We’ve been writing content for this site for so long, sometimes I forget that I’ve already reviewed something. I write up a (very thoughtful and dare I say witty) review, and then…just cry, basically. It almost happened again today with these.

Turns out we didn’t review this exact variety of Now & Later: we checked out the Shell Shocked Sours, which I liked quite a bit. So we’re in the clear.

The idea here is pretty great: A small Now & Later chewy taffy ensconced in a candy shell. Why wouldn’t that be great? I mean, I already stated my love for it in the sour version. But these? These…have problems. Big problems.

First up, they look like shit. Simply on a color choice level….what the hell? it’s just not appetizing to me. Also, see the chunk out of the yellow on in the upper right? It took me a while to get all the broken pieces out for this photo-they were everywhere. But all of this is secondary info, and doesn’t really matter so much when it comes to my opinion of the candy.

The problem starts with the smell. As it does with so many things. But for these….there’s just an odd, clearly chemical smell in the bag, that doesn’t linger too long, but it’s there. It’s rank.

Worse though, that chemical overtone is present in the taste of all 5 of these muted flavors. The grape is chemical grape, the cherry is chemical cherry, etc. On top of this, the flavors are running at complete half mast. They barely come into focus, in fact-they don’t, because they’re fighting with the chemical overlords.

The consistency on the other hand, is quite nice. There’s not quite as much separation of Church & State between the shell and the center, but the overall effect is nice and chewy. But I’m not overstating things when I say that the flavor is so bad that it negates everything good about the consistency. 3 out of 3 of us hated these. And while it’s possible that I got a really old bag or an off batch, I doubt it. And if that’s true, then the quality control is crap, so it really doesn’t matter.

These stink. Don’t buy them. In fact, I refuse to provide you a link (just kidding, go for it, I won’t tell anyone). But I will shake my head back & forth slowly, pointing at you.