Trident Strawberry Fusion

Flavor: From what I can tell, this is one of two flavors of the Fusion variety, which leads me to believe that this may have been a Trident experiment of sorts. From the get go, this gum is trying way too hard. "Fuse it Up! Chew the sweet pieces with the sour pieces and you've created a FUSION of FLAVOR that's all your own!" Have I missed something here? What's "all my own" about doing exactly what they tell me to do? The gimmick is that there are two gums in one pack-- one sweet, and one sour, and when combined, the result is a perfect (and somehow personalized) super-gum. What is really is, however, is half a pack of pretty good strawberry gum and half a pack of the same gum only really dull and crappy. When combined, the flavor is just the "sour" gum after you've chewed it a while. The packaging itself is even misleading, as the "sweet" and "sour" designations appear on either side of the pack, but are paired with arrows that point to the opposite side of the pack. How am I supposed to know that pink indicates sour and red indicates sweet? It's just not intuitive. I have to say the sour gum is pretty tasty, but this whole Fusion thing only means you get half a pack less of the good stuff for your money.

Texture: One piece is tough all the way through, and doesn't pack much crunch for a pellet shell. When you add a second piece, it doesn't blow your mind away with lightning bolt fusion power, it just... gets tougher. It's a big wad of tough, squeaky gum.

Overall: A swing and a miss Trident, I'm sorry. I think the real error here is the target audience-- Trident pellets are not traditionally appealing to kids, but this kind of gimmick is definitely targeted toward them. If it's an effort to drum up some younger interest, I give this outstanding sugar-free gum producer credit for that, but it's really just not working. Kids don't want anything to do with a gum that touts "Cleans teeth" alongside "FUSE IT UP!" And adults want a quality product, a real solid strawberry candy-tasting gum, not this weird game in which, invariably, all chewers wind up being losers.
Rating: oo two gumballs

Trident Bubblegum

Flavor: Basic bubblegum. Trident doesn't do anything too fancy here like some of the other new bubblegums... there's no tang, no sour-to-sweet, it's as basic as basic gets. Think Bazooka Joe.

Texture: When I get a gum with a texture this bad I often wonder if I happened to pick up a stale pack. On first bite, it's really hard, and it takes quite a while to soften up to a chewable consistency. And from there, it remains hard. I think any respectable bubblegum should be soft and malleable from the get-go, and stay that way for at least 20 minutes. A bubblegum that doesn't easily lend itself to bubbles is hardly a bubblegum at all.

Overall: Other than the fact that this might as well be a chewing gum, it's alright. Certainly nothing to write home about. There are far better bubblegums out there.
Rating: oo (two gumballs)

Hubba Bubba Max Island Punch

Flavor: As per usual with sugary gums, I feel like an alcoholic drinking my first real beer after many years gone dry when I chew this gum. The flavor is initially delicious, much like a fruit punch lollipop, with a little extra flavor that's faintly reminiscent of cherry blowpops. After years of sucralose and xylitol, some good ol' fashioned sugar and corn syrup really hits the spot. I imagine kids and adults alike would really enjoy this flavor. Fruit punch for the kiddies, rum punch for the rest of us.

Texture: I got to tell you, this gum can blow some serious bubbles. The longer you chew, the bigger and better the bubble. It's got incredible elasticity and seems to be intended for the sole purpose of blowing some slamming bubbles and packing some serious flavor punch (pardon the pun).

Overall: Shannon and I both had to chew some sugary gumz for our professional photoshoot to update our disturbing blog picture (thanks Colin! Photo coming soon). Shannon chewed strawberry and I chewed Island Punch, and I could instantly rate this gum a lot easier than other sugar gums, because I had a fair comparison sitting right next to me (Usually it's difficult for me to be un-biased as a loyal non-sugar gum chewer). Shannon regretted that we couldn't find Big League Chew because it blew better bubbles, but my gum blew better bubbles than any wad of Big League Chew that I can recall. She muttered "This is disGUSTing" intermittently and with each utterance I was reminded of how tasty my gum was. This gum is really good, and I don't even like sugar gums, or fruit punch, or green candy really as a general rule. I just gave my roommate a piece and I think he put it best: "Mmmm. Me gusta. That's good."
Rating: ooooo (five gumballs)

Altoids Peppermint Chewing Gum

Flavor: Altoids Peppermint Chewing Gum tastes curiously like Altoids Peppermint Mints - Curiously Strong. It's a fantastic, nasal-clearing menthol that takes your breath away and packs a powerful peppermint punch that freshens any foul odor on the breath. Garlic knots don't stand a chance against Altoids' fierce power.

Texture: I don't know if I got an old tin that had been sitting on the shelf for a while or what, but when I first bit into the lentil-shaped pellet, it felt apart in a chalky fashion, not unlike an antacid tablet. I feared the worst, but it quickly adhered to itself and the cohesion immediately improved. The texture that's left is really good, not good for popping or cracking, but it lasts a long time without getting mushy and it's not too tough on the teeth.

Overall: This review was requested by Christopher, a friend of Gum Alert, and I have to thank him immensely for the request. I never would have thought to pick up a pack of Altoids Chewing Gum if it weren't for him, and I have thoroughly enjoyed reacquainting myself with this great gum. Now, if you're not a fan of REALLY strong gums and don't enjoy Altoids mints, then this gum is absolutely not for you. But if you love the supermentholated sensation, you'll absolutely love this gum. It's definitely a target audience.
Rating: ooooo (five gumballs)

Bubblicious Mango Peach Bursts

Flavor: This gum hits you in the face and leaves everybody else in the room asking "who's eating candy?" It's actually a really fine representation of mango, and it does indeed promise a hint of peach. It's a "burst" gum, so it pops on the first bite, excreting some delightful sugary goo. The flavor goes sort of downhill after a while, though, too sugary sweet and eventually just faintly tasting of nothing but a gob of rubber (not uncommon characteristics among bubbilicious gums-- and this isn't necessarily a bad thing, since when the flavor runs out, the bubbles are usually best.)

Texture: We recently had a request to review bubble-blowing qualities more often, and so I picked up this sugary gum, a switch from my usual sugar-free gum habits. As I don't have much to compare it to as yet, I can only say that it blows bubble rather sufficiently. They're not too big, and they don't last too long, but they're nice, manageable bubbles for idle popping while surfing the internets or playing Little Big Planet on PS3. The texture overall goes rubbery quickly and leaves an unpleasant foam on the salivary glands.

Overall: This is the gum version of Gushers candy, which is fine by me. But I must say that the longer I chew, my mouth develops that weird foam that happens while chewing certain gums. This, plus the lack of flavor and faint sweet aftertaste makes me spit it out with disgust rather than satisfaction. The sugar leaves a yucky taste in my mouth, but that's just a con of sugar gums in general. I'll brush my teeth with some Trident and save the rest of this pack to satisfy a sweet tooth at lunch some day when I run out of chocolate.
Rating: ooo (three gumballs)

International Spotlight-- Excel Inferno

Flavor: Excel is the Canadian version of the American Eclipse pellet-style gum. Thanks to our friend Sandy, we got our hands on Inferno, the cinnamon flavor. Since I'm not a fan of “hot” gums and candies, I tested this gum with my roommate, who is a fan of uncomfortable burning sensations in his mouth. The sting, for me, was at first really overwhelming, and I thought it would please fans of this sensation, but my roommate felt it wasn't spicy enough at all. The heat faded quickly into a sweet, more traditionally cinnamon flavor. I continued chewing for a while and I have to say it's a nice flavor, and it lasts a pretty long time. If I were a cinnamon person, I might be really impressed with this gum. My roommate, however, spit it out and deemed it “disgusting.”

Texture: It's your average pellet gum. The size of the piece is far too small, and the texture is perhaps a little too firm for my tastes. But it's not a bad bite, all in all.

Overall: Well, Canada, it seems we have similar taste in gums. I'm curious to try the Eclipse version of this gum and see how they match up. The french alternate text was a delight to see, though, I must say, and the pun on Excel (“Excel-lerate your breath!”) was cute, although sort of a stretch. It's not really breath-freshening, either, or “Rafrachaichaleine!” as they might say in Quebec. But it's all right.

Rating: ooo (three gumballs)

International Spotlight - Thrills Gum

Flavor: The packaging of this Canadian gum boasts "It still tastes like soap!" and yes, yes. It certainly does taste like soap. However-- it's not terrible. The flavor is hard to describe, somewhere between a Choward's Violet, a Clove, and black licorice. We were requested to review this gum some time ago, and just got our hands on some as Christmas gifts (thanks Sandy!), and to be honest I'd been dreading doing the review. I can't say that this is my new favorite or anything, but I certainly can see it being an acquired taste. Downside is that the flavor fades really quickly - really quickly.

Texture: Here's where it all goes downhill. I don't know if we got stale packs or something, but it starts off way too hard and it stays way too hard. Too hard to chew for any length of time, if even at all. It's like the gumballs in the little machines at the supermarket that you begged your mom for a quarter to buy when you were 7 years old, only to find yourself at the dentist the next day because you cracked a molar. Not a good texture at all. It's a pellet gum so there is a candy shell, but the rest of the gum is so hard it might as well all be the same makeup.

Overall: This was a fun gum to review if only for the anticipation and the novelty of it. If I were Canadian I certainly wouldn't buy and try this again, but as a Gum Girl by trade it was absolutely worth the chew. I thank our friend for requesting this gum, and Sandy for seeking this out and picking up a couple packs for us. The gum itself really probably only deserves 1 gumball, but the "It still tastes like soap!" on the packaging made me smile enough to throw an extra one in there.

Rating: oo (two gumballs)