We love Red Band. Generally, their candies are on point, and this mix is certainly no exception.

Despite the translation being “soft sweet licorice”, this is a wine gum mix with some marshmallow candies (very few) and a bit of licorice. And while they say “soft & sweet”, I’d argue that the licorice is much better than that: It’s slightly chewy and a bit salty. And it goes GREAT with the wine gums.

If you’re not familiar with wine gums, they’re basically just European gummies. They don’t have any wine in them, but many of them do have things like “PORT” written on them. They’re flavorful, soft, and usually include the most excellent blackcurrant flavor. In fact, that’s how I discovered blackcurrant candy.

Usually I prefer a tougher chew with my gummies, but for wine gums, I really appreciate the classic texture and flavors. The licorice provides just a little bit of offsetting flavors that actually mix really nicely with the gummies.

The marshmallow things? They exist because the world isn’t a perfect place. Yes, I suppose some people might enjoy these, but man…they’re just so boring and bland to me.

Bottom line: if you want an authentic UK candy mix, it doesn’t get more classic or legit than this one. It’s hard (impossible) to find in the US, but it’s peppered everywhere around Europe. If you see it, grab it!