Caramel Cold Brew M&M's

 

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.

Dum Dums with Hawaiian Punch flavors

 

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.

White Chocolate Marshmallow Crispy Treat M&M's

 

Product circa: 2023

Post-hoc thoughts.  These were delicious.  The crispy M&M's in general are really a home run; I remember when they first came out.

M&M's Mega

 

Product Circa: Intermittent

Giant M&M's candies whose form factor is flatter than your average M&M's... probably because they would be too firm to bite through, otherwise.  Their taste and texture are otherwise very reminiscent of the original, surprisingly.  But are they more fun to eat than the original?  Very.

Reese's Chocolate Lava Big Cup

 

Product circa: autumn 2024

This is a Presumptive Ephemeral Nom.

Seemingly just a Big Cup with a layer of chocolate sauce/syrup thrown in.  It sounds dumb, but my stupid monkey brain really likes the decadence of it.  I'm not sure it actually tastes especially unique, except for perhaps that this slightly shifts the sweet/salty balance in the normal product a bit toward the former... but the texture and thought of chocolate sauce in my candy makes my mind's pleasure centers go brrrrrrr.

Mountain Dew VooDOO 2024

 

Product circa: autumn 2024

The yearly tradition returns.  Evidently this is known as "VooDEW 6.0".

Anyway, the flavor of this stuff hasn't been announced yet, but people online have been saying it continues the "Halloween candy" tradition by being flavored like a strawberry candy of some sort - some are staying strawberry Nerds, strawberry Starbursts, and even others.

I'm pretty underwhelmed with this one.  It definitely has a candy-like flavor that approaches cotton candy/candy floss.  When I push myself, I can understand the strawberry Nerds comparison.  I'll update this post when I learn of the reveal.

Skittles Dips

 

Product circa: 2020

For some reason, I really like the idea of yogurt-dipping more types of candy.  I love that they tried this, but in my opinion, the hard/chewy texture of the Skittles candies is so different from the soft yogurt that I think this was a poor choice for a yogurt variation.  I'll just be sitting here what other products could have benefited from a dip instead.

Starburst Fruity Slushies and Sweet Fiesta

 

Products circa: the 2010s

There's not much to say about these.  They are very tasty, but not drastically more remarkable than the original flavors.  Though I do tend to think that the Starburst variations are always better than the original flavors, I never met a Starburst I didn't like.

Chili Nut & Coffee Nut M&M's

 

Products circa: 2016

These were part of a poll product for consumers to choose the next permanent M&M's variety.  Not pictured here is the third contestant of the contest - Honey Nut M&M's.

The Chili Nut is better than I thought.  I was prepared to say that only capsaicin was added to the chocolate, but I don't think that's right.  After a few candies, I believe I taste the savoriness of chili, that's not unlike Tabasco sauce (without the fermented flavor).

The Coffee Nut is trying to do a lot more than I expected.  I think they might have added vanilla to it, and even milk powder.  It's got more of a latte vibe than just coffee.  It's not bad, but not something I'd reach for.  Then again, I don't reach for M&M's ever.

Birthhday Cake M&M's

 

(For the record, I have no idea if the M&M's variety should be named before or after the "M&M" title.  I have recorded both on this site, per what the packaging says.)

Product circa: 2015

I always love it when Birthday Cake or Cookie Dough snack varieties are able to capture the "flour" taste that goes along with the real world varieties, but it's no wonder that these M&Ms do not capture that effect.  In the end, they taste like regular chocolate M&Ms that have a bit of extra vanilla extract in the chocolate recipe.

Jelly Belly Krispy Kreme Doughnuts

 

Product circa: Intermittently since 2017

Neat cross-brand!  As is typical of Jelly Belly, these taste very loyal to the food that each is emulating.  They even managed to add the flavor of brown/fried dough - no idea how they did that.

M&M's Cherry Cordial

 

Product circa: Intermittently from 2008, to maybe even the present; might have been seasonal for Valentine's Day or Christmas.

A very impressive feat.  They managed to make these taste like actual cherry cordials and not the artificial cherry that flavors every candy or soda we've ever had.  I don't know what the "cherry cordial" flavor is, but they got it.  Other than how incredible a technical feat this is, it's not overwhelmingly tasty.

Starburst Airs

 

This is a Presumptive Ephemeral Nom.

Product circa: 2023

It was pretty tough to find these.  These are a lot of fun!  The flavors are identical to starburst, and the outside has a dry, pillowy texture.  The chew is somewhere between a Starburst candy and the kind of "fruit snack" you would have in your elementary school lunchbox.

Jelly Belly Holiday Favorites

 

Product circa: Holiday seasons post-2021

All flavors are delicious!

Jelly Belly Draft

Note: This is a Presumptive Ephemeral Nom.

You might be able to find these adorable beer-flavored jelly beans in a specially-made aluminum can that contains single-serving mini bags of beans under its replaceable lid.  There might be other packaging options, as well.

Upon opening the little bag and smelling, you'll be hit immediately with yeast, and it's not pleasant - it's dank and pungent.

Taste is a different story.  The yeast leads the parade of flavors, but this time it's pleasant, with a sharp floral note that is just plain nice combined with the sugar.  As you really start chewing, you get an unmistakable lager beer flavor, with what I have to describe as golden malted barley.  Funnily enough, it ends with a "soapy" feel, which is something you'll occasionally hear as a beer descriptor.

Though I wouldn't call these delicious, between the packaging, the taste, and how authentic it tastes compared to its source material, this is easily a 2-NOM endeavor.  Well done Jelly Belly!

Jelly Belly Draft:- Good

Jelly Belly Lemon Lime(for comparison):- Good

Ephemeral Crunchy M&M's

Products circa: summer 2018

M&M's have issued a poll product for no apparent reason.  Maybe they're trying to mimic some success had by Lay's as of recent?

These three flavors are new varieties of M&M's Crunchy version.  The rice-krispy part of these candies make them very pleasant and really easy to eat more and more.  Each flavor also comes with a corresponding change in the colors of the candy shells.  Fun!

The first is Crunchy Mint.  Nothing special here.  It's a refreshing peppermint flavor that you'd expect from any other mint-chocolate candy.  There's a cooling menthol in here as well, not unlike Junior Mint candies.

The second is Crunchy Raspberry.  The flavor here is actually quite good.  The raspberry is natural-tasting, and almost juicy.

The third is Crunchy Espresso.  Very nice.  The flavor is like instant coffee, and not in a bad way.  It could have been made a bit stronger though.

Overall, a very decent showing.

M&M's Crunchy Mint:- Good
M&M's Crunchy Raspberry:- Good
M&M's Crunch Espresso:- Good
Original M&M's Crunch(for comparison):- Good

Firework Oreo

Product circa: summer 2017 & 2018 (and future?)

Oreo is really ramping up their creativity... perhaps because they're running out of creme flavors?  Anyway, this time they've injected un-branded Pop Rocks into the creme.  Why?  Well, why not?

I find these to be quite unpleasant.  Despite the fact that the creme tastes more or less the same as usual, the textural and physical manifestations of these ruin the entire experience for me.

The bite is normal, but once you start chewing, your teeth will crunch down on the rocks in the creme and it will give you the sensation of chewing on sand.  As your saliva touches the rocks, they will start popping, giving you the expected sensation as if you were eating the popping candy normally.  However, because the rocks are suspended in creme, some of them won't begin popping until you swallow.  It is at that point when you will distinctly feel the popping in the middle of your head, going down your throat.  I can almost feel it in my skull.  The sensation is unique and quite uncomfortable.

Even with the worst Oreos, I'll go back for another to relish in the disaster.  Not so with these.  Eating them is so unnerving that I can't stomach (or "throat", rather) more than one or two.

Firework Oreo: 0 Noms - Unpleasant
Original Oreo(for comparison):- Great

M&M's Pumpkin Spice

Kudos to M&M's for all of their new limited time flavors that they're testing.  In addition to past years' White Chocolate Candy Corn, we have this Pumpkin Spice to add to this autumn's repertoire, and I even just picked up a new edition for this coming Christmas season!

I'm not really sure what they were thinking when they made these.  Chocolate is such an overwhelming flavor that I feared it would drown any "pumpkin spice", and I was mostly right.  Whether these actually have any pumpkin flavor in them, it's undetectable.  If you try hard, you end up detecting some hints of pumpkin pie spice flavors: mostly allspice, with maybe a bit of nutmeg and cinnamon.  It's pleasant, but barely there, and these candies end up tasting almost identical to the original.

In all fairness, allspice is such a seldom-used ingredient in American cuisine that when an average American tastes it, they might think of pumpkin.

M&M's probably doesn't want to overuse their white chocolate variety as a base for other flavors, but milk chocolate really doesn't sing well with much else.  One thing they did get right: these candies are slightly larger, like most of the ephemeral M&M's varieties.  The larger size increases the amount of chocolate in each candy, thereby decreasing the proportion of candy shell, and it makes it better.  Click here for more discussion of how changing proportions can make a snack even better than the original.


M&M's Pumpkin Spice:- Good

Original M&M's(for comparison):- Good

NOMinally Ephemeral: Tootsie Roll Vanilla Midgees

I simply call them "vanilla Tootsie Rolls", and they're my favorite.  I always tend to prefer earthy/herbal flavors over chocolate, and I never was a big fan of the original Tootsie Roll candies.

Unfortunately, Vanilla Midgees are almost never sold by themselves; you can really only find them in bags of mixed Midgees of various flavors.  But Tootsie Roll made the genius decision of offering a limited edition packaging of only Vanilla Midgees for Halloween(look in your local store's Halloween candy aisle).  So fundamentally, this isn't really an ephemeral nom, and instead only NOMinally ephemeral.

Midgees have about the same texture as Tootsie Rolls, with perhaps a bit more softness to the chew.  These are immediately discernible as vanilla at first impression.  The vanilla used in the candy must be of high quality, because its depth of flavor reminds me of the kind imparted by real vanilla beans when used in cooking and baking.  The vanilla evolves into a creamy and buttery experience, thanks to the condensed milk used to make the candy.  Surely a more complex experience than the original Tootsie Roll.

These approach a 4-NOM score.  Nab them while you can.  You can always try to wait for the post-Halloween candy sales, but they might be gone by then.

Tootsie Roll Vanilla Midgees:- Great
Original Tootsie Roll(for comparison):- Good


acquired: CVS Pharmacy

Reese's White Peanut Butter Egg

Last year I felt the need to document the harmonious balance that Reese's achieves with their yearly issuance of the Reese's Peanut Butter Egg.

This past spring, they've decided to combine this product with the fairly hard-to-find White Chocolate Reese's Cup to make the White Chocolate Reese's Peanut Butter Egg.

There's not much to detail here.  The chocolate-peanut butter balance is just as in tune as the original, but I feel that the white chocolate works less well.  It's still delicious, and still a step above the rest.


Reese's White Peanut Butter Egg:- Great
Original Reese's Peanut Butter Egg(for comparison):- Great