Jan 292020
 

Pennsylvania Dutch Candies Root Beer Flavored Rock Candy Crystal Stick

Pennsylvania Dutch Candies started as a specialty candy store in Mount Holly Spring, PA back in the 60’s. In 1965 it was bought by The Warrell Corporation and began expansion. Today they can be found in all 50 states. One of those states is Minnesota, where my son found these at a local grocery store and got me this (and some other candies) for Christmas because he knew I needed to try it and write about it. How thoughtful. That’s the best sort of Christmas gift, in my opinion. Something useful, needed, and won’t take up space in the house. He nailed it. Anyways, back to the root beer rock candy stick.

The flavor is standard generic minty root beer that isn’t too strong or too weak. It has a more creamy flavor than old fashioned flavor, which I prefer. The texture, should you choose to crunch it, is that strange rock candy crystal texture, which is fun at first but then sort of annoying, unless you like that, then it’s great.

Overall, it’s a pretty solid root beer hard candy. It gives you the flavor you expect without being unpleasant in anyway. It’s also got that strange rock candy crystal texture. What else could you want?




May 222019
 

Richardson Root Beer Crystal Stick

Richardson Brands got their beginnings in the 1890s making pillow mints. Soft pillow mints. Which are not mints you put on your pillow, but are mints that look like pillows. Through the decades they’ve acquired other nostalgic sorts of candies including the original makers of these crystal sticks, Dryden & PalmerĀ® Rock Candy. Which are of course, just rock candy on a stick rather than a string. But crystal stick sounds much cooler than rock candy anyhow so that’s why people want to market it thusly. At least I think. Anyways, I was at a candy shop and asked if they had any root beer candies and they had those so I got one to tell you all about. Also I really like rock candy as a concept, cause it’s cool how they make it. Though I’ve never been able to successfully do so myself, I guess it’s “easy” to make at home. Anyhow, on to my tasting.

The root beer flavor is mild, generic and very much like other root beer hard candies. It doesn’t have much of a wintergreen or licorice taste on it like some do, which I prefer. The texture is, rock candy. Very bumpy licking, strange crunching if you chew. It tastes good either way.

All considered, this is a fun treat. It’s different and the root beer taste is what you’d expect, nothing more nor less. I can recommend this one, if you’re in the mood for a rock candy that is, on a cool little wooded stick. I imagine the novelty of these things wears off after more than one every month or so.