I’m living in a temporary abode with the family since there is some work being done on our house. We’re in the Marina, which is a lovely shade of blonde and youth. And there’s this haribo-laden candy store not 3 mins away. Serendipitous.
FWIW – the friends’ house we’re in now is at least 348 times nicer than our own which makes me think it’ll suck when I move back home.
Anyway, I go to the sweet shop, and it couldn’t be designed worse for candy buying doods. No offense to the owners…who can’t be that bad since they started a candy store with hard-to-find Haribo. Unfortunately the shop is all aflutter. Frilly, bright and white. I said to the girl working the counter “this place is too girly” and she agreed.
I got a bunch of Haribo, of course, and when I saw the licorice section I thought it was time for another licorice review. So behold Black Ace Licorice :
There are a few good reviews of the candy here and here already where you’ll get a better rundown of how it’s organic and gluten free so folks with allergies can eat it.
I’ll start where it least matters: appearance. Look at the packaging.
That doesn’t bug you? It has that “homemade olde tyme candies” feel. The colors are black and yellow taxi and the font roarin ’20s.
Not my thing.
It’s the text on the back that made me wince: “Black Ace Licorice reminds us of forgotten summer days spent hanging out on the back porch with your best friend, a game of hide and seek or skipping a rock across a pond…”
WTf? Who was eating LICORICE when they were playing hide and seek? I was eating candy but it sure as shit wasn’t licorice. Licorice is like bourbon – you need mature taste buds to like it. I was eating chocolate, hard sweet candies I stole from the German kid next door, berry dynamints I got for a quarter at the 5 and dime, or lollipops, and especially gum.
Sigh.
Still. I bought the package anyway (and what is it? A box? no. A lunch bag? kinda.) and I gotta say – the taste of Black Ace Licorice is great. Not too sweet at first – a good licorice essence. Not iodiney at all. A little salt hint but definitely not salt puckery. The licorice is strong but in an understated way. It’s hard to explain. Like…I just ate one, completely finished it with remnants on my teeth all gone, and I can still taste it now. On the back of my tongue and mouth. I like that. Kinda refreshing.
But the texture is the achilles heel. It’s so soffffffffffft and uberchewy that to enjoy them is to not chew them. Otherwise immediately its blacksticky all over your teeth and then you aren’t really appreciating the experience anymore, you’re just trying to get gooey licorice out of crevices.
But still – I keep going back to them. The taste is that good. And I’m leaving them in an open package in the fridge and I’ll let you know next time I try them aged and cooled. If they age well – I’ll be buying again.
UPDATE: May 16 2009 –
These things NEVER got hard. Like an old man w/out Viagra. Bah da booom! And you know my motto: if they don’t age – they don’t rage.
ok maybe not 348 times. But at least 310.
-Matty
348 times? how you come up with such an exact figure?
candy
Yeah – the ‘toothstick’ is really Scott’s gig. And Scott rarely writes so we kicked him to the proverbial curb.
Thanks for reading 🙂
-Matty
You guys always crack me up! Why DO some candy shops seem so over the top frilly? Who likes that? Teuscher’s hoity toity 5th Avenue chocolate shop has fake flowers on all the walls and the ceiling. It ruins the appetite.
I hate licorice, but you make this sound almost good enough for me to try! (But I thought you guys were all about the toothstick!) : )
Great post!