Dum-Dums Holiday Pops

I bought these for my students to enjoy, but only a few of them even wanted one. Ha ha, more for me! Anyway, these are free of all the top-8 allergens, which makes them a good school snack. They also are super nut free, which is chill. And you know I'm a sucker for dumb seasonal limited edition flavors, so I was excited to give these a try. I think ultimately I prefer regular dum dums, but these were still decent.


Merry Cherry: I feel like I've had this flavor before as a dum dum? Anyway, it's definitely a "cherry" flavor, not super sweet, and giving me vague medicinal vibes. Not my favorite cherry candy in the world, that's for sure. 5/10

Sugar Plum: What is a sugar plum? Just a sweeter plum? I guess that's this...it has a bit of a burnt/caramel flavor, kind of like a raspberry tootsie pop. Not super sweet. I kind of like it. Definitely unique/interesting. 7/10

Hot Chocolate: At first I thought it was weird to have a chocolate lollipop flavor, but this tastes a lot like the chocolate tootsie pop, which is fine. Not my favorite, but fine. Like the others, this is a pretty good likeness -- it really tastes like hot chocolate powder, down to those little grainy marshmallows. I already don't love hot chocolate but if you do I bet you'll like this. 6/10

Sugar Cookie: I guess this tasted like a sugar cookie, but the execution wasn't there for me -- something was a little off, too artificial perhaps? 4/10

Gingerbread: Yikes. Normally I love ginger/gingerbread, but I guess I wasn't expecting it in a dum-dum. This has an authentic, strong ginger flavor, like a sweet ginger tea. But I don't like it as a lollipop. Don't know why. I guess I just want a cookie instead! 4/10

Apple Cider: Tastes just like apple cider. Unlike gingerbread, this isomorphism works for me, because my lollipop saliva is basically liquid. So...yeah. 8/10

Green Apple Crunch: Not really sure what the crunch is supposed to mean, but this is a strong, clear, sweet green apple flavor. Maybe caramel apple is the idea? Not sure. I do like it though. 8/10

Polar Punch: Feels like a mix of bubble gum and a less tart blue raspberry. Like a blue icee! It's OK. 5/10

Mystery: This had a cute santa on the wrapper, which I love. was also bright blue, so I'm guessing mainly polar punch for this one! Which is OK. This was a little sweeter than the polar punch proper, which I think I preferred. 6/10


Overall
Cost: 8/10 (Only 2.50 at Walgreens!)
Taste: 6/10