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World Confections

Monday, August 27, 2012

Bubble Gum Cigarettes

Victory Bubble GumI picked up these Victory Bubble Gum Sticks which are also known as Bubble Gum Cigarettes at Rocket Fizz last week. They’re a nostalgic item, now made by World Confections, Inc. and probably not very popular with a lot of parents.

There are a few different package designs, with different names like: Kings, Lucky Light, Target, Round Up and Stallion.

There were two kinds of fake cigarettes when I was a kid. There were candy sticks, which were like a Necco wafer sugar stick with a red tip that was supposed to look like it was alight. Of course the sticks were much thinner than an actual cigarette, so the effect was weak. The second is of course the bubble gum cigarette. It’s a rod of gum a little smaller than an actual cigarette, but each is wrapped in a bit of waxed paper with a light brown end to mimic the filter. Each piece of gum was coated in a little corn starch and the wrapper is loose enough that you could blow on one end and form a little puff of powder like smoke. Of course it only worked once.

The box construction on this Victory design box is a little bland. It’s a flip top box, so there’s no tab top that tucks back in or a flip top like real cigarette packs have. The artwork is minimal, but it works in the most impressionistic manner.

Victory Bubble Gum

There were three flavors in my box of 8 sticks. Orange, Lavender and Pink.

Pink is cherry and it’s just horrible. It’s sweet and crunchy at first, then softens up and gives up all of its sugar over the course of about 10 good chews. It’s then very stiff and bitter (from the food coloring). The slight medicinal flavor of the cherry disappears quickly as well.

Orange is orange. The flavor is vague to nonexistent. It’s quite sweet and sugary and tended to stick to a couple of my fillings until the sugar was gone. It didn’t get as stiff and difficult as the pink, but also did do much in the bubble department.

Purple is grape. There’s a strong grape flavor initially, plenty artificial but still exactly what I expected. But that fades quickly along with the sugar in the gum. This flavor also gets dense quickly so the bubble blowing window is very short. The piece of gum is also pretty small, so the size of the bubbles was always going to be modest.

The gum is marginally passable, but the packaging is quite cute. Really all I was looking for was that experience of blowing the little puff of starch out. The gum is made in Macedonia, I think my first Macedonian candy. I think the Bubble Gum Cigars are more successful overall as a novelty item that still maintains its candiness.

Related Candies

  1. Dubble Bubble Gum Cigars
  2. Bosco Milk Chocolate
  3. Shakespearean Insult Gum
  4. Dubble Bubble Chewola Bubble Gum Crayons
  5. Big Bite Gummy Bear
  6. Gummy Fishies


Name: Bubble Gum Sticks (Cigarettes)
    RATING:
  • SUPERB
  • YUMMY
  • TASTY
  • WORTH IT
  • TEMPTING
  • PLEASANT
  • BENIGN
  • UNAPPEALING
  • APPALLING
  • INEDIBLE
Brand: World Confections
Place Purchased: Rocket Fizz (Glendale)
Price: $1.39
Size: .9 ounces
Calories per ounce: 89
Categories: Candy, World Confections, Gum, Novelty/Toy, 5-Pleasant

POSTED BY Cybele AT 1:32 pm     CandyReviewWorld ConfectionsGumNovelty/Toy5-Pleasant

Friday, July 17, 2009

World Confections: Jaw Slammers

Long Lasting Jaw SlammersI picked up this variety pack of jawbreakers from a brand called World Confections at the Dollar Tree, mostly because they’re made in Pakistan. 

Each variety is a little different and sports a different package design. And each package holds a little over an ounce. (Actually, the boxes were basically twice as big as they needed to be.)

The Fruit Flavors Jaw Slammers introduced me to the product line’s mascot, this blond kid with a big jawbreaker in his mouth.

Long Lasting Jaw SlammersThere’s no list on the box of what the fruit flavors should be, so I was left to guess.

But more disturbing than the lack of info was the look of the jawbreakers.

Each is about the size of a garbanzo bean, nicely spherical but mottled and uneven in color.

The melt on the tongue isn’t smooth until the first layer of color dissolves away.

I tried a few of the colors but the flavor was never more than “bland fruit” with a blend of citrus, banana and sweet berry. The texture is much like most jawbreakers, smooth and then a little burst of flavor (it you could call it that) and then a little bit rougher texture ... then smooth again.

About two layers down the candy stops and becomes a piece of compressed dextrose about the size of the old Tart n Tinys. But unflavored.

They’re wholly unoffensive, but not terribly stimulating or satisfying. I don’t feel ripped off, but I was hoping for a bit more flavor.

Sour Jaw Slammers

The Sour Jaw Slammers box is pretty bold in color.

At first the pieces looked to be similarly mottled as the fruit ones, but after touching them, they’re softly textured. I expected that to be a sour blast coating like Toxic Waste. Instead it was just the same as the fruit.

I waited through the layers until finally I got to that chalky candy layer and was rewarded with a very tart SweeTart like nugget.

Again, none of the flavors were particularly distinct, but the sweet outer layer and then the textural difference of the sour center was at least interesting.

Bubble Gum Center Jaw Slammers

Once I got the style of these candies down, I thought I knew what to expect with the Bubble Gum Center Jaw Slammers.

These were even more bumply than the others.

They were also more flavorful. Not a good flavor. It was a combination of Country Time Lemonade and ketchup.

Then there was the center.

I was expecting a piece of bubble gum at the center. Because that’s what the box said .. with bubble gum center.

So get to the middle and it feels just like a piece of compressed dextrose ... a bit tangy though. So I chew and find that it’s like a Razzle.

The net amount of gum (bubble gum, you know, for blowing bubbles) is about the size of a mustard seed.

These are terrible.
Hot Red Shockers

Hot Red Shockers are, as I expected, to be like mini Atomic Fireballs.

The box design is a bit more of a downer than the others. Nowhere does it say that these are cinnamon.

In truth, they’re not just cinnamon. After first the little ball was a smooth and sweet cinnamon, then it ebbed into spearmint territory. The combination was like toothpaste or mouthwash. But then it came back around to cinnamon and there was definitely a red hot layer in there somewhere before the center became just a sugar ball.

I’m not sure why I would buy these when there are already two very good jawbreakers that fit the bill: Gobstoppers and Atomic Fireballs.

But I suppose if if I needed some water soluble ball bearings, this would fit the bill. Perhaps if I was looking for something to give away to people that I don’t care if they like me or not after receiving it. But not for me.

Related Candies

  1. Cinnamon Imperial Hearts
  2. Boston Baked Beans
  3. Atomic Fireballs
  4. Gobs of Gobstoppers
Name: Jaw Slammers, Sour Jaw Slammers, Bubble Gum Filled Jaw Slammers, Red Hot Shockers
    RATING:
  • 10 SUPERB
  • 9 YUMMY
  • 8 TASTY
  • 7 WORTH IT
  • 6 TEMPTING
  • 5 PLEASANT
  • 4 BENIGN
  • 3 UNAPPEALING
  • 2 APPALLING
  • 1 INEDIBLE
Brand: World Confections
Place Purchased: Dollar Tree (Anaheim)
Price: $1.00 for set
Size: 4.08 ounces
Calories per ounce: 120
Categories: Hard Candy, Cinnamon, Chalk

POSTED BY Cybele AT 2:34 pm    

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