TMNT Crush: Raphael Strawberry

As TMNT Week continues here on The Holidaze, we discuss our final Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle in the Crush soda collection - Raphael!  Known for his signature red eye band and rude attitude, Raphael is the loose cannon of the bunch.  He's hot-headed with a quick temper, but is loyal to his family regardless of their differing opinions at times.  While he may not be the leader, he's second in command and strives to be the best in his own way.  He's certainly the yin to Leonardo's yang and, together, they balance each other and the group perfectly.  So while Raph wouldn't like that he's the last Turtle to be reviewed, he may feel better once he hears how extremely difficult his flavor was to find in stores!

Raphael's Strawberry Crush can was the first one I discovered on Instagram.  I was shocked to see it existed and even after it was proven to be a reality, you still could have fooled me because I couldn't find Raph anywhere.  Maybe that's symbolic of who Raph is as a character.  While he's loyal to his family and defends his brothers, he's still very much a loner who would protect New York City as a solo vigilante if he could, but knows he's 4x less than what his brothers are as a team.  Maybe Raph was so hard to find because he was out on his own but, in the end, he came to his senses and finally joined forces with me at my local Path Mark.  It took me long enough, but Raphael is home, whether he likes it or not.

Like all Ninja Turtle cans, Raphael's is designed perfectly and, again, the colors contrast very well.  Usually, whenever you bring green and red together, it's hard to not think of Christmas, but Crush managed to avoid that trap.  Between the splatter logo, fruit slice and turtle shell, the can stands on it's own as something different; something special.  Of course, Raphael's eyes and brows are especially aggressive along the rim.  Since the first animated series, Raph has gone from funny sarcasm to a true bad ass.  His eyes say a lot and I'm sure the new film will back up that sentiment.

As a kid, I always wanted to be Michelangelo.  He's always been my favorite and I wanted to relate to him, but the truth is I'm much more like Raphael than any other turtle.  Sure, a nerdy blog that focuses on holidays and nostalgia probably doesn't back that up but, in real life, I'm the guy that loves to lead but lets my emotion get in the way of sound decisions.  Thankfully, much like Raph, I'm able to make the best of those decisions and have an awesome family to rally behind me, making me better than I could ever be on my own.  I think the majority of us can relate to Raph, but I'm nowhere near the bad ass he is.  For example, as I was taking photos outside on my deck, I had to run inside like a chicken because a swarm of wasps decided to make their Summer debut on a 90 degree day.  Unlike my wimp ass, they refused to leave the area, but I found my courage, got back out there and rushed these photos for your viewing enjoyment.  That's T-U-R-T-L-E Power!

I know Strawberry Crush has been around for some time, but I've never experienced the flavor.  I knew it would be delicious because I've read rave reviews in the past, but I was excited to finally form my own opinion.  It's awesome, but very sweet.  The best comparison I can make is to "Crazy Hair" candy.  Oh man, when I was a kid, Crazy Hair was available at the Corner Store and my cousin and I bought one every day.  They were sooo sweet and sugary that the rush was inevitable.  For an 8-year-old, the amount of sugar we took in was probably comparable to a drug, but we used the high to play wiffle ball.  We were like little A-Rod's on the block thanks to our Crazy Hair.  Well this Strawberry Crush flavor tastes exactly the same and it instantly brought back a wave of nostalgia and a retro rush of memories.  For that alone, Raphael Strawberry Crush is a great success, but even if you have no attachment to the flavor, I can almost guarantee you'll enjoy this variety of TMNT Crush.  What I can't guarantee is that you'll be able to find any bottles or cans.

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..

Three Musketeers - Strawberry Dark Chocolate

It's been exactly one month since my last Holidaze post and, as is common with this time of year, I saw it coming.  I told myself I wouldn't let the off-season affect the way I treated the site, but between work and the lack of topics, it's just natural.  But, to some degree, I wanted to stay true to my word and keep up with the site as much as possible.  Although I haven't had a lot of down time to dedicate to The Holidaze, I couldn't let Valentine's Day, which is now only 2-days away, come and go without paying it due diligence.  I've never covered it before, but this year had to be different, so we're kicking off the 2-day V-Day marathon with the hottest of cupid's products.

3 Musketeers Strawberry Dark Chocolate Minis!!

I first saw this on Instagram and knew it would be February's biggest hit.  Look, you can take any old Snickers or Reese's and shape it into a heart, but that just isn't going to cut it anymore.  You need to go the extra mile because that's what's going to attract me and make me spend my money, especially for a less popular holiday like Valentine's Day.  Let's face it, it's a day for love, couples, and girls.  I'm not against either of those, but it's far from wrestling and basketball so it takes a lot to lure me in and get me to spend money on myself.  But this year? You win, 3 Musketeers!  You had me at Strawberry..

Now, these may or may not be new, but having never covered Valentine's Day before, they're completely new to me.  I think I remember seeing a cherry flavored edition in the past, but didn't take the time to investigate the product.  This year, I wasn't going to let this get away.  Look at the pink and silver contrast with the red and purple to create the perfect Valentine's Day rainbow.  You couldn't incorporate better colors to appeal to my eye.  For me, sometimes it's more than just whatever flavor they're offering, it's about product design and how far they'll go to make it complete.  Not every product can change their taste, and some don't have to, but that doesn't mean you can't change a few colors and logos to celebrate the season.  For me, 3 Musketeers was already a success before I even tried the minis.  Package design and art always go a long way.

I love milk chocolate, but tend to avoid dark chocolate.  I've never liked the flavor.  It's like dark beer - I'll drink it, but would rather not.  In this case, I was willing to make the exception because I figured there had to be a reason why the 3 Musketeers chose dark over milk.  It had to work better with the strawberry and I trusted my three homies.  They wouldn't steer me wrong, so it wasn't really an issue for me.  Dark or milk, I had complete faith that this would be well worth it.

Man, I couldn't get my iphone to take a picture that does the color justice, but the pink strawberry filling is beautiful.  It screams Valentine's Day and tastes great.  For as much as my iphone doesn't do the visual justice, I don't think my words can do so for the flavor, either.  This is awesome.  It's strong, it's sweet, and tag teams with the dark chocolate well enough to be champions.  Usually, whenever I buy one of those big, overpriced, heart-shaped boxes of variously assorted chocolates from Russel Stover, I tend to avoid the strawberry filled candies.  They never appeal to me so I go straight for the caramel and call it a day.  But this?  This is the best starberry/chocolate candy I've ever had.  This is what should be offered in those big boxes because it puts all others, and their price tags, to shame.

Whether you're single and want to revel in your freedom or you're with that special someone who wants to indulge in your sweetness, this is the way to go.  Either way, you can't go wrong because this takes your regular, every-year Valentine's Day to the next level.  We know V-Day is all about candy, teddy bears, and flowers, so you're 1/3 of the way there and it's a lot cheaper than ordering that big box on February 13th.  I'm looking at you, guys, I'm right there with ya.  But don't pay an arm and a leg to get whatever body part it is you're trying to get on Valentine's Day.  Let the 3 Musketeers be your wingmen (or wingwomen) and you're good to go ;)