Sometimes house brands can be a little mystifying, but this one really caught my eye. Walgreen’s Candy Classics Australian Traditional Black Licorice Smothered in Real Milk Chocolate.
The matte beige & powder blue wrapper does give it that classic look, though the mylar/plastic packaging made it feel modern (as did the presence of a web address on the back of the package).
It also comes in a raspberry licorice version, which I also bought but was disappointed to find it crumbled to bits (so I’m not reviewing it now).
The bar is attractive and looks like it could easily be an unsalted pretzel rod covered in milk chocolate.
It smells nice, a bit like anise and chocolate cake.
The bite is soft, the chocolate barely flakes, which is a great relief after the red licorice catastrophe.
The licorice at the center is quite soft and has a strong molasses flavor - the chew is almost jelly like, but has the satisfying rib-sticking of a wheat-based confection. The anise and licorice notes are rather mild and more of a generic spice cookie feel. The chocolate is sweet, not terribly chocolatey but seems to seal in all the flavors well.
It’s nice to see an Aussie licorice being sold at American candy prices. It was a nice change up from Twizzlers, Good & Plenty or Crows, which are really the only plain licorice products sold in single serve packages any longer.
My big hesitations are why they put artificial colors in a chocolate covered item. But my guess is that this licorice is available bald.
Aussie readers, do you recognize this bar? (I was thinking it was RJs but those aren’t real chocolate.)
I’m eager to try the raspberry again and see what else Walgreen’s is going to put in their Candy Classics brand.
Note: The calories made no sense on this package. 220 calories for 1.4 ounces is insane for a chocolate covered licorice. It says 2.5 grams of fat, 22 grams of carbs and 2 grams of protein (that makes 120 calories or so) ... I can’t figure where the rest of the calories are coming from. The ingredients are Sugar, Treacle, Wheat Flour, Molasses, Chocolate, Hydrogenated Coconut Oil, Licorice Extract and then a bunch of less than 2% things.
Related Candies
- Trader Joe’s Chocolate Covered Gingersnaps
- Kookaburra Choc Coated Liquorice
- Darrell Lea Licorice & Ginger
- Kookaburra Licorice
- Panda Bars
Name: |
Traditional Black Liquorice Smothered in Real Milk Chocolate |
RATING:
- SUPERB
- YUMMY
- TASTY
- WORTH IT
- TEMPTING
- PLEASANT
- BENIGN
- UNAPPEALING
- APPALLING
- INEDIBLE
|
Brand: |
Walgreen's |
Place Purchased: |
Walgreen's (Echo Park) |
Price: |
$.69 |
Size: |
1.4 ounces |
Calories per ounce: |
bizarre |
Categories: |
Chocolate, Licorice, Australia, Walgreen's |
I tought “treacle” and “molasses” are the same thing…
Ooh - that looks awesome. I’ll have to go to Walgreens to get one!
i’m from new zealand but have lived in australia, and i am 99% sure there’s no walgreens in australia. i would say our main licorice/candy shop (in aussie) would have to be Darrell Lea.
I’m Aussie and I’ve never heard of Walgreens! What makes it ‘Australian’ licorice? Is it just because it’s chocolate covered? I’m assuming it wasn’t actually made in Australia…?
You’d like the raspberry version. It’s like biting into jam and chocolate or a turkish divine. It’s a good deal at 69 cents and I always get the black and raspberry bars.
Hey are you going to write anything about how expensive candy is at 7-Eleven?
There is NO walgreens in Australia. This is NOT an australian licorice.
I think it is made in america and just called “australian” for the purpose of selling.
Another Aussie here - Walgreens arn’t in Australia.
The closest this comes to any other licorice products I’ve seen here would be Licorice Bullets - about half an inch long, and covered in chocolate. The Walgreens product could, concievably be a super-sized version of those.
Hi, I’m an Aussie too and wanted to put my 2 cents worth in too. To Dave, no treacle and molasses are not the same, though though are both quite strong tasting.
I agree that we definately do not have Walgreens here, but to those inquisitive Aussies, they are a bit like our big Priceline stores where you can buy everything from prescription medicine to cosmetics, Xmas decorations and indeed lollies too.
But, by total coincidence I ate something that looked just like this just today! I live in a small regional area of Queensland and found these logs sold individually, in the old fashioned way - fished out of the container with tongs and packaged in a paper bag! They were 40cents each, but really didn’t look as good as the Walgreen’s version. They were very nice, but the cholocate was flaky..
I am going to keep a look out for these since the price is right and I love licorice!
I’m sorry, I should have explained:
Walgreen’s is just a store. And they created a house brand called “Candy Classics” where they re-package other candy and sell it as their “own”. The package says it was made in Australia.
Many stores in the US re-package other products under their house brands, often products from other regions that Americans don’t recognize on sight. They’re usually called generics, but lately “house brands” have taken on new vigor.
I’ve seen that product type (chocolate coated liquorice logs) plenty, but as you said, never that brand. Plenty of other home brand versions of it though.
The most boutique chocolate-coated liquorice commonly available in Australia is probably Darrell Lea, as someone else mentioned, but there are plenty of others around.
Darrell Lea liquorice is fairly doughy and soft. Comes in a bunch of weird non-liquorice flavours, too (apple and I think mango, in addition to the usual raspberry).
I have a 300g (10.6 oz) bag of the uncoated version which I bought at a Walgreen’s for US$2.79. Raspberry was also available. I like it, but it has a definite spice cookie flavor. The pieces are about 2” long each.
The calorie calculations seem to be incorrect - each serving is listed as 270 cal for 50g (153 cal/oz), but each serving is 27g carbs, 1g protein, 1g fat, which is only 112 cal.
Hi!
Walgreen?s Australian Licorice is indeed made and packaged in Australia. I receive boxes of the plain and raspberry kind from a friend who works at the factory that produce them. They are specially made for Walgreens stores and are not sold in Australia.
i got a raspberry box of them today and checked out some of the Nutrition Facts, it says calories 230, total fat 4g, total carbs 22g, protein 2g.
I have emptied out every Walgreens I know around here. Now I must go farther afield. I have left these open and chocolate stays fresh as does raspberry licorice. I ate my last one the other day! Sincerely, Cyd
Hey Cid.
Candy is dandy - no?
Hey there, I stumbled acorss your blog in hopes of finding what makes Australian licorice Australian. I can tell you that it isnt the chocolate covering aspect because they have other brands of marketed as being australian style including cvs. I can say the thing they all have in common is thick smooth cut pieces which are firm yet have a preserved fruit taste to them. There less “plasticky” than twizlers or red vines. I think their alot better than other licorice brands. Im eating the rasberry licorice from walgreens with no chocolae covering and its just like Rasberry preserves. Yum.
I live overseas and LOVE this candy. I want to order it online, but can’t find it. Can you tell me the website on the package? Thanks.
We found this last year at Walgreens here and have yet to be able to find it again. I have looked online but so far have had no luck. My husband and I really enjoyed it and would love to be able to purchase some again.
This does not sound good at ALL. Chocolate covered licorice. mmmmm no.. BUT I am always up to try new things so I can base my idea on fact so I will be looking for these at Walgreens
I visited Ottawa, Canada and purchased a candy like this at Wal-Mart. It seems that the packaging was similar to this. My son and I both love black licorice and the addition of the chocolate was great. I have looked all over the Wal-Marts in California here and haven’t found it. IMy daughter brings me a package when she comes for a visit. I am heading to Walgreen’s to see if I can find some.
I saw the chocolate covered licorice at Walgreen’s the other day, except it wasn’t sold in single sticks, it was a bag of rods (whether they are individually wrapped or not I do not know, as I did not buy them, which I now regret.) Instead, I bought the non-chocolate covered bag, and I like it.
Unfortunately, it appears that Walgreens will no longer be carrying this licorice. Several stores had them on clearance and I bought a bunch of them and just enjoyed my last bag. What a shame. Probably the best candy I’ve ever had!
I hate Walgreens for getting rid of this stuff! I am totally addicted to it and I am not pleased with their new store brand “nice” either.
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