Harlekijntjes Salt Licorice Drops

here in the states we have grown accustomed to the sweet licorice flavor that abounds in such candies as licorice pastilles and twists, but over in europe (especially scandinavia/germany) they enjoy a much more intense salty licorice. i found these at sunrise asian market, where they have a surprisingly large amount of european candy (mostly from holland). i love sweet licorice, and i have to admit that i did not know what i was in for when i purchased these; they are very strong, salty and a tad sour. kind of like sour milk, not sour lemons. it's definitely something that i would have to get used to, but i do enjoy them. they are chewy, but more like Jujubes than taffy. this is not for the faint-of-heart licorice fan.

rating: 6

Very Berry Nerds Rope

b.paul loves Nerds and therefore Nerds Ropes are a common sight in our home. i've never seen this Very Berry version before but i'm sure it's more common than i think, i'm just not very aware. i immediately liked this one better than the original because of the blueness of it: blue packaging, different shades of blue Nerds, and what's that, is there a blue licorice rope in there? no. no there is not. they lured me over, the reeled me in and then they unhooked me and threw me back. why not a blue rope? yeah, it doesn't really matter because the licorice here is (to my taste) a berry flavor so it's better than the regular cherry or whatever that other one is. the Nerds are all quite berry-tasting too. although i can't taste any specific berries in here, they have that "berry" flavor - kind of strawberry, kind of raspberry. i do like the rope here, it's not brittle, chewy enough to pull at but not stringy. i would definitely pick this over the original, but it's still pretty sugary (sometimes Nerds hurt my teeth. like pixie sticks).

rating: 5

Panda Licorice Cremes

i have a beef with these candies, a big beef. as you can see from the package, this bag contains little licorice bits filled with three different flavors of cream: banana, caramel and strawberry. they have them all on there, with their little pictures that show which flavor corresponds to which color. the beef i have (and it is a big one) is that when you open up the bag, all of the pieces look way too similar to tell them apart (which you may or may not be able to tell from my crappy picture). now, there is one which is distinctly pinker than the others, which i assume to be the strawberry, but the rest of them look identical, at least to my inferior eyes. so i figured, "i'll just pop one in my mouth and i can tell the difference, banana and caramel are very different flavors, you know." and here is the beef, part two: there is no flavor, save that of sub-par licorice. i realize that licorice can be an overwhelming flavor, but this licorice is not even that strong. certainly not strong enough to drown out a well-made banana creme. the ingredients list molasses, beetroot concentrate, and licorice extract, but i think most of what i'm tasting is from the molasses. yes, this is an "all natural" snack, but i don't see why that means it has to taste like crap. i mean, "all natural" doesn't mean "all cardboard," does it? or does it? perhaps it does.

so i have never tried any other Panda licorice, they also make just plain black or red licorice bites. i've always been so excited for the brand, what with the panda and the black licorice (which i do admit to being a fan of), but this particular candy is not doing it for me. i prefer a more licorice-y taste, something in the Good & Plenty vein, and i definitely would have preferred to taste the other flavors. sorry Panda, you have not wooed me.

rating: 2