You gotta hand it to Trident- they’re willing to try anything. You have to appreciate that quality, be it from a gum manufacturer or a college sophomore-trying is half the battle. Trident’s latest offering is called “Trident Layers”. The concept is twofold:

1. Layers-(literally)-of flavors.
2. “Real” flavors.

This is the tag line on their web site: “It’s much more than gum- it’s a gumwich™” And yes, they have the word “gumwich” trademarked.

Sorry for the web-snatched photo, but…there’s not much visual detail to get into with gum is there?

Despite searching, I can’t find any information on what Trident means by “real” flavor, so I’m going to move past that to the layering dual-flavor concept. We’ve been ’round the bend with this idea quite a bit with candy, usually with not so favorable results. With gum though…maybe it would work better?

The first flavor I sampled was “Strawberry Citrus”. Interesting combo idea. First reaction? It’s good. Lotsa flavor, pretty tangy, the citrus comes through. But…there’s no strawberry. I mean, NONE. The gum tastes like citrus gum to me with a touch of something else, but not strawberry. Regardless, it was a decent chew.

Next up was “Apple Pineapple”. I was very excited to try this one, as I love anything pineapple flavored. After I started chewing, I got that same initial full flavor hit. The pineapple is the primary flavor, and like the Strawberry Citrus, it’s really the only flavor that came through for me. And it was sort of a weird pineapple-not the “real” kind, which is super sweet and tart, but more the essence of pineapple. Less sweet, less tart, less everything. You’re supposed to get hit with apple, but…again, it just didn’t taste anything like apple to me. Just nondescript fruit flavor.

Maybe these problems are mine alone, because I honestly can’t believe that the fine folks at Trident would actually think they pulled off the 2 flavor combo with these two varieties. I’m not slamming them in particular, I just don’t get how anyone thinks that 2 or 3 flavor combos work. When has this EVER worked, unless it’s something mellow like mint, or lemon? You can mint-ize anything. that’s easy. And adding lemon is something we’ve all been doing with our drinks (unless you have NO idea how to live, that is) for years. And while it’s true that good fruit salad is pretty damn good, that’s about the only time I’ve really experienced a chunk of pineapple and apple chillin’ in concert in my mouth. This just doesn’t work. Sorry.

When it’s all said and done, Trident Layers are…just another sugar free gum. But it’s pretty good- I’ll grant them that. I’d certainly eat it again, but I’m not sure I would buy it. For me though, gum is just what I throw in my mouth on the way home to tide me over until I can cram some more food or candy into my pie hole. And for that purpose, this is just fine.

It’s Whatev.  Not Auce, not shite, just whatev.