What’s the best candy cane? The best candy canes are delightfully sweet, usually minty, and shouldn’t snap too easily. When it comes to peppermint flavor, we want something bold and bitey. That said, there are a lot of new varieties of candy canes out there that taste like actual candy and not a breath mint you get on your way out of a restaurant. Those qualify, too, and for me personally, they were preferred.
Kind of hard to believe that candy canes are still around and being sold today. They’re a bit…old fashioned, and that’s coming from a guy who loves Necco wafers. Still, candy canes endure because they’re a classic. No stocking would be complete without them. Here are the best candy cane flavors to buy this holiday season:
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- Doscher’s Peppermint Candy Canes
Doscher’s candy canes are thicker than most candy canes—an attribute that I didn’t realize would actually enhance the candy cane experience. As a result of their girth (sorry), they don’t break or fall apart easily. Doscher’s candy canes are delicious and kind of have this rough, coarse texture that’s delightful to savor. The minty flavor is on point. This is like an old school, handmade candy cane you’d pick up from a mom and pop candy store. In short, Doscher’s are the best candy canes because they’re well crafted. Well done, Doscher’s.
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- Hot Tamales Fierce Cinnamon
This is my favorite candy-to-candy-cane collab. The spicy, bold, cinnamon flavor of Hot Tamales candy invades the sugary candy cane with aplomb. The flavor here is just like a Fireball candy, which is already iconic in its own right. The Hot Tamales candy cane makes me hopeful that we will see more classic candies turned into edible, lickable canes during the holiday season moving forward. Speaking of which…
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- Lemonhead
Infusing classic hard candy flavors into candy canes generally works, and these Lemonhead candy canes are a prime example. The sour, tart, and sugary classic candy melds with the candy cane quite well. Typically, Lemonheads are something you can completely bite through, and the centers are soft and chewy. These candy canes don’t have that, but they do have all the sugary brightness of a classic Lemonhead. If you find peppermint candy canes to be too antiquated, you’ll love Lemonheads.
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- Brach’s Wintergreen
Wintergreen has a more subtle, less bitey flavor than peppermint. It’s smooth and cooling. I personally love these Brach’s Wintergreen candy canes because they provide a mint-filled candy cane experience with a twist. If you like mint flavored things but for whatever reason don’t enjoy candy canes, these could be the solution to that problem. Brach’s Wintergreen candy canes are sweet, cool, and deeply satisfying.
Credit: Liv Averett/Amazon
- Spangler Mini Peppermint Candy Canes
Love candy canes but think they’re too clunky and big? I don’t blame you. Who wants to walk around with a weird cane-shaped treat nowadays, anyway? Spangler’s mini candy canes are filled with sugar and peppermint bite, and the best part is you can savor and munch on them at your leisure—you’re not stuck holding onto a candy cane that’s been in your mouth all day. Mini candy canes all day.
Credit: Liv Averett/Amazon
Best of the Best
Best Candy Adaptation
Best Sour
Best Cool and Minty
Best Minis
Other products we tried: Hershey’s Chocolate, Jelly Belly, Sweet Tarts, Jolly Rancher, Fancy Pickle, Sour Punch, Lifesavers, Airheads
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