Swedish licorice and American licorice share a name, a dark color, and not much else. Swedish black licorice is made from real licorice root extract, Glycyrrhiza glabra, producing a deep, complex, bittersweet flavor with significant natural depth. American black licorice is almost universally made with anise oil or artificial licorice flavoring, producing a sharper, one-dimensional taste that approximates licorice from a distance but does not replicate it. The difference is significant and immediately apparent to anyone who tastes both.
The Ingredient Difference
This is the fundamental distinction. Licorice root extract, sometimes called licorice mass or licorice paste, is produced by boiling the dried root of Glycyrrhiza glabra into a concentrated, intensely flavored dark extract. It is naturally bittersweet, earthy, and aromatic. It contains glycyrrhizin, a compound around 50 times sweeter than sugar, which gives real licorice its characteristic sweetness without excessive sugar content.
Anise oil, by contrast, comes from an entirely different plant, Pimpinella anisum or star anise (Illicium verum). The aroma is similar to licorice at low concentrations, which is why it works as a substitute in cheap candy production. But the flavor profile is fundamentally different: anise oil is brighter, sharper, and one-dimensional. It does not have the earthy bitterness, the natural sweetness, or the complexity of real licorice root extract.
Artificial licorice flavoring, used in some American products, is a synthetic approximation of the anise profile. It is further removed from real licorice than anise oil is.
Is Twizzlers Black Licorice Real Licorice?
No. Twizzlers Black lists anise oil as its flavoring agent rather than licorice root extract. By the ingredient definition, Twizzlers Black is anise-flavored candy sold under the licorice name, a common and longstanding practice in the American confectionery market. The flavor is recognizably "licorice-adjacent," but it is not made from licorice root.
This matters because the American licorice experience, formed primarily through Twizzlers, Red Vines Black, and similar products, sets an expectation for what "black licorice" tastes like. That expectation is built on anise oil, not Glycyrrhiza glabra. When people say they don't like black licorice, they often mean they don't like anise-flavored American candy. Swedish black licorice made with real extract can taste entirely different to those people, and frequently does.
Is Good & Plenty Real Licorice?
Closer, but still not equivalent to Swedish licorice. Good & Plenty does contain licorice extract as an ingredient, which places it in a different category from Twizzlers. However, the concentration of licorice extract is low, and artificial flavoring supplements it. The result is a mild, sweet candy with a faint licorice character, nothing approaching the depth, earthiness, or intensity of Swedish black licorice made with high-quality extract.
Is Strawberry Licorice Actually Licorice?
No. Red licorice, Twizzlers Strawberry, Red Vines, and similar products, contains no licorice root and no anise oil. It is fruit-flavored chewy candy in a rope shape that has inherited the "licorice" name purely through its resemblance to black licorice twists. By any ingredient-based definition, strawberry licorice is not licorice at all.
The Salmiak Factor
Beyond the licorice root question, there is a second major difference: salmiak. Swedish black licorice frequently contains ammonium chloride, known in Scandinavia as salmiak, a mineral salt that creates a sharp, intensely savory edge with no equivalent in American candy. No mainstream American licorice product contains salmiak. It is entirely absent from the US candy tradition.
Salmiak is what makes Swedish licorice genuinely surprising to American palates, not just the presence of real licorice root, but the addition of a salt that behaves unlike ordinary salt and amplifies the licorice character in ways that take some getting used to. For a full explanation of what salmiak is and how it works, see What Is Salmiak? The Science of Ammonium Chloride in Candy.
Texture and Format
American licorice tends to be soft, pliable, and uniform in shape, typically twisted ropes or strings. Swedish licorice comes in a much wider range of formats: small rounds, diamonds, coins, tubes, fish shapes, and irregular pieces. Textures range from soft and gummy to firm and dense. Some pieces have powdered or crystalline surfaces from salmiak coating. The variety in Swedish licorice reflects a more sophisticated confectionery tradition built around the ingredient rather than the shape.
Which Should You Try?
If you want real licorice, with the depth, complexity, and character of the actual plant, Swedish black licorice is in a different category from anything made with artificial flavoring. The most useful approach for the curious is simply to try both back-to-back. Start with something gentle from the Swedish end, Sweet Swedish Bastards are designed exactly for this introduction, and form your own opinion.
For the full guide to Swedish black licorice, see Swedish Black Licorice: The Complete Guide. For more on real vs artificial licorice ingredients, see Natural vs. Artificial Licorice: What's Actually in Your Candy?