Having grown up with Kolasnören, I have a soft spot for this type of candy. Apparently, these Rips Whips have been around for a couple of years, but it was just recently I spotted them for the first time in a local store.
Obviously, these are made by the same company who brought us Rips (See review of Rips here). The bag design is very similar with the word Rips across the top. The bag has a transparent tray that the candies are sitting in. I assume that’s to prevent them from becoming a messy blob in the bottom of the bag.
The back of the bag also has instructions for making some cool braids using the candies. And if you are feeling especially crafty there are several more instructions on their website: http://www.foreigncandy.com/ripswhips.html
I didn’t try any braiding myself, but I can definitely see how it’s possible. The whips are very soft and bendable, yet strong enough to be handled quite a bit.
There are four flavors of whips in the bag – Apple, Strawberry, Tutti Frutti and Blue Raspberry.
I think the best way of eating string-shaped candy like this is to gather up a bunch of it and pop it in your mouth. Just taking a bite off a string is pretty unsatisfactory, as it doesn’t really taste all that much.
Ok, time for the tasting. The green apple strings are decent, they have a distinct apple taste, but they are rather bitter. The yellow tutti-frutti has an odd taste with a hint of lime. The blue raspberry is ok, with a more mild taste. Finally, the red strawberry has a weird chemical taste that I don’t like at all. I was disappointed as strawberry is usually my favorite.
I really want to like this candy – the packaging, shape, colors etc, are all great. Unfortunately, the taste is not really all that great… and just like the rips they leave my mouth with a rather unsatisfactory aftertaste. I was going to give them a 3 of 5, but the persistant weird aftertaste as I was writing this review made me reconsider and give it a 2. My mouth actually feels a bit numb with the odd chemical tastes. However, keep your eyes open for my review of Rips Bits – those are much better!
Brand: The Foreign Candy Company
Weight:
Price: 1.50
Yum: The packaging, smell, look are all great…
Yuck: … but the taste is not.
| Packaging: |  (4 / 5) |
| Aroma: | (4 / 5) |
| Texture: |  (2 / 5) |
| Appearance: | (4 / 5) |
| Flavor: | (2 / 5) |
| Value: |  (3 / 5) |
| Overall: | (2 / 5) |