When you are craving something spicy, chocolatey, or even something fruity, a candy cane shouldn’t come to mind. Or should it?
The selection at Target® was very wide. They had everything from spicy to sweet to savory. So many different brands of candy had resorted to candy canes in the Christmas season.
I had chosen the Skittles®, HotTamales®, and Oreos® flavored candy canes. I was drawn to these because of the range of flavors. I had also known what candy these companies sell and wanted to compare them to the candy cane version of it.
All of the candy canes in the HotTamales® box were exactly the same. I had expected some range of brown in the colors to capture the same idea as the box. I don’t feel the red, yellow, and white had captured the ideal flavor of the candy cane.
When I saw the HotTamales® candy canes, my immediate reaction was that sounds horrendous. I was pleasantly surprised when I tasted it. There was almost no spicy element. I had only tasted cinnamon and a grainy texture. The box had stated that the cinnamon was “fierce” and there were flames covering the box. Although I was skeptical of the marketing that was the box, I enjoyed the abnormal taste of cinnamon. The average rating they received from people I had asked was a 4/10, 1 being uneatable to 10 being mouthwatering. Personally, I would rate the candy cane a solid 5/10.
I had expected more from the Oreos® packaging. The candy cane itself was very boring looking. I had hoped to see more color, though I was misled because of the box.
If I feel the need to eat something chocolate, I would normally go for Milky Ways® or even a 100 Grand®. Yet, the Oreo® candy cane had definitely fulfilled the chocolate craving. The brown and white stick of sugar had a hot chocolate taste to it. The cookie-flavored stripe was the chocolate element to the strange taste. The cream-flavored stripe had tasted like marshmallows, which added to the hot chocolate taste. The box had described it to be Oreo®- like when it was really just chocolate with a hint of vanilla goodness. The average rating they received from people I had asked was a 6/10, 1 being uneatable to 10 being mouthwatering. Personally, I would rate the candy cane a 7.5/10.
It had 70% of the crunchy, cocoa-laden joy of eating an Oreo, but the 30% excellence of creamy, soft delight didn’t make it out of the cookie form and into the candy cane form.
This was exactly what I expected from the Skittles® packaging. There was lots of color and fun to the candy cane. I was very pleased with the marketing overall.
Knowing how Skittles® tasted, I had expected a lemony taste from the candy cane. That is exactly what it had tasted like. All five flavors of Skittles® were rolled into a piece of fruity goodness. Although it wasn’t the typical taste of the wintery treat, a change from the classic mint to a fruity flavor was a pleasant change. The average rating they received from people I had asked was an 8/10, 1 being uneatable to 10 being mouthwatering. Personally, I would rate the candy cane a solid 10/10. This was definitely the best flavor out of all three unusual candy canes.
Despite the fact that most people think candy cane companies should stick to the traditional peppermint candy, the spicy, chocolatey, and fruity flavors had the same satisfying taste.