PROVIDENCE, RI – September 22, 2009 — “Glee” is a word often heard these days, thanks to the most highly anticipated television show of the season. In celebration of the “Glee” series on TV, Glee Gum is delighted to join FOX in offering ELEVEN winning tickets inside select packs of gum this fall!

Beginning Sept. 23, 2009, the “Your Ticket to Glee” sweepstakes offers gum-chewers aged 18 years and older a chance to win one of eleven fabulous prize packages. Ten Glee Gum packs contain vouchers for big prizes of yummy gum and “Glee” show merchandise— from hats and tees to autographed cast pictures. The eleventh Glee Gum pack holds the ticket to the super grand prize: a trip for two to Hollywood! The grand prize includes roundtrip air transportation, two nights hotel accommodation, and a $250 American Express gift card. How Glee-ful!

“Glee,” the genre-defying new musical comedy series, follows an optimistic teacher who – against all odds and a malicious cheerleading coach – attempts to save McKinley High’s Glee Club from obscurity while helping a group of aspiring underdogs realize their true star potential. Embraced by critics and viewers alike, the uplifting show with biting humor features a soundtrack of hit music from past to present. Tune in to “Glee” Wednesdays (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX!

While watching “Glee”, try chewing it too. Available in six sweet flavors, Glee Gum is all-natural chewing gum made without artificial flavors, colors, sweeteners, or preservatives. The secret ingredient is chicle, a swell, sticky tree sap harvested from the rainforests of Central America. Using chicle is a sustainable way to keep the trees of the rainforest standing, and to help the folks who work there to make a living. Plus, that’s how gum was originally made – and you know what they say when it ain’t broke! Packaged in recycled cardboard, Glee provides a great, green alternative to artificial gums.

With national distribution in specialty grocers like Whole Foods and Cost Plus, Glee Gum can be found from sea to shining sea. Who knows where “Your Ticket to Glee” will be?

For more details on Glee Gum and the “Your Ticket to Glee” sweepstakes, including complete Official Rules, please visit www.gleegum.com. For more information on “Glee”, check out www.fox.com/glee. In the meantime, chew Glee, watch “Glee” and go Glee-fully!

About Verve, inc., Makers of Glee Gum
Verve, Inc. is an independent, certified woman-owned business, dedicated to linking world communities and creating environmentally and socially responsible products. In addition to Glee Gum, Verve produces a line of all natural, educational Make Your Own Candy Kits for kids. Verve is a dedicated member of 1% for the Planet and Green America. Chew with Glee, naturally!

About “Glee”
Starring Dianna Agron, Chris Colfer, Jessalyn Gilsig, Jane Lynch, Jayma Mays, Kevin McHale, Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, Matthew Morrison, Amber Riley and Mark Salling, GLEE is produced by Ryan Murphy Television in association with 20th Century Fox Television. Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan are co-creators of the series. Murphy, Falchuk and Dante Di Loreto serve as executive producers, while Ian Brennan serves as co-executive producer. Murphy also served as director of the pilot.

GLEE™ & © 2009 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

• Candy Addict Glee Gum review

Quench Gum is made by Mueller Sports Medicine Inc. (an even less appetizing-sounding association than regular sugarfree gum’s relationship with dentists). According to Quench’s website, Quench has been around for over 30 years, and this “sports gum” is chewed by athletes from teams like the Cowboys, the Lakers and the Packers.

We’ve previously reviewed the regular version of Quench, but it’s also available in sugarfree – after all, who wants to down a bunch of sugar right after a heavy workout? (Well yeah, me too, but it’s just so counterproductive, OK?) Both versions of Quench claim that they can actually quench your thirst and refresh you after a hard workout.

Gum can stop you from being thirsty? And here I’d been drinking water all these years like a chump! This could be the greatest breakthrough in candy technology since Willy Wonka’s meal replacement gum – and even that was a little iffy in the dessert area, or so I’ve been given to understand.

I decided to test this product’s claims under the optimum conditions: after biking home from work on the hottest summer day possible. Unfortunately, that day never materialized (it’s been a very cool summer), so I decided that today would have to do. Fortunately, despite the lack of cooperation from the weather, my two-wheeled commute left my throat as dry as a five-year-old stick of Juicy Fruit. Resisting the urge to grab a cold one out of the refrigerator, I reached for my pack of Quench instead.

This pack (courtesy of the All Candy Expo) is the Fruit Blast flavor, described on the package as “a mouthwatering explosion in every pack!” This is the chicklet-style blister-pack type of sugarfree gum. Unlike others of its kind, the rectangular, pink-speckled pieces are soft, without the usual crisp candy shell.

The gum has a refreshingly tangy, sour fruit punch flavor, with little crunchy crystals that quickly dissolve for a sort of juicy, moistening effect in your mouth. The tangy flavor was long lasting, and unlike the last sugarfree gum I reviewed, Trident Splash Orange Swirl, not just because of aspartame’s impossible-to-get-rid-of aftertaste. These are sweetened with acesulphame potassium, a milder-flavored sweetener that doesn’t have that characteristic aspartame flavor. (That stuff is also the reason I can actually stand to drink diet sodas these days.)

So it’s pretty tasty stuff, but was I any less thirsty afterward? Well, that’s difficult to say. The tangy sourness and dissolving crystals did seem to stimulate the flow of saliva in my mouth, helping to rehydrate my parched throat and taste buds. It goes without saying that it didn’t actually introduce any new liquid into my system, making it no replacement for actually drinking something if you’re actually dehydrated, but in terms of reducing the sensation of thirst, it does what it’s supposed to. It couldn’t hurt to throw a pack in your pocket for extended workout sessions – as long as you have a big cold glass of water waiting for you once you’re finished.

• Quench Gum Website

Buy Quench Gum Online:

• at Blair Candy
• at Candy Favorites

Disclaimer: I don’t really chew gum. I’m not really sure why – I enjoy the flavor (while it lasts) and the chewing action, and it’s nice to have something in my mouth to fiddle with while I do other things. When I do chew gum, I’m partial to the old-school bubblegum-style – big, soft pieces that yield face-sized bubbles and pack more sugar than some small chocolate bars. Unfortunately for me, though, it’s the skinny sticks or Chiclet-style pieces of sugar-free gum, usually heavily mentholated and bearing promises of tooth-cleaning action, that are most popular these days.

All that being said, Trident Splash Orange Swirl is definitely not a product I would have bought for myself, but nonetheless, I decided to try and approach this All Candy Expo freebie with an open mind.

Like most Chiclet-type gums, this comes in a foil-backed blister pack. Unlike most Chiclet-style gums, it also comes with the gimmick of a liquid center – something I remember seeing pretty often back in the day, but always in products aimed at kids rather than adults. Inside the blister pack, the little tabs seem thicker than usual – probably due to the extra “burst of sweet indulgence,” as the package calls it.

Removed from the package, the tabs have an orange-vanilla scent, which sounds appetizing enough. However, there’s something a little mediciney about it that actually turns my stomach. You know how when you were a kid, the dentist would let you pick your flavor of that fluoride foam? And the flavors all sounded really yummy, like bubblegum and Creamsicle, so you always picked one of those, conveniently forgetting the important kid rule that the tastier the flavor of a medicinal product sounds, the nastier it’s actually going to be? This gum smells exactly like Creamsicle-flavored fluoride treatment foam. And that stuff was pretty darn vile.

Fortunately, though, the flavor doesn’t resemble said dental product at all. I was expecting menthol, but it’s actually just a bright orange soda flavor, almost sickly sweet. The crisp candy shell, soft gum, and gooey center make a nice texture contrast, and they don’t skimp on the goo either, but as is usual for this type of gum, I find the pieces too darn small.

As you chew, the sweet orange flavor wears off fast, leaving just a mild sweetness – and a strong aftertaste of aspartame. The flavor does last for a pretty long time – but it’s the flavor of artificial sweetener rather than delicious orange. I never thought I’d hear myself say this, but I think some menthol might actually have helped, since it seems to cover up the flavor of artificial sweeteners better than fruit flavors do. A second piece was admittedly better than the first – the aspartame shock seems to wear off a bit after the first piece.

Like other products marketed more as dental aids than candy, the flavor of this gum left a lot to be desired. When the best thing you can say about a product is “it tastes better than fluoride treatment foam,” there’s not really very much to recommend. Thanks but no thanks – I’m sticking with my Hubba Bubba.

• Trident Website

Buy Trident Gum Online:

• at Candy Direct
• at Amazon.com

I’m the girl with the Spearmint Eyes. Once a Spearmint Girl, always a Spearmint Girl… only Wrigley let me down. So I’ve been on a quest to replace my first love, and it’s time for the second part of my stroll down Spearmint Lane. (Don’t forget to read Part 1 of the Spearmint Mini-Roundup.) Out of the nine varieties of spearmint gum I’ve tried, I liked only three well enough to buy them again. Does that mean that most gum is lousy or that I’m picky?

Whatever the case, I’m going to share four more spearmint gums with you today. Some hot, some mild, some made with milk – it’s all here! Come on, let’s go.

Trident White is packaged in the same thin box with slide-out “gum sheet” as Eclipse. The white pellets are basically the same size and have the same Chiclets-style crunch. And, oh my, they ooze a hot liquid from the first chew. Fortunately, that goes away quickly but the overall taste remains mediocre at best. It has a slight sweetness that is nice but is almost undetectable underneath the residual heat. Trident White says it will “strengthen and whiten” teeth with something called ReCaldent – a milk derived substance. If you’re allergic to milk, don’t try Trident White. If you like to chew hot, crunchy milk, give it a try.

Wrigley’s Orbit is one of my top picks out of all the spearmint gums I’ve tried. A package has 14 individual strips about as wide as my pinkie finger, as long as two keys on the keyboard, and as tall as three CDs stacked together. (How’s that for a creative and confusing description?) They are soft to begin chewing and release a nice, mellow, sweet juice. The taste is quite possibly the epitome of a good spearmint, in my opinion. It’s long-lasting – over an hour. Anything over 20 minutes is great – more than an hour is phenomenal. Orbit has ridiculously irritating commercials, but the long-lasting, incredibly delicious flavor more than makes up for it.

Trident – I suppose this would be the “classic” version. They have the same small strip shape that Trident has had for as long as I can remember – the same shape now used by Stride and Orbit. Trident classic is very soft to begin chewing, the softest of any gum I’ve ever eaten. An extremely sweet juice is released and fills up your whole mouth. Deliciously sweet, perhaps even too sweet. Before I can decide, however, it’s gone – just like that! From “Is this sickeningly sweet?” to nothing in less than ten seconds. The gum also became a bit tough when the sweetness disappeared. A very strange experience.

5 Gum – Technically, this gum is called “Rain” but it has an emerald green wrapper which makes it a spearmint gum in my book. It is definitely a mild gum with a pleasantly sweet taste right from the beginning. It’s soft to chew and stays that way for as long as the sweetness lasts. It’s funny (in a strange sort of way) that the sweetness and softness go hand-in-hand on many of these gums. When the sweet flavor fades, the gum gets tougher. I wonder why that is. Anyway, on the lack of hotness (which is what I want in a spearmint gum) 5 Gum is a winner. The good flavor just doesn’t last long enough, though, and I doubt I’ll buy another pack.

I still find it fascinating that so many varieties of spearmint gum are available on the market. I suppose the same is true for peppermint and other classic flavors. No matter what your preferences are in a spearmint flavor, you’re bound to find a gum to make you happy. My top three favorites are (in random order) Orbit, Stride, and Trident Xtra Care. Sweet, mild, long-lasting, mmm.

• Trident Website
• Orbit Website
• 5 Gum Website

Buy Spearmint Gum Online:

• at Old Time Candy
• at Amazon.com
• at Candy Direct

With spring trying desperately to make itself known, I thought it would be nice to try another of Beth Kimmerle’s crafty candy creations (say that ten times fast!). Today I bring you gum pops, fun treats that are easy to make, fun for kids (and adults!), and great for the season.

Spring Gum Pops

Wow your friends at your next get together by using candy molds and your favorite chewing gums to make custom-themed gum lollipops. Pick up an assortment of candy mold shapes at baking or craft supply stores and grab your favorite Wrigley’s gum before letting your imagination run wild!

The finished creation can be bundled together for a beautiful and edible centerpiece or used individually as party favors!

You will need
1. Plastic candy mold
2. Several softened sticks of gum
3. Lollipop sticks
4. Vegetable oil or non-stick spray

Gum color recommendations
1. Juicy Fruit for yellow
2. 5 Elixir and Lush for pink and orange
3. Extra Fruit Sensations Berry Paradise for purple
4. Extra Spearmint for green
5. Hubba Bubba Max Island Punch for blue and green

Instructions
1. Clean and dry plastic molds. Using vegetable oil or non-stick spray, lightly grease inside mold cavities. Set molds aside.

2. Unwrap and soften stick gum by kneading in the palm of your hand. The amount of gum you will need depends on mold size but start by kneading several sticks at a time and once soft, place and press firmly into mold cavity. If more gum is needed, repeat steps until mold is completely filled. The softer the gum the better. Try a brand like Juicy Fruit for best results.

3. To transform molded shapes into lollipops, lay sticks along the back of the mold and cover with additional pieces of softened gum.

4. Once molds are filled and sticks are in place, give each a final press and place in refrigerator for about one hour or until gum is completely hardened. Once chilled, remove plastic molds, gently ease gum shape from cavity and enjoy!

• Beth Kimmerle’s Candymonium

Buy Wrigley Gum Online:

• at Amazon.com
• at Candy Crate
• at Old Time Candy

When your apartment is routinely inundated with candy samples from various companies, it really means something when you consistently return to one box in search of your daily sugar fix. In the past few weeks, that box has been from Fini.

When I first got an email from Fini, I wasn’t sure what to expect from them. They’re a Spanish company and I had no idea what they made or how well they made it. They asked what we’d like to review, and I just asked for whatever they could spare. And boy, did they come through! I got a giant box full of various kinds of candy – gum, filled licorice, gummies, and more. I barely knew where to start! Luckily, that didn’t stop me for long.

I started with the filled licorice type things, and was absolutely blown away. I don’t think I’ve ever had anything like them before. One kind had an interior that reminded me of circus peanuts or those marshmallow-y bunny things you get at Easter (not that I got any at Easter, seeing as how the Easter Bunny totally neglected me this year *sniffle*). The outside was a smooth red licorice-type stuff that was very soft and pliable. Together they made a delicious pair. (Note: don’t save one final piece to enjoy weeks later as you write your review. It will go stale. You will be sad.)

Until last year at the All Candy Expo, I didn’t even realize more than two companies (Haribo and Jelly Belly) made gummy berries. Well, now I find that Fini also makes them… and makes them really really well. In fact, they’re almost a perfect combination of the previous versions – large like Haribo, but flavored like Jelly Belly. In other words, delicious! Distinct flavors and wonderfully soft – definite thumbs up from me.

Ok, come on, just look at these. Even if they tasted like feet they’d still be cool. Luckily, they don’t! They’re wonderfully soft with a small liquid center and a great fruity flavor. These would be great around Halloween, but I’ll take any excuse to enjoy them again.

Gum seems to be a big product from Fini. I had football gum, watermelon gum, tennis ball gum, egg gum… you get the idea. A lot of them had a gimmick of one kind or another. The package on the watermelon version proclaimed “With Real-Like Seeds!” Despite my initial reservations (who wants seeds in their gum?), I discovered that they were all really good. The watermelon was especially tasty, with that great fake watermelon flavor from something like Jolly Ranchers. Yum! And no, thankfully you don’t really notice those “seeds.”

The tennis ball was a lemon-lime flavor, but the yumminess wasn’t really there until the liquid center mixed with the rest of the gum. After that happened, the gum became a wonderfully soft texture and had a great flavor. None of the gums held their flavor for an amazingly long time, but their fun shapes and good flavors more than made up for that. Both the watermelon and the tennis balls were uncomfortably large, but ultimately worth the risk to my jaw. Plus, the tennis balls come in a fabulous container that looks exactly like a package of real tennis balls – if you know a tennis nut, these are a must-have.

Fini has a lot more fabulous products to choose from. While they’re not all groundbreaking, they’re all solidly good. I enjoyed a great gummy worm that had lots of flavors throughout its length, as well as several others gummy products that had good flavor and texture. There were also some sour products which I didn’t try (sour isn’t my thing). But, if they follow the trend of all the other products, I have no doubt they’re solidly yummy as well!

I’m not entirely sure where you can get these products in the US; my box was sent from Europe, so I have a suspicion that they’re not available here yet. But keep your eyes open, and if you come across any of their products, definitely give them a try.

• Fini Website

I’ve always enjoyed studying history, especially U.S. history. When I learn something new I’m amazed at how ignorant and totally clueless I can be, even when it comes to something as simple as gum.

For years I thought Orbit gum was a relatively new product from Wrigley. Wrong!

Orbit has been around since World War II when Wrigley began shipping all of their gum production overseas to the Armed Forces. With no JuicyFruit, Spearmint or Doublemint available for civilians in the U.S., Wrigley introduced Orbit.

After the war, in 1946, Wrigley brought the big three back to the States and phased out Orbit. It wasn’t until 1976 that Orbit returned – only to Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands – as the first sugar-free gum ever released under the Wrigley name.

In 2001, Orbit returned to the U.S. with the introduction of Spearmint and Wintermint flavors. 2007 brought the Mint Mojito, and today Orbit Mist features “MicroBursts that deliver a hydrating sensation.”

I recently tried the Mint Mojito and the Mist Mango Surf. (Although we reviewed the latter just recently, I thought it might be worth another taste.)

Orbit Mint Mojito: The stick smelled of spearmint and bathroom cleanser. At first chew there was a strong yet unidentifiable citrus high note. After 30 seconds of thoughtful chewing, a subtle lime flavor whispered within a faint and pleasant spearmint. After about five minutes, it was something not quite lime and not quite spearmint. The confusion was rather amusing, but like a doomed relationship, the intriguing beginning couldn’t survive the long haul. Still, not a bad chewing experience.

Funny thing, later that evening I enjoyed a real Mojito at a rooftop beach bar. (Hey, I was on vacation. See, even during my down time I’m out there working for all you Candy Addicts. My pleasure.)

Orbit Mango Surf: The stick smelled of cough syrup and cinnamon-apple potpourri. (I’m not making this up.) On first chew it was crunchy – yes, crunchy! A very strong and authentic mango high note that dissipated as the “MicroBurst” crystals softened. Where the Mint Mojito was soft, the Mango Surf was tough, more akin to a bubble gum texture. The mango flavor subsided considerably after two minutes but was still present and provided a mildly enjoyable chew.

Ingredients in both gums were identical, but the Mist contained erythritol (a natural sugar alcohol found in fruits and fermented foods), sucralose (super-sweet artificial sweetener marketed as Splenda) and gelatin.

After a little bit of digging, I now see Orbit in a whole new light. That’s the beauty of history.

• Orbit Gum Website

Buy Orbit Gum Online:

• at Candy Direct
• at Amazon.com

Orbit Mist is a new line of gum from The Wrigley Company. It’s touted as a premium gum and contains little crystals – called Micro-Bursts – that the Orbit website says will “deliver a hydrating sensation to consumers.”

Now I can only assume that it means “to consumers who purchase and chew Orbit Mist.” When I first read the description, I had a vision of Orbit Mist boxes shooting “hydrating sensation beams” at random consumers in the grocery store. “Hello, ma’am, welcome to Food Land. How are you?”

“I’m good, tha-” (*Hydrating sensation beam fires.*) “Ohhh, I suddenly feel so… moistly healthy…”

Oh, ah-hem, I’m supposed to be writing a review. Sorry…

Wrigley has graciously sent me the three new flavors of the Orbit Mist line to try. Two fruity flavors – Watermelon Spring and Mango Surf – and one mint flavor – Peppermint Spray.

Watermelon Spring – With the first chew, this lime green gum gives a very strong watermelon flavor – followed by a flood of sourness so strong that I was squinting my eye like Popeye the Sailor Man. I’m no fan of sour candies so I was happy when the sour flavor faded in less than a minute. Tiny crystals in the gum must be tiny sour factories, though, because every time I crunched one, a little more sourness came out. Besides that, the main flavor is a sweet, mild watermelon. It’s a nice, pleasant flavor – not overly strong. Reminiscent of kids’ watermelon-flavored gums (like Hubba Bubba) but nowhere near as overpowering. Lasting factor is good – I chewed for over an hour.

Mango Surf – I was a bit hesitant to try this flavor since I don’t particularly care for mango (natural or artificial). As a dedicated Candy Addict, I pressed through my fears and popped a piece in my mouth. I was expecting a rush of sour flavor similar to what I’d experienced with Watermelon Spring. While the Mango Surf crystals did release sour bursts for the first minute or two, the pucker-factor of this orangish-yellow gum wasn’t nearly so intense. The sweet flavor that lasted for about an hour was typically mango and happily mild. I never felt assaulted by the mango-ness of it. A pretty good flavor.

Peppermint Spray – Mint gums are my forte… what can be better than a quick, tasty way to freshen breath after a meal loaded with garlic, onions, and oregano? Okay, so I don’t eat onions. I do prefer spearmint, but this Peppermint Spray from Orbit Mist was quite enjoyable. It had less heat than the new Wrigley’s Spearmint while retaining a strong peppermint flavor. It’s actually inspired me to want to chew more peppermint gum. (Please don’t tell my package of Stride Spearmint.) Like the other Orbit Mist gums, the flavor lasted a long time before I was ready to spit it out.

• Orbit Website

Buy Orbit Mist Online:

• at Amazon.com
• at Candy Direct

The Earth’s environment is crumbling around us. Actually, it has been for some time. Most of us would like to protect our planet. After all, as wonderful and convenient as the digital world is, most of us would like to introduce our kids to a non-virtual reality.

But without being a scientist, or being independently wealthy, what’s a person to do? Well, you can recycle, but Candy Dynamics has cooked up an alternative that’s far more fun. Now, you can help the Earth by eating toxic waste!

Yes, you read right! Toxic Waste candies are whacked-out novelties with a mission. With each purchase of a Toxic Waste product, a share of the profits are donated to an environmental protection group. The theme is cute, if slightly creepy.

Aside from a heaping helping of sour, I didn’t really know what to expect when a large box from Candy Dynamics arrived at my door last week. I like jelly belly sours, sour gummi belts, and IceBreakers Sours, but I’m not much of a Crybaby fan. Aside from Trident “Sour Strawberry” gum, I didn’t really have any experience with gums in the sour canon. The packing list described the gum as “Hi-Voltage”. I wondered what I was in for.

The box contained miniature drums of sour candy and a pack with 30 sticks of “Hi-Voltage Bubble Gum”. As we had already reviewed Toxic Waste Candy, I was only obligated to taste the gum. Still, with so much candy, and a limited number of sour Candy Addicts in my acquaintance, I could only hope that I’d like everything. I really dislike wasting food, especially candy!

I was immediately impressed with the candy’s theme. The box designs include yellow-and-black caution tape, a mad scientist by the name of “Dr. Sauernoggin,” and a very harried-looking anthropomorphized mushroom cloud. As the bulk packaging is stripped away, the candy’s theme continues.

The Hi-Voltage Bubble Gum, which touts itself as “Nuclear Gum with a Hazardously Sour Center!”, resembles sticks of uranium. Extracting the Blue Raspberry gum from a three-stick package, I lifted it to my mouth. It didn’t appear to be coated with powder. Thank goodness. I gingerly licked the top of the stick. It’s sweet, vaguely fruity taste and rigid texture reminded me of Bazooka Joe. So far, so good.

Throwing caution to the wind, I bit. I let out a yelp. This was like the the coating on Toxic Waste’s hard candies, multiplied by ten. Rather than a dusting of sour powder, this gum had a center of the stuff, a quarter-inch or so in diameter. The acidity was such that I couldn’t tell if the center was sour or salty. This stuff is oral torture… I’m surprised they aren’t using these in Guantanamo Bay. I endured a minute or so of chewing. By the time I dispensed with the blue wad, my teeth hurt.

It’s been two days since my experience with this gum, and I’m still having difficulty chewing my food. Forget caramels or marshmallows – Toxic Waste candy has got to be a dentist’s worst nightmare. I suppose if you’re a super-sour fanatic, or big on pain in general, you might enjoy what Candy Dynamics and “Dr. Sauernoggin” have cooked up. Besides, by stocking up you’ll be providing a valuable service to the environment. It’s a shame that I find these so awful – I really like the idea behind this product line, and love the theme. However, I have no desire to eat Toxic Waste again.

• Toxic Waste Candy Website

Buy Toxic Waste Candy Online:

• at Candy Direct
• at Amazon.com