Licorice divides a room. Some people pass it over every time, and others go looking for it in any candy aisle they walk into. If you are in the second group, this page is for you.
It covers the Licorice flavor of Pine Brothers softish throat drops, which the product copy describes simply as "for people who love licorice." You will find what the drop tastes like, how it compares to the other four flavors, and where to buy it.
A flavor people have an opinion about
Few candy flavors get as strong a reaction as licorice. Fans tend to know exactly what they like: the deep, sweet, slightly herbal taste of black licorice, as opposed to the red candy ropes that share the name and taste of fruit.
The Pine Brothers Licorice drop is for the black licorice crowd. The product copy says the flavor is for people who love licorice, and that is a fair description: if you already like licorice, you will know within a few seconds whether this drop is for you.
What the Licorice drop tastes like
The taste is dark and sweet, with the herbal note people expect from black licorice. It starts gently as the drop softens and grows fuller over the first minute or so. Because Pine Brothers drops contain no menthol, there is no cooling blast on top of the licorice. You get the licorice flavor on its own, and it stays steady as the drop gets smaller.
That steadiness comes partly from the texture. Pine Brothers drops are softish: somewhere between a hard lozenge and a firm gummy. A softish drop gives when you press it instead of cracking like a hard candy, and as it warms it softens and releases flavor slowly.
Licorice as a long-loved candy flavor
Licorice has been a candy flavor for a very long time, and it turns up in many forms: twists and ropes, small sugar-shelled pieces, hard candies, pastilles kept in a tin. For plenty of people it is the flavor of a grandparent's candy dish or of a particular corner store.
That history is part of why licorice fans can be particular. They have tried a lot of licorice over the years and have a clear idea of what it should taste like. A licorice throat drop has to taste like licorice first, and the Pine Brothers version keeps that flavor at the center.
Pine Brothers itself has been making drops in America since 1870, so licorice sits comfortably in a lineup with that kind of history. You can read more on the our story page.
How Licorice fits next to the other flavors
Pine Brothers sells five flavors, and they cover quite different tastes:
- Wild Cherry, described as "zesty and refreshing," for fruit candy fans.
- Real Honey, "a traditional favorite," which you can also drop in your hot tea.
- Sugar Free Wild Cherry, for people who prefer a sugar free drop.
- Elderberry, "a European inspired flavor," with a darker berry taste.
- Licorice, "for people who love licorice."
Licorice is the one that isn't fruit or honey. It works well as the second flavor in a household where one person likes cherry and another can't get enough licorice. In a mixed case for an office, it gives the licorice fans on the team something of their own, so they don't have to pick through the cherry.
All five flavors have the same softish texture and none of them contain menthol, so switching between them is only a change of taste.
What goes into the drop
The product page lists three key ingredients that make up 51% of each drop: 39% gum acacia, 9% real honey and 3% plant glycerin. Gum acacia is the sap of the acacia tree, also known as gum arabic, and it is what gives the drop its body. There is more about it in What is gum acacia?
Pine Brothers drops are gluten free, and the pack carries the "GF Gluten Free" mark. Each bag holds about 30 drops.
When a licorice drop fits the day
A licorice drop is a good companion for slow, steady tasks: an afternoon of reading, a long drive, an evening of grading papers or answering email. The flavor is strong enough to notice but doesn't rush you. Because the drop is soft, it is also quiet. You can keep one in your cheek during a call without the clicking that comes with hard candy.
If you are trying Licorice for the first time, start with one drop and let it soften fully before deciding. The flavor is at its fullest a minute or two in.
What to look for in a softish drop
Not every throat drop is built the same way, and if licorice is the flavor you want, the texture still matters as much as the taste. Here is what to check when you pick one up.
Press it. A softish drop gives under your thumb. A hard lozenge does not budge, and it tends to crack or splinter when you finally bite it. Pine Brothers drops sit between a hard lozenge and a firm gummy, so they soften as they warm instead of shattering.
Listen to it. Hard candy clicks against your teeth and the inside of your cheek. A softish drop is quiet, which is why it works during a call or a meeting where nobody wants to hear you working on a piece of candy.
Read the flavor line. Some drops lead with a cooling agent and let the flavor sit behind it. Pine Brothers drops contain no menthol, so the flavor you chose is the flavor you get, from the first minute to the last. There is a longer explanation in menthol free throat drops.
Check how it wears down. A good drop holds its flavor as it shrinks instead of going bland halfway through. That slow release is tied to the texture, and we go into the details in why texture matters more than you think in a throat drop.
If you remember a chewier drop from years ago, that memory is not wrong. The soft, slow-melting style has been around a long time, and there is more on it in the chewy drop you remember.
Who tends to keep licorice within reach
Some flavors suit certain jobs. Licorice tends to land with people who talk for a living and want something steady rather than sweet.
Teachers often keep a bag in a desk drawer. A dry classroom in winter and hours of talking add up, and a drop that does not demand attention fits between classes. Coaches and trainers like the same thing on a long practice day. Singers and public speakers reach for a drop before a set, partly to keep the mouth from going dry during a long passage.
Salespeople and anyone on back-to-back calls tend to favor a quiet drop, for the reason above: no clicking on the line. Nurses and flight attendants work in dry air all shift and often cannot step away, so a drop they can keep in a cheek without fuss earns its place. Podcasters and creators sit somewhere between the singer and the teacher, talking for an hour or more into a microphone that picks up every stray sound.
If that list sounds like your week, there is a fuller look at these groups in why singers, teachers and public speakers swear by Pine Brothers. Licorice is simply one flavor in that lineup, the one for people who already know they like it.
A note for the cold months
Late fall and winter are when most people think about throat care. Indoor heating dries the air, more people around you are under the weather, and holiday travel puts you in recycled cabin air for hours. A bag in your bag, or a case in the office kitchen, is a small thing that pays off more often in November than in July.
It is also the season when flavors get shared. If you are buying for a household or a team, the five flavors cover a range of tastes, so nobody is stuck with the one they do not like. The Wild Cherry 2-bag and Real Honey 4-bag packs are the two that move fastest around the holidays.
For a gift, a 24-bag case is a practical one, especially for a teacher, a nurse or anyone with a desk and a long winter ahead. Cases come in a single flavor or mixed, and they ship directly from Pine Brothers, as you can see under 24 count cases.
Questions people ask about the Licorice drop
Is the Licorice flavor very strong? It is a true black licorice taste, dark and sweet with the herbal note fans expect. If you like black licorice, it will read as familiar. If you do not, no other flavor in the lineup will change your mind, which is why the other four exist.
What makes these different from a standard lozenge? The texture and the ingredient list. There is a short version on the softish drop that stands out page.
Is there a sugar free option? Yes, though not in licorice. The sugar free drop is Wild Cherry, and you can see it as the Sugar Free Wild Cherry 2-bag pack. If sugar free is a must for you, that is the flavor to start with.
What if I want something less dark? Elderberry is the nearest neighbor, a European inspired berry flavor that is lighter than licorice but still not a bright fruit candy. The Elderberry 2-bag pack is a good way to try it.
How many drops come in a bag? About 30 per bag. Packs come in 2, 4 or 6 bags, and the whole range sits in the shop. If you would rather buy in person, the store finder on the site covers CVS, Walgreens and Target.
A day where a licorice drop earns its keep
Here is what it actually looks like. You are a nurse on a twelve-hour shift. The unit is dry, the hallway is loud, and you have already talked through two handoffs before lunch. At some point you reach into your scrub pocket, take out one drop, and let it sit. It softens, the licorice comes up, and you keep moving. No unwrapping noise, no crunch, no drink you have to carry. When it is gone you go back to talking.
Or you are a teacher in the last week before winter break. The room is warm, the kids are wired, and your voice is doing more work than usual because you are competing with the noise. Between periods you take a minute, put a drop in, and let it slow you down. The flavor is strong enough that it pulls your attention off the scratch in your voice and onto something pleasant, which is most of the point.
Or you are driving. Two hours of highway, a podcast on, a coffee that went cold an hour ago. A licorice drop lasts through a good stretch of that, and because it does not crack or click, you are not fidgeting with it at every light. You finish the drive with a flavor you liked instead of a sore jaw.
The pattern across all three is the same. Licorice is not a sweet, bright flavor, so it suits the parts of a day that are not bright either: the long shifts, the dry rooms, the quiet stretches behind the wheel. That is a narrow lane, and it is exactly the lane the flavor was made for.
Buying Licorice
Licorice comes in packs of 2, 4 or 6 bags, which ship from Amazon's fulfillment network. For an office or studio, a 24-bag case comes in a single flavor or mixed, and cases ship directly from Pine Brothers.
You can order the Licorice 4-bag pack, see every flavor in softish packs, or check the store finder for a shop near you.