Hershey's First New Flavor In 22 Years Technically Isn't Chocolate At All

Nobody does candy quite like Hershey's; so it only make sense that for the creation of their first new bar in over two decades, they went for something that would glitter like gold — literally. The new Hershey's bar is gold, and your tastebuds won't believe it. Here's what we know so far about Hershey's Gold.

The caramelized creme bar is made with crushed peanuts and pretzels, making for the tastiest and most perfect combination. It's sweet but salty, smooth but textured. While it comes from the infamous chocolate company, the gold bar ironically doesn't actually contain any chocolate. It's so good, it doesn't even need it. Gold is simply delicious, golden, creamy caramel. It took Hershey's more than 18 months to develop and test, and its official debut is today — November 1 — although it looks like it won't be available in stores nationwide until December 1. If you think this belongs on your Christmas gift list, you would be correct.

It's kind of a BFD, because Hershey's doesn't release new variations of their traditional bar very often. Hershey's Special Dark was released in 1939. That was an especially joyous celebration since dark chocolate is good for you, meaning you can eat twice as much and it's totally okay. After that came the positively orgasmic cookies and cream variation in 1995. Similar to the Gold bar, the cookies and cream flavor also is not made of chocolate (although it has chocolate elements in it). So, the Gold bar marks only the fourth time in the history of Hershey's that they've released a new version of their traditional milk chocolate bar.

In other words, this isn't the first time Hershey's has ventured into new territory, although it might be their most adventurous creation yet.

There's even more to it than that, though. There's a reason Hershey's picked November 1 as Gold's debut: we're 100 days out from the Winter Games, which starts early February and will be held in Pyeongchang, South Korea. This will be Hershey's second time being an official sponsor of the U.S. Olympic Committee, and Hershey's Gold helps celebrate the event in a unique and exciting way.

When the events get rolling, be sure to keep an eye on Hershey's Twitter page: they'll be tweeting out links to Gold bar coupons every time someone from the U.S. wins a gold medal. I don't mean to put any pressure on the athletes, but... let's see some big wins, please and thank you. I need more gold in my life.

Candy lovers are already going wild for Hershey's Gold, particularly the younger crowd. According to Jim St. John, who's been with Hershey's for 15 years and works in R&D, Gold is especially popular with millennials... obviously — we have excellent taste in candy bars, and food in general, really. I mean, let's be honest: we were the ones who discovered how amazing avocados are. You're welcome.

According to the brand, consumers were ready for something new and exciting. That, plus the growing popularity of texture-rich candy, led Hershey's straight back to the candy lab to come up with what would become the new Gold bar — something that took many iterations to get just right. Mission accomplished, friends.

Now, Hershey's is all about Gold on their Twitter page, using the hashtag #tastethegold and sharing tweets from some of their sponsored athletes, like Simone Biles and Apolo Anton Ohno. Look how excited they are for Hershey's Gold. You should be too.

Mark your calendars, because December will be here before you know it. These bad boys will make excellent stocking stuffers.