I love Sour Patch Kids candies, so when I saw Sour Patch Xploderz, how could I say no? Especially since leaving off the leading “e” and swapping the plural “s” for a “z” makes it inherently oh-so-cool and utterly irresistible. Maybe I can finally be one of the cool kids!
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Jokes aside, how do Sour Patch Xploderz stack up?
Name and packaging snarking aside (just check out the artwork on the bag), these guys were good! They’re billed as “soft & chewy candy with a splash of sour flavor!” What isn’t inherently clear from the copy (but is from the oozing artwork) is that “splash” is meant to indicate that these guys have a liquid filling. The back of the bag goes into more detail and lists the flavor combinations.
What really makes these guys stand out is the texture. They’re softer than the Starburst GummiBursts I reviewed last week, and the combination of that soft gummi with the inside goo and the grains of lightly sour sugar that they’re covered in makes them quite addictive, even if I didn’t love all of the flavor combinations.
Sour Patch Xploderz Flavors:
Raspberry lemonade rush is the bumpy circle in the bottom right corner. I would’ve preferred more of an oval shape to be more true to real raspberries, but that’s just being picky. This was my favorite flavor of the bunch. The outer red gummy doesn’t taste much like raspberry, but the inside goo definitely tastes of lemonade. Note that I said lemonade, not lemons – the goo isn’t sour, but it’s certainly citrusy.
Grape berry surge is top right and shaped like a cluster of grapes. This one only sort of worked for me. The berry-flavored goo tastes like fruit punch. It’s good, but it completely overwhelms the grape gummy, which wasn’t bad; artificial, yes, but in a popsicle-y way rather than a medicinal cough syrup way.
Cherry berry bash is the top left, round with just the hint of a cherry stem. I appreciate that design detail. The cherry gummy stands up to the berry goo better than the grape did, giving this guy a strong cherry finish. I found it a bit too artificial, but I also tend to think that about cherry/red flavored things.
Finally, apple strawberry burst is the green apple of the bottom left. I thought this shape was the neatest one. I’m on the fence about this flavor combination. The apple gummy is quite strongly flavored of green apple, Jolly Rancher-style, and it really stands up well to the strawberry goo inside.
As I said before, I didn’t adore all of the flavors, but the texture more than made up for any deficiencies there. My bag disappeared frighteningly quickly, considering that there are supposed to be 4.5 servings inside. The back of the bag boasted that these were “Sour. Sweet. Gone.” Yup, pretty much. An OMG.
Where to find them: