A documentation and review of limited time, special edition, or otherwise hard-to-find noms.
Product circa: 2022
The chocolate is infused with coffee powder. The first few bites will have you think you’re chewing on a chocolate-covered coffee bean. Soon after, the caramel center takes over, and it’s very chewy, with a pleasing texture. The coffee flavor stays until the end. A perfectly executed snack, very satisfying.
Product circa: 2016
Golden Oreo cookies with vanilla creme, both of which have chocolate specks in them. The creme seems to have a bit of brown sugar added to it and, IMO, I think the cookies might have a bit of that as well.
Overall, really delicious. Despite being an overall “vanilla” treat, the specks still make it taste notably of chocolate, and the brown sugar tint to it all really adds a hearty nuance. These might be slightly better than the original Oreo, whether we’re talking about the original or Golden.
Product circa: 2014
Artificial green apple flavor tends to be pretty rough for me, usually. But somehow, here they really manage to make it work. The caramel flavoring in the bifurcated creme mingles with the apple creme and is quite pleasant, in the end.
Product circa: 2023
One of the weird LTOs that Coke offered in the 2023 era, all of which had concept-y names that had no bearing on the product itself.
This tastes like a fruitier Coke, and I can detect coconut, but no pineapple, as the internet had been saying. The Zero Sugar version is a damn good approximation of the full sugar.
Coke keeps being restrained with the amount of additional flavoring that they add to the variations, while Pepsi continued to be bold with theirs. And that's why Pepsi flavored colas are always better.
Product circa: 2025
Note: This is a Presumptive Ephemeral Nom.
Simply put, a flavor that somehow concentrates on citrus flavors within a formula that is already based on citrus. I get added flavors of orange, lime, and maybe even grapefruit. But it is missing additional acid - this feels sweeter than it needs to be, and I think the product suffers for it.
As expected, these both taste about the same: simply, chocolate cookie with a peppermint-flavored creme. Not bad, but I'm not a chocolate (pepper)mint guy.
Product circa: Intermittently from 2014 to 2019
Golden Oreo cookies with a creme that tastes like the marshmallows you get in cereal, plus the addition of tiny Rice Krispies in said creme.
I ate opened this package four years after I bought them in 2019 and... they were fine. But I can’t help look through my nostalgia glasses back to 2014, when I first tried these fresh. They were incredible. The cereal-marshmallow flavor went so well with the cookies, it was like a revelation. The only way I’ll be able to know I’m not crazy is if Oreo every decides to revive this variety.
Product circa: 2021
Vanilla cookie with 2 types of creme: strawberry (with sprinkles) and… I can’t figure out what the 2nd one is. I’ve deconstructed the cookies and tasted the odd, beige creme on its own. It might be different from the original Oreo creme, but only barely. Moreover, I can’t figure out what it’s supposed to be or represent.
Despite how ridiculous Oreo varieties can get, they almost always are in balance; this variety is not. This is the most punishingly sweet Oreo I’ve ever tasted… it’s either worse than the Double Stuf or Triple Stuff ones.
Product circa: 2017 and intermittently after
Back in the day, Ecto Cooler was one of the coolest things you could have in your school lunchbox… before Capri Sun gained popularity, that is. I gotta hand it to Coca-Cola for bringing it back for a time, and I'm glad to hear they've done it again since. Luckily for folks my age, companies are realizing that there is a huge amount of money in fanservice to nostalgia of products like these.
This formula tastes exactly like it did in the 80s/90s, and I have no idea how they do it. It’s an orange flavored drink unlike anything else that’s been made. It’s not pure orange juice, it’s clearly mixed with some kind of artificial drink, but it still maintains an acidic bite that a bottled juice drink wouldn’t have. I think I’m going to start mixing Hi-C Orange and orange juice to see if I can replicate this.
Product circa: 2023
A nice little cross-branding venture between two legendary brands.
While these are from 2023, there is evidence online of Hawaiian Punch joints going back as far as 2014.
Unfortunately, these things don’t hit quite like they used to when we were kids. They are absent of any tang or interest; they are high on sugar, low on flavor. The Polar Blast flavor is a simple blue raspberry that tastes lifeless. The Fruit Juicy Red flavor is definitely on par with the drink flavor, but its vigor just doesn’t translate into hard candy.
Product circa: 2022 and intermittently after
I wouldn’t have expected Old Bay to go so well with cheese crackers, but it does. The seasoning is bold, with black pepper, onion, paprika, and celery seed singing loudly. It would be a tragedy if they didn’t make these a permanent product.
Shoutout to my DC-area snack racketeers for getting me this.
Product circa: 2020 (and later?)
Note: This is a Presumptive Ephemeral Nom
Evidently this product was a joint with John Legend?
I gotta be honest, I think most Lays varieties with cheese fall flat. This one is no different. You’ve got your normal cheese seasoning, and this has some added heat, along with a vaguely vegetal flavor that I’ve tasted before as trying to simulate jalapeno. But when you squint your eyes, it’s just cheese potato chips, and forgettable.
Product circa: 2020 (re-release)
These have been released intermittently throughout the years.
Honestly, I’m really struggling to discern how much these are different than the normal Golden Oreos without them in front of me to compare. It’s possible that the creme has a bit of caramel in it, but otherwise it’s just a delicious, perhaps vanilla-heavy Golden Oreo.
Product circa: 2023
Honestly, this tastes exactly as expected. A white chocolate Kit Kat with a heavy dose of cinnamon added to it, and also vanilla. Vanilla and cinnamon seem to be a cheat code to make things taste delicious. These are utterly fantastic.
Product circa: 2025
I didn't realize this product was around until a friend gave it to me. I'm going to assume that it's Ephemeral in the sense that it might be regional, seasonal, or just not available at all times everywhere.
Very tasty! I wish it were around more, I would probably buy it semi-regularly. However, that's only because I don't have regular access to Cheerwine, which is basically a better version of this.
The Dr. Pepper Cherry has a cherry-heavy flavor, like Cheerwine, but I feel like the spicy Dr. Pepper base actually minimizes my enjoyment, in this case.
