Since 1949, Jolly Rancher candies have carved out a spot in the candy aisle with their bright colors and long-lasting flavor. For nearly as long as Jolly Ranchers have existed, so have cherry Jolly Ranchers, the deep crimson fruity, sugary candies that nestle against their green apple, blue raspberry, apple, and grape brethren in every Jolly Ranchers bag. While Jolly Rancher has proclaimed watermelon its most popular flavor, cherry is one flavor that candy lovers shouldn’t sleep on.
We tried and ranked nine different Jolly Rancher flavors and picked cherry as the best Jolly Rancher flavor. Let us assure you it’s not an easy task because Jolly Rancher’s lineup of flavors is very good. While we fully understand that these cherry goodies don’t necessarily taste like real cherries, that’s why we love them so much. They strike the perfect flavor balance of not too sweet and not too tart, but still unique and enjoyable in their own way.
We also love that the flavor changes once we pop it into our mouth, like a cherry compote or a cherry pie filling in the most delicious ways. It’s sour, it’s tart, it’s sweet and the flavor only gets deeper and more intense as it melts on our tongue. That’s one of the best parts about candy — having flavor so good and so intense that we don’t want it to end.
A reliable, delicious flavor
While cherry may be our favorite Jolly Rancher flavor, fans of the candy may be shocked to learn that it wasn’t one of the original flavors — those honors belong to watermelon, apple, and Fire Stix (cinnamon). Flavors like grape, cherry, and sour apple were introduced a short time later and became staples in every Jolly Rancher bag.
We may not know what goes into Jolly Rancher candies — a look at the ingredient list reveals corn syrup, sugar, and lots of “flavors” — but that’s ok because it’s hard to imagine bags without them. Watermelon Jolly Ranchers may get a brighter spotlight, but cherry is a reliable, delicious flavor that can be found in practically every variation of Jolly Ranchers. That means Jolly Rancher gummy candies, lollipops, sours, popsicles, jelly beans, and even some of the flavor mix versions have cherry candies in them.
There’s no truly bad Jolly Rancher flavor — we ranked grape last, but it’s still pretty solid — but cherry gets top billing from us by a wide margin. It’s a classic flavor and it’s classic for a reason. That sweet, tart, stickiness is a flavor we want to want to enjoy again and again. While limited-time and replacement flavors have come and gone, cherry Jolly Ranchers have been there, like a familiar friend, and we know exactly what we’re getting every time we reach our hands into a bag of these candies.
