It been a very long time since I’ve noticed Life Savers hard candy on shelves. Are they still around? Do Life Savers need life saving? I mean, I’m not have an existential crisis about it.
However, I may have one about the possible loss of Sparkling Ice’s Starburst Strawberry flavor. There’s a new strawberry-flavored Sparkling Ice in town as part of the Sparkling Ice Life Savers line, which also includes Wild Cherry, Pineapple, and Green Apple, and I don’t know if there’s enough room on shelves for two strawberry-flavored Sparkling Ice varieties.
Starburst Strawberry is my go-to Sparkling Ice flavor whenever I’m in the mood for something non-caffeinated, bubbly, sweet, strawberry-flavored, pink, and in a skinny tall bottle. I’ve bought enough of them that if I redeemed all the bottles for five cents each, I could buy two unopened ones. There’s something about it that makes me feel refreshed and satisfied. So don’t leave me, Sparkling Ice Starburst Strawberry. Please. I love you.
I still see the Starburst flavors on shelves, on the Sparkling Ice website alongside the Life Savers ones, and available on Amazon, so it seems safe for now. But who knows what the future holds? Will Sparkling Ice run a promotion where it pits the two lines against each other, has us vote to keep one and discontinue the other, and calls it “Which Will Be On Sparkling Thin Ice?”
Or maybe that doesn’t matter at all, because after trying all four Life Savers flavors, I think, as Bob Marley sang, every little thing gonna be all right.
I enjoyed all four, including the strawberry one. While I can taste some similarities between the two strawberry varieties, Starburst Strawberry hits me in the feels a little more. Maybe it’s because I prefer Strawberry Starburst over Strawberry Life Savers. The Life Savers version has a nice but standard strawberry flavor I’ve tasted in other strawberry beverages. It’s quite good, and if Starburst Strawberry ever goes away, I could keep an empty bottle around, fill it with the Life Savers version, and pretend nothing happened.
Next, pineapple.
To be honest, I don’t know if I’ve ever had a Pineapple Life Saver. Actually, I can’t remember the last time I popped any hard Life Savers candy into my mouth. Decades ago? Anyway, the pineapple drink has a lovely aroma and a quite tasty flavor for a zero-sugar sparkling water. It’s sweet, a little tart, and reminds me of the pineapple candy I used to eat as a kid, which I’m sure was not Pineapple Life Savers.
As I mentioned in the previous paragraph, it’s been a while since I’ve had Life Savers, but smelling and tasting the Wild Cherry brought back a flood of memories of what Cherry Life Savers tasted like. The beverage started with a sweet cherry flavor followed by a slight tartness. There were also times when I got a little fruit punch vibe. While not as wonderful as the previous two flavors, it’s still quite good, and re-purchasable.
Green Apple is a limited edition flavor, but I’d be fine with it joining the permanent lineup because it’s damn tasty. It nails the green apple candy flavor and the tartness associated with it. I don’t know if it’s because I don’t drink green apple beverages often enough for my taste buds to get bored with them, but they were genuinely excited about this sweet-and-tart flavor. They liked it as much as the Pineapple and Strawberry, and would recommend it if you’re into green apples.
So maybe it won’t be a big deal if the Sparkling Ice Starburst line goes away, because these Life Savers flavors made me feel just as refreshed and satisfied. But I don’t want to imagine what will happen if both lines get discontinued. So don’t do that to me, Sparkling Ice. Please. I love you.
Purchased Price: $1.49 each
Size: 17 fl oz bottles
Purchased at: Times Supermarket
Rating: 8 out of 10 (Strawberry), 8 out of 10 (Pineapple), 7 out of 10 (Wild Cherry), 8 out of 10 (Green Apple)
Nutrition Facts: (1 bottle) 10 calories, 0 grams of fat, 0 milligrams of sodium, 0 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein.
You have a snack related website and never had a pineapple lifesaver? How is that possible? It’s one of the OGs!!!
“What he said.”