YORK THiNS Dark Chocolate Peppermint Patties Miniatures

My dad worked at Hershey for his entire postgrad career (and therefore my entire childhood), which if you think about it, is pretty rare nowadays. Anyway, the smell of these reminds me of the smell of his office building. I thought they were just another junior mint/andes dupe, but they really are their own thing (even though it is a member of that genre no doubt). Dad's job is another reason why I feel so confident about Hershey's allergy labelling, even though there is no "may contain" or "nut free" label here and obviously Hershey makes a ton of nut candies. They are good labellers and good cleaners, and you'll notice that they haven't had any allergy recalls (unlike every other major company). Don't prove me wrong in the future, Hershey('s)! Also, they have many flaws as a company, of course, as do most companies. But this is an allergy blog, not an ethics blog. Could you imagine me pivoting into ethics? Ha. Good thing I have allergies, I guess.  

So these are individually wrapped, which I didn't expect, but which I am glad for because as usual, my house is 8 million degrees and these are quite melty and would surely have glommed together into a delicious monstrosity. They're also "thins" -- sorry, THiNS -- which means the ratio is like the inverse of a double stuf Oreo and you get mostly squishy dark choco and just a little peppermint goop. That's good because the peppermint goop, while a delight, can be too much (and therefore toothpastey) awful quick. Taste and texturewise I find these better than the thIcks (or Regulars). I don't know if my grandma liked mint, but I could imagine her eating one of these for dessert because it is tiny and not particularly decadent. But still great and refreshing. I'm glad I got these even though the typography is dumb as hell.

Overall
Cost: 4/10 [6$]
Taste: 8/10 

Andes Mint Cookie Crunch

Aw, these are individually wrapped like candy bars, in red and green! Very cute and festive (and of course, nut free, which is why we love Tootsie & Andes). This mint crunch flavor is not as good as the old Hershey Cookies and Mint bar, but the vibe evokes it. We have a normal andes mint, but bigger, with the top white part containing some "cookie crunch" bits. Alas, those bits are smaller and firmer than in Cookies And Mint, and the overall flavor is a much stronger "peppermint oil" than "chocolate". It's basically an andes mint but bigger and with a more interesting texture. However, I do love an andes mint, and it takes me down memory lane, so it is fun. If only there were a little bit less mint and a little bit more chocolate!

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 7/10

Lifesavers Mints - Wint O Green

These are a classic, even though it looks like they contain some nasty fake sugars (now?). They're grandfathered in, and I haven't had any issues as long as I don't eat them like candy! These are a tasty mint. I like that they are individually wrapped and that they have a strong mint flavor, but you can chew them if you're about to interact with the people who you were eating a mint for in the first place. I bought a roll from a vending machine that was 2 years expired, ate one, and then bought a fresh bag to have around since I obviously need mints in my life. The store didn't have, like, single serve candy/gum/mints anywhere since they moved to self-checkout, which is weird and bad and confusing. Classic Acme. Anyway, these are fine as a replacement, I just have a whole lot of them! And they do have a strong smell, so it's best to keep them somewhere that a mint smell won't become a problem (I am still waiting to find that place in my house/car/office). 

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10

Vermont Nut Free Peppermint Crunch Bark

Ahoy-hoy, friends. I just got back from the dentist, so it's a perfect time to review a cronchy candy! One weird situation with this bark is that it's 6 servings but comes in 4 long pieces. What am I supposed to do with that? It's obviously 4 servings. Gosh. Otherwise, it's pretty good. A little too thick to actually chomp on, but the chocolate (layered dark and white) is good, and the mints aren't too crunchy or too minty. I do prefer the white half but at least it's a noticeable amount of the choco ratio. Better than the Dean's Sweets version (though I love them as people), and better than the VNF pretzel bark (though that sounds better on paper)!

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 7/10

Andes Mints

These are named for their creator (Andrew) which is cute. They are a prototypical mint: very tasty although not a "eat the whole box" kind of candy (unless you're in a dark, dark place). Refreshing and pleasant. A little weird if you give it a sniff, but on eating, a nice pliable mint-chocolate layered bar. I'm not sure if this is actually the original flavor, as the green wrapper is bluer/lighter than normal, but maybe it's just a redesign. If it is a different flavor, maybe it's slightly more minty(?) but otherwise very similar to the original. Ha.

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 7/10

Junior Mints - Peppermint Crunch

This very charming box of candy touts that it contains "Real Junior Mints", which raises the question: is anyone is producing "fake junior mints"? (I don't think they are). In essence these are just regular junior mints. The peppermint crunch is a tiny bit of crushed peppermint pieces (crushed very finely) sprinkled on the outsides only. So the taste is really not changed at all, and the texture only slightly cronchy. I like junior mints and irrelevant holiday repackagings, so this is pretty good for me. Refreshing little snack for a winter's day (even when sick)!

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 7/10

Andes Peppermint Crunch Thins

These are good! I always like Andes mints because they are mint and they are safe. They're always better than I remember them to be. This flavor is kind of like the Hershey's candy cane kisses, which are good, but not as amazing as the Boscovs pastel mints or the cookies n' mint bar (my two mint chocolate holy grails, pre-this-blog, sadly). Very minty and sweet, and a fun Christmastime change up. I think I still prefer the original, but these are solid and nice to have just one or two at a time.

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 7/10

Hershey's Cookie Layer Crunch - Mint

Why, hello there, new candy that doesn't contain nuts! :o

I saw these at Walgreen's today and had to check 'em out, even though for 9 mini-bars, this was pretty overpriced at almost 5 dollars. Anyway, these come in 2 other flavors (vanilla and caramel) but I needed to get the mint ones first in hopes that they'd taste like a Cookies 'n Mint bar of yore. And they taste Pretty Close, although not quite as good. These are a chocolate bar (split into 3 little squares) filled with little chocolate cookie pieces (like in an ice cream cake) and a green mint "creme". It's fun to have a mix of textures and the taste is good and refreshing. Plus, the little bars in this bag are 100 calories each, which is nice portion-management. I'm curious to try the 2 new flavors and I'm happy that (for now) these are nut-allergy-friendly! Hershey's is pretty good for that.

Overall
Cost: 3/10
Taste: 8/10

Listerine Pocketpaks - Cool Mint

I got to sample a pa(c)k of these thanks to CrowdTap, which is great because I always wanted to try them out. Obviously, there are no nuts or nut products in such a product. What IS there is a thin strip of germ-killing mintiness. At least in this flavor, the mint flavor is really really strong, but not unpleasantly so. I think that it is a peppermint flavor here. I'm interested in the other flavors for curiousity's sake, but this is probably my favorite, since it feels refreshing and not like a sweet treat, which is presumably bad for the teeth.

Anyway, the package is tiny tiny (maybe 2x1 inches) and that's awesomely convenient. The little strips pack plenty of refreshment, so it's the perfect size in my opinion. It also seems fairly long lasting - I ate ("ate"?) one about an hour ago, and I still feel a little vestige of freshness. Overall I think these are a great idea and adorable and functional, and they might replace my car mints if I can find them in-store! :o

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 7/10

Aero Bar Mint

This Mint Aero bar is not found in the US! I think it's a euro+canada thing. Anyway, aero bars are like this bubbly light choco, in various flavors. It's kind of fun to eat, and since it's less dense, maybe you feel less disgusting after eating an entire bar (then again...maybe not). But this mint flavor was almost too much for a whole bar! I mean, it was tasty, don't get me wrong, but for a CANDY BAR I feel like it should have been more delicious and less refreshing, somehow. Not as good as cookies + mint bars, for instance (hershey's one victory! :P)

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 6/10

Junior Mints

If you want a candy that's peanut free, this is a great choice! It even has a "no peanuts" emblem on the back, which is great great great. Anyway, these are pretty good to eat a few of, but more than a few and I usually get sick of them. So they're great for movies! The inside is a minty goo and they're covered in thin dark chocolate. They aren't too melty though, which is nice.



Overall
Cost: 8/10 [1.25]
Taste: 7/10