TMNT Crush: Leonardo Berry Punch

For those who are fans of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, this is going to be a fun week on The Holidaze! It's TMNT WEEK!!  Believe it or not, the new 2014 TMNT film comes out this Friday and has already received positive reviews from fans and critics whom were lucky enough to catch an advanced screening.  This not only excites me for my own viewing, but to dive into my saved TMNT topics.  As you may remember, The Holidaze first discovered the TMNT Crush cans on Instagram before Pepsi finally revealed the products.  At first, we weren't sure they were real.  I honestly believed it was a hoax pulled off by a cleverly talented graphic designer, but further images enhanced my anticipation and raised my hopes before Crush made the awesome announcement!  Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles SODA was, in fact, real and each turtle was receiving a can and flavor designated to them by color.  I knew, without a doubt, this would be the coolest promotional tie-in we'd see attached to this new film and that was more than enough for me.  So, between now and Friday, I'm going to discuss and review each flavor with you.  Even if you're not a turtle fan, this first one stands out on its own!

Crush Berry Punch!

Obviously, Leonardo had to receive a blue colored soda to match his legendary eye band.  Anything other than blue would have been a slap in the shell and completely ruined the campaign so, really, this was a no-brainer.  But when you think of blue soda, what comes to mind?  I assumed they'd choose a blueberry flavor, but I really didn't think that would taste good.  Even worse, they could have brought back the "Pepsi Blue" flavor to kill the taste completely.  But no, the amazing minds behind this promotion concocted an entirely new recipe and gave Leonardo a never-before-released flavor - Berry Punch!

Throw in some Ninja Turtle ice cubes and we're looking at one delicious drink, but is it really new?  From what I remember, Crush once released a Blue Raspberry flavor and, based on this name and taste, I'd assume this is probably the same recipe with a new name.  Now, that doesn't matter to me because I've never tried it and the name "Berry Punch" is absolutely perfect for a Ninja who leads his brothers into battle, but it's probably not "new" in the sense that it's never been released.  Regardless, it tastes amazing!

Have you ever had a Charms Blue Razz Berry lollipop?  Well that's exactly what this soda tastes like! I remember winning an entire box at a stand in Pt. Pleasant, NJ when I was a kid so there's a lot of nostalgia attached to the flavor for me.  Between the character on the bottle and the flavor in my glass, this Crush Berry Punch is an undeniable winner.  Everything about it is perfect!

In the case of Leonardo, I've only been able to find the 2 liter bottle.  For some reason, Leonardo and Raphael 12-packs are hard to come by.  In some areas, you'll find the entire collection.  In mine, it's hit or miss.  As a collector, I'll be sure to find the can eventually, but the bottle gets the job done if you're just looking to try an awesome flavor.  Or... if, you know, want to take pictures of soda on your deck!

Cotton Candy Balls

Whenever I make a trip to Target, I usually take the time to search the aisles for products that may be new, limited, or special edition.  I usually look for items that can be purchased for fun and review on The Holidaze.  However, yesterday was not one of those days.  I had just gotten out of work, was tired, and had to run in for just a few essentials.  I didn't plan on buying any junk food, but my something caught my girlfriend's eye... blue cheese balls!  At first, I was intrigued.  No matter how tired I may have been, things like that will wake me right up.  How could you go wrong with blue cheese balls?  They're tiny cheese puffs, put into a ball, and dyed blue!  Um.. yes, please!

But when we picked up the giant tub of blue cheese balls, things changed..

Okay.. Cotton Candy Balls?  Have the good people at Herr's gone nuts?  This was far from what I expected and the first thing I said was "ew, these are going to be gross."  In turn, that scared away a couple who were obviously interested in making the purchase.  They stopped, looked at the tub, then at each other, before leaving after I let my opinion drop.  I'm sorry if that killed their vibe, or the sale for Target, but who in their right mind would buy these?  Of all the flavors Herr's could have released, why an overly sugary circus treat?  Don't get me wrong, Cotton Candy is great, but I just didn't see how it could successfully translate over to corn puffs.

Regardless of my preconceived notions, my girlfriend convinced me that this would be a good pick-up.  We'd get to try such an odd snack and, for The Holidaze, it would make for an interesting review.  For the $6 they cost, it was well worth the risk.  After all, I seem to be in the minority when it comes to liking limited edition Oreos, so why would this be any different?  Similarly, how could I knock Herr's and praise Nabisco for going the extra mile?  No matter what I think, before or after the taste test, I am happy to see such a unique product on the market.

As Leonardo gazed and salivated in hunger, I took a good whiff of these blue balls (pause for immature laughter) and.. wow, they really do smell like Cotton Candy.  I didn't expect them to be so potent, but this was the real deal.  Even more intrigued than before, we chomped down on one of the Cotton Candy Balls.

The flavor?  Bland.. It's an almost flavorless corn puff, but that's only at first.  After a second or two, there's an after taste that actually does remind me of Cotton Candy.  It's not very strong, and tastes much more like Cap'n Crunch Berries than anything else, but even that is a bit weak.  They taste as if they took all the sugar out of our favorite cereals and left us with nothing more than a scent and puffs.

With that said, I'm actually not knocking these Cotton Candy Balls.  I think the fact that they're more bland than expected is actually a good thing.  Had they been overwhelmingly sweet or tastes too much like Cotton Candy, I don't think these would have worked out at all.  Fan of Cotton Candy or not, I just don't think that's a flavor that does very well outside of it's incarnation.  Bubblicious Bubble Gum does a decent job of relaying the flavor, but even that gets old after a while.  So, this way, the way Herr's did it, works well.  I'm not going to buy them again, nor will I be finishing off the tub, but I'm happy we bought them.  They're something worth trying and, as a fan of weird products like this, I had to lend my financial support to the companies that go the extra mile.  Because I do so, I wouldn't be surprised if Nabisco released a Cotton Candy Oreo next.  I'd probably be writing the same review, but at least the packing would be cool.

Since it's Ninja Turtles month around here, I decided to let Leo eat as much as he wants.  Nobody notice that he's missing an arm, okay?

Coming Soon: TMNT Crush

We live in a unique time.  Thanks to technology, specifically social media, the way in which we acquire news has changed greatly since I was a kid.  Back then, you either watched the news or bought tomorrow's newspaper to find out what's going on in the world.  When it came to new products, you'd either catch a commercial, advertisement, or get lucky when searching the aisles.  But nowadays, the world is at the tip of our fingers and everything is updated in real-time.  Today, with a quick search, it's much faster to find news on Twitter than any other media outlet.  In fact, in that same regard, those of us who used to read the news can now make our own.  Now, more than ever, nobody is a nobody.

In terms of The Holidaze, where I discuss new products, toys, events, nostalgia and, of course, holidays, this new age we live in can be just as effective.  In my down time (and when I'm killing time at work,) I'll randomly search hashtags on Instagram in relation to my interests.  It only takes a second and, before ya know it, there are thousands of #halloween photos to go through.  Try doing a quick #80s or #90s search and go on a trip back in time for a true ride down memory lane.  For so many reasons, Instagram has become my favorite social media outlet and it's where I find a lot of Holidaze topics.

Most recently, while doing a #TMNT search, I stumbled across something absolutely awesome!!

As I've stated here before, I am a HUGE Ninja Turtles fan!  They're my favorite cartoon characters of all-time and, to this day, you'll still find me collecting merchandise and watching the classic 80s toon.  So when I saw this, posted by @its_lpk-all_day, my jaw immediately dropped.  With the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film being released on August 8th, the movie promotion has clearly begun!  This brand new can of Crush Soda is specifically designed for Raphael and is Strawberry flavored to match his colored eye band.  This is almost too perfect that it was hard to believe.  Then, as I looked closely, I started to think it was fake.  If you look at the logo, it looks as if it's poorly cut-out.  So I tried not to get my hopes up, especially because this was the only photo I found, and just forget about it until something else came along.

Then, today, I saw.... this!!  In a similar search, @thepleasuretheprivilegeismine posted this masterpiece!!  If this doesn't make it official, then I don't know what will!  Not only are we getting Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Crush soda cans, we're getting 12-packs specifically designed and flavored to match all four Ninja Turtles.  Raphael will be Strawberry and I assumed Donatello will be Grape while Michelangelo will be Orange.  That makes sense, but I wasn't sure which blue flavor would be applied to Leonardo.  Well, now we know.. Crush Berry Punch!  As far as I know, this flavor has never been released before and will be making it's debut with our fearless leader!  Now, are there flavors for April, Splinter and Shredder, too?  I don't know, but I highly doubt it.  In reality, the only other flavor I can fathom is lime.  Perhaps we'll get a mutagen TGRI can to represent all four turtles.  That would put this over the top, but I'm already ecstatic over this promotional product.  It's a good sign for TMNT products and I hope to see much much more in the coming months.

As soon as I find these packs, they'll be here on The Holidaze.  Until then, keep your eyes peeled!!

X-Men: Days of Future Past Blue Raspberry Twinkies

All it takes is one or two new products to kick the season off right and get me back in that Holidaze spirit.  While I haven't been updating the site as regularly as I'd like, I have been behind-the-scenes, scouring stores and online shops, in an attempt to find as many new and intriguing products as possible.  I've been relatively successful and have a few things ready to go, but this one just couldn't wait.  There was no way I was going to sit on this until it had come and gone without any fanfare.  I did that with a good 6-7 Easter products and now they've been trashed in the "unreleased material" folder.  When I call it unreleased material, I feel more important.  I'm like the Michael Jackson of holidays.

Ahhh behold the beauty!!  If you're familiar with The Holidaze, you may be aware of my history (or lack thereof) with Hostess Twinkies.  For as much as I'd like you to click that link, the short story is I never tried one before they temporarily went extinct.  Then, upon their return last Summer, I couldn't get enough of the spongy goodness.  They weren't easy to find, but I bought a box whenever I did.  Now, they're everywhere and I still do my part to keep them in business.  However, since I overlooked Twinkies for so many years, I missed out on the promotional tie-ins or, more specifically, the Ogre Green Shrek Twinkies.  Oh man do they look and sound delicious!  Tasty sponge cakes filled with green goo.  As a fan of TMNT and Slimer, that screams cool on so many different levels.

That time has come and gone.  Thankfully, I have Google to search and pretend as though I took part in that craze.  But this time?  Oh no, buddy!  I wasn't going to miss out again... This time, Hostess and their Twinkies have joined forces with Marvel and the release of X-Men: Days of Future Past! Now, I didn't see the film, but simply because we received this box of delicious glory, I give it 5 stars and an Academy Award.  Blue creme wins every time.

These Twinkies are all business on top but there's one hell of an ecstasy laced party going on below.  This blue creme is seeping through the cake, just asking for you to devour it and ultimately mutate into a new super hero.  Nobody knows who or what you'll become, but that type of colored ooze can only mean you're destined to save the world.  Move over, Wolverine.. 

Cue the Daniel Bryan "YES" chants because I absolutely love this color!!  Look at this closely because it's obviously more than just "blue."  Calling it "blue" is insulting it's beauty.  There's a hint of turquoise, cerulean, cornflower, denim, purple, indigo, and navy.  Sure, I did look up the list of Crayola Crayon colors in order to name these colors, but that's just a small portion of my time worth spending in order to properly describe such an important Summer product!  It's the type of cake that lets kids and kids-at-heart pretend they're eating something forbidden that will enhance their powers beyond human capability.  I mean, I can't be the only 27-year-old expecting to fly after eating a Twinkie, right?  Um..

In all seriousness, the coolest part about these new Twinkies are exactly what separates them from those Ogre Green Shrek Twinkies from years ago... they're flavored!!  Now, I'm no Twinkie historian, but I'm pretty sure this is the first time Twinkie creme has been flavored Blue Raspberry!  I didn't know what to expect from this flavor because, now that I've had and love the traditional Twinkie, it's a tough recipe to alter without affecting its taste.  But the verdict?  Absolutely awesome!  It tastes sooo good and couldn't be a bigger hit in my eyes.  More than anything, this is a great sign that Hostess is back and better than ever.  Since their demise, they've come a long way in less than a year and I couldn't be happier for all my fellow junk-food-eaters of the world!  This one is for us!

In even better news, Blue Raspberry isn't the only promotional flavor released to coincide with X-Men: Days of Future Past.  While I was unable to find it just yet, there are now Strawberry Twinkies out there on shelves.  I can't comment on what type of super powers they may bring you, but rumor has it you may become a villain.  Choose your path wisely ;)

If or when I find the other box, you can bet your X that they'll be on The Holidaze!  In the meantime, I'll be over here praying that they do something similar for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie this August! Oh please please please, Hostess! hashtag nerd..