Though these throat and chest sweets have been around for many years (Established in 1907), I have never tried them before..until now.
The reason being, I have read so many positive reviews recently about them that when I was in Superdrug yesterday I decided to by a packet, as my throat was starting to hurt and I wanted something to help soothe and relief my symptoms before it escalated into something far nastier (so far, so good it's just at the *sore* level and not at the *agonizing to swallow* level just yet).

Though these come in a variety of flavours (apparently), I have only seen these - 'Original Soothing Menthol Sweets in Aniseed & Eucalyptus' up to press and so it is this particular variety I am reviewing.

The 'sweets' come in an old fashioned looking sweetie bag which is mainly black with white lettering and a bit of gold thrown in for extra garnish. I can't comment on the packaging of other flavours but I am presuming they differently coloured to reflect the flavours.

Each 100g pack contains approximately 15 sweets - well that's how many were in mine - and they are all individually wrapped, which again is in an old fashioned sweet design. I do actually like this image as it indicates that these have been around for a long time so are to be trusted that they work.

The sweets themselves are about 1 inch in length and are oval in shape. These aniseed and Eucalyptus flavoured ones are a deep liquorice black in colour and have a very pleasant smell - that's before I've even opened the packet.

My experience of these is a very positive one and I'm disappointed in myself for not trying these sooner! On removing the transparent sweet wrapper the scent is quite a strong aniseed that has a distinctive 'throat sweet' smell to it.

This states on the bag of the pack that "...Once tasted they will be your favourite soothing sweet.."
So what did I think?

I must admit to be very impressed with the effects on my throat these have had. The sweet itself feels very sticky when removed from the wrapper and has the same consistency once you start to suck it. At the risk of this review sounding like the script from a 70's soft porn film, I found the sweet to feel rather large in my mouth and did struggle to suck it (sorry that just sounds so wrong!), but once the sweet started to dissolve I found it easier and found the aniseed flavour to be very palatable, though I can't really tell eucalyptus is used.

The sweet doesn't have a runny centre like Halls Soothers or Lockets for example, but it does have mouth watering tendencies which seems to work well at soothing my poor throat.

These are suitable for vegetarians and the particular packet I bought has a use by date of May 2012 so they have a very good shelf life if bought and not eaten immediately.

Would I recommend them?
I'd say definitely Yes. They have a very strong menthol flavour that seems to clear a stuffy nose whilst the aniseed flavour is very soothing on the throat. Once the sweet has fully dissolved you are left with a strong menthol aftertaste for quite a while so the sweet in actual fact keeps on working.

Though they do seem large and cumbersome, these really are one of the nicest throat sweets I've tried. I'm not sure just how effective they would be on a severe sore throat, but for an *average* one they certainly soothe and bring some relief.

A 100g packet at Superdrug costs a mere 59p - I just wish I'd tried them sooner.

I don't normally list ingredients but these do contain both Sugar and Glucose Syrup amongst the list, so Diabetics be aware.

For more information go to www.jakemans.com