So we took a few months off. No excuses. Except:

• Our calorie intake was at an all time high.
• We were trying to not get or give a pandemic sickness.
• Our website decided it sucked and wanted to crash. Which meant new site, and this is that. For now.

Perhaps the biggest apology goes to Wiley Wallaby who sent us a shit-ton of Australian style licorice* in a slew of different flavors.

I liked Watermelon the best, which is why you see it above.

*Is this licorice? Um no. Licorice is made with extracts from the you-guessed-it “licorice” root. Think: anise overtones. And except for the Classic Black flavor from Wiley, I expect other their other nuggets are also not flavored with licorice. Still, maybe they’re just calling these licorice because we allow them to. As soon as we all get our protest signs out and take to the streets I’m sure the marketing teams will amend the packaging.

The texture of Wiley Wallaby’s is what makes them that Aussie candy feel. Thick, dense, heavy but light, a good chew, and a solid all-around piece of sweet. You get a good little haul in this package, and you don’t need to eat a lot of them to feel you got your candy fix.

I like watermelon because it’s summer. I also loved the Huckleberry soft and chewy, which you can get from Snackathon foods. In fact, there are loads of flavors. Fake grape? I love it, and yes.

There were a few things I could do without:

• Can you see the dew on the pieces above? Didn’t love it. Didn’t hinder the taste, but made my fingers moist.
• There was a plastic-like mouth feel to all the flavors I tried. I still loved the chew and all the points I made above, but these didn’t taste like “natural” candy.

A final thing to note: age these babies. Open the package and let them hang out. Extra special points if you open and put in the fridge. They get real good that way.