BUTTERBEER: HERSHEY KISSES AND SKINNY POP POPCORN

 

I'm not sure why a bevvy of Harry Potter-themed junk food appeared in stores last month as there was nothing else tied in with it. The last book was published 18 years ago. The last film was released almost 14 years ago. "Cursed Child" opened in London 9 years ago and the HBO television series won't be out for another year. Maybe J.K. Rowling needed to renovate her estate or something?

Before I share my opinion on two of these snacks, I must admit up front that I've always hated the name "butterbeer." At least ginger ale and root beer originally involved fermentation, even though the modern versions have no alcohol. But we've already got a word to describe this same flavor--Butterscotch! Which has nothing to do with Scotch, by the way, but may have derived from "scortch" as a reference to boiling the brown sugar and butter together. Caramel, on the other hand, is made from white (not brown) sugar. And Butter Rum Life Savers, which taste like butterscotch but with a hint of rum flavor, were introduced in 1938 to mimic hot buttered rum without the alcohol...or the hot. (I should call this section "The More You Know..." but that name is already taken, and I don't think you really want to know more about anything I review in this blog or you wouldn't dare eat any of it!)   

 

In summary, Butterbeer is a made-up name that has nothing to do with beer describing a taste that has nothing to do with Scotch...but, dang, I do love it!

HERSHEY KISSES

I'll start with the Hershey's Kisses first. I still haven't quite recovered from all the Cinnamon Toast Crunch Kisses I ate last month (which I rated a "5") but now here comes a second "5" in a row! As with those other Kisses, no chocolate is involved. These candies are described as "gold colored creme filled with butterbeer flavored creme"--perhaps the longest and most unhelpful candy description ever, especially if you're not a Harry Potter fan. If you love butterscotch, the taste of these will be familiar...but I wasn't quite expecting the texture (as I ate them before reading the bag description). I expected them to be as solid as their standard chocolate Kisses are--almost as if they just enlarged one of those Nestle butterscotch chips. But, instead, I was pleasantly surprised by the smooth creamy filling. Despite what the description says, the taste appears to come from both the interior and the exterior.

I couldn't think of anything disparaging to say about these candies! Perhaps the only "criticism"...and it is a stretch to call it that...has to do with the foil design. They come in three colors: tan, featuring a beer mug, a cauldron and (I guess) torches; blue, featuring a beer mug, candles, stars and (I guess) an owl icon; and red, featuring a beer mug, stars and (I guess) bubbles. Would it really have been so difficult to use the symbols for the Elder Wand, the Resurrection Stone and the Invisibility Cloak? Geez! Talk about a missed opportunity! Not to mention when I first saw one of these outside the bag, the mug made me think it was beer flavored (like beer Jelly Bellies). Fortunately, the butterscotch smell is unmistakably strong...strong enough to permeate any container you keep them in, to be exact. A full-size butterbeer candy bar would likely be overwhelming, but these Kisses are perfect for a quick treat. 

RATING: 5 / 5

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SKINNY POP POPCORN

I wasn't quite sure what to make of these and I probably wouldn't have purchased them if it weren't for the 50% Sale rack at the back of the grocery store. Judging by the number of bags that were on that rack, I'm guessing they overestimated the demand for these by a factor of 10 or 20. Which also gave me pause...if they were good, they would be gone, right? But then I remembered my duty to you, dear readers, to boldly snack where no one...or at least, not many...have snacked before. 

The front of the bag promotes butterbeer-flavored kettle corn but the back of the bag states that it has a touch of "butterscotch" (Show me you're a Muggle without showing me you're a Muggle!). It also notes "brown butter and caramel" flavors. As a fan of butterscotch, buttery popcorn and caramel corn, all of that sounded good to me! And perhaps it might have been good had Skinny Pop actually gone with something that resembled caramel corn. But Skinny Pop doesn't make caramel corn--if it did, I suppose it would have to relinquish the name "Skinny." Instead, they make dusted popcorn and kettle corn. And this version tastes good as far as kettle corn goes, being slightly sweet, but it would be a stretch to describe the taste as butterscotch (or even caramel). If you really want butterbeer-flavored popcorn, your best bet is to melt a bag of the Hershey's Butterbeer Kisses over this. Hmm...that gives me an idea!

RATING: 3 / 5

HERSHEY CINNAMON TOAST CRUNCH KISSES

Back in 2017, Hershey introduced its first new candy bar since the Cookies & Creme variety was released in 1995. The new bar was named Hershey Gold, and it contained no chocolate whatsoever but instead was a caramelized creme with peanuts and pretzels. It was delicious...one of the best junk foods I've ever reviewed...so, naturally, Hershey cancelled it in 2020. Had I known it was about to disappear, I would have stockpiled it in place of the water and canned meats in my earthquake survival kit.

While I am hoping we won't need to wait another twenty-two years before Hershey makes another attempt at a new candy bar, they at least seem to be going all out when it comes to their "Kisses" candies. In addition to seasonal varieties such as candy cane, cherry cordial and hot cocoa, I've seen pumpkin spice, strawberry ice cream cone and candy corn flavors (the latter having been discontinued about 14 years ago due to poor sales...imagine that!).

Their small size means that I rarely think of Hershey Kisses when looking for a chocolate fix, preferring something more substantial (like a Snickers). Or maybe I'm just too lazy to unwrap the minimum number of Kisses (20) needed to satisfy my snack craving. In fact, other than after finding them inside Easter eggs or Christmas stockings, I rarely eat them at all. With this new flavor, however, that may change...

I'm a big fan of cinnamon in general and Cinnamon Toast Crunch in particular (back when I ate cereal, that is). So I expected these to be right up my alley and they did not disappoint. Like Hershey Gold before them (which also came temporarily in a Kisses version), these new Cinnamon Toast Crunch Kisses are not chocolate at all but that same creme--except, instead of peanuts and pretzels, they contain what appear to be pieces of cereal. Not soggy cereal either, but pieces that provide a satisfying crunch. 

Thanks to the creme, the cinnamon flavor is more subdued that what you get from Hot Tamales,  cinnamon Red Hots candy or Big Red gum. Definitely not something that is too hot/spicy, but instead closer to a cinnamon roll. And all of this goodness is wrapped up in a red, green, purple and blue tinfoil that looks like something out of an Austin Powers movie--groovy! What's not to like? 

Well, actually, the one thing I didn't like was the smell. The open bag gave off the same sickly-sweet, pseudo-vanilla aroma you get from soaps, scratch-and-sniff stickers or air fresheners trying and failing to duplicate the smell of waffles. But unless you are a weirdo who needs to sniff your candy before eating it (or who writes a blog about the experience), you won't even notice. Instead, you'll find these Kisses to be sweet and satisfying...a great new flavor which I truly hope Hershey will consider releasing as a full-sized bar. Sure beats unwrapping 20 of these at a time... 

RATING:    5 / 5