Life Savers Gummies – Sours
It seems these days any sort of candy, be it gummy, hard or whatever else, there must be some sour version of it. Sometimes this works out great, like Sour Skittles, while other times it goes horribly, horribly awry like…actually, I can’t think of anything off the top of my head. There have been some versions that aren’t as great as the original, but I can’t think of any that are outright offensive compared to the original. I guess that speaks more to how a little bit of citric acid here and there can indeed enhance a candy or snack. Perhaps in that way, today’s review makes perfect sense.
Similar to the original gummy mix, this has five flavours in it, though some of them are a bit different. This pack has cherry, strawberry, orange, cherry, watermelon and black raspberry. The difference here is black raspberry replaces green apple, which is a welcome change since I don’t particularly enjoy green apple.
I’m not sure whether it’s the citric acid from the sour coating, but for whatever reason the gummies are a lot softer than the ones found in the original gummy mix. I prefer a chewier, firmer gummy, so these softer ones aren’t really much to my liking. They remind me of the cheaper bargain bin or bulk food gummies that kinda of just disappear after one or two chews. I like my gummies to fight back, and not just give up without a fight.
The sour variety seems to suffer a similar fate as the normal variety, in that most of the flavours are kind of bland and muted. Watermelon is like eating the rind of a watermelon more than the juicy part, and while the sour dusting gives it a little more complexity, it doesn’t change the blandness of the flavour. Strawberry is just as muted as it’s original counterpart, and the sour dust doesn’t help it enough to make it stand out. Orange is actually quite solid here, and the the sour powder does help it. Cherry also seems to benefit a lot from the dust, but to be fair cherry was the strongest flavour of the original mix. The new kid on the block, black raspberry is not bad. It’s more reminiscent of a blackberry flavour, but it’s still tasty and not too bland.
While the sourness is very mild, it does add a little bit to the flavour profile so it’s not just sweet throughout. This particularly helps the orange and cherry flavours. The other flavours aren’t really helped too much by it, since the base flavour is kind of bland to begin with. The coating itself isn’t too strong, so it’s not the kind that will leave you with sores or cuts in your mouth like the stronger stuff. I’m looking at you Warheads.
Overall, these remind me a lot of the Starburst gummies that I had a while back, and they are similar enough that I would probably opt for that instead of this. It should be no surprise that they are fairly similar in flavour and texture, given that they both fall under the umbrella of the Mars corporation, but for whatever reason the Starburst ones come out on top for flavour. Probably something to do with the recipe. If however, you would prefer the Life Savers flavours, I would urge you to try the normal gummy version instead.
