Origin: Walmart
Surprise Coupled with Intrigue: after encountering a similar batch at Walmart’s primary competitor, two in one week did seem a bit odd, yes…
So, How’d They Stack Up: No contest – aside from being “technically orange,” that was pretty much the only similarity to pumpkin that I could find.  The had a very vague cinnamon aftertaste to them, but whoever labeled these as Pumpkin Spice obviously never actually tasted them.
Furthermore…: It makes me wonder what some of their other Gourmet Candy Corn varieties actually taste like, seeing as these were part of a bigger display that also featured such extravagantly sounding flavors as Blackberry Cobbler, Creme Brulee, and Apple Cider. Surely these guys couldn’t have an entire line of flavorless “gourmet” candy corn, now could they???
Final Verdict: If you’re looking for quality, head to Target … and that pretty much applies to almost anything…

Level of Excitement: first pumpkin retail purchase of 2009!
Level of Surprise: moderate … not sure how I overlooked these last year, unless they just didn’t exist
Level of Flavor: Not bad.  Admittedly, the pumpkin begins to fade the more of them that you eat, but seeing as how candy corn are pretty much just pure sugar anyways, what do you really expect?!
Gourmet?: Agreed, primarily because they’re larger than the old-fashioned kind that you would traditionally expect from the likes of Brach’s and other such knock-offs.  They’ve also got a nice color to them, so even if you weren’t looking to actually eat these, they might look classy in a nice candy dish or something.
Decorating Tips?  Is That What You’ve Been Reduced to?: Hey, it’s been a slow year…

Origin: some candy shoppe in New York (just guessing that it’s one of those places that calls itself a shoppe instead of a shop)
Gratitude Footnote: This treat was provided by my future in-laws who are quite familiar with my affinity for all things pumpkin and were actually present for last year’s pancake excursion, among others that I failed to photograph.
Commentary: While its darker color may not have made it much to look at, most likely due to the extensive cross-country road trip down, it’s flavor was incredibly sweet and arguably better than Disney’s pumpkin fudge from last weekend.  Its creators did a good job of not only incorporating the pumpkin flavor itself, per se, but also it seems the other spices commonly associated with pumpkin pie (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, etc…).
Final Verdict: future in-laws are awesome, both in pumpkin-related discretions and otherwise

Found At: the Target that I surprisingly haven’t gotten kicked out of for candy voyeurism yet
Taste: good, but not stellar (pumpkin-flavored chocolate is a tricky beast to master)
Worth Noting: This bag sat in my car in the warm Florida sun for several hours before being cracked open, so admittedly they were a little soft.
Recommendable: Indeed – upper end of the scale as far as odd-flavored Hershey’s Kisses are concerned.

Origin: Target candy aisle (getting creepier with every photo taken…)
Thoughts: I appreciate the effort, but in reality these are merely glorified candy corn.  As far as I’m concerned, if it doesn’t taste like pumpkin, it’s just standing in the way of something else that does.

Discovered At: Target
Food for Thought: Peeps are kinda fun to look at, seeing what new shapes and colors they come up with for every season, but I’m not sure that I know of anyone who actually eats these things.
Suggestion: Add flavor.
Suggestion Sub-Note: No, seriously – 99.9% of all Peeps taste exactly the same, but they might actually be able to get some people to eat these things if they tasted more like what they’re intended to resemble!  Case in point, had these been pumpkin-flavored Peeps, I’d have actually purchased them instead of just snapping a quick picture before returning them to the stand.

Origin: Goofy’s Candy Co. @ Downtown Disney – Walt Disney World Resort
Analysis: cookie is merely a sugar cookie dressed up as a pumpkin, but the fudge is the real deal
Conclusion: pumpkin fudge was pretty darned delicious, and despite not being pumpkin-flavored, the cookie was actually pretty good, too