You know you are in for something unusual from the moment you tear open the bag and are greeted with the sickly sweet smell of...uh...caramel corn? Some sort of artificial sweetener or vanilla extract? A candle? Whatever it is, it is quite overpowering.
Let's start with the name: brunch favorites. This is quite misleading, and one can be forgiven for thinking that the candy inside will taste like bacon, omelettes and mimosas. Instead, the three flavors are French Toast and Maple Syrup, Waffles and Strawberry, and Chocolate Chip and Pancakes. These aren't "brunch favorites" so much as they are the IHOP kids' menu.
I chose to start with the Waffles and Strawberry. The strawberry tastes like your typical artificial strawberry that graces everything from Starburst to Frankenberry cereal, and isn't bad, but it is paired with a vague caramel/vanilla sort of flavor. Again, not bad, but not reminiscent of waffles either. This is a middle-of-the-road flavor. Next, I tried to French Toast and Maple Syrup. I'm almost positive this candy can be sold simply as maple and no one would know the difference. There's no French Toast involved as far as my taste buds are concerned, but nevertheless this is the best flavor of the three in my opinion. Maybe that's because I tend to smother my French toast, waffles and pancakes with maple syrup anyway.
Speaking of pancakes, I've saved the worst until last. There is no redeeming value in artificial chocolate, especially when you can get the real thing in plenty of other candies. Once again, the main flavor is paired with some sort of weird vanilla/caramel flavor to represent the pancake...but unlike with the other two flavors, this time it makes the whole thing worse.
So, bottom line is that there is one flavor here which is pretty good in small doses (assuming you like maple), one flavor which is merely okay, and one which is revolting. I struggled with the appropriate rating, but eventually I returned to this thought: candy corn is its own flavor in and of itself, and Brach's really should have left that alone.
By the way, Brach's Brunch Favorites Candy Corn is exclusive to Target, so you won't find this on store shelves everywhere. From what I've tasted, that's a good thing.
RATING: 2/5
