Grape Vines & Red Vines

The American Licorice Company is the very first company to contact me regarding free samples to be reviewed on SugarPressure.com. I was very excited to hear from them and a few days after they emailed me a large box was delivered containing several boxes of Grape Vines - Purple Grape Twists licorice. I thought it only fitting to review them on National Licorice Day in the United States.

I'm not a huge fan of licorice in general and I usually prefer real black licorice over red or other flavors. However, if I'm going to pick a red licorice I usually go with Red Vines. The big thing about candy for me is past memories. I had several memories of Red Vines that kept going through my head when the Grape Vines arrived. One of these memories was when I was around 9 years old. I was at a friend's house and his mom had purchased Red Vines for several of us to share after school. I remember grabbing the bag and running with it, kidding all my friends, so I could be first to eat the wonderful red extruded candy product. (I love that word, "extruded". It's the name given to licorice because of how it's made. Read here about how licorice is made or read about the history of licorice over at Candy Professor.com) So here I am, running with a fresh bag of Red Vines, my friends all chasing me and I yank a few out of the bag, put them in my mouth and give them a tug. I then come to a screeching stop because my two front teeth exited my mouth when I gave a tug on the licorice. Now, this isn't a freak occurrence and I do not blame the licorice--because I've lost those two front teeth almost 16 times now and at that point I had already lost them 5 or 6 times. I remember it so vividly because as I'm walking home, front teeth gone, gums bleeding, I finished off the two Red Vines using my side molars. My mom would never let me forget that, she thought I was nuts! No Mom, I really love candy that much.

Okay, back to the Grape Vines. When we opened the first package and yes, we tore into these right away, the smell of grape was very powerful. I think it's a wonderful smell and I love a good grape flavor. What we found, along with the many co-workers and friends we shared these with, is that the flavor is very mellow. The Grape Vines have a very light grape flavor. Most people found this a little disappointing, but then I pulled out the one pound bag of Red Vines and had people try them, they too have a very light flavor, although no one is really sure what that flavor is (cherry? strawberry? red and wonderful?). After reminding people of the Red Vine's flavor, people were happier with the Grape Vines. I like that the American Licorice Company is adding other flavors to their classic Red Vines. My overall impression is similar to how I feel about Hot Tamales vs. Jolly Joes. I buy Hot Tamales 9 times out of 10, but that 10th time, I buy Mike and Ike Jolly Joes. I feel the same way about Grape Vines. I'll probably stick with Red Vines 9 times out of 10, but that 10th time, I'll go with Grape Vines for something different.

What we like most about Red Vines is the chewy texture. I know I could eat a million of them because they lack that sugary stickiness that gets in your teeth. What I miss in the Grape Vines is that same chewy texture. It took me a while to figure out that the Grape Vines have thinner walls and a larger opening in the middle. This leads to a very different texture than Red Vines, although it's good, it's just not a Red Vine. See picture below for the difference:

You can see my overall score for the Grape Vines below, but I liked them for what they are. They are yet another choice for licorice fans from a company most people know very well. I'd suggest everyone try these if they can, they are worth it for something new and different. I'd also like to thank the kind people at the American Licorice Company for sending us our first sample candy. You can read & watch several other reviews of Red Vines review at Candyblog.Net, Grape Vines review at Candyblog.net, Grape Vines review at Zomg, Candy!, video review of Grape Vines at TodoCandy, CandyGurus review of Grape Vines.

Red Vines - Original Red Twists
Taste: 4/5 Really Liked It
Calorie Counter: 4 vines = 1 serving= 140 calories, 0g fat
Price: $1.99 purchased at WalMart
Red Vines Website

Grape Vines - Purple Grape Twists
Taste: 3/5 Liked It
Calorie Counter: 4 vines = 1 serving= 140 calories, 0g fat
Price: Sample provided by American Licorice Company
American Licorice Company Website

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Red Vines was my ever-faithful movie companion through my tender years. I don't see them out here on the east coast, but I grew up in California and there is something about the coastal distribution of Red Vines and Twizzlers. I can't believe I didn't know it was National Licorice Day!

Posted by: Candy Professor | 04/13/2010 at 05:42 PM