Hammond’s All Natural Root Beer Candy Cane
I unwrapped this thick candy cane at Christmas, but only recently realized that it was a root beer flavored candy . . . boy, my family really knows me!
I didn’t expect anything great from this sweet treat, but upon closer inspection I found that it is gluten-free and all-natural. Even the ever-so-light root beer coloring is all-natural with ingredients like Reed Beet, Red Cabbage, Paprika and Tumeric Powder. In laymen terms . . . that’s pretty dang cool.
This is also made by a local Denver, Colorado company – Hammonds (http://www.hammondscandies.com/candy-types/all-natural-candies/all-natural-rootbeer-candy-cane) . Note to self – they offer free factory tours – this might be a good field-trip to take my students during “Rootbeer Products 101” this summer.
Needless to say, my three little professors thought this was amazing, but to be honest it is almost not deserving of a letter grade. It’s not gross, bad or repulsive . . . it is just not that flavorful. This is a neat thing to put in someone’s Christmas stocking and if there is someone who likes candy, but is health conscious . . . it is a great gift. But without much root beer flavor, I can’t give this above a C.
The Professor’s Grade: C
Flavorful, good, creamy . . . oh not creamy. Tastes like root beer.
Dad’s Old Fashioned Root Beer Cream Bars
Dad’s Old Fashioned Root Beer Cream Bars found in the dollar store . . . pretty dang cool! I ate these rather religiously last summer, but when my teaching assistant brought them home recently I decided I ought to review this.
As far as pure root beer flavor, this pop falls flat. I should have known even before I tasted by simply looking at the tagline – “Vanilla flavored frozen dairy dessert with a Root Beer flavored water ice coating.” I mean really . . . you couldn’t come up with anything better than “flavored water ice coating.”
And looking at the ingredients, I’m not sure if there is really any Dad’s Root Beer in the pops at all, I think it is only licensed under the authority of the Dad’s Root Beer Company.
Ultimately, it’s really not a great tasting ice pop. The root beer flavor is artificial at best and non-existent at worst. The ice-cream mixture in the middle is a mixture of milk and artificial ingredients. Pretty artificial overall.
But – the little professors are all happy and five ice pop bars for $1 is not too shabby.
The Professor’s Grade: D
