REVIEW: CVS Limited Edition Pumpkin Spice Cough Drops

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CVS Limited Edition Pumpkin Spice Cough Drops

A cough drop review? Don’t act like cough drop flavors don’t matter. You know you’ve felt the crushing disappointment of walking into the drug store in peak cold season with a scratchy throat to find all that’s left are the basic blue menthol Halls. Your brain runs through all the flavors you’d rather have: strawberry, cherry, citrus. Hell, I’d take honey before plain menthol.

I have to give CVS a slow clap for taking the bold (i.e. insane?) step of cashing in on the pumpkin spice trend via the cold relief aisle. Mentholated PS cough drops? My first reaction was “Whyyyyyyy?”  But I wanted to try them. I couldn’t wait to HATE them with the fire of a thousand Targaryen dragons.

CVS Limited Edition Pumpkin Spice Cough Drops 2

So imagine my surprise when I tasted Pumpkin Spice Cough Drops and found them – not bad at all!

It’s tough to describe the aroma inside the bag. It didn’t resemble pumpkin, spices or menthol. It was like asiago Band-Aids…but let’s not dwell on that because if you’re in the market for cough drops, your nostrils will be snot-blocked anyway and you’ll probably never actually smell them.

CVS Limited Edition Pumpkin Spice Cough Drops 3

When I popped one in my mouth, the first flavor to come screaming out of the gate was loud, obnoxious menthol. Yelling over everyone else and kicking chairs over. But once menthol quieted down, I started picking up on cinnamon just underneath. Not a hot fiery cinnamon, but a warm, fuzzy loved-up cinnamon. There was probably some nutmeg flavor there, too, but I’m bad at identifying nutmeg – it just ends up being in everything I describe as “autumn-y.”

I’m shocked to say this cough drop flavor works. I happen to be trying them in good health on an 80+ degree day, but I can imagine on a chilly fall or winter day when you feel like you swallowed a cheese grater, they’ll be a pretty decent option. They’re still sweet like most cough drops, but a not-unpleasant change from the usual fruit flavors. They’re not delicious, but they’re not the horror show I expected.

(Nutrition Facts – 1 drop – 10 calories.)

Purchased Price: $1.49
Size: 30-drop bag
Purchased at: CVS
Rating: 7 out of 10
Pros: Not the worst thing I’ve ever tasted! The cinnamon/menthol combo works better than expected. (I know! I’m shocked too.)
Cons: Strange aroma – which will likely not be experienced when you have a cold and need cough drops. Do these cough drops make me look like a basic b***h?

QUICK REVIEW: Limited Edition Werther’s Original Pumpkin Spice Soft Caramels

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Limited Edition Werther s Original Harvest Caramels Pumpkin Spice Soft Caramels

When I first pop one of these Werther’s Original Pumpkin Spice Soft Caramels in my mouth, I get a flavor that makes me think, “Whoa. This totally tastes like fall.” It may be over 90 degrees, but the pumpkin spice flavor truly makes it feel like autumn.

Unfortunately, a few chews in, that autumnal flavor has faded, and all I taste is typical Werther’s candy. It doesn’t give me enough time to parse out whatever spices or flavors they used. All I get is caramel, with a weird, almost floral aftertaste. Even if I start fresh on a new piece, I can’t taste autumn. I have to wait awhile to detect the pumpkin spice again.

I had three separate tasting sessions, and this was the case each time.

Limited Edition Werther s Original Harvest Caramels Pumpkin Spice Soft Caramels 3

The serving size is six pieces, but I don’t recommend that many in one sitting. For one thing, it’s a lot of sweetness and a lot of wrappers all at once; but furthermore, there’s no way you would taste the pumpkin spice by the sixth.

Now, there’s nothing wrong with the caramel. It’s soft and chewy, but not so sticky it stays stuck to your teeth. It’s a yummy candy, except for that weird aftertaste. This is not a salted caramel flavor, even though the typo on the nutrition label says they’re 276 percent sodium.

Limited Edition Werther s Original Harvest Caramels Pumpkin Spice Soft Caramels 4

Overall, it’s great as a caramel. But you only get a few seconds of pumpkin spice.

Purchased Price: $3.99
Size: 9.5 oz. bag
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (6 pieces) 150 calories, 2.5 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 105 milligrams of sodium, 30 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 16 grams of sugar, and 1 gram of protein.

REVIEW: Pumpkin Pie Kit Kat

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Pumpkin Pie Kit Kat

Now I know why the eyes on the black cat on the packaging of these Pumpkin Pie Kit Kat are so wide open. At first, I imagined it was high from snorting off of that pumpkin pie a line of crushed eye of newt it stole from its witch.

But after trying the candy, I realized it’s not because of dried amphibian bodies that have gone through a pestle and mortar and then through a feline nasal cavity. It’s because the black cat tried the candy and had its kitty mind blown by how good it is.

Pumpkin Pie Kit Kat 2

The Kit Kat fingers look as if they’re caramel or dulce de leche-flavored, but they smell straight up pumpkin pie or like I’ve walked into the fall section at my local Target.

According to the thousands of recipes Google spits back at me after plugging in “pumpkin pie” in its search box, the common spices in one are cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. Those aren’t listed in the ingredients for this candy. Instead, there’s “natural flavor and artificial flavor.” I’m not sure what’s natural or artificial, but, geez, the first bar I ate had a spice kick I was not expecting. Although, my taste buds have gotten used to it because every bar I’ve had since hasn’t been as intense.

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Having tried so many pumpkin spice/pumpkin pie-flavored products that I’m surprised I don’t smell spicy, I thought it would have a strong cinnamon flavor, followed by the other spices. That would’ve been great. But, nope, the cinnamon flavor takes a back seat to the ginger and nutmeg, which is also great. Because of the elevated ginger flavor, there are moments when the candy bar reminds me of a ginger snap cookie. But for the most part, it smells and tastes like pumpkin pie.

But, the weird thing is, while I enjoy it very much and it’s the best tasting limited edition U.S. Kit Kat flavor I’ve had, I don’t feel compelled to eat the printed serving size, which is three two-piece bars. I’ll devour two fingers, let out a couple of food pleasure moans, lick off whatever creme melted onto my fingers, rub my tummy, and then I’m good.

But overall, you’re right black cat on the packaging, Pumpkin Pie Kit Kat is eye-popping wonderful.

(Nutrition Facts – 3 two-piece bars – 220 calories, 100 calories from fat, 12 grams of fat, 8 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 35 milligrams of sodium, 27 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 19 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.)

Purchased Price: Purchased on eBay so I paid more than I should
Size: 9.8 oz. bag
Purchased at: N/A
Rating: 8 out of 10
Pros: Smells and tastes like pumpkin pie. Also, at times, taste like a ginger snap cookie. It’s the best limited edition U.S. Kit Kat I’ve ever had.
Cons: Don’t feel compelled to eat the printed serving size. Snorting crushed eye of newt.

REVIEW: Hostess Limited Edition Pumpkin Spice Twinkies

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Hostess Limited Edition Pumpkin Spice Twinkies

Is that photo on the Hostess Limited Edition Pumpkin Spice Twinkies box supposed to be appetizing?

My goodness, it’s like watching meat come out of a meat grinder. Or a pig being born. Or Vienna sausage being made. It’s like staring at potted meat. Don’t know what potted meat is? For all that is holy, DON’T LOOK IT UP!

The thing is, in real life, the filling doesn’t quite look like mangled flesh. It has a very light pink hue with red specks. But it’s so light that in some lighting situations it looks grey. So I guess this is one of those cases where what it actually looks like is better looking than what’s on the packaging, but barely.

The filling is supposed to remind you of pumpkin pie. When I closed my eyes, I’m reminded of POTTED MEAT! That image on the box has burned itself onto my brain. Now I feel as if I should go stare at Spam to get the image of potted meat out of my head.

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Of the spices you’d find in pumpkin pie, the only one listed in the ingredients is cinnamon. Of course, there’s natural and artificial flavoring that fill in for the other spices, but I’m glad Hostess spent a little scratch to include real cinnamon. But even with real cinnamon, it doesn’t have have a pumpkin spice flavor that pops. It doesn’t have a flavor that makes me say, “Hey honey, you know that whole tradition of eating pumpkin pie at Thankgiving? Let’s forget that and replace them with these Twinkies.”

But if you were celebrating National Cinnamon Day (a day that, surprisingly, with all the fake food holidays, doesn’t exist) these Twinkies would be an awesome way to get your Cinna-on.

One last thing about the flavor, there’s an artificial sweetener aftertaste even though there aren’t any listed in the ingredients. It reminded me of the taste in my mouth after eating a pumpkin spice-flavored light yogurt.

As for the “golden sponge cake,” it tasted like a regular Twinkie, but something seemed different about its texture. Maybe they weren’t as spongy as I remember. Maybe I got a bad batch. Maybe the box I bought was around since last year. Or maybe Twinkie the Kid is cutting corners so that he has extra money to buy whatever drug he smokes/snorts/shoots that makes him so damn happy all the damn time. I don’t know. Although its texture was different, the cake had that same Twinkies greasiness that we all know and love not to get on our hands because it will get all over our smartphone screens.

Overall, Hostess’ Limited Edition Pumpkin Spice Twinkies are okay if you’re into cinnamon or light pumpkin spice yogurts, but eating them won’t be a yearly tradition for me.

(Nutrition Facts – 2 cakes – 260 calories, 70 calories from fat, 8 grams of fat, 4 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 35 milligrams of cholesterol, 350 milligrams of sodium, 44 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 28 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.)

Item: Hostess Limited Edition Pumpkin Spice Twinkies
Purchased Price: $2.97
Size: 10 cakes
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 5 out of 10
Pros: Cinnamon-y. Looks better in real life than on the packaging.
Cons: Pumpkin spice flavor doesn’t pop; it’s almost all cinnamon. Sponge cake had a weird texture; not as spongy. Artificial sweetener aftertaste. Image of creme on the box looks unappetizing. Getting Twinkies grease on our phone screens. Potted meat haunting me.

REVIEW: Tastykake Pumpkin Spice Mini Donuts

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Tastykake Pumpkin Spice Mini Donuts

I imagine these Tastykake Pumpkin Spice Mini Donuts would be great to dunk into a pumpkin spice-flavored coffee, hot cocoa, melted ice cream, egg nog, yogurt, or whatever random pumpkin spice product I’d hit if I threw a rock at a Target grocery section.

Dunking it would up the pumpkin spiciness, which is something I feel these donuts need. Eaten sans dunking sauce, the pumpkin spice flavor isn’t where I’d want it to be. It’s as if someone did a pumpkin spice seasoning challenge, failed, coughed out all that pumpkin spice, forming a cloud, and then these donuts were seasoned by throwing them through that cloud.

Look, I live on a rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. We don’t experience fall like a lot of you. It’s like spring/summer all the time. If I can’t experience fall with my eyes or with my shoulder muscles from raking all the orange leaves in my yard, I want to experience fall with my mouth and I don’t think these donuts have that level of flavor.

With that said, they aren’t so bad that they make me want to fly across the Pacific Ocean, go to the Tastykake headquarters, and drop the bag above on their welcome mat with a Post-It Note attached that has the word “NOPE” scrawled on it.

Tastykake Pumpkin Spice Mini Donuts 2

They’re okay, but they don’t make me want to turn my arm into a donut dunking robot that helps me eat through an entire bag within 10 minutes. There’s an acceptable amount of cinnamon flavor in the powdered coating and I could taste other spices. But, again, I wish it was amped up a little. They’re also dense donuts and almost as chewy as brownies or original PowerBars that have been in a car’s glove compartment. I’m not sure that’s a good thing.

I’ll definitely finish off the bag, although not quickly. And I’ll dunk them into pumpkin spice hummus if the rock I throw at a Target grocery section hits it.

Disclosure: I received a free sample of these donuts from Tastykake. Receiving them for free did not affect this review in any way.

(Nutrition Facts – 4 donuts – 230 calories, 100 calories from fat, 11 grams of fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 1.5 grams of polyunsaturated fat, 3.5 grams of monounsaturated fat, 10 milligrams of cholesterol, 260 milligrams of sodium, 31 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 14 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.)

Purchased Price: Free
Size: 10 oz bag
Purchased at: Received from Tastykake
Rating: 5 out of 10
Pros: Not horrible. Cinnamon-y. So many pumpkin spice products.
Cons: Too light pumpkin spice flavor. Chewier than most donuts I’ve had. Throwing rocks in a Target. So many pumpkin spice products.

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