Max, I applaud your tenacity, your gumption, and your dedication. While (obviously) I hate Spogs, I hate more when candy changes.

Hopefully it’s a supply chain issue for one common ingredient that all makers use?

Been buying Spogs regularly for years. I love them, ok addicted. Licorice Allsorts, keep the Spogs, throw away the rest. However, the other day my most recent purchase arrived, via Amazon, and looked and tasted somewhat different than usual – spogs slightly smaller in size, pareills much smaller and not adhering to the jelly properly, pink looked almost red and the clouring on all was not even, jelly yellowish rather than clear, jelly texture tougher and chalky. But worst of all the taste has lost its intense aniseed flavour and has become like bland licorice. Yuck ! Always same source, same product. Supplier, Monmore, says normal production variations. BS I say. Went to another supplier, Krazy Kandi Liverpool, got a 3 kg bag branded Barrat, same problem. What is going on ? I have contacted the maker, Barrat, with the batch number on bag to see if there is some clarification from them. Is the more than one source/maker ? I am bereft…….and in need of a life. I want my aniseed Spogs back.

When I was a kid I called these “hydrangeas”, because every garden in our town had a few bushes in pink or blue, the exact same shades as what I now know are called spogs!

Yes, I adore them. They were always my favourite one in a box of All sorts; me and my sister would fight over them. We also loved aniseed balls – little hard, oxblood coloured gobstoppers of hot aniseed flavour – only partly cos they were a halfpenny each, much like Black Jacks, an aniseed chew that turns your entire mouth black.
I buy a kilo bag of spogs every “months”, but the months seem to get shorter each time… I add a handful to every bag of Panda brand black liquorice I eat (far too many.. but it is the very best liquorice imho).
I remember a brand of popular liquorice sweets called Imps that came in a little metal tin – they were really powerful.

Well I should hope so, or why do they exist?! 🙂

We fully understand that we don’t have the same taste as everyone, that’s what makes a candy store the most amazing thing in the world.

Are you based in the UK?

You might be right about all of that (smarty pants!), but these were made and purchased in Ireland. So there! 🙂