Down South Candy Review: Taffy, Lollipops and Caribbean Jerk Chocolate

I'm not a big fan of taffy. It's one of those candies that I can easily resist, along with caramel Bulls-eyes and red licorice. But when we stopped at Smoky Mountain Candy Makers, I felt like it was my duty to at least sample some of their homemade taffy. I bought four pieces: Banana, Chocolate Peanut Butter, Butterscotch and Teaberry.
We cut them up into little pieces for everyone to try, but as is usually the case with the von Schokolats, we'd had a few beverages beforehand and my notes are minimal and cryptic. Someone thought the chocolate peanut butter tasted like a Tootsie Roll. The teaberry was compared to Icebreakers and Pepto Bismol. To me, it was less wintergreeny than Pepto and I found it to be very tasty. I thought the banana had a nice, mellow taste and the butterscotch tasted like caramel. The thing is, I really liked this taffy. It wasn't the usual waxy, overly sweet Salt Water Taffy that we have here in New England. This stuff had much more flavor and a decent chew.
I had also bought a cherry lollipop for the Sugar Baby, but in our drunken state of munchiness state of curiosity, we decided that Shirley needed to take a hammer to that bad boy so we could all taste it. It was very yummy. I have to give props to these Smoky Mountain Candy people. They really did make a homemade candy that tasted good.On the way back from dulcimer-buying and lunch at Grandma's Kitchen (where I had country-fried steak, mashed potatoes and collard greens-- oh yes, I did!), we stopped at the Beef Jerky Outlet because really, you can't not stop there. I bought some kangaroo jerky for The Baron (I seem to remember him inhaling it, but I don't know if he liked it) and some Caribbean Jerk Dark Chocolate made by the Dillsboro Chocolate Factory. Now, of course, I'm not big on the whole "let's be clever and put savory spices in our chocolate" thing, so I went into the tasting with a bad attitude. I also forgot to take a picture before the vultures got to it. The chocolate itself was actually pretty good; smooth and bitter. But the spice thing-- ick. Shirley said, "It tastes like Baker's Chocolate, only not as good," and someone else said that it tasted like Hot Cheetos/chili powder/fish. Or was that our shopping list? I don't remember. In any case, The Baron and Mr. Goodbar devoured the thing in two seconds flat. They liked it. There's a candy out there for everyone. I think there was something crazy in that chocolate, though, because before you knew it, hijinx ensued. It's always a party when there's candy involved.

Candy Shopping, Southern Style

Hallelujah! I'm back. I've been banging my head against the wall all week trying to figure out why my camera wouldn't download, so I haven't had time to post. But fear not, I've discovered the problem and I'm now able to share with you some of the fabulous (and scary) candy I encountered on our recent trip to Tennessee.
It was a family trip, with most of our time spent swimming, fishing and drinking. But one day Mr. Goodbar and I ventured out into the big city (Pigeon Forge) and did the touristy thing. That is, I bought taffy and he bought a mountain dulcimer. Enjoy the pix; details to follow.

Now and Later Soft: Chew on These!

I'm back! I took a week off to visit the Von Schokolats and boy oh boy, do I have a lot to tell! But first, I have to get through my backlog of candy excitement. I found these Now and Later Soft taffies a couple of weeks ago. The flavors are banana, apple and cherry.
No-Nuts and I did a taste test and have decided we really like them. She says, "If I had to choose between those and Starburst, I think I'd choose those."
I was psyched to see the banana ones and they didn't disappoint. Good, fake banana flavor. No-Nuts didn't think she'd like the banana, but she did. The cherry was good, too. It reminded me of cherry Bubble Yum.