one of my favorite, old skool/semi-obscure candies is Choward's Violet Mints. i know what you're thinking: violet and mint, two great tastes that go great together? well, to be fair, i think the "Mint" part refers only to the vaguely breath-freshening aspect and not to any actual mint flavor.

for me, the fascination with these starts with the fact that they smell INCREDIBLE. i'm not sure if they smell like actual violets so much as a tray of fancy guest soaps, or maybe the inside of an old lady's purse, but i simply (100% unironically) adore it. i would gladly use these as an air freshener if they weren't made of candy and might eventually attract a horde of insects.

but they really do taste good, too-- mostly just sweet, with a light floral essence and a pleasantly chalky texture. i would caution you against eating more than one or two at a time, though, as the flavor kind of builds into something overwhelmingly perfumey that might leave you with a bit of a tummy ache.

i see from the website that they also offer mints in a few other flavors, but i've yet to see these on store shelves so i've never tried 'em. anyone have any comments?