Trident Splash Pucker Me Berry

Flavor: It's hard not to compare this to the phenomenal Orbit Mist Raspberry Lemon Dew,

because everything about that gum is just right, and it set the standard for "lemonade" in my brain. That being said, this gum is dull, dull, dull. With a name like "Pucker Me Berry" I expect at least some tartness, but even at first bite there's little else but sweetness, and a vague sweetness at that. There's a liquid goo center that I suppose could be classified as tart, but it fades away too quickly to qualify for a featured headline. The package features strawberry and raspberry, but I don't taste either fruit very strongly. All that being said, it's not a bad flavor.

Texture: We open with our standard pellet candy shell crunch, followed by a period of about 5 minutes of "This is waaaaay too soft." It takes a good while for the gum to mature into anything that has any substance to it, and even then, it remains pretty sticky, and has a tendency to cling to your teeth and lips if you attempt to blow a bubble.

Presentation: It's nothing we haven't seen before, but it is worth noting that this is the first time I've seen this incarnation of Trident Splash - previously, the Trident Splash logo was centered and large on the front of the package, with the fruit/ice cream/starlight mint graphics hiding behind. It doesn't make all that much difference aesthetically, since from the get-go Trident Splash has always had one of the busier packagings, almost obnoxiously so. This is a tween's gum, for kids who have outgrown Big League Chew-stuffing contests, but are too young to carry a minimalist-looking Orbit around.

Overall: Eh, it's alright. If I was 12 years old, this would get 4 gumballs, solid. But I'm not 12 years old, I'm 31 (at least for another week,) and this flavor just doesn't cut it with me. It's a blister pack full of empty promises.

Rating: oo (two gumballs)