It seems that lots of my cereal reviews start off with an admission akin to, "I don't usually give (whatever cereal) the credit it deserves.  Then I eat it and am glad I got it."  So I guess that can be my catch phrase.

I don't usually give Honeycomb the credit it deserves.  Then I eat it and am glad I got it.

Hmm, not as catchy as I'd hoped.

While confirming the actual spelling of Honeycomb, it became clear that Post isn't particularly strict about presenting the cereal's name.  I always thought Honeycomb was one word, but the box indicates it is "Honey-Comb".  But according to Post's web site, it is indeed Honeycomb.  So on the box, they broke one of the main rules of professional writing - avoid that dangling hyphen thing.  Oddly enough, "dangling hyphen thing" is the actual term.

What an exciting paragraph that was!

I saw the "Limited Time Only!" and was confused.  Then I noticed the almost subtle "With Twisted Marshmallows" subtitle, and was even more confused.  Why would they add marshmallows to this?  Honeycomb's cereal pieces are gigantic - they are probably the biggest pieces of any cereal.  So are the marshmallows going to be as big as quarters to keep pace, or are they going to be regular-sized cereal pieces lost amidst the monstrous Honeycomb pieces?

What was also surprising was the box's design - usually when a cereal comes out with a limited-edition variety, the box design gets a dramatic makeover.  Instead, Honeycomb was chill about it, content to just add a little line at the bottom to let you know what's up.  There are also marshmallows flying around, but they're almost camouflaged. 

In retrospect, I don't even remember seeing regular Honeycombs on the shelf - only this.  So is this "limited time only" edition taking the place of Honeycomb completely, albeit temporarily?  It is extremely possible that I just forgot to look closely for the regular version.  I'll let you in on a little secret - my reviews don't have the most stringent of guidelines and aren't the most disciplined.  This might also help explain why this site clearly hasn't been re-designed since the year 2000.

So the official answer on whether or not the marshmallow version has temporarily replaced the regular version altogether is - "maybe, I don't know - it's possible".

Again, the biggest question for all of this is, "Why?"  Some cereals seem like they don't need marshmallows, but wind up being pretty solid - Froot Loops, Apple Jacks, and other examples I don't feel like remembering at this moment.  But Honeycomb?  It makes about as much sense as adding marshmallows to Frosted Mini-Wheats.  But then again, they did get me to buy a box, which I probably wouldn't have otherwise, so I have no real room to talk.

Pouring the cereal, I was (again) confused - I didn't see any marshmallows.  Upon closer inspection, I found some of the saddest looking marshmallows you will ever see.  They are about 1/6 the size of the cereal pieces, and colored in this tan and slightly tanner tan color scheme.  They look expired.

When I did my reviews of expired cereals, many of the old marshmallows looked similar to Honeycomb's marshmallows.  Which, as you may have guessed, is not a compliment.

This is Pokemon cereal from 2000, eaten in the year 2012 - look how much more vibrant and appetizing they look, as compared to these:

So visually, the cereal is not a home run for Honeycomb. 

As for the overall taste and eating experience - it's like eating a bowl of Honeycomb cereal, except once in a while something feels different while chewing and tastes sort of different, but you're not sure why.

I'm not saying it isn't a good cereal - it is.  It's just a strange and very unnecessary change, especially given how unappealing the marshmallows look.  Speaking again of the marshmallows, that "Twisted Marshmallows" claim on the box is a bit of a sham.  I was initially expecting something shaped like a little Twizzlers Pull 'N' Peels.  

Instead, we get little hexagons with a swirl on it.  Twisted marshmallows?  More like swirled marshmallows!  I feel sorry for Post after that burn.

So the marshmallows are pointless and rather unappealing to look at, but the gigantic Honeycomb pieces crush the marshmallow sadness, and make for a standard enjoyable Honeycomb experience.

While visually the marshmallows aren't a home run, the overall cereal-eating experience is "a foul ball that goes into the crowd and hits a little kid in the head and he's bleeding and crying but the team gives him some autographed memorabilia to make him feel better so in the end it's a pretty good deal for the kid."  Or something like that.

[insert "sure, why not?" seal of approval here]