The Big Bar Line Up - Cadbury Dairy Milk

One of the major areas in the candy aisle that I've neglected since starting the blog has been the big bar section. You know the area I mean, that area beside the regular day to day chocolate bars that features the large size, sometimes premium always more expensive chocolate bars. I've never been the kind of person to go in for those chocolate bars. And mostly I think that has to do with price. Despite running a blog on the topic, I usually buy my chocolate on the spur of the moment. Buying the big bars just seems like too much forethought. My chocolate cravings are immediate, and I don't want to have a huge bar... if I did I might eat it all at once. Also and maybe more importantly I'm not fancy. While I know the space has changed over the last few years these big bars at least traditionally came from the premium retailers. They were always a better quality chocolate that demanded more attention. I am much more of an impulse driven, spur of the moment quick fix kind of consumer.

BUT there are a ton of great looking chocolate bars out there in the big bar section. Over a few posts I'd like to share some pics and minor thughts with you on some of these big bars. At least you can get a sense for what the lineup looks like here in Canada. Today I'm going to kick things off with Cadbury, other than Lindt there are more Cadbury bars in this big bar section than any other, and its predominantly highlighted by the Dairy Milk line.

Now I've tried to compile a complete list, but I might very well have missed something so just let me know in the comments if you've see anything else in your neck of the woods :)

Of course the classic Cadbury Diary milk kicks things off.

This along with the Fruit and Nut variety are (I believe) the only Big Bars from its line up to make it into the smaller more handheld size.

I've never been a fan of fruit and nut. It just seems like the fruitcake of chocolate bars...

Surprisingly they don't feature a straight up peanut and chocolate mix. Not to say I don't like caramelized peanut. but it seems like a classic has been passed over...

I am a huge cashew fan and they simply don't get enough love in the  chocolate world, so this is really nice to see. I wonder what the thought is about cashew on its own... seems like that should work. Too bad we don't have one to try out.

Here are two more classic flavors paired with Cadbury's excellent Dairy Milk chocolate. I am a fan of Mint in most any form, but Toffee can be pretty hit or miss.

Note the "new" label on the package. How it took them so long to come out with this is beyond me. The only thing I can think is that Hershey's Cookies N Cream has so dominated the market that they didn't see the value in their own brand. That said, I am very happy to see this hitting shelves here.

Here's an interesting one. Other than M&Ms, is there even another Pretzel chocolate on the market??? I sure can't think of one. Pretzels and peanut butter do go well together, but I have to say this feels weird to me. Like its something I'd want to work well, but just wouldn't.

This seems like a clear jump onto the Nestle bandwagon following the Aero bars lead. I have to say although its clearly copying, I would like to try it. Aeros are honestly some of Nestle's best bars and I'd love to see that form in with Cadbury quality chocolate to back it up.

Well here are the Premium bars I guess. Cadbury is a pretty accessible brand but you still can't get away with Dark Chocolate being much of anything but a specialty. I'm sure these are great, but like I said before, I'm not fancy, and I am clearly much more interested in milk chocolate than dark.

That's all I've got on Cadbury, but after taking a closer look at these bars I think I'll have to make the investment in a few to try out. If only for the sake of the blog :) I think I'd like to try the Caramelized Peanut, the Cashew and Hazelnut, and the Cookie Crunch most. According to Cadbury's UK website they have a number of flavors available overseas that we do not have here, including a Toffee Popcorn which would be pretty interesting... Let me know if you've got any favorites from this line up below. I'll be back next time with a look at another Big Bar line up.

Double Decker review

Today we kick off a new series of reviews on UK Candy. And we're starting with Cadbury's Double Decker.


Walking the Candy Aisle rates Double Decker - 3 / 5

For more on the Double Decker please visit Cadbury UK online at http://www.cadbury.co.uk And as I mentioned yesterday for more of this awesome British Chocolate invasion here at the Candy Asle stay tuned. I'm planning on releasing a new UK candy review every Tuesday. That's alongside the standard Friday reviews. Score!

A British Invasion!

Just a quick note today to all of you lovely blog readers. I've got a treat coming here to the Candy Aisle. Starting tomorrow and for the foreseeable future I'm going to be running TWO review videos a week. One on Tuesday and one as always on Friday.

I'm kicking this off with a massive series of videos on British Chocolate and Candy. The Tuesday videos will, at least for the moment, be focused around a theme. I expect this British one to last around 3-4 months. After that we'll see what I can come up with... maybe movie theater candy? Let me know if you've got suggestions :)

The Friday videos will remain the same mix of old standards and new interesting stuff. I am dedicating myself to making it through all of the most popular chocolate bars on the Western market by the end of the year so there's sure to be some good stuff on the way. Once I'm through the more traditional stuff I think I'll be able to focus on bringing some of the more unusual fare to you. For now though I've added the second video every week partly to just mix things up a bit.

If the blog posts are what you're after note that I'm still planning on posting one straight blog a week, for the time being at least. Those will probably hit on Thursdays from this week on.

Anyhow, just stay tuned for more fun and festivities here on the Candy Aisle. If you have any questions comments or suggestions please post in the comments below or email me at walkingthecandyasle@gmail.com.

Claeys Root Beer Hard Candy review

A while back I stumbled upon a really great hard candy from a little company called Claeys. Today they're back on the Candy Aisle with our look at Claeys Root Beer Hard Candy.


Walking the Candy Aisle rates Claeys Root Beer Hard Candy - 4 / 5

If you liked this, please check out our review of Claeys Cinnamon Hard Candy. And for more reviews in general you can always head over to the Reviews Page.

For more on Claeys you can visit them on the web at - http://www.claeyscandy.com/

Stroopwafels FTW!

What exactly is a Stroopwafel? Well my lovelies let me enlighten you.

It is a soft Dutch cookie with a waffle patterning and flavor. But there's more than that oh yes. The Stroopwafel, is a little cookied pocket of heaven because it actually has two of these waffle cookies surrounding a gooey caramel center. Honestly these things are fantastic.

Recently I had one of these Stroopwafels for I believe the first time, and was totally blown away. Its definitely not something you'll see everyday. The cookie is soft, the caramel is rich and the entire experience is more akin to eating a quality piece of cake or something. Just a great overall eating experience.

My sister-in-law brought some over from her last trip to England where she got them at Marks and Spencer. Of course I'm sure any Dutch person will tell you that the M&S version of Stroopwafel is garbage and nothing like their mother ued to make... but for my money it was wonderful.

The preferred method of consuming a Stroopwafel is to lay it over your tea and let the heat soften and melt the caramel inside the cookie just a bit.

Now why don't we have this kind of ceremony surrounding Western cookies? I mean what kind of a hurry are we all in??? Sitting down with a nice cup of tea and cookie. How could you possibly get more civilized?

When you finally do bite into the cookie its got a glorious soft battery taste that reminds me of home cooking and pancakes as a kid on lazy Sunday mornings. The caramel is gooey but not drippy, and the heat from the tea makes the entire experience feel very comforting.

I have to hand it to the Stroopwafel, eating this cookie was one of the most relaxing cookie experiences I've ever had and I'd be very happy to enjoy it again.

M&Ms ads - early years

A few weeks ago I posted some thoughts on those little candy mascots the M&Ms. When it comes to candy mascots there is literally none bigger. They showed up in the 50s and 60s but it wasn't until the 80s when advertizing went crazy that the M&M characters themselves started really taking over the entirety of the marketing. Still most of the ads you'll find for M&Ms are from the mid 80S onward. Of course, its not like there were VCRs around before the late 80s so that might be a factor too!

Regardless I thought I'd share some of my favorite M&M commercials with you here. This is by no means a complete list. And I'm not claiming to be any expert on M&Ms or the M&M characters. Like most of you out there I just really love the ads.

Here's a very early 50s ad for M&Ms

From Plain to Peanut. I love it. Swimming in chocolate and zipping up their "sugar" shells. This is the start of something awesome.

In these next two M&M commercials from the 70s they really play up the messiness angle.

Especially in that fist ad I have to say the chocolate mess is pretty gross. While I love the tag line of Melts in your Mouth and Not in Your Hand, I have to say I'm glad they abandoned this angle of marketing. Its not so pleasant to watch.

Jumping ahead again, in 1984 M&Ms became the official candy of the Olympic games (held in LA that year). This is the first time I can find that you really see the M&Ms as a group. A fun loving, partying group.

Doesn't it make sense to see them all together like that? I mean you get a whole bag full. And it works well for the Olympics. 

And then in mid 80s M&Ms got a bigger sized bag. Here are some fun ads for that :)

What I really like about these ads is this they really further develops the M&Ms as a community. They're much more cartoony, and they start to give the M&Ms themselves more of a story.

This next one was a favorite of mine as a kid.

I think this ad is really awesome, no only because the M&Ms all go on vacation with each other, but that they're such a rowdy fun group. I know they don't have their individual personalities developed much at this point, but there's something kind of awesome about having like 30 M&Ms in a big crazy group partying rather than just Red and Yellow on their own. This is what M&Ms were about back then, a family (or at least a fraternity) of candy. Shouldn't M&Ms be a fun loving party all the time?.

Here's another funny one from 1988. I love the way the process is imagined here. That they actually have to go swimming in chocolate and then shower in a candy shell is genius. This is also a good example of some developing personality for Peanut. Such a goofball :)

Tell me that's not a party! And very cutting edge stuff with that computer.

One of the things I always loved about these old M&M commercials that has been lost over the years is that these commercials were so wholesome. They were really family friendly. Now I think people expect different things from their advertising, but I'm nostalgic for these old comfortable ads.

In 1990 M&Ms celebrated their 50th Birthday. a long time for any candy to be around, and Its cool to see the M&M mascots right front and center for the party.

Then finally a breakthrough for M&Ms came in the early 90s. The introduction of   M&Ms Peanut Butter!

And while they'd had limited runs in before this 1992 also saw the permanent introduction of M&Ms Almond.

Finally, we'll end today's look at some old M&M ads with this one where the M&Ms themselves get nostalgic. I like the fact that they can reference their own history. It kind of brings the whole advertising campaign full circle. 

Talk about some enduring mascots, these guys have been though A LOT.

Next time we'll look at M&M ads in the 90s, through the refinement of their personalities and into the new millennium!

Ferrero Rond Noir review

Today we take another dip into the world of Ferrero with the Ferrero Rond Noir.


Walking the Candy Aisle rates the Ferrero Rond Noir - 4 / 5

This is definitely one to get, really great stuff! If you want to know more about the Ferrero you can always visit them on the web at - http://www.ferrero.com/ and for more reviews please check out our Reviews Page, or head on over to YouTube and subscribe to the Candy Aisle.

The Cost of Sugar

This week one of my favorite shows, NPR's Planet Money featured a topic near and dear to my heart: Sugar.

Check out their great episode on the cost of American sugar, the politics involved, and the price we all pay for our Dum Dums.

Listen to THE LOLLIPOP WAR  here.,

I'm a big fan of Planet Money and this is another stellar episode.

Chester Cheetah

It ain't easy bein' Cheesy....

Ain't that the truth! Today we're looking at the coolest mascot to grace the chip aisle, Chester Cheetah. Because information on the internet is totally apocryphal there are multiple origin stories for Chester's inception, but weather he came from an ingenious ad agency, or the mind of Hawley Pratt (creator of the Pink Panther) he has been  entertaining us in Cheetos ads since the 80s.

Chester is the epitome of cool. Sure he's cheesy, and honestly silly sometimes, but man is he also totally suave when he wants to be. I mean he's a cheetah in sneakers and sunglasses who just grooves along to his own beat all the time. How can you not love that?!

Don't know what Cheetos are? well they're puffed corn snacks flavored with powdered cheese of course. They are totally addictive, and a good change up from chips. Here's a classic Chester ad.

Get the picture now? So the gag with Chester is that yes he's a super cool dude, but he's also a bit crazy when it comes to Cheetos. Kind of in the way Sonny went Cuckoo over Coco Puffs, or the Trix Rabbit always lost it when he was about to eat some Trix cereal. Over the years he's varied in levels of silliness, but despite being portrayed as a bit of a buffoon sometimes, I think most people agree that this cat is pretty darn cool.

Lets look at the snack for a second though.

There have been a lot of different versions of Cheetos themselves over the years. And some of them are only available regionally. I know I was pretty disappointed when after recently moving from the States to Canada I realized that they don't seem to have either Flamin Hot Cheetos, or Honey BBQ Cheetos here :( This is the current lineup of Cheetos products that I can find easily in Canada.

Cheetos Puffs are the classic puffed corn snack you know and love. I expect these were the original Cheetos variety since I know I had these around since I was a really little kid. They are airy and light, and get cheese powder all over your fingers but man are they good.

If you want a bit more heft though. Cheetos Crunchy are the best of the best. Not as classic as the Puffs but honestly they are fantastic, and I personally prefer them to the Puffs. These things are insanely addictive too and if you haven't had them in a while I definitely recommend you go get some immediately!

Both the Puffs and the Crunchy varieties are the standards that you'll see everywhere. While there are and have been a number of other varieties over the years, here's what else I'm seeing currently on Canadian shelves.

For the health conscious out there (I suppose..) they've got Baked Cheetos Crunchy. Now I've never had these before, but I expect they're alright. What I don't understand though is that if you're actually caring about whether its baked or fried you probably should just stop eating them... right?

And Finally they've got this interesting variety that I wasn't familiar with before.

Cheese flavored popcorn is really a solid idea. I know I've always enjoyed it when I've had it before but I wasn't aware that there was a Cheetos variety out there. This is one I'd like to check out.

Back to Chester specifically though, the guy is always up to something. Even on the packaging I've shown you he's a pretty outlandish cartoon. I'm not sure exactly what flying a plane has to do with Cheese Puffs, but I don';t care: I'm going with it.

When they did a little revamping of Chester in the 90s they decided to start bringing him into the real world with some effects that honestly work very well. Kinda Space Jam-esque.

Chester had a few more great adventures through the 90s as his popularity grew. And this is where they dropped a lot of the bumbling Chester in favor of a simpler and cooler Chester.

You can see that he's a celebrity by '99 with the Daffy commercial.

From here into the 2000s Chester became even more interesting, because while they still advertized to kids, with things like this OrangeUnderground campaign, they also started making ads that appealed to adults.

The ads for adults started in the mid '00s and are more about skewing the status quo, bucking the system, and the little guy taking a small step to make their world  a bit more bearable. Its a very 00s sort of mentality. Very Fight Club. And Chester has taken on the role of the devil on your shoulder, encouraging, and nudging. Its very subversive and I have to say I love it.

Here's a classic ad that at least for me was the first time I was exposed to the beautiful Felicia Day.

A few other examples of this new and improved Chester Cheetah:

I have to say, this guy is pretty awesome. Sure a part of me wishes he still had a bit more of the fun loving 90s silliness, but I also like how much Chester is all about messing with the system. I mean who doesn't relate to this stuff?

I know I skipped over his terrible video game and a few other little things, but that's ok. If you weren't familiar with Chester Cheetah before I sure hope you are now. The guy is legendary, and the snacks are great. I'm excited to see where Chester goes next.

Chester Cheetah is of course a mascot for Frito-Lay Cheetos. For more on all things Cheetos and Chester you can visit them online http://www.cheetos.com/

Toffifee review

Today we've got an interesting one for you, lets have a look at Toffifee.


Walking the Candy Aisle rates Toffifee - 3 / 5

Toffifee (or Toffifay) is a August Storck KG company, you can find out more about it at their site - http://www.toffifee.com/ Stay tuned for more reviews here every week, and feel free to browse all of our reviews over on the Reviews Page.