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Drumstick lollies
Raspberry and milk flavours on a stick, chewy rather than hard. The Drumstick has been made in New Mills, Derbyshire, since 1957.
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The Drumstick is a lolly with a difference: instead of a hard boiled sweet, it is chewy, and it comes in two flavours, milk and raspberry. It has been made by Swizzels in Derbyshire since 1957.
What a Drumstick is
A Drumstick is a chewy lolly about 5 centimetres long, on a stick, with two flavours, milk and raspberry. There have been many special editions over the years, including a lime and orange version that is still made. Drumsticks are now vegan.
The Swizzels story
The Drumstick's maker, Swizzels, began in the early 1920s on a market stall in Hackney, London, where two brothers, Maurice and Alfred Matlow, sold jellied sweets. In 1928 they built a small factory in east London and became known as Matlow Brothers, making jellies and chews. In 1933 they merged with a rival factory owner, David Dee, who specialised in fizzy compressed tablet sweets, though the company only officially became Swizzels Matlow in 1975.
In 1940 the Blitz forced the business to move north, to a disused wick factory in New Mills, Derbyshire, where it still is today. Parma Violets arrived in 1946, Love Hearts in 1954 and Drumsticks in 1957. See Love Hearts and Parma Violets.
More Drumsticks
The Drumstick has grown into a family. In 2012 Swizzels launched Drumstick Squashies, soft foam like chewy sweets with the same flavour as the lolly, followed by many other Squashies flavours. In 2020 came a Drumstick chocolate bar: milk chocolate with a raspberry and milk flavoured filling and pieces of freeze dried raspberry.
A changing recipe
Swizzels has changed its recipes over the years. It phased out hydrogenated fats in 2004 and stopped using artificial flavourings in 2009. The company employs around 600 people, exports about a fifth of what it makes to more than 20 countries, mostly in Europe, and its busiest time of year is Halloween.
Lollies in Britain
The Drumstick is one of a long line of British lollies. For the story of the lolly itself, see lollipops and how are lollipops made?.
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Questions and answers
When did Drumstick lollies come out?
Swizzels introduced the Drumstick in 1957, three years after Love Hearts.
What flavour is a Drumstick lolly?
The original Drumstick has two flavours, milk and raspberry. Special editions have included lime and orange.
Are Drumstick lollies vegan?
Swizzels' Drumsticks are now vegan. Always check the current pack for ingredients and allergy advice.
Sources
- Swizzels, Wikipedia
- Love Hearts, Wikipedia
Keep reading
- British heritage sweetsLove HeartsLove Hearts are tablet sweets printed with messages like Be Mine, made by Swizzels in Derbyshire since 1954. They grew from Victorian message sweets.
- British heritage sweetsParma VioletsParma Violets are violet flavoured tablet sweets made by Swizzels in Derbyshire since 1946. People either love the floral taste or say it is like eating soap.
- Sweet by sweetLollipopsLollipops are hard sweets on a stick. Their history, from medieval sugar on sticks to Dalí's Chupa Chups logo, and why the creamy ones contain milk.
- How it is madeHow are lollipops made?Lollipops are sugar and corn syrup cooked almost dry, flavoured, kneaded, rolled into a rope and pressed onto sticks at over 1,000 a minute, then wrapped.
- British heritage sweetsRefreshersRefreshers are two British sweets: fizzy tablets first sold by Trebor in 1935, now a Barratt sweet, and Swizzels' chewy, sherbet filled New Refreshers.
- British heritage sweetsOld fashioned sweets: the A to ZAn A to Z of old fashioned British sweets, from acid drops and aniseed balls to Wham bars and yellowman, with a line on each and a link to its full story.