Asahi Cheesecake and Peach Tart Milk Candy

This pastry-flavored sweet comes to us from Asahi, a company better known outside of Japan for its beer.  In Japan and elsewhere in Asia it is also known for a variety of foods -- sugary drinks, mostly -- that are anything but super-dry.

Candybowl tried the peach tart flavor first.  The initial flavor is intense peach, slightly more realistic than the insipid peach schnapps but not by much.  There is a slight cream note, but the dominant flavor is peach.  On chewing, the cream flavor emerges, along with a chemical note not unlike an odor Candybowl remembers from 5th grade industrial arts.  The overall impression, however, is not at all unpleasant.

The cheesecake flavor is much more realistic.  Not only a good creamy flavor, but also that slight lemony tartness that one gets in a good, dense cheesecake.  After the crunch, the sourness intensifies and a note of graham crackers emerges, coating the mouth in a lovely, cheesy grunge.

Grunge.  This candy leaves a significant amount of gum on the tooth.  Too much.  Add to that this candy is slightly rough-hewn, and one is left with the impression that Asahi does not think we will notice form and texture.  We do.

The verdict?  Buy a bag, eat the cheesecake ones, put the peach ones out for your guests.  And brush well after consuming.