Horehound is probably the most obscure candy....

October 31, 2001 11:34 AM

Horehound is probably the most obscure candy.......but there's always Altoids, which many know by name but few seem to have become addicted to. Or how about a blast from the past: Sen-Sen? Or, for those of us with a taste for both sweetness and a bit of bite, how about a 30lb box of cinnamon bears? And for those who say that real licorice whips are black and not red, here's everything you ever wanted to know about licorice. Happy Samhain! (Er, Hallowe'en.)
posted by mrmanley (33 comments total)

Triple XXX Sharp's(or Trebor's, at a pinch) Extra Strong Mints make Altoids seem like TicTacs. And don't even mention Original Strength Fisherman's Friends , the take-no-cowards mint that not even Norwegian fisherman in the height of Winter cod-season can keep in their gobs for more than a few seconds!
*Is it just me or does an urge to go trick-or-treating, despite one's advancing years, suddenly and nostalgically overwhelm one so? Scare up an international MetaFilter spook squad and go fetch candy is what I'd recommend...*
posted by MiguelCardoso at 11:51 AM on October 31, 2001

::looks at recipe::

I think the most disturbing thing about horehound is that it's made from horehound. It's more meta than metafilter.

And Miguel, thanks for mentioning Fisherman's Friends--I was starting to wonder if they were just a figment of my imagination. My parents were deeply addicted to them for years, but they were always too much for me. Altoids are nothing to those things.
posted by moss at 11:54 AM on October 31, 2001

The only thing more disgusting than sen-sen would be sen-sen with Nutrasweet. Bleargh!

What I really miss are candy cigarrettes. They came in a box modeled after a real brand, the ends were 'lit' with orange food coloring. You could also get these "premium" chocolate cigs, that were wrapped in paper and were quite realistic.

Also miss the little wax soda bottles filled with hyper-sweetened sugar liquid. Suck out the juice and eat the wax! Yum!
posted by groundhog at 12:03 PM on October 31, 2001

Meloids are a good addictive/disgusting thingie as well.
posted by transient at 12:06 PM on October 31, 2001

wax bottles? You mean like these?
http://www.sweetnostalgia.com/waxfavorites.html
posted by kasnj at 12:10 PM on October 31, 2001

Ugh! I was addicted to Bottle caps when I was a kid, and having found cinnamon toothpicks again, may manage to quit smoking :-)

There are also Caffinated Mints out there. Not nearly strong enough, but they give one a good jolt in the morning...

And a Happy Samhain to you as well... may the new year treat ya well!

nH
posted by niteHawk at 12:13 PM on October 31, 2001

You can still find candy cigarettes, if you look hard enough. I got a few packs a year or so ago at the Potomac Mills mega-outlet center south of DC. Giving them to children is a wonderful way to shock the hell out of uptight parents.
posted by MrMoonPie at 12:16 PM on October 31, 2001

kasnj - YES! nik-l-nips! Thank you!
posted by groundhog at 12:27 PM on October 31, 2001

Oh, I love candy cigarets! Does anybody know a place on line that sells them? (I don't get south of DC much, MrMoonPie, but I'm *so* pleased to hear they still exist!)
posted by realjanetkagan at 12:31 PM on October 31, 2001

Choward's Violet Candy.
Koppa's Farwell Foods keeps it prominent in their candy display. Bleeeargh.
posted by mimi at 12:33 PM on October 31, 2001

Check out Old Time Candy for most of the stuff we are remembering (including Candy Cigs, Bubblegum cigs, Nik-L-Nips, etc......

This is where I got my Toothpicks :-)

nH
posted by niteHawk at 12:41 PM on October 31, 2001

Worst candy ever? Chinese milk candy. Gaah. Like a little nip o' evaporated milk.
posted by MrMoonPie at 12:46 PM on October 31, 2001

Given what Altoids are most infamous for {work clicky disrecommended}, it's a surprise that something else is called "horehounds".
posted by dhartung at 12:55 PM on October 31, 2001

My stepdad gave me a Fisherman's Friend once when I was sick. It was way too licorice-y for me. They were very popular during cold season at the drugstore in which I worked. Maybe I'll try them again, now that I know they come in mint. (the first one grossed me out so much, I never paid attention to them after that.

They come in many flavours including Salmiak, whatever that is (looking for enlightenment here).
posted by melissa at 12:57 PM on October 31, 2001

HomeTown Favorites has candy cigarettes too but it takes awhile to get them... or at least it took awhile for us to get ours. It was worth it, though. Bosco!
posted by evixir at 12:57 PM on October 31, 2001

Flicks mmmm
posted by culberjo at 12:58 PM on October 31, 2001

Forget trick or treating, let's go bag snatching!
posted by rks404 at 12:59 PM on October 31, 2001

My favorite awful candy (and those of you in Iowa or South Dakota would know all about them) is Twin Bings, a chocolate-covered fake cherry concoction made by the Palmer Candy Company of Sioux City, Iowa. They're so gross they're good. God, I miss 'em.
posted by schmedeman at 1:12 PM on October 31, 2001

schmedeman:

They still sell Twin Bings here in Rochester, MN. My wife loves 'em -- you can get them at most stores here in town, and at the giftshop at St. Mary's hospital. My wife also likes Big Hunk bars, which are really hard to find locally.
posted by mrmanley at 1:18 PM on October 31, 2001

See also: American candy vs. candy from foreign climes
posted by snarkout at 1:24 PM on October 31, 2001

Not really Halloweeny, but chick-o-sticks! The candy that's supposed to look like a (stick of) fried chicken! (my theory)

Think of it as a Butterfinger with the chocolate removed.
posted by luser at 1:40 PM on October 31, 2001

melissa: see Salmiak Licorice : Either Pastilles (Strong Salty Hard Little Diamonds), Riksen (Coins), or Rocks. Made by Fortuin®, Sip® and others.
posted by Carol Anne at 2:06 PM on October 31, 2001

Smints from Europe are the best...especially the clever and addictive pop-out boxes, by the same people who brought you Chupa-Chups. (warning-dreadful site)
posted by Voyageman at 2:17 PM on October 31, 2001

Cherry Mash is my favorite. Cherry creme center covered with nut filled chocolate.
posted by bjgeiger at 2:37 PM on October 31, 2001

ah, this was the old mans favorite.
posted by clavdivs at 2:40 PM on October 31, 2001

This is my favorite thread in *ages*! Thanks so much for all the great sources. I'd forgotten half of these candies...but my mouth is remembering them on sight. Kind of amazing.
posted by realjanetkagan at 2:41 PM on October 31, 2001

I used to dig on Daredevils which were like gobstoppers, but had a red hot layer, then a white cooling layer, alternating until it ended on the hottest red layer.

yikes!
posted by Kafkaesque at 2:45 PM on October 31, 2001

those dots on a long piece of paper!

ju-jubees

sky-bars

zero bars

wierd little brown/black "babies" that were very chewy.

mexican hats

clove gum
posted by billybob at 2:50 PM on October 31, 2001

Oh, and Lik-M-Aid, which was 3 packets of pixie stick dust and a candy stick to eat the dust with. The stick was the only good part and if you ate it by itself you would have to pour the powder down your throat. The whole thing had a bizarre complexity not unlike a meth lab.
posted by Kafkaesque at 2:51 PM on October 31, 2001

those dots on a long piece of paper

We used to call that blotter when I was a kid, billybob. Or microdot.
posted by Kafkaesque at 2:52 PM on October 31, 2001

I love horehound candy. You can still buy it in St Jacobs, Ontario. Haven't seen Sen-Sen in years, but we have Thrills gum in Canada if you like that soapy flavour. Or try Potter's or Wybert from the Netherlands.
posted by todd at 3:07 PM on October 31, 2001

TIME MAGAZINE July 23, 2001 Vol. 158 No. 3

"CURIOUSLY STRONG.

MINT, ANYONE? The push for militantly fresh breath is picking up steam with a rash of gimmicks in both packaging and ingredients. Take a deep breath.
PENGUIN CAFFEINATED Three of these mints equal one cola beverage. No coffee or coffee breath.
XTZ-HERBAL ENERGY A smorgasbord of earthy-crunchy ingredients: ginkgo biloba, guarana, etc.
SEX-HERBAL APHRODISIAC Label says, "...before, during and after..." Condoms not included.
JILA Packaged in a cigarette-like carton, these rock-hard mints outlast their peers--or break teeth!
MELTDOWN Transparent strips dissolve on tongue. Look like microfilm; more quirky than satisfying."
SMINT Mint is standard, but dispenser is addictive fun.
posted by Voyageman at 3:11 PM on October 31, 2001

Thanks Carol Anne! I shoulda thought licorice, given the aniseed flavour already there.

Thrills are icky, but a delightful shade of purple.

Lik-m-Aid - yum.
posted by melissa at 8:08 PM on October 31, 2001