Perhaps no honor could be more fitting: To commemorate the 30th anniversary of the King's (alleged?) death this summer, Hershey's has created a candy bar in his name.
"The Elvis Cup" is a limited-edition Reese's peanut butter cup that includes an extra layer with banana creme. A man of unchecked appetites, Presley's saccharine diet involved huge quantities of doughnuts, milkshakes, Jujubes, peanut brittle, Bit-O-Honeys, drums of Pepsi -- and, famously, fried peanut-butter-and-banana sandwiches.
Although not fried, the "Elvis Cup" is a 360-calorie tribute to Presley's notorious duo of pleasures.
"We're pleased to bring the King's favorite combination of peanut butter and bananas to consumers," says Kirk Saville, a spokesman for Hershey's. The makers of Reese's peanut butter cups plan to release the "Elvis Cup" nationwide this month in standard, mini and "The King" sizes. But the candy is already out in a few stores with but a fraction of the iPhone fanfare.
In Abingdon in Harford County, three "King Size" Elvis peanut butter cups were purchased by the press under the auspices of the First Amendment. (Actually, they sell at a Walgreens for $1 a pack.)
The likeness of the King of Rock 'n' Roll graces the familiar orange package. A Hawaiian lei is draped around his neck. His right hand grips a microphone. Gray streaks his jet-black hair and wolfish sideburns. His snarled mouth is agape, suggesting another round of "Heartbreak Hotel."
Hershey's plans to use other iconic Elvis images on the Reese's packaging -- perhaps a head shot reminiscent of the "Young Elvis" artwork Americans voted to use on the Elvis Presley stamp in 1992. The packages we found had the "old Elvis" but mercifully not the "really old" Elvis -- the bloated, bedridden, prescription drug-addled Elvis who, at age 42, died 30 years ago this Aug. 16.
Say what you will about Elvis, but his final days were not his finest. As with other mysterious facts surrounding Elvis, his weight at the time of his death is also in dispute. Accounts range bizarrely from 170 pounds to 350 pounds, with some suggesting his autopsy report alone accounted for 30 pounds to 35 pounds. Whatever the truth, Elvis was not a model of healthy eating.
So, is it in good taste to name a candy bar after a celebrity whose feral eating habits are legendary? Why not an "Elvis Milky Way" -- chocolate malt-flavored nougat with a layer of grape jelly, another of the King's sweets? Or an "Elvis Butterfinger" -- a crunchy blend of butter and peanut butter wrapped in burned bacon and smothered in mashed potatoes? Don't be cruel, some fans might say.
The matter of taste was raised with Saville.
"Like I said, we're pleased to bring the King's favorite combination of peanut butter and bananas to consumers."
Nothing left to do now but sample "The King Size" Elvis peanut butter and banana creme cup.
The first cup was not bad. The second cup from the $1 package was rather tasty. A third cup from a new package was delicious, quite frankly. And a fourth cup just about hit the spot.
What we need now is a big ole Pepsi, some mashed potatoes and grape jelly to wash it all down.
rob.hiaasen@baltsun.com