Smålänningar!

we initially found these incredibly gross, as they smelled exactly like the men's urinal in a seedy bar or club, with the sinus burning and everything (yes--eww).
I remembered the feedback from a couple of reviews I'd first read, and decided I'd jyst remove the lid. I placed a thin layer I split from a 2-ply paper towel over the opening and secured it with a rubber band, to let the ammonia escape, and found these candies much improved the next day--and each new day since.

so, as I am eating one, now, I am greeted by the thin, subtly salty exterior of a not too hard, hard candy (it's actually much softer than you think it will be, with an interesting, crumbly texture). this slight, and not at all unpleasant whisp of fine salt gives way to a sweetly medicinal liquorice center that I find I am truly enjoying and.. DOH! there's that pocket of piss in the center again, and then the center crumbles away into tiny, odd little blocks? with sometimes one lingering little micro-mini hard liquorice candy remaining on your tongue at the end.

such an odd experience.
I could have done without that last puff of pee at the end, Haupt, but overall, I do not hate these little candies. I appreciate the clean ingredients, and keep reaching for another, in spite of myself.

Make these without the pee, or formulate different flavors of these, and we'll buy them with frequency.

I have always appreciated serious licorice and it is wonderful discovering the variety available from Haupt Lakrits. I have tried 5 of their products and have enjoyed all of them so far but have particularly liked the Salted Carmel and the Smalanningar. This is not ordinary licorice!

As a licorice aficionado, I believe the Smålänningar licorice is the best! The peppers make all the difference in the world.