Nosh Or Nah: Drink-Flavored Candy, Candy-Flavored Drinks

Welcome to Nosh or Nah, a column where The Takeout staff reviews the best, worst, and weirdest new snacks and drinks hitting store shelves near you.

New items constantly fly into supermarkets, convenience stores, and those labyrinth impulse-buy lines leading to seemingly every retail store register now. Some of these treats are familiar brand combos and others are ones we've never heard of. These curious combinations and quizzical collaborations beget more eating up and slurping down than we ever could have imagined. The Takeout is here for all of it — trying the latest (and perhaps greatest, or perhaps awful-est) foods and drinks on offer. 

In our inaugural Nosh or Nah, spring has sprung, and Easter candies and other goodies went up for grabs. This week, Michael Palan tackled KFC-flavored jellybeans, Peeps infused with the spirit of Sunny D, Twizzler Straws that are dirty soda-ready, and diet iced tea with — sure, why not? — a Jolly Rancher twist. Meanwhile, Laura Christine Allan tried three remixed flavors of Frito-Lay chips. Thanks for your attention shoppers, and let the gonzo yums begin.

For Easter 2026, Colonel Sanders is lending his forever smiling face to a KFC-branded bag of jellybeans artificially flavored to taste like fried chicken, sweet corn, and gravy. Through their clear plastic window, the beans appeared rather innocent. Upon opening the bag, however, the fun immediately started to decline. An odor reminiscent of mildewy paper emanated into the air.

I started with the golden gravy-flavored one. The taste was awful at first, but thankfully a kick of sweetness in the end washed the off flavor from the mouth. The paler yellow one was the sweet corn, and I actually kind of liked it. It reminded me of sweet corn ice cream and could also pass for a savory spring take on candy corn. The pink ones weren't as offensive as the golden gravy ones, but they certainly didn't give off notes of fried chicken. They tasted more like the exhaust of the oil fried chicken is cooked in.

KFC Colonel's Favorite Jelly Beans are a practical joke that aren't too expensive to laugh at, at about $3.00 for a 4-ounce bag. There's approximately 88 beans per bag, which is plenty to share with a group of friends. The fried chicken and gravy ones get a big "nah" from me, but I'd be down to "nosh" on a few more of those sweet corn ones.

At one point in time Peeps were just Peeps, but nowadays we expect them to be flavored with every popular food and drink brand known in existence. New for this year, and exclusively at Target, come ones that supposedly capture the spirit and taste of Sunny D.

As I busted open the packaging, two things immediately stood out: the lush creamsicle orange hue of the chicks and their intense smell. Without further ado, I grabbed a sugar-encrusted chick and bit down on the soft little feller. My taste buds instantly rejected what they were being forced to try. I was an avid fan of SunnyD in my youth, so I have a baseline knowledge of what its flavor is. The Peeps certainly had a fruity flavor, but not the kind you'd want to drink up. It was kind of like a circus peanut, but somehow even more nauseating. I actually ate a piece of a real orange to help remove this taste from my mouth. 

These Sunny D Peeps get a Cloudy D-, and are a big "nah" for me. The investment here is low — at just $2.69 a bag, but you'd be better off just eating regular Peeps and chasing them down with a glass of actual SunnyD. 

Dirty sodas are all the rage these days (we recently reviewed Taco Bell's new dirty sodas), and now Twizzlers is trying to cash in on the craze. Twizzlers Straws are now available in a limited-time-only dirty soda-inspired flavor blend of vanilla, lime, and coconut. That sounded like a lot to chew on, and before getting down and dirty with a soda, I wanted to try the straw on its own. This trifecta of flavors came together in a smell and taste reminiscent of Thai coconut chicken soup — Tom Kha Gai. These super soft and chewy Twizzlers were the most uniquely flavored ones I'd ever chewed on.

Now it was time to utilize these things for what they're for: a straw. They weren't very sturdy, and when I put the straw into my fountain Pepsi Zero, it fell limp. Despite all the trials and tribulations just to get it in place, the cold liquid helped harden the straw, and it added an interesting flavor to my soda.

I liked this Twizzler for its unique flavor. This was the only product on this list that I returned to for seconds later in the day. For that, they are worth seeking out — this is a "nosh" for me. However, as a functional straw, they could use a little work. 

Ryl Tea has made collaborative drinks with the fine folks over at Jolly Rancher. There are two options here — Blue Raspberry and Green Apple. The 16-ounce cans contain natural flavors (including but not limited to monk fruit extract) and have just 5 calories, 6 grams of carbs, and no sugar. They retail for about $2.49 each.

Popping open both cans, those signature Jolly Rancher smells started emanating into the room. The green apple had a more appealing essence than the blue raspberry one, which had a medicinal bent to it. I poured them into separate glasses and was shocked that the color didn't match the can (or the candies). I was expecting the apple to be neon green and the raspberry to look like Kool-Aid's legendary Great Bluedini. They simply looked like iced tea.

Since I had a sinking suspicion the blue razz one would be intolerable, I started there. Luckily it didn't taste at all like it smelled, but that didn't mean I loved the flavor. The same was true of the green apple. They had too many things going against them — they tasted artificial, weren't refreshing, and didn't mimic the flavoring of Jolly Ranchers enough. These both get a "nah" from me. Like with the Sunny D Peeps, I'd rather tackle regular iced tea and Jolly Rancher candy separately than try to mix them.

Frito-Lay has released three versions of its chips that taste like ... other brands of its chips. Also, each one is celebrity-endorsed. The Dude Perfect Ruffles Doritos Cool Ranch flavor swap seemed like the least exciting offering at first — we already have ranch Ruffles, so how would this be different? I was pleasantly surprised when I bit into my first chip and my brain registered it as an oddly-textured Cool Ranch Dorito, complete with corn flavor. While the excitement wore off after a few bites, the novelty was fun.

Next, I went after the IShowSpeed flavor swap: Doritos with Ruffles cheddar and sour cream flavoring. I love both the original chips, so I was excited. However, this swap was less than the sum of its parts. The sour cream and cheddar flavor was so understated that it was mostly overpowered by the corn chip. Plus, there was none of the spicy punch that you usually get with the best flavors of Doritos, so these were a massive disappointment.

At last, I came to the Madison Beer Cheetos flavor swap. These ones were flavored with Lay's Sweet Southern Heat BBQ, and by Chester Cheetah's name, they were good! The smoky, meaty flavor hit immediately, followed by a gentle heat. The Cheeto base brought a sort of cornbread flavor profile to the party, which, of course, went perfectly with sweet BBQ. I polished off the whole bag in one sitting and have no regrets. Ultimately, two out of three flavor swaps worked, which nets them a solid "nosh."