United Kingdom

Once upon a time I bought a blackcurrant-flavored soda in the U.K., and it was delicious, and I have never found it again. The Ribena blackcurrant soft drink I have found too sickly sweet; in a drink format, blackcurrant really needs carbonation to lift that sweet flavor. As far as the flat fruit drink goes, I ended up mixing that with some sparkling water and it turned out better. I still dream of you, true blackcurrant soda.

Wine gums would not be the first British gummy I would reach for, but every so often I’ll be in the mood for a gum or two. Wine gums are a little bit harder of a texture, not so devilish as Jujubees but just dangerous-feeling enough to want to eat carefully. For whatever reason they have the names of different wine-adjacent beverages stamped on the gummies. People aren’t quite sure why they’re called wine gums.

When I purchased a bag of these, someone asked me if I watched Dr. Who. No??? Are Jelly Babies a big thing on Dr. Who? I have no idea. All I know is I love these squishy, powder-coated little guys. They are best fresh, when the squish factor is amped to 11. Black currant is the best flavor, followed by whatever the white one is.

These are the first British candies I was enthusiastic about. They’re chewy little pucks with a sort of bumpy surface texture for the sugar. As with all British candies (in my opinion), the black currant flavor is the best.