We Tried Retro Sours To See How They Compare To The Original Altoids Sours. Fans Won't Be Disappointed

There's no denying that 2000's nostalgia is in full swing and permeating every facet of 2020's culture, from toys like Polly Pocket and Tamagotchi to entertainment and food. Even McDonald's jumped on the nostalgic bandwagon in August 2024, releasing collectible cups with throwback themes, including Beanie Babies and Hello Kitty. We'll know we've reached peak 2000's nostalgia when Heinz re-releases its wildly unnaturally-colored line of EZ Squirt ketchup. But for those of us who have been around long enough to remember it first-hand, another bold treat stands out — a startlingly sour beacon in the midst of the breath mint boom of the early 2000's — Altoids Sours.

Even though the sweet-and-sour hard candies have been off the market for more than a decade, they remain deeply ingrained in the consciousness of millennials everywhere. Unable to shake the strong sense memory of the original candies and noticing that there was a widespread call for the return of Altoids' sour candy offering, Iconic Candy created the newly launched Retro Sours, which are the closest we've come to tasting that familiar acidic punch in nearly 14 years.

Available in recognizable citrus, tangerine, and mango flavors, Retro Sours hit store shelves this month, and I had to know how they compare to the candies of my teenage dirtbag era. Here's everything you need to know about the newest throwback treat for the new millennium.

When brands discontinue a fan-favorite item that's been around for several years, there's always bound to be some pushback. But given how loud the fervor is over the new Retro Sours, I was curious why Altoids Sours were ever discontinued in the first place. The sour candies initially hit the market in 2001 and remained a mainstay on candy aisles for nine years until their eventual discontinuation in 2010. While they were a bit of a departure from the "curiously strong mints" that made Altoids famous, the brand churned out several new products in the late 90's through the 2000's. In the years following the release of Altoids Sours, the brand also released several flavors of sugar-free chewing gum and Altoids Strips — breath-freshening strips that were created to go toe-to-toe with Listerine's incredibly popular Breath Strips.

In the 14 years since Altoids halted the production of its sour candies, there have been petitions for their return, TikTok videos reminiscing about them, sales of long-expired tins on eBay, homemade recipes for people to try and recreate themselves, and more than one copycat candy brand trying to recreate the same magic. In an effort to get some answers, Bustle reached out to Altoids' parent company Mars Wrigley in 2015, asking why Altoids Sours were discontinued. The answer is both surprising and predictable: there simply wasn't enough demand, and the candies were no longer selling as well as they once had. "They were discontinued due to low national demand," a customer service representative told Bustle. "If a product is not selling particularly well, unfortunately, we sometimes have to discontinue it."

In all of the excitement surrounding the launch of Iconic Candy's Retro Sours, there have been some contradictory reports about how close the new sour candies are to the original candies created by Altoids. Before the official announcement by Iconic Candy, several popular social media accounts like Snackolator and Snackbetch alleged that Retro Sours were simply rebranded Altoid Sours, with the recipe purchased and recreated verbatim by a different company. As it turns out, Iconic Candy did not purchase the original recipe from Altoids, nor are the Retro Sours made with the same exact ingredients.

Thanks in large part to fans of the original candies who still collect the tins, I was able to compare the ingredients of each candy side-by-side. The Altoids Tangerine Sours list sugar, corn syrup, citric acid, malic acid, natural flavor, carnauba wax, red 40, and yellow 5 as the ingredients. In comparison, the Iconic Candy Tangerine Retro Sours ingredients list includes sugar, glucose syrup (which is made with corn), malic acid, water, citric acid, natural flavor, artificial flavor, and yellow 6. So it's clear that while the flavor of Retro Sours is heavily inspired by the Altoids Sours, the candies aren't exact replicas of the originals. In fact, recreating the three nostalgic flavors Iconic Candy is launching took roughly 30 trials per flavor, over the course of two years, with 1,500 taste-testers to get just right.

On July 11, Iconic Candy took to its Instagram account to give the world a sneak peek at its new Retro Sours candies, including photos of both the box and familiar sour candy tins the candies are packaged in. Word must have spread quickly, because the very next day, Altoids took to its own Instagram account with a mockup of an email from the social media manager to "THE-DECISION-MAKER@ALTOIDS.COM," asking how many likes it would take to bring Altoids Sours back.

The post caption somewhat tangentially stated, "Years later and we're still in demand..." but the image itself more directly includes the note, "P.S. Thanks to a ~certain someone~ legal says, 'shall go unnamed' our comments are flooded demanding... INTENSITY." One user took the candy company to task in the comments, saying, "So you're aware but unwilling..shameful," to which the verified Altoids account responded, "we are working on it!"

Off of social media, official reports from Mars Wrigley are less optimistic. As recently as September 10, TODAY.com reported that a representative of the candy manufacturer stated via email that the original Altoids Sours would not be making a comeback, and once again made clear that Mars Wrigley was not involved in the development or distribution of Iconic Candy's new Retro Sours. So, for now, the Retro Sours are about as close as fans will get to the O.G. candies they love so much.

At the moment, your best bet for finding Iconic Candy's new Retro Sours is to head to the candy store — specifically one of the 113 IT'SUGAR locations in the continental U.S., which is one of the first and only vendors selling the sour candies. I was able to find all three flavors in stock at the Times Square store location in NYC, although supply was limited, and it was clear that the mango flavor was selling quickly. The candies are also available through the IT'SUGAR website, but at the time of this writing, all three flavors of the Retro Sours are sold out. The candies sold out online within minutes, but you can join the waitlist to be notified when they're available again. The candies are packaged in aluminum tins that are nearly identical to the original Altoids Sours, and each tin costs about $5 before tax, both online and in-store.

By the end of September 2024, Cracker Barrel restaurants are also slated to start selling the sour candies in the Old Country Store. However, it's unclear if the candies will also be available on the Cracker Barrel store website. In October, Retro Sours will be available on Amazon and more widely online, just in time for trick-or-treaters of every age to enjoy.

Regardless of which flavor you think was the best, there are a few key details that everyone agrees on about the original candies, including how intensely sour the powdery finish was — making even the most resilient sour candy lover pucker up and wait for the highly acidic bite to pass, giving way to the sweet, fruity, hard candy underneath.

On top of the hard-hitting bitterness, the candies were known for their bumpy raspberry-like shape. While in the grips of the candy's acidic bite, the urge to press them up to the roof of your mouth with your tongue was almost reflexive. It only takes a handful of sours before the roof of your mouth begins to pay the price, becoming irritated or even scratched. That, plus the inevitable canker sores from the highly acidic candies, were practically the defining features of Altoids Sours.

The new Retro Sours manage to reignite every single one of those core memories instantly, from the first soul-curdling acidic taste to the damaged roof of your mouth after having just a few candies. The sweet, fruity reward of the candies underneath is just as satisfying as it was 20 years ago, and I'm still just as partial to the mango sours as I was back in high school. Being older and wiser, though, I'm glad to stop munching on these nostalgic candies long before they burn a hole in my tongue.