Last year my wife gave me this wonderful book for my birthday (I know, I’ve taken forever to write about it). 100 Years of A&W as released in 2019 as a celebration of, 100 years of A&W. At first I thought it would be a history book, but it’s actually more like a museum in a book. There’s not a chronological timeline of events, and they even say they didn’t want that, but there are photos of restaurants, root beer mugs, and advertising through the years, coupled with anecdotes from old employees and fans, which is actually sort of better honestly. It’s more a coffee table book, one you can just open to a random page and see pictures of uniforms throughout the years, or read the short memories of car hops who met the loves of their lives on the job, or see pictures of old menus. It’s a fabulous addition (edition?) to any root beer collection or anyone who just loves A&W root beer and all it stands for in American history. So if you don’t have it yet, I highly recommend getting a copy.
My final Minnesota’s Largest Candy Store post (from this past year’s journey at least). This is also made by Kenny’s Candy. They’re gummy soda bottles, obviously. They have several brand name flavors, but we only care about these root beer ones. I love gummies. They are probably my favorite type of candy. This is my first experience with root beer gummies, so I had high hopes for this, especially because they are made with A&W Root Beer concentrate, which is a good root beer. Though, usually gummies are fruity, there’s spice drops, and those are gummy and yummy. Root beer can be spicy too, so it could work.
There’s a very mild root beer flavor that has a slight wintergreen aftertaste. If you eat a lot of them, that wintergreen builds a bit, but really it’s hard to tell. They are really bland actually, with little root beer and even very little sweetness. It really tastes like gelatin more than anything. Gelatin with some wintergreen.
These are actually really bad. They don’t really have flavor, other than that hint of wintergreen. I eat them and eat them, yet they don’t get any better. I’ve had failed attempts at root beer candy before, but these have got to be the worst, sadly. I don’t even recommend trying these for the experience. Hopefully I’ll find some good root beer gummies some day.
I am still burning through my Minnesota’s Largest Candy Store stock, though I’m almost done. These root beer licorice twists are also made by Kenny’s Candy, makers of the other, not-so-good licorice twists. These ones I assume are their premium variety, as they are actually packaged for sale outside of dedicated candy stores and they are sporting the flavor and branding of the most recognizable root beer brand on the planet. They also really hide who makes these, as you have to search deep in the fine print on the packaging to find out. I’m sure they’d want these to just be known as A&W Root Beer Licorice but I’m a stickler for calling them by who makes them. Anyways, I still like licorice and I quite enjoy A&W, so hopefully this time they will pull it off?
There’s a sweet, spiced root beer flavor that is not unlike A&W though the vanilla is missing. The flavor is still pretty mild but it is distinct enough that you don’t question you’re eating something There’s a waxy texture almost, so they are slipperier than other licorice I’m used to.
All in all they’re not bad, and far better then the other Kenny’s root beer licorice. I’m not sure I’d go so far as to seek them out, but they are enjoyable enough if they’re around. So, really, a step in the right direction, but I’m still searching for a better root beer licorice.