Candy Girls: Happy candyversary!

A year ago, we came to you with a simple pink maltball that tasted like Barbie, and the Candy Girls were born. In addition to this momentous anniversary, Aubrey has even bigger news to commemorate with the birth of her baby boy last night! What better way to celebrate the concurrence of these events than with a cigar. Chocolate, of course.

We picked up these beauties at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory in Writer's Square. They're the only Thompson-brand candy the shop sells. "That company's been around longer than we've existed," a store employee told us as we picked up a couple of blue-banded beauties.

The fun lies in the packaging, which is pretty outstanding. We're not cigar aficionados, but we do like our chocolate, and appreciate the whimsy of these in lieu of the real deal. Once unwrapped, the cigar reveals wrinkles etched into the chocolate, making the whole thing look...a little...um, deserving of the "It's a Boy" cigar band. Best not to examine it too closely, and focus instead on holding it in the corner of your mouth while practicing lines like, "Now see here..." in an old-timey movie voice.

The cigar is hollow and the milk chocolate is good, but not earth-shattering. Still, it would make the perfect gift for any new parent.

Would we finish the cigar? Sure sure!
Would we buy again? Yes; a fun way to celebrate without ruining your lungs
Rating: 4 out of 5

Want to take a sweet walk down memory lane? Best of a year of Candy Girls after the jump.

We tasted our way through delicious local treats like Diedrich's pecan blueberry dark chocolate, amazing caramel apples from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, chocolate by Mary Carol we tasted during our session with the Chocolate Therapist, gorgeous Desidero chocolates that were almost too pretty to eat, perfection in the form of peanut brittle from Urban Pantry, and faintingly good chocolate and Amarena cherries at Sketch.

There were candies we unexpectedly fell in love with, like Giant Chewy Nerds, the Chunky Bar, and Wild Cherry M&Ms.

We found we have a soft spot for nostalgic treats like the Peanut Chew, Cherry Mash, Rocky Road, and the Zero . Though others (we're looking at YOU Satellite Wafers) seemed to defy all logic and taste by sticking around all these years.

We were on the cutting edge of the Denver fro-yo scene, and checked out some of our city's favorite cupcakes.

And, of course, we ate many vile things, mostly consisting of candy pretending to be something else:

Chocolate Mix Skittles

Sunkist Float Soda

Chewy Candy Cars

Baskin Robbins Soft Candy