And it’s not crazy-old candy this time. In fact, you should be able to find this stuff at a store near you (at least for the next month and a half or so).
Halloween is almost a month away, so most stores should already have their candy-filled Halloween sections up and running. I always enjoy novelty junk food, so I was very pleased to find these holiday-themed Dots variants at my local Target.
I have a love/hate relationship with Tootsie’s Dots candy. It’s tasty, but the moment you bite down on one, it binds itself to your teeth with enough force that it takes a good ten minutes of digging at it with your tongue in order to wedge it free. Nowadays, I find the effort outweighs the taste, but I couldn’t pass up these limited edition flavors, especially when one sports the immensely unappetizing sounding flavor “blood orange” (and yes, I know it’s a real fruit).
Of the three varieties–Ghost, Bat, and Candy Corn–only the latter two are new. Ghost Dots debuted last year and they’re simply regular ol’ Dots in a cool, translucent shade of blue. The candy doesn’t glow in the dark, but it sure looks like it would.
I’m going to guess that the average person will look at Bat Dots and assume that they’re licorice flavored. I can only imagine that this will cause sales to suffer because I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who enjoys black licorice (although I do love me some Good & Plenty). No, this is indeed the blood orange candy, and it’s surprisingly good. The flavor is very sharp and sweet, but not to the point where it overwhelms.
Then there’s Candy Corn Dots. Now, I love candy corn (really!), but anything that’s not candy corn that’s flavored like candy corn is awful. I’m looking at you, Candy Corn Jones Soda. Candy Corn Dots aren’t quite as bad as the soda, but they’re not good. They taste vaguely like fake candy corn, but that’s about the best thing I can say about them. That taste combined with the texture of Dots is not a good idea. It’s pretty cool to see a two-tone Dot, though. Tootsie needs to create more multi-colored Dots. This candy also raises the question: If I’m in the mood to eat candy that tastes like candy corn, why wouldn’t I just eat candy corn? That’s like genetically modifying a pig so that its meat tastes like beef. Just save yourself the trouble and eat the cow!
But hey, Halloween candy. Go grab some Dots before the stores switch over to Christmas candy. Otherwise you’ll have to wait a year to try them again. Now how’s about a little interactivity? Share your favorite and least favorite Halloween treats in the comments section. Surely there’s room for Candy Corn Dots in one of those slots.
