Kit-Kat Ghost Toast

 

Product circa: Halloween 2024

Nice use of an arbitrary rhyme to make this arbitrary snack themed for Halloween.

The white chocolate coating has been colored an alarmingly bright shade of orange.  This tastes like if the Cinnamon Crunch Toast cereal were made into a candy bar - and it's absolutely delicious.  A great combination, perfectly balanced with sweetness and texture.  A home run!

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.

Fanta Haunted Apple

 

Product circa: late Summer 2024, promoting the film Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice

I've been thoroughly enjoying the horrible reviews of this stuff that I've been seeing online, and so I was excited to find a bottle and waste my money on it.

Damn, I'm disappointed, because it's really not that bad.  Self-described as a spiced apple soda, the spice is clear on the nose, and the apple taste is somewhere between green apple and red apple.  The spice also makes itself known on the tongue, and it probably contains more than just cinnamon, but it's hard to tell what.  The flavors combine with a bitterness at the end that prevents this from being cloying.  Honestly, it's really not that bad.  I've tasted so many things that were worse.

Mountain Dew Star Spangled Splash, Freedom Fusion, and Liberty Chill

 

Product circa: Independence Day 2024

Should they really keep doing this for the US Independence Day?  They will run out of vocabulary words eventually.

Star Spangled Splash: Dew with generic red fruit.  It's not bad, but I've tasted this kind of Dew at least a dozen times.

Freedom Fusion: A peach lemonade Dew which will naturally be compared to the KFC exclusive Sweet Lightning.  I've only had the latter once or twice, and it wasn't memorable enough to recall.  This stuff is very tasty, with a little tartness that goes a long way.  I would say that they should have upped the peach flavoring, but if they had, I probably would be saying I had wished they dialed it back.  They deserve a lot of credit for this one.

Liberty Chill: Another one of the occasional "omnibus" varieties that combines an absurd amount of flavors into one beverage (in this case, 50).  This is a mess... it's overly sweet, and if I try, I can pick out "blue", and "cherry", and that's about it.

Milky Way Caramel Apple

 

Product circa: autumns 2012-2013

One of those instances where brands trying to use a very small amount of green apple flavoring, along with sugar, to approximate a "red apple" flavor, seeing as red apple flavoring in candy basically doesn't exist.  These aren't the greatest, but I'm glad they tried.  The flavor combination works well enough.

Pumpkin Spice Oreo

 

Product circa: Post-2020 seasonally

They actually have a pumpkin flavor along with the requisite spices!  With that said, they are nothing special... in the bottom half of pumpkin spice-flavored junk food.

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.

Mountain Dew Holiday Brew & Merry Mash-Up

 

Products circa: holiday seasons 2017 and 2018-2020, respectively

Holiday Brew: Evidently this is just a mix of regular Dew and Code Red... so it's just a "diluted" Code Red?  It certain tastes like it.

Merry Mash-Up: I can detect cranberry in this, but otherwise it just tastes vaguely like a "red" Dew.  I'd love to see them take another try at a cranberry Dew!

Mountain Dew VooDew 2019-2021

 

Product circa:  Purchased online in 2022 as part of a re-release.

2019: Sweet orange, maybe vanilla? Delicious!

2020: Cheap tart candy (SweeTarts?) and a bit of fake grape.

2021: Fruit punch, heavy on the cherry.  Supposedly it was meant to taste like "fruit chews", and if you think about cherry Starbursts, this is a dead ringer.

Red Bull Summer Edition 2019

 

Product circa: summer 2019

For several years now Red Bull has issued summer editions of their product, and each year it's a different flavor.  This is totally in character at this point, because Red Bull now has well over a dozen variations of their original energy drink on the shelves, almost to a saturation point.

I don't often drink Red Bull products, but when I do, I regret it.  It's hard to say exactly what they were aiming for with this drink.

As the soda hits the tongue, the experience seems normal.  But after that, it's all downhill.  The short of it is that the main flavors of this drink seem to be a sort of floral coconut which, on paper, sound great to me.  But these two combine with the medicinal bubblegum taste of the original Red Bull to a result that tastes completely like sunscreen lotion.

That's the whole of it.  I feel like I'm drinking something that's not food.  Most Red Bull variations don't hew to the original's flavor, but in this case when it does, it's disastrous.  However, I'm going to give it 1 NOM, because I can somehow see that some folks might like this.


Red Bull Summer Edition 2019:- Passable
Original Red Bull (for comparison):- Passable

Red Bull Summer Edition (2017)

Product circa: summer 2017

In addition to the rainbow-ification that Red Bull has seen over the past year or two with all its new colored versions, Red Bull has also been issuing Summer Editions of their beverage for several years now.  I'm not sure if the flavor is always different for each summer, but it was for this vintage.

Red Bull went with grapefruit in 2017, one of my favorite flavors, bar none.  Grapefruit can be fairly polarizing, however, and they didn't pull any punches here.

Despite the fact that this product uses sucrose as a sweetener, it's short-lived on the tongue.  You'll get the sweetness first, and then it disappears, never to return.  Sourness pushes back against the sugar, making you forget it.  The flavor, however, is great; it's like biting into a fresh grapefruit.  It is at this point that the caffeine-driven bitterness makes itself known, and it's considerable, though not inappropriate for a grapefruit product.  Finally, the sourness kicks back in and lingers endlessly on the aftertaste.

This could be called refreshing if it weren't a bitter, caffeine-dense energy drink.  It's a great attempt, but I think a little more sugar would bump it up to 3 NOMs.


Red Bull Summer Edition 2017:- Good
Original Red Bull (for comparison):-Passable

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

Sprite Cranberry

Years after cranberry sodas have graced holiday store shelves, Sprite finally threw its hat into the ring. But, much like the Apple corporation, their "me too" products are often not to be ignored.

I myself am not a big fan of Sprite, but any time Sprite makes a variation, I stand up and take note. See: Sprite Remix Aruba Jam.

The aroma begins in typical sprite fashion, but with a clear addition of tartness, which could perhaps be guessed as cranberry.  The sip isn't tart, though.  It's sweet, but not as sweet as original sprite.  A simple and subtle cranberry flavor forms on the tongue, which soon becomes a generic red berry, which then becomes a generic fruitiness.  And that's about it.  It's a short experience, but it's complex and balanced.

Why can't there be more versions of Sprite?

By the way, just like this and this, Sprite Cranberry goes well with this.

Sprite Cranberry:- Outstanding
Original Sprite(for comparison):- Good

Sierra Mist Cranberry Splash

Aside from being included in just about everything in the months between September in January, cranberry is a flavor that is often injected into sodas in particular for this time of year.

Last year I wrote about Canada Dry's Cranberry variety, which has been gracing autumn and winter shelves for years now. Also years old now is Sierra Mist Cranberry Splash, but is still only seasonal.

Sprite reigns king of the lemon lime sodas in the US and has done so for a long time, but in 1999 Pepsico realized that Slice really wasn't cutting it as competition. 7 Up might be a worthy opponent, but Pepsi does not own the rights to 7 UP in the US.

And so, Pepsi created a new brand to compete on the lemon lime shelves: Sierra Mist. Ever since my first sip, I always knew it was a loser. It just was never as good as Sprite, and I'm pretty sure that its brand performance hasn't been incredible either, though I have no numbers to back that up. A few years ago, Pepsi switched the drink's formulation and called it Sierra Mist Natural.  My verdict remains the same.

Cranberry Splash must be somewhat successful, because it keeps coming out every holiday season.

The Sierra Mist flavor base, in my opinion, is one that is fairly dull and lacks vibrancy.  Despite that it uses sugar over HFCS, it tastes like a mixture of sugar syrup and citric acid.  Luckily, the cranberry makes it better.  It instantly adds a tartness that makes your taste buds stand at attention.  The tartness evolves into an easily detectable cranberry flavor that's quite enjoyable.  But too soon it dissipates into the dead Sierra Mist aftertaste.

It's better than the normal stuff, but not by much.  And, like Canada Dry Cranberry, it looks beautiful in the glass, and tastes better with gin.


Sierra Mist Cranberry Splash:- Good
Original Sierra Mist(for comparison):- Passable

Milky Way Caramel Apple

Brace yourself for a rare ephemeral nom from Milky Way: a Caramel Apple version that was just in time to be sold in mini size for Halloween!  Red apples seem like a strange pairing with chocolate, but I went in optimistic.

As soon as you open the package, you can detect something slightly different with the aroma of the chocolate coating.  At first bite you'll notice that the candy's nougat has an assertive flavor of apple.  Unfortunately, the apple flavoring is quite reminiscent of the kind used in cheap apple cinnamon tea, which is something I despise.  Along with the apple, you might detect the slightest amount of cinnamon as well.

I hate to admit it, but this combination works.  It's delicious, and in a completely different way than normal Milky Way.  I can't eat too many of these in one sitting, but their complexity and intrigue stand alone.  I'd love to see these next year.


Milky Way Caramel Apple:- Great
Original Milky Way(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

Candy Corn Oreo

Oreo has been issuing these each Halloween season, and I finally got my hands on them after they eluded me last year.

Simply put, they are Golden Oreos with a dual-sided creme filling, both of which combined are supposed to invoke the flavor of candy corn.  Preliminary tests suggest that the two different colors of creme don't actually taste different, but that is not conclusive.

Sadly, I believe Oreo may have been a bit too heavy handed here with their flavoring.  The first flavor I get is cake, just like Oreo's no-longer-ephemeral Birthday Cake Oreo, except that it tastes more buttery.  A moment later, I am slapped with saccharine butterscotch.  The two go well together, but they're just too strong.  I really can't eat more than one at a time.  A lighter hand in the designing the snack, I believe, would have made it stellar.

Candy Corn Oreo:- Good
Original Golden Oreo(for comparison):- Great


acquired: Target

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

Fudge Covered Ritz

Our final late-summer post about a product from last winter.  Ritz decided to cover their crackers with fudge.  Not a bad idea, right?

Ritz is mostly regarded as a savory product, but because it's really only butter and flour, it can definitely act as a sweet one as well, and that's the tack that Nabisco is trying to take here.  I went in with high hopes, but I ended up disappointed.  The entire draw of Ritz, it's buttery and toasted flavor, are undetectable when paired with the mouthful of chocolate that accompanies it.  In turn, its crunch is more or less dampened by the rubbery snap of the coating as well, which itself is nice, but the two textures don't pair extremely well.  In fact, the texture very much reminds me of LU Petit Écolier cookies, but not quite as good.

For a more interesting take on the potential of sweet Ritz crackers, I would guide you to the Honey Wheat variety, which is sold year round.


Fudge Covered Ritz:- Good
Original Ritz(for comparison):- Great

White Fudge Covered Oreo

This past holiday season Oreo issued a seasonal offering which they've been known to offer before: White Fudge Covered Oreo.  If I'm not mistaken, this isn't the only type of Oreo that's been fudge covered, but it's really the only one to which you should pay attention.

The construction is quite simple: it's an Oreo cookie sandwich dipped in white chocolate.  And, while the structural balance of the snack may not be ideal for my tastes, the flavor is quite good.  I've been know to pan Oreo when they neglect the virtue of balance, and despite that this snack is simply an onslaught of sugar on the tongue, it works.  The "fudge" overtop the Oreo sandwich is run-of-the mill white chocolate, so pure that its buttery flavor(mostly pure cocoa fat) doesn't interfere with the flavor of the chocolate cookie or vanilla creme.

I'll say it again, this is a victory on flavor, but not on anything else.  Look toward Oreo's new Fudge Cremes snacks for a lesson in how to balance cookie, creme, and chocolate coatings.

White Fudge Covered Oreo:- Good
Original Oreo(for comparison):- Great