about personal preference. BUT even with that said, I will of course do my best to disclose any bias I may have before a review, and if something comes up that I feel I can't be fair-minded about (say a coconut candy review) then I'll try to pass it along to someone else.

So let's get into it, I was thinking about it and my preferences these days definitely lean towards chewy or melty, although I went through a serious crunchy phase back in the day. Let's start with candy because that's easy and you already know it: Skittles are my all time favorite candy. I like original and wild berry flavors the best.

 
When it comes to chocolate though my tastes are a bit varied. I find it hard to pin down an absolute favorite. I like Butterfinger, 3 Muskateers, and Twix a lot. At one time or another all three of those have been my favorite. I also go for anything peanut butter. Twix PB, M&Ms PB, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, and Reese's Pieces are all GREAT.

Growing up in Canada I had a somewhat different gang of chocolates to entice me. Kit Kat was big, but also the classic Mars bar, and Cadbury's Crunchie, and Crispy Crunch bars. It was really Cadbury's Wunderbar that made me decide I love chocolate bars though. I was probably 13 or so when I first had it and I was just old enough to decide that this was something I actually loved, not just in a kid wanting sugar kind of way. Most people if they know Wunderbar at all will know it under its original name as a Star Bar.

Although I love simple milk chocolate, and plain bars sometimes too, when I'm walking down a candy aisle I'll usually pick up something with at least a little flair, let's say a Milky Way at a minimum.

There are of course a few kinds of candy and chocolate that I don't like. I'll usually pass on things with coconut in them, and much to the chagrin of my wife I do not really like super sour candy. She of course likes that since it usually means she gets to eat it all. In fact, my wife Erica will be stepping in here to take on a few WTCA reviews from time to time covering these very topics. For her part I'll just say that her favorite candy is Sour Patch Kids, and she really likes the coconut M&Ms.

And it should go without saying I do not like black licorice. I just don't 'get' people who like that stuff...

So that about sums it up for me. Let me know what your favorites are in the comments, and I'll look forward to sharing more thoughts and reviews as we continue on down the candy aisle!

Egg-cellent!

Have you ever really stopped to look at how many chocolate and candy eggs there are at Easter!?

It's insane!

The original and still the best!

 

Russell Stover always has a very strong showing for the seasonal stuff!

These we're always some of my favorites at Easter :)

I'm sorry, but this just looks like a Powerbar to me. Horrible packaging...

Just like E.T. I've always like Reeses Pieces.

Definitely some different packaging here.

I do like Almonds...

That is too much gum!

Lots of Wonka goodness in there...

Aren't Tootsie pops ALWAYS egg shaped?!

The packaging winner!

let me know if you've found some I missed, I'm sure there are more out there...

Also, whats your favorite?

Twix - video review

Today we've got another one of my personal favorites for review, it's Twix.


Sharp eyed viewers may have noticed that this went up a few days ago on the CandyAisle YouTube channel. From time to time things may get on there before the blog itself so please head over and subscribe :)

Please click here for more in the written review or check out all the reviews on the Reviews Page.

Twix review

Yet another great review for you today on Walking the Candy Aisle, it's Twix!

Yes the original two chocolate bars in one, Twix "cookie bars" in the bright golden package. These are, and have always been one of my favorites, so I'm a little bit bias. But that's mostly because they are Soooo good!

First off, the packaging is great, eye catching shiny gold. It makes me feel like I'm about to buy something priceless, and the cookie bars with caramel and milk chocolate inside are really just about as good as gold. When I was a kid, other than maybe a Kit Kat, this bar was my first exposure in getting multiple chocolates in one package and I always felt like I got more for my money buying a Twix. Also when you have a sibling, having two chocolates makes life a lot easier when trying to split something.

 As for the cookie bar itself, that name is apt. The bar is based around a semi-crumbly cookie with a layer of caramel on top, followed by a casing of milk chocolate. When you bite into it you'll find yourself first peeling away the soft caramel from the rest of the bar, but then chewing down into a caramel chocolate goo followed abruptly by a cookie crunch. While the beginning of a mouthful may be filled with cookie chomping, you're left with a near perfect mixture of caramel and chocolate. When described it may sound like two conflicting experiences in a mouthful, but its not, the cookie and caramel / chocolate mixture compliment each other wonderfully, and this is a bar where I find myself enjoying each mouthful as a multi-faceted experience. Is it reading too much into things to say the cookie and caramel / chocolate combo is another extension of the twin theme for Twix? Yes , it probably is; but these are the things that come to mind when trying to explain how a mouthful of Twix just manages to work in every respect.

As for a rating, well I've really no choice but to give it top marks all around. You know this is a classic, and you know you want one.

Twix rates: 5 / 5

Twix is made and owned by Mars Inc, learn more at www.twix.com

Eagerly Anticipated

Probably my most anticipated Easter chocolate are these limited edition Lindor Milk and White Milk Chocolate Truffles from Lindt. I haven't picked any up yet but am definitely looking forward to trying them out.

 Once I do try them I'll be sure to let you know the verdict here. Really, you know they have to be great right? Do you guys have any seasonal chocolates or candies that you just can't wait to get your hands on?

More from Lindt.

Walking Our Aisle video

Here is a little video showing our local aisle.

Skittles original - video review

As promised, here is the video review of Skittles original flavor.


For the written review, please check here, and head over to our YouTube channel for more videos!

Skittles review

Welcome to the very first review for Walking the Candy Aisle! woohoo!

Today I've got a real treat, a review of Skittles original flavor.

One thing to note before I dive into the review though, I have a personal bias here since Skittles have been one of, if not my top most absolute favorite candy forever. So you can probably expect how this review will shake out :)

If you've never had Skittles before they are a small chewy candy with a hard outer shell. They are known for their very strong fruit flavor and bright colors even using the commercial tagline "Taste the Rainbow".

So first off the packaging. I have to say I love it. Bright red, with a stark white Skittles written across it, this is definitely eye catching while walking down the candy aisle. The rainbow erupting out of the letter I is great showcasing the colors of the candy. And the description on the packaging read: "Bite Size Candies - Natural and Artificial flavors"

And as for those flavors? Well Skittles original variety has five: Strawberry, Orange, Lemon, Lime. and Grape. If you're following the rainbow logic now you may be asking why no Blue? You could do Blueberry, or even Blue Raspberry (a la Kool-Aid). Then we'd have all the base colors for an actual rainbow... oh well. We'll probably never know.



I really love opening a package of Skittles, the smell is just amazing and really strongly fruity. Definitely makes me hungry right away.


The candies themselves are nice and brightly colored, with the trademark S emblazoned on them, presumably so people don't think they're M&Ms.

(L to R) Strawberry, Orange, Lemon, Lime, Grape

 And now for the taste, each skittle flavor on its own is really strong. once you break through the harder outer shell its nice and chewy inside but has a slight sugary dissolving quality in your mouth. This is a candy to chew though, its not like an M&M (or a Canadian Smarties). Although I think the intense juicy fruit flavor is what turns some people off from Skittles I seriously love it. You can have two or three of a single flavor and just relish in your mouth bursting with flavor. Or you can mix and match. Skittles are great for combinations since each candy piece is so flavorful.

So many combinations!

Strawberry-Lemon-Orange is one of my favorites.

Overall, Skittles are pretty top notch.If you are a person who likes very strong fruit flavors then this is definitely a candy you should go for.

Skittles original flavor rates: 5 / 5

Taste the Rainbow!

 Skittles are copyright WM Wrigley Jr Company - find them online http://www.skittles.com/

 

Review Format

So I thought now would be a good time to talk about the format and criteria for reviews here on Walking the Candy Aisle.

This is a light-hearted blog just looking for a good time. We're not out to slam any particular candy or chocolate here, in fact I expect most of the reviews to be positive, we like the stuff... that's why this blog exists ;) So if you disagree please feel free to comment appropriately, we want feedback, but this is also a safe zone, so no flaming allowed.

Down to the reviews themselves. We're going to keep it short and to the point, how does it look, how does it taste, what's the texture like, and what's the overall effect. Yes we'll mention other notables, like packaging, cost, or any personal bias if relevant but expect these reviews to be short and to the point. At least for now the plan here is to publish one written review a week for the blog, as well as a video version of it on the YouTube channel. Eventually we may syndicate the videos via iTunes, but for now it'll just live online and you can feel free to subscribe to the main Blog Feed. Yes, we'll also make sure to publish the video review here as well.

Reviews will end in a score out of 5 since we know everyone loves those, however I expect the devil to be in the details, and since these won't be long reviews I suggest you just read the whole thing to get the context.

Expect new reviews every Friday morning and thanks for joining us Walking the Candy Aisle!