18 February 2012

Barratt’s Spogz (WH Smiths) [By @SpectreUK]


Barratt’s Spogz - Hot Frogs

In the past there has always been something about jelly shaped sweets with liquid inside them which makes them burst red goo that has made me heave. For some reason I was fine with these bursting red goo jelly frogs. Maybe it was their smiley faces or the fact that these jellies weren’t some kind of creepy crawly bug this time? I don’t think I’d get on very well starving in the middle of some jungle somewhere. I guess I’d end up stumbling around for ages until I found the nearest KFC…?

These friendly looking frog shaped jellies had two colours; dark red and green, both of which were filled with a raspberry liquid centre. The dark red coloured jelly was blackcurrant flavour. The first dark red jelly burst in my mouth between my teeth. No sign of heaving. I found the dark red jellies to be mainly a very juicy blackcurrant taste, which mostly overpowered the raspberry liquid centre. There were chiefly dark red frogs in the bag, with only two green coloured jellies. The green coloured jellies were semitransparent, meaning I could see the red goo inside the green jelly from the outside, which put me off a little bit, but the green frog kept smiling at me, so I popped it in my mouth… Don’t say, “Aaah!” The green jelly was a mild pear flavour and had a dryness that Jelly Babies can sometimes have. Although this was not unpleasant, the green jelly had a contrast with the dark red blackcurrant flavour that forced my taste buds to take a step back in a brief moment of astonishment. Again, I couldn’t really taste the liquid raspberry gooey centre, instead I could mainly taste pear. Still the red liquid made my mouth water after the initial dry outer green jelly shell, but I quickly decided I preferred the dark red coloured jellies.

There were 160 calories of dark red and green jellies in the bag. The print on the bag proudly stated that there were only natural colours and flavours in the jellies. Having said that, I was surprised to find that there was no blackcurrant, pear or raspberry in the ingredients on the back of the bag! I found these jellies to be very tasty treats, so kids and adults alike should love them. I ate them on the bus after a long day at work, and for a few light moments I felt young again… Now say, “Aaah!”

As an aside, late on the night that I had eaten the Hot Frogs, we rather strangely found a live frog under the sofa. After a brief struggle, the tinny green frog (I decided not to check if it tasted of pear) was caught under a cup with the aid of some card and then dropped back safely near the garden pond!


Barratt’s Spogz - Gumbugs

These fruit flavoured jellies are available in a variety of bug shapes, such as; snails, flies, woodlouse, and spiders. Fortunately there was no bursting red raspberry goo inside these jelly sweets that could have made me heave. I found the bug shapes strangely cute and they made me smile wickedly as I dumped each one into my gaping maw. There were uneven amounts of three jelly colours in the 160 calorie bag. Orange colour had a mild orange flavour, yellow colour a gentle pineapple flavour, and the red colour had a fruity blackcurrant tang. Again the front of the bag stated proudly that only natural colours and flavours had been used in the making of these Gumbugs, but there was still no actual fruit juice noted in the ingredients on the back of the bag. I found these Gumbugs very tasty and very moreish, but there was a slight smell of wax on my fingers after eating! The beeswax in jelly sweets isn’t usually so prominent. Perhaps the bugs crawled out of someone’s ear before they were captured in the bag for eating?



Barratt’s Spogz – Lizards Tails

A complete step away from the jellies, these Lizard’s Tails are sour cola flavoured candy sticks. I checked the calories on the back of the bag and found that these are 130 calories, which is slightly healthier than the Hot Frogs and Gumbugs. I also noticed that these candy sticks are naturally coloured with plain caramel. There was a very strong sweet cola smell on opening the bag, like super strong cola bottles. I was quite happy to just sit there on the bus and smell the contents of the bag for a while, which drew some curious looks from the other passengers. These Lizard’s Tails were about four centimeters in length and were the same width as candy cigarettes. They were soft, very bendy, and light brown coloured. On tasting I found that they have a mild sourness and a heavy traditional cola flavour. These candy sticks were not like fizzy or plain cola bottles in any way or like a cola drink, and were also not sickly syrupy sweet tasting. These cola flavoured candy sticks may not have resembled an actual lizard’s tail, but they were simply genius tasting. I’d definitely left the best packet of Spogz until last. I could have happily eaten a bucket of them. I would have shared them with the two colleagues that were sitting near me on the bus, but the candy sticks tasted so good that I selfishly keep them guarded to myself. There was a lovely cola aftertaste that stayed in my mouth for ages after eating. I recommend you hunt these down and try them for yourself, but just try not to get addicted!
By Spectre

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