?Barrels of Yum are barrel-shaped hard candies that extend the trite root beer barrel concept to a wider variety of flavors. They were developed with Candyman David Klein, who worked on the original Jelly Bellies, so I had high hopes for their flavors…

And they certainly delivered! I got free samples of the Dilly Dally pickle-flavored barrels as well as their Classic Collection to review. I’ll start with the Dilly Dallies because Pickle Candy?

The individually wrapped Dilly Dallies were bright green with a smooth melt on my tongue. They tasted eerily like a sweetened dill pickle. I got a little tartness, as well as garlicky notes.

It was weird to have something sweet and savory and so unnervingly accurate. I can’t see myself wanting to snack on these, but they’re a fun and spot-on novelty treat. An O for the fun taste experience.

The Classic Collection had more snackable flavors. Like the Dilly Dallies, they were individually wrapped, which makes them easily shareable.

Orange was Orange Cream. It tasted like orange soda, smooth and sweet. There were some nearly herbal undertones that made me think of that lingering sassafrassiness that you get from root bear.

Peach Cobbler was a red orange that was hard to distinguish from the orange cream. It tasted generically fruit and bright with occasional tart notes. I didn’t get any peach flavors, but still enjoyed its pleasant flavor.

Sour Watermelon was pink. It tasted like artificial watermelon candies with a subtle tartness. Not my favorite, as watermelon candies taste nothing like real watermelons to me.

Light brown was Apple Pie, which started off tasted of canned apple pie filling before it took on brighter, fruitier notes of fresh apple with hints of bright tartness peeking through.

Dark brown was Chai Tea, an unusual hard candy flavor. It had strong floral notes of tea with herbal undertones. Not my favorite, but I’m also generally not a tea person.

Green was Granny Smith Apple. It mostly tart and tangy, like most green apple candies, but with added complexity from apple peel notes.

Hot Cinnamon was red, and it tasted fairly standard for a cinnamon candy, with a flavor reminiscent of Red Hots. It had a nice heat to it that was present without being overwhelming.

Finally Blueberry Crumble was a deep blue that was tart with plummy blueberry notes. It didn’t taste like real blueberries, but it had a nice intensity of flavor.

Overall, I found the Classic Collection from Barrel of Yum to be a tasty assortment with many snackable flavors (though I’d give you all my Chai Teas and save the Hot Cinnamons for after-meal mints). An OM.

By Rosa