Jolly Ranchers Don't All Taste The Same. Here's The Worst Flavor

As sticky, sweet, and colorful as they are, a bag of Jolly Ranchers carries with it the potential for intense debate. While the iconic candy's classic lineup of flavors has remained largely unchanged for decades, fans of the candy often have fierce allegiances to one flavor over all others. Jolly Rancher says watermelon is its most popular flavor, but we have some thoughts about the brand's best and worst varieties.

We tried and ranked nine different Jolly Ranchers and grape was chosen as the worst. We don't dislike grape, but it's the one we leave in the bag for last compared to the other strong flavors in Jolly Rancher's arsenal. Our biggest gripe with grape is that it tastes too artificial. We know many Jolly Rancher flavors taste artificial — including our top pick, cherry. But grape takes the artificial flavor to a higher level in a way that doesn't taste good.

Also, we appreciate the sweet stickiness of Jolly Ranchers, but grape seemed to have an extra gooey, goopy layer that wasn't particularly enjoyable. Compared to the burst of flavor we get from the other varieties, grape is lackluster, which is why we ranked it last. While grape isn't an original Jolly Rancher flavor, it's endured long enough to be part of nearly every other type of Jolly Rancher candy that involves the classic lineup.

While Jolly Rancher's sweet flavors may be largely artificial, contrary to rumor, they don't all taste the same. While a peek at the back of a bag of Jolly Rancher reveals only "natural and artificial flavors" along with corn syrup and dyes, the difference in taste between the flavors is evident the moment they hit the tongue.

While sharp-eyed candy fans have noticed a discrepancy in flavor distribution in some bags, any similarity in taste may be due to one's perception of the candy. Some Jolly Rancher flavors are similar in color — as seen in a bag of Jolly Rancher Awesome Reds — but, as noted by our list, each of the flavors leaves a different impression on the tastebuds.

Grape may not win a lot of Jolly Rancher popularity contests, but the purple-hued, sweet candies still have a devoted following online, even as the flavor of the candy has been described as "purple" and not grape. Devotees of grape Jolly Ranchers can even buy them in bulk on Amazon. They may be last in our rankings, but grape Jolly Ranchers can still be a sweet garnish in a Jolly Rancher cocktail or a colorful addition to a heaping bag of Halloween candy.