Klepper & Klepper Sweet Licorice

This is branded as the best licorice ever. A bold claim to say the least. I am by no means a licorice aficionado, so I can’t say whether it’s considered a good or bad licorice. I can really only speak to whether I enjoy it or not. Try as I might, I still have yet to acquire a craving or desire for salty licorice, so I figured going with the sweet licorice would be a safer bet.

A lot of people describe licorice as an acquired taste, and something that you come to appreciate over time. A common sentiment is shared about wine, beer and alcohol in general. Perhaps I’m in the outlier group, because I have yet to come around on any of those things. Licorice I feel, has gotten to about 50 to 60% appreciation, but it’s still not in a place where I’d say I opt for it or reach for it other than to try it. I’d consider myself farther along than a normal person, but not far enough I would say I’m a true enjoyer of licorice in all it’s forms, just a few.

These have a very strong licorice flavour – it almost coats your tongue in it. It’s quite intense, so if you like licorice that’s a good thing. If not, you’ll be in for a bad time. This particular flavour is the sweet variety so its got an underlying sweetness to the whole experience once you get beneath the hood and past the strong medicinal herb flavour. Something I noticed is the tail end and the after taste is slightly salty sensation to it. Ultimately it reminds me a bit of molasses in it’s flavour, it’s got that underlying sweetness and little bit of an earthy flavour.

The texture is interesting – its hard and firm on the outside. I am convinced that these will stand up to heat and still hold up as they have a bit of a clicky bounce to them when you drop them. As you bite in though, it gets softer and has a clean break. Once you get the centre and start chewing it softens up substantially, and eventually just melts in the mouth. The more I think about it, the more I think of the consistency of Swedish Fish, except its not sticky and just falls apart instead.

As I mentioned, I’m not a true aficionado when it comes to licorice, so while I’m not sure I would get this again, I can imagine others might enjoy it. For one thing it definitely tastes like how I know real licorice to taste, so that as you will.