Gustaf's English Licorice Allsorts - 2.5 LB

I know there have been many reviews, hyper-critical about packaging and freshness. But I decided to try them and received my first order today. To begin with, the packaging was absolutely first rate…the product was bagged in air tight cellophane and then sealed in a heavy duty cardboard box. On trying the product, the taste was delicious and comparable to other Allsorts I’ve had. With regards to freshness, while the layered pieces were slightly firm to the bite, they tasted fresh and, for me, were totally acceptable (and not tooth-cracking hard as some have reported). The black licorice “logs” were very soft and chewy…which said to me that the candy was in fact freshly packaged and that the firmness of the layered pieces was more about the way they were manufactured/formulated in the first place. All in all, I am very pleased with the purchase and, if this is any indication, I will definitely be re-ordering again in the future.

I first tried this while on vacation at a Midwest tourist area. A relatively small store sold many kinds of candy including Gustaf’s Allsorts. I found the candy was a bit hard to chew but it had good licorice flavor. After getting back from vacation I decided to order more of this licorice and found it through Amazon. I bought a 2-1/2# package for less than I paid for an 8 oz container I had earlier. I ordered it and two days later I had my first taste of a moist, soft, fresh candy that took me back to my childhood. This was a very satisfying purchase that I will surely make again.

I love this kind of licorice and was looking forward so to receiving my order so I could enjoy it. When the box arrived, which also contained other ordered items, it was obvious with handling the box in getting it into the house that some container/bag had broken and its contents spilled out and now traveling about the box. I knew right away what it was - the licorice! the 2.5# bag had burst at the bottom (was not secured or cushioned in any way for travel), and I had to retrieve every last piece from the shipping box. I immediately could tell that the product was most certainly not fresh - each piece very powdery, dried out, layered pcs separated. Further, the pcs are hard as a rock. Not a pc in these 2/5# was inviting to try! It's my assumption this was bagged separately from some larger amount of storage. I'm very disappointed in this, made no sense to send it back, so I guess it will go in the garbage since I determine it to be inedible. Never before have I've been disappointed by Amazon in this particular food product, and I've ordered it often. Please follow up with this provider and do not do business with them again. Thank you for allowing me to rant.

I was hoping for a much better product. This was very stale, I had a very hard time chewing the pieces and they were very discolored. I know when my dad used to buy these they were much softer and tasted much better. Thinking about sending it back.

I have always loved Allsorts, but can't find them anymore in my local area stores, in a large town. So I ordered them from three mail order sources (two through Amazon, one not) on the same day. All three products are or will be identical and tasty. Although I haven't yet received or tasted one of the three, I am very familiar with the brand and product. This one was fresh when I received it, not stale as some have reported. But I opened it right away and moved the candy to an airtight container, which kept it fresh. And I received this order in the shortest time of the three, only two days after I ordered it. The best thing is that the price on this product was considerably lower than from the other two sources, at $3/pound less than one (non-Amazon), and $6.50/pound less than the other Amazon product. This will continue to be my source, as long as pricing and availability continues.

The product I received was fresh and packaged as described. However, there are some anomalies on how the candy was produced. My mother worked in a candy kitchen for a fine department store for a good many years and according to her standards on candy, these would have went into seconds. The product looks like it was mass produced in a factory by a bunch of chimpanzees and quality control was lacking or non-existing. The reason I say this is that a lot of the pieces are irregular shaped and are noticeable. The licorice in the double decker pieces is rather thick with really thin sugary layers and some single decker pieces had double sugary layers. All of this messed up the taste of the product somewhat where it 's not balanced between the licorice and the sugar.

Despite being tasty, I'd still pooh-pooh these as American-style deviants rather than true British allsorts. Everyone knows that traditional English allsorts should be made up exclusively of the four-layer sandwiches in a variety of colors. This pack blasphemously uses zebra 4 layers only, mixed in with a mob of 3 layer sangers and even singles covered with hundreds and thousands. Thankfully, these licorice-flavored orphans are still pretty yum. Each color has it's own actual flavor and the use of coconut is a nice, if unexpected, touch. Apart from a 4 layer only version, I could handle a little more licorice intensity and less sweetness with my noglastia? This is hardly zoute drop licorice. Otherwise, it's not unlike the kind of candy you could make at home, if you had loads of time. I filled a glass jar, put it on the coffee table where it looks super pretty, then tried to avoid scoffing the lot. I may even buy again.

Good value. Very fresh and soft. We bought another bag from a different brand and they were much harder. These licorices are very soft... but unfortunately, it means you'll eat them quicker! LOL I would buy again and recommend.