Wiley Wallaby – Soft & Chewy Blueberry Pomegranate Licorice
Wiley Wallaby is one of those names that instantly invokes the thought of the outback, cartoonish animals, and most importantly, Australia. In that way, I think the branding is pretty clever because you instantly build an association with something. It’s important because what we have here today is an Australian licorice candy. I’m guessing by the branding they are trying to market this as an Australian style licorice, which is usually softer and wheat based. It’s made in the US though, if that makes any real difference to anyone. It doesn’t to me, since I’m mostly just here to see if it’s any good or not.
These smell very floral and fragrant – the artificial blueberry flavour is evident just from the smell, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I sort of enjoy artificial blueberry flavour in some cases, and the smell is very pleasant and enticing. What can I say, I’m a sucker for berries.
These pieces are quite large, and thick at that. They are almost like tiny licorice logs more than licorice pieces. These look to be quite a mouthful too. When it comes to licorice I try not to pass judgement based on size, but I do find the bigger, thicker ones to be a more compelling chew for some reason.
The flavour is not too strong, and a bit on the milder side. As you begin to chew it more the flavour comes out more, but it’s never really as flavourful as the smell would lead you to believe. The pomegranate is basically non-existent as far as I can tell. All I can really taste is the blueberry. It’s mostly sweet blueberry, and has a very, very slight tartness to it, though truth be told it could also just be my mind playing tricks on me. The flavour is straight forward and there isn’t much more to say about it. Elements of this remind me of sparkling water – it’s got the scent of something very nice and pleasant, but the flavour is pretty mild and borderline non-existent. Mind you this isn’t that level of bland, but it’s definitely a bit disconnected from how it smells.
They taste somewhat muted at first, and reminded of Twizzlers – the outside is kind of waxy and they don’t have a very bouncy chew to them. They are somewhat firm, but again, similar to Twizzlers they aren’t gummy or taffy like and just sort of mash away. It’s like a slightly softer, less waxy version of a Twizzlers. Nothing too special here, but nothing offensive either. Sort of just nice to passively munch away on. If you are the type to enjoy Twizzlers, you’ll probably enjoy these as they share a somewhat distinct mouth feel to them. I’d argue these are better, but again, not that different.
Overall I wouldn’t mind trying these again, though perhaps maybe a different flavour. The texture is what I look for and expect from Australian style licorice, though the flavour is a bit on the mild and subdued side.
