Ice Breakers Ice Cubes Cool Lemon

Flavor: This gum was recommended to us by our friend Sydney upon reading our review of Ice Cubes Peppermint. The initial punch is really successful-- I found it hard to believe that it was sugar free. A few summers ago I ordered fresh lemonade on the boardwalk and was shocked upon first sip to find a gritty mouthful of sweetness with very little detectable lemon flavor. The attendant had thought he was doing me a favor by slipping me a few extra spoonfuls of sugar, when in fact I actually would have preferred the tart of fresh squeezed lemonade. That's what the first bite of Ice Cubes Cool Lemon is like-- a great big burst of lemon-flavored sugar. It fades quickly, but the lingering flavor maintains the pleasant, if a bit too-sweet, lemonade freshness. I would expect a gum called Cool Lemon to be more sour than sweet. If it were called lemonade, however, I might go into it expecting a much sweeter blast of flavor.

Texture: Much like in the first strawful of lemonade that day on the Jersey Shore, I can't get past the grittiness of this gum. The crunchies are never crunchy, rather they're distracting and stick to your teeth and make for a very unpleasant first minute or two before dissolving into a piece that's just too small for lasting satisfaction.

Presentation: I feel like the marketing on this gum was half baked. The package is a faded yellow, so faded that it's even difficult to decipher the graphics on the front. The ice cube in the graphic does appear to be a giant sugar cube, which is quite accurate, but I'm not sure that's intentional. "Cool Lemon" says little to nothing here, and I don't know what cravings I'm supposed to conjure up looking at slices of lemon and giant urine-colored blocks. I'm being harsh, I know. I just think that "Summer Lemonade" would sell more packages of this particular flavor of gum.

Overall: I may have cringed at the first sip of lemonade that day, but boy did I drink it down. It's doubtful, however, that I'll finish this pack of gum. Sydney sure liked it, though... so perhaps it's a matter of preference. I say, if what I've described sounds good to you, go for it. If not, just buy some lemons and put some in your tea like you do every night, like I do.

Rating: ooo (three gumballs)

Bubblicious Cotton Candy

This review is sponsored by our friends at BestCandyStore.com!

Flavor: True. The label says cotton candy, and this gum tastes like cotton candy. Exactly. Like. Cotton candy. Although, if you think about it, that's really not that great of an achievement for a sugar-based gum. All cotton candy is, is sugar and flavor, and the ingredients of this gum are ridiculously simple, consisting of little more than sugar, corn syrup, gum base and flavor.

Texture: Eh. It actually starts off somewhat firmer than other bubblegums and never really gets that "smooth" or "shiny" feel to it. The bubbles are unimpressive, very thin and quick to burst. If you're looking for a bubblegum to use to enter our Bubble-Blowing Contest, this isn't it.

Presentation: You know, in terms of kid-focused product packaging, this is really minimalist. The pink and the blue works for the flavor, and it has the now-familiar trendy swirl thing going on, but if I were a kid I'd absolutely be drawn to Hubba Bubba over Bubblicious.

Overall: I've been chewing a lot of bubblegum lately thanks to the awesome package that BestCandyStore.com sent over, and I gotta say that this one is one of my least favorites. It's cool that the flavor is so spot-on, but it lacks in nearly every other feature. Worth a try, but there are better bubblegums (as you'll see...).

Rating: ooo (three gumballs)

Bubblicious Sour Citrus

Flavor: It seems that I've been giving all sugary gums rave reviews, but I wonder if the quality of flavor has to do mostly with the intake of sugar that I deprive myself of whilst chewing sugar-free, health-conscious gums like Trident. Regardless, Bubblicious will leave a gross film on your teeth for hours, and the flavor fades within minutes, but that initial burst of fruity goodness is (almost) totally worth the cavity-causing, plaque-creating sugar. This gum, however, tastes more like mango to me than citrus. Although they're often lumped together, mango isn't actually a citrus fruit. Based on the name, I would expect this gum to taste more like orange-tangerine-lemon-lime. It's not even sour, but mostly sweet. "Sour mango" might be more accurate, since it is a little more sour than an actual mango.

Texture: It's Bubblicious. Big and meaty at first, then stale and tough, but producing fantastic bubbles that will definitely stick to your glasses when it pops (you've been warned... I learned the hard way).

Presentation: The familliar pink "B" is front and center on this package, and it's surrounded by really cool multi-color swirlies that suggest lime and lemon. I just don't taste it. Maybe, like the taster of fine wines, you need a delicate palate to detect the subtle lemon overtones here. Or... maybe not.

Overall: I can't really give this gum a great rating, because I just don't feel it accomplished what it set out to do. It tastes good, but it just doesn't hit the mark.

Rating: ooo (three gumballs)

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Wrigley's 5 Lush

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Flavor: An immediate burst of delightful tart tropical begins the 5 Lush chew. This is definitely the most "bold" of the tropical gums that I've experienced, at least at the onset of chewing. That being said, the intensity does fade quickly, but we're left with a nice mellow island vibe for the duration of the chew.

Texture: This is where Lush loses me just a bit. It's a totally bipolar gum, in terms of texture. Unlike every other 5 flavor, we begin the chew with a gritty, grainy texture. Normally I like "crunchies" in my gum, but I really didn't expect it from 5. Once the graininess dissolves, there's a brief, 2-3 minute period of unpleasant too-firmness. As it softens, it skips right past "great" into a too-sticky, too soft glob before eventually evening out and becoming nicely chewable.

Presentation:What's there to say about 5 packaging that hasn't already been said? Nice, recognizable branding that's pleasing to the eye and appeals to the "iPod Generation."

Overall: After my awesome Elixir experience, I was hoping for a similar revelation with Lush. Unfortunately, that was not to be. It's a nice flavor, but the texture inconsistencies really distract from being able to fully enjoy the chew. I'd probably go with Trident Tropical Twist if I were in the mood for a tangy tropical flavor.

Rating: ooo (three gumballs)

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Bazooka Bubble Juice Bubblegum Nuggets Slammin' Blue Raspberry

Flavor: Bazooka lovers out there, do not be fooled-- Bubble Juice is not for you! Ladies and gentlemen, the creators of the tame, sugary block of bubblegum wrapped in punny comic strips present to the facebook generation a fresh new burst of blue raspberry zing to match the other crazy gums out there on the market today. Has Bazooka Joe sold out? Or has he just adapted to the sour, sweet and neat innovations that many gums offer today? This gum will, like Hubba Bubba or Bubblicious, knock your socks off upon first mouthful, an overwhelming surge of sour blue raspberry goodness that fades almost as quickly as the texture hardens to a barely malleable hunk of rubber. But come on, who said gum was about a lasting chew? Kids aren't buying Bubble Juice because they're looking to keep their breath fresh throughout the duration of a date or a business meeting. They're buying it because it's fun-- and this flavor is as fun as the packaging. Plus, I fear it might induce seizures or something if the flavor lasted for much longer than it does.

Texture: This gum, although marketed as "juice," is a bunch of blue pebbles that resemble the rocks at the bottom of a fish tank. Much like its predecessor Big League Chew, it's fun for kids to chew-- we had contests when we were kids for who could stuff the most "chew" into their cheeks without gagging. I can imagine a really cool kid someplace who brags about being able to pour a whole bag of Bazooka Bubble Juice into his mouth. The gum hardens up almost immediately, as I've said, but who cares. Oh, and P.S.-- it blows a pretty slammin' bubble.

Presentation: So, I'm a little confused about the gimmick here, but for some reason I'm not too bothered by the inconsistency. It's supposed to be bubble juice-- it comes in a little Capri Sun-like pouch and there are pink droplets bursting out of the logo. But inside the pouch, there are... rocks. I feel like I've seen plenty of goo-like gums, tubes of gum, bottles of gum liquid that solidify upon chewing, that I'm not sure why the rocks are necessary here. They could be totally re-marketed and sold in pales, "Rockin' Gum Rocks!" or "Poppin' Pebbles!" It's got a lot of potential, and I think the "juice" was sort of a cop-out. I'd be kind of disappointed if I were a kid and opened it up to find a bunch of fish tank rocks. But then... you can pour them into your mouth like juice. I suppose I'll let it pass.

Overall: Conscientious parents be warned, although I guess it's pretty obvious-- Bubble Juice will most definitely rot the teeth out of your child's mouth. But... look at my tongue! As far as I can remember, anything that turned your tongue this color was definitely a must-have for kids under twelve (and oftentimes, over twelve). If you'll excuse me, I need to spit out this disgusting gob of rubber and drink some more JUICE!

Rating: oooo (four gumballs)

Wrigley's 5 Elixir

Flavor: I tried this gum a long time ago, when it first came out, and I remember texting Katie, "Gum Alert. 5 Elixir. Do not try - it tastes like just that... Elixir." On first bite, it has a definite cough syrup bitterness to it, although nowhere NEAR the atrocity that is Exclipse Breeze Exotic Berry. The syrupness only lasts for a few seconds, however, and it settles into a nice "mouthwatering berry," accurately described on the product's outer wrapper. It absolutely stimulates the salivary glands. In a way, it's somewhat reminiscent of our beloved Extra Original Bubble, although the initial punch fades really fast into a sweeter berry flavor (not necessarily a bad thing.)

Texture: Fantastic. When you first bite into it, you think it might be a little too tough, but WOW. This is a great texture in a gum. It's really "smooth" in the mouth, almost "shiny" on the tongue. Not too firm and not too soft, it's easy to spread between the teeth for cracking, and it even produces a noteworthy bubble.

Presentation: As I mentioned in my review of Prism, I'm a big fan of 5 packaging. (The only negative would be that they started the whole "flat pack" trend, causing the extinction of my beloved Plen-T-Paks.) I'm admittedly biased, since pink is one of my favorite colors, but I really like the shade of pink used in Elixir's packaging.

Overall: A very, very pleasant surprize. To be honest, I'd been putting off this review because I remember being really nastified by this gum the first time I tried it. A couple weeks ago, Alexander requested that we review this and Lush on our Facebook page, so I sucked it up and picked them up. I don't know if they changed the formulation or something, but I can see this gum being added to my regular rotation of go-to gums. Hopefully Lush will provide the same pleasant surprize.

Rating: ooooo (five gumballs)