Sugar Savvy

This little cherry ménage a trois all began when my friend Tripp came across a Twin Bing in Seaside, Oregon, at a candy store specializing in retro and off-beat products. We had both read and about the Twin Bing in Steve Almond’s book, Candy Freak, a few years ago, and try to keep our ears pricked for elusive nuggets such as the Bing. Based on Almond’s drool-inducing descriptions of the Valomilk, for example, Tripp tracked those ones down somewhere in the southern U.S. and then toted two whole bars across the Rockies just for me. He is an Eagle of a Candy Scout, that one.

Just about the same time he unearthed the Bing, I spotted something called a Cherry Cocktail at, oddly, a Caribbean grocery store down the street from my house. Although it is made by the relatively local Owyhee (of Idaho Spud fame), I had never seen this bar. Naturally, I bought it.

And, knowing that we had imminent plans for a head to head tasting between the two, I decided that I’d throw in a third contender – something that has caught my eye over the past few years in the candy aisle at Fred Meyer (major Portland grocery/one-stop shopping chain). This one is called Christopher’s Big Cherry.

Why I had never before purchased Big Cherry, it should be noted, is because, well… I sort of hate cherry-flavored candy… a significant detail, I suppose. But it should also be noted that the only reason I’d paid any attention to it in the first place is that the wrapper is so freakin’ adorable. Precious, right? Sometimes cuteness can be sufficient cause to buy a particular candy bar. I’ve been guilty of this on more than one occasion.

So, in the name of research, the two of us met up for coffee and a mini cherry candy bar round-up. I say “mini” not because the candy bars are small, but because the round-up included only 3 bars. I realize there are a few other cherry-focused candy bars floating around (Brown and Haley’s Cherry Mountain Bar, for one), to be included in Cherry Round-Up 2.1.

Surprisingly, the three products are remarkably similar.

1. Palmer’s Twin Bing (top right). This one stands out from the others in 2 major ways. First, it is a two-piece bar (hence the “Twin” billing). Second, it does not contain a whole Bing cherry within the (barely) chocolate and crushed peanut coating. Made by Palmer’s (of hollow Easter Bunny fame), to press the point of the inferior quality of chocolate is probably unnecessary and redundant. The reason this bar has been in production since 1923, I’m guessing, is due to the the pleasing cherry nougat center (if you like cherry nougat, that is) of the company’s flagship candy bar. The mounds are flatter and less mountainous than the other two, as can be seen in the photo above. I’m happy to have had the chance to finally taste it, but if I never have another before I die, I won’t be losing any sleep over it.

Price ? at Buzz on Broadway, Seaside, Oregon.

2. Owyhee Cherry Cocktail (top left) This one, as promised on the wrapper, contains an actual whole Bing cherry inside the peanut and chocolate coating. The cherry nougat is stickier and more runny than the other two, but otherwise it is quite similar to #3, the Big Cherry. As previously mentioned, this is made by the people who brought us the Idaho Spud, and has been in production since 1901. 1901…this is older than WW1! George Burns was five years old when these candy bars were first made. Take a moment to appreciate the longevity of The Cherry Cocktail, my friends, for it is truly remarkable.

99¢ at Caribbean market on 16th and NE Killingsworth St, Portland.

3. Christopher’s Big Cherry (foreground). Although I did just tell you that this is almost just like the Cherry Cocktail, the wildcard Big Cherry was our decided favorite. The chocolate seemed chocolatier, the peanuts saltier and peanuttier, and the cherry nougat sweeter and more flavorful. If this is annoyingly vague description, I apologize, but I cannot articulate it any better than that. The now defunct Christopher Candy Company of Los Angeles was recently sold; the bars are now being manufactured by Adams & Brooks (makers of P-Nuttles and Coffee Rios).

69¢ at Fred Meyer: Portland.

Apparently, overly sweet cherry filling coated with milk chocolate and chopped peanuts is some sort of American candy classic that seems to have proven itself simply by withstanding the test of time. And even though, as I said, I’m not in the cherry candy fan club, these three relics (The Big Cherry in particular) fall into the category of “oddly compelling”. In sum: no regrets.