Hot Week: The Search for Nerds Hot N’ Cold!

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For today’s Cinnamon Hot Week entry I’m going to do something a little different and discuss a product I’ve yet to find much information on and one that remains a delicious and elusive mystery; Nerds Hot N’ Cold!

According to those that remember them, Nerds Hot N’ Cold were a hot cinnamon / cool peppermint edition of Willy Wonka’s Nerds candy released for a short time during the late 1980’s.

Typically here on CollectingCandy.com I approach a topic only after I’ve been able to dig up at least a few solid facts or images of a piece, but today I have none of that to share.  Instead, the only information I have on Nerds Hot N’ Cold are the anecdotal comments left on various websites by those that remember them fondly.

So in order to craft today’s post, I created a mock-up in Photoshop of what a Nerds Hot N’ Cold box might have looked like, using an existing 1980’s Nerds box from my collection.  Here it is:

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Willy Wonka’s Nerds Hot and Cold 1980’s candy box – CollectingCandy mock-up

While there is no hard information and not a single actual packaging image to share today on Nerds Hot N’ Cold, I’m hoping that by including them in our Cinnamon Hot Week coverage, it might bring something new to the surface.  Perhaps today’s post will scare up additional reminiscences or a packaging photo or maybe even an actual example of a Nerds Hot N’ Cold box?  That’s my hope, anyway.

If anyone out there can help shine some light on the Nerds Hot N’ Cold mystery, please drop us a line, or leave a comment at the bottom of this post.

For today, the search for Nerds Hot N’ Cold is just beginning.

And that’s everything for today’s post.  See you next time!

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This post was a part of CollectingCandy.com’s Cinnamon Hot Week!

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About Jason Liebig

A New York City based writer, editor and sometimes actor. After spending much of the 1990′s in the comic book business helping tell the stories of Marvel Comics’ X-Men as series editor, he has since split his time between developing his own entertainment properties while still consulting and working on others. Having been described as “the Indiana Jones of lost and forgotten candy”, Jason is one of the country’s premier candy collectors and historians with his discoveries appearing in countless blogs, magazines, newspaper articles, and books. Always happy to share his knowledge and unique perspectives on this colorful part of our popular culture, Jason has consulted with New York’s Museum of Food and Drink and has also been a featured guest on Food Network’s Heavyweights, France’s M6 Capital, and New York’s TheActionRoom.com. My Google Profile+
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12 Responses to Hot Week: The Search for Nerds Hot N’ Cold!

  1. Kevin says:

    I have vague memories of this Nerds variant. I was only around 7 years old at the time it was available in retail stores, but if I remember correctly the “cool” side was wintergreen. (But I’ll be the first to admit my memories of this are hazy at best.) This is a great example of the early golden age of Wonka; when the company experimented with interesting flavor sets that deviated from the standard cherry, grape, orange, and lemon that saturate the market today.

    Great mockup! It looks so authentic that I honestly thought it was a real wrapper. Really enjoying your hot cinnamon week.

    • jasonliebig says:

      Thanks for sharing your recollection of these, Kevin!

      So in your hazy memory, was the “cold” side of the box a green color (due to the wintergreen), rather than the blue I guessed?

      I realize with memories this old you can’t be certain. Even so, it’s interesting to know what folks think they remember, so perhaps with enough similar shared memories we may come to some consensus of what these actually looked like.

  2. luke says:

    Wow cool, I’ve never seen or heard of these before…would love to see the actual package!

  3. I don’t remember these either. Is there a list of all the variations of Nerds candy that has been released over the years? I know I always try to grab them when I see a new box or a new flavor. I’d love to see a list, or better yet, pictures of all the boxes together. Maybe then we can track down some pics of these mysterious flavors….

  4. Paul Falcon says:

    I remember these from little league baseball concession stands when I was about 8 years old (late 80s). The packaging color in my memory was like a paid of 3D glasses: tealish blue and red. Cinnamon and wintergreen, and I remember liking the wintergreen best. If I have the date wrong, I’m sorry, I do recall Pee-wee’s playhouse Saturdays on CBS if that connects any dots.

  5. Jessica says:

    I have fond memories of these Nerds. The cool side was most definitely wintergreen (I hate peppermint). I used to buy them on Boblo Island and they were occasionally available at my local Perry Drug Store. Maybe some day we will see them on the shelf again!

  6. bina says:

    I remember these.
    My little sister and I would take our allowance and walk to the nearby liquor store and buy as many hot cold nerds we could and split them. She liked the cold. I liked the hot.

  7. Pingback: 1989’s “Now Plumper” Nerds! Plus: Hot and Cool Nerds Revisited!! | CollectingCandy.com

  8. Sophie says:

    I definitely remember these and have been asking in candy stores for years. Seems like very few people do remember them. I think the “cool” side of the package was a blue pretty close to your mockup. Hope you find something, I’m so curious as to why no one remembers these!

  9. I remember these like it was yesterday. It was likely the late 80s, Early 90s. Me and my brother would often get dropped off at the Port Hueneme YMCA, and we would always go next door to the small liquor store. They ALWAYS had these. I loved all candies Cinnamon and my little brother was in a weird Mint phase ( he would eat toothpaste?!?) so we would split the box. I think it was like 45 cents.

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