Tag: Halloween

REVIEW: Skittles Shriekers

Mark 4 Comments

Skittles Shriekers Bag

What are Skittles Shriekers?

There are five Skittles flavors in this mix: shocking lime (light green), ghoulish green apple (darker green), rattled raspberry (purple), citrus scream (light orange), and spine-tingling tangerine (darker orange). Most of them are normal, but “some are so sour they will make you shriek!”

Skittles Shriekers Fun Size

It’s the same idea as the Zombie Skittles I reviewed two years ago, but without the repulsive rotten flavor.

How are they?

I like all the flavors! Tangerine is the most sophisticated flavor, but lime and green apple are also fantastic. Raspberry and citrus are less interesting, but I still like them.

The sour ones have the same flavors as the non-sour ones, but they get more sour the more you chew (unlike regular Sour Skittles, which have a sour coating on the outside). They’re less sour than Warheads, more similar to Sour Patch Kids. They didn’t make me shriek, but my eyelids twitched!

Skittles Shriekers Skull

These trick-or-treat fun-size packages have about fifteen Skittles each, but only two or three are sour. That’s a shame, because they’re a lot of fun! With the Zombie variety, you didn’t want too many gross ones, but this variety would benefit from more sour.

Anything else you need to know?

Aesthetically, both the packaging and the candy itself are more Halloweeny than previous varieties. I dig it!

Skittles Shriekers Skeleton

But that skeleton made me have a nightmare that I took corpses and skeletons from a mausoleum to Carrie Underwood’s house.

Conclusion:

Skittles Shriekers Spoons

I am so happy Skittles didn’t merely change the flavors for Halloween; instead, the candy is an experience. It’s definitely an improvement on the intentionally disgusting Zombie packs.

I just wish there were more sour ones.

Purchased Price: $3.00
Size: 10.72 oz. bag (20 fun-size packs)
Purchased at: Dan’s
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 pack/15 grams) 60 calories, 0.5 grams of fat, 0.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of sodium, 14 grams of carbohydrates, 11 grams of total sugar, 11 grams of added sugar, and 0 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Witch’s Brew Kit Kat

Mark 8 Comments

Witch s Brew Kit Kat Bag

What is Witch’s Brew Kit Kat?

Hershey’s has turned witch’s brew into its latest Kit Kat flavor. What does witch’s brew taste like? Well, it aligns perfectly with Halloween, witches, and the color green: marshmallow!

Wait…marshmallow??

How is it?

Witch s Brew Kit Kat Layers

As with the other limited edition Kit Kats, the flavor lies in the light-green-colored crème coating. The inside is standard Kit Kat fare.

Does Witch’s Brew taste different from standard Kit Kats with white crème? Yes!
Does it taste like a marshmallow? I guess so. It’s sweeter than white crème, but marshmallows are not known for their strong flavor.

Is it enjoyable? Yes!

Anything else you need to know?

Though the flavor has a dubious connection to our beloved October holiday, I adore the witch on the package! There was an old episode of Bewitched where Samantha and her aunts were furious that Darrin’s client wanted an ugly crone on his Halloween candy packaging.

Witch s Brew Kit Kat Cauldron

This Kit Kat witch might be green and warty, but she’s so adorable that Samantha would hopefully approve. Well done, Hershey’s design team!

Conclusion:

Marshmallow seems like a lazy and forgettable flavor for witch’s brew. I mean, is that really what you get when you mix the eye of newt and toe of frog? But even though trick-or-treaters might forget this Kit Kat once they have finished their Halloween haul, at least they’ll enjoy it while it’s around.

Purchased Price: $3.50
Size: 9.8 oz bag
Purchased at: Dollar General
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (2 packages) 140 calories, 8 grams of fat, 4.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 25 milligrams of sodium, 18 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 13 grams of sugar, 11 grams of added sugars, and 2 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Zombie Skittles

Mark 14 Comments

Zombie Skittles

What are Zombie Skittles?

This year’s new Halloween Skittles mix includes five fruit flavors: petrifying citrus punch (orange), mummified melon (green), chilling black cherry (purple), boogeyman blackberry (blue), and blood red berry (red). But lurking among all these colors is a “rotten zombie” flavor, so you can eat a zombie before it eats you. It’s like Russian roulette for your taste buds.

How are they?

Zombie Skittles Closeup

All the fruit flavors are lovely. Melon might be my new favorite Skittles flavor; black cherry is a nice alternative to typical cherry flavors; citrus, red berry, and blackberry are what you would expect.

But I know you came here for the zombie flavor.

It’s truly repulsive.

It starts out tasting like rotting fruit, and then it transitions to a somewhat meaty flavor, which is horrifying when you think about it. This flavor stops me in my tracks, and I almost want to laugh because it’s so bad.

Is there anything else you need to know?

Zombie Skittles Spoons

It’s easy enough to power through the zombie flavor (or spit it out), so it doesn’t entirely spoil the candy-eating experience. My educated estimate for the ratio of zombie to fruit is approximately 1:9, so most of them are safe.

That said, there is genuine relief when you get a fruity one.

Conclusion:

I probably will not buy these, nor will I be sad if they don’t come back next year. But they do exactly what they mean to do, and they’re a weirdly fun novelty candy. They would be great at a Halloween party.

DISCLOSURE: I received a free sample of the product. Doing so did not influence my review in any way.

Purchased Price: Free
Size: 3.6 oz. bag
Purchased at: Received from Mars
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 oz/28 g/27 pieces) 110 calories, 1 gram of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 5 milligrams of sodium, 26 grams of carbohydrates, 21 grams of total sugar, 21 grams of added sugar, and 0 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Creepy Cocoa Crisp M&M’s

Mark 4 Comments

Creepy Cocoa Crisp M M s

What are Creepy Cocoa Crisp M&M’s?

The Target-exclusive Halloween M&M’s for 2019 are dark chocolate with a cocoa crispy center, in festive colors of brown, red, and orange.

How are they?

Creepy Cocoa Crisp M M s Innards

I was underwhelmed by the Target-exclusive Cookies & Screeem of yesteryear, but these Creepy Cocoa Crisp are a decided improvement. I like dark chocolate M&M’s, but they’re even better with the crispy texture! My family members who don’t much care for the Crispy variety enjoyed these.

My only disappointment is that it’s hard to taste the cocoa element in the crisp part (which is the same color as the chocolate). The dark chocolate overpowers it. But that’s a minor quibble, because they’re still wonderful. This is a simple concept, but it works very well.

Is there anything else you need to know?

Creepy Cocoa Crisp M M s Red M Mcula

With the package portraying the Red M&M holding a bowl of chocolate cereal while wearing a vampire costume, it seems obvious Mars is channeling Count Chocula. But that cereal is made of corn, whereas the M&M crispy parts are made of rice flour. I appreciate the creativity —- it’s not predictable, but it still has a seasonal connection.

Conclusion:

The colors, flavor, and texture combine to make this limited-edition flavor a winner. Since Red is dressed as a vampire, I imagine repurposing a line from The Munsters to tell him how I feel about this candy:

Me: “I really dig you!”

Red: “And someday I’ll return the favor!”

Purchased Price: $3.19
Size: 8 oz. bag
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts:: (1 oz./28 grams/30 pieces) 140 calories, 5 grams of fat, 3 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 25 milligrams of sodium, 21 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 16 grams of sugar (includes 16 grams of added sugars), and 1 gram of protein.