Frute Brute cereal

 

Product circa: 2022 (and many years before and still to come)

Part of the Count Chocula entourage that makes its appearance seasonally.  This is the first time I had heard of Frute Brute, despite it existing, in various forms, since 1974.

Ever had cherry cereal?  I bet you haven’t.  These seem to be cherry flavored paws with the occasional marshmallow to provide most of the sweetness.  The cherry flavoring really works well here, it’s quite a novel and pleasant experience.  If I ate cereal on the reg, and if this stuff were available on the reg, I would definitely make a habit of buying it.

Candy Corn Oreo

 

Product circa: 2020 (re-release)

These have been released intermittently throughout the years.

Honestly, I’m really struggling to discern how much these are different than the normal Golden Oreos without them in front of me to compare.  It’s possible that the creme has a bit of caramel in it, but otherwise it’s just a delicious, perhaps vanilla-heavy Golden Oreo.

Kit Kat Churro

 

Product circa: 2023

Honestly, this tastes exactly as expected.  A white chocolate Kit Kat with a heavy dose of cinnamon added to it, and also vanilla.  Vanilla and cinnamon seem to be a cheat code to make things taste delicious.  These are utterly fantastic.

Dr. Pepper Cherry

 

Product circa: 2025

I didn't realize this product was around until a friend gave it to me.  I'm going to assume that it's Ephemeral in the sense that it might be regional, seasonal, or just not available at all times everywhere.

Very tasty!  I wish it were around more, I would probably buy it semi-regularly.  However, that's only because I don't have regular access to Cheerwine, which is basically a better version of this.

The Dr. Pepper Cherry has a cherry-heavy flavor, like Cheerwine, but I feel like the spicy Dr. Pepper base actually minimizes my enjoyment, in this case.

Gatorade Mashups Cool Blue + Fruit Punch

 

Product circa: 2025

Note: This is a Presumptive Ephemeral Nom.

A cool idea.  This sounds delicious, right?  For whatever reason, it's not.  They don't marry at all.  I'd rather have each constituent product individually. 

Gatorade Lightning Blast & Midnight Ice

 

Note: These are Presumptive Ephemeral Noms.

Even though these are touted as "New Flavors", they are almost certainly available only for a limited time.

With names like these and the profuse blending of artificial flavors, it's often tough to discern the flavor components without looking online.  Lightning Blast is very melon-forward for me, with what seems like berry flavors following.  Midnight Ice undoubtedly has grape in it, with tropical flavors surrounding it.  Neither are especially good or interesting. 

Lay's Thai-Style Red Curry

 

Product circa: 2025

Not a Lay's product imported from Asia, but a rare instance of US domestic Lay's adopting the flavors of exotic food.

This shit's the bomb, it evokes a perfect red curry: lemongrass, coconut, tomato, chile, garlic, and the spices that make up the curry base.  Bravo!

Herr's Special Hot Stromboli

Product circa: 2025

This flavor was the winner of a potato chip flavor contest.  As a big fan of Herr's and complex chip flavors, I went into this with high hopes.  While there are a ton of flavors going on, this largely tastes, to me, like pepperoncini and cheese.  That's it.

Post Malone & Selena Gomez Oreos

 

Products circa: 2024 & 2025, respectively

How do I feel about the increasing prevalence of celebrity-themed ephemeral noms?  I'm not entirely sure.  The problem is that the celebrities tend to be fairly unimaginative with these products, inasmuch as they have any say at all in how it's created.

Post Malone: Supposedly a salted caramel and shortbread flavor, it tastes like any other brown sugar or caramel-leaning Oreo that I've had a million times.

Selena Gomez: A creme of overwhelming cinnamon and vanilla.  The chocolate cookie is an interesting addition here, as opposed to a vanilla cookie, which would have been the more obvious choice.  Overall delicious, but very intense.

White Chocolate Marshmallow Crispy Treat M&M's

 

Product circa: 2023

Post-hoc thoughts.  These were delicious.  The crispy M&M's in general are really a home run; I remember when they first came out.

Mountain Dew Fruit Quake

 

Product circa: 2022

These are post-hoc thoughts from memory.  Ostensibly a fruitcake-flavored Dew (I love fruitcake), instead this is really perhaps the best fruit punch soda I have ever had, with a heavy concentration on cherry.  Fantastic.  I hope they re-release it with a more welcoming and crowd-pleasing name/branding.

Oreo Coca-Cola (cookies, not soda)

 

Product circa: 2024

It feels like I've been waiting forever for this exact product, but I'm dismayed to find that how Oreo has executed this is much more of an enigma than I expected.

The smell and initial taste is unmistakably cola, but as you keep chewing, you might be surprised to find cola's constituent flavors identifiable here.  Notably, I explicitly get cinnamon and lemon/lime, both of which are indeed in your average cola.

It's almost like I would have liked this more if I had gone in with a different mindset.  I expected a creme cookie that tasted like gummy cola candies, and instead I got a complex cola flavor, almost like those expensive boutique cola brands.  I'm disappointed in my own reaction.

Overall, an impressive product from Oreo, one that I never would have expected from them.

Oh yeah, it also has popping candies in the creme to emulate a cola's carbonation.  Those can fuck off. 

Moon Pie Key Lime

 

Product circa: 2024-2025

Note: This is a Presumptive Ephemeral Nom

There's a small handful of Moon Pie flavors out there, and I would love to see more!

Seemingly a plain (vanilla?) Moon Pie (a mini one, in this case) covered in a thin frosting that is so green, it has hints of blue in it.  The frosting is the only part of the snack flavored like key lime, and it has an ever-so-slight perfume of lime in it.  Overall, this is fairly unpleasant. 

Spotted in the Wild: Oreo Loaded

 

 

Note: These are a Presumptive Ephemeral Nom. 

I found these in Walmart.

I'm not going to buy them.  They look like a hybrid of the Oreo's The Most Stuf and their Cookies & Cream variety.  I'm pretty confident how they'll taste.  And I know most of its contents would go to waste. 

 

Lay's Argentenian Style Steak

 

I'm not sure if these are regional to here in South Florida or if these are available nationally.

HALLELUJAH there is beef flavoring in these chips, and it shows.  They lead strongly with a flavored of steak, specifically charred steak.  Next up is heavy black pepper.  There are the typical aromatics like onion and garlic, and a hint of parsley which is boosted by some vinegar powder.

These are good, but they probably should have been marketed as some other product/flavoring, like "Steakhouse" or something.  If they want to mimic chimichurri, they need to get bolder on the botanicals, like parsley, garlic, chile, and citrus. 

Pepsi Wild Cherry & Cream & Zero Sugar

Product circa: 2025

Note: This is a Presumptive Ephemeral Nom

As many brand competitors (in many industries) tend to release similar products to compete at the same time, this release coincides with Coke's Orange & Cream varietal.

As someone who claims that Pepsi Vanilla is his favorite soda of all time, and who also believes that Pepsi Wild Cherry is truly exceptional, I was very excited for this.  Sadly, while this stuff is taste, I think its probably a worse product than either mentioned above.  It is lesser than the sum of its parts.  I think the flavors just get a bit too jumbled.  It might have been possible to blend this in a way that worked better, but maybe not.  The vanilla tastes odd, and the cherry doesn't taste quite like the flavor in Pepsi Wild Cherry.  The Zero Sugar version isn't bad, but I don't taste vanilla at all.

Dr. Pepper Blackberry

 

Product circa: 2025

I've drunk a whole 12 pack of this stuff and I'm still having trouble assessing it.

There is a subtle blackberry flavor added to the product, of course, and it's not just a "berry" flavor - it's definitely blackberry.  But it's not a blackberry that would fool you into thinking it's natural.

I could say that the added flavor could be stronger, as I often do, but I'm not sure that'd be a great idea here.  In the end, it's just good, not great.  It's about on par with the original.

Gatorade Passionfruit

Product circa: 2023

Note: This is a Presumptive Ephemeral Nom.

A subtle but accurate passionfruit flavor, and a bit of sourness.  Very nice.  I'd love to have access to this regularly. 

Funyuns Spicy Queso

 

Product circa: 2023

Disappointing, overall.  There is cheese powder added to these, and they are notably spicy.  There are flecks of herbs on the "chips", but I cannot taste them.  In fact, these are pretty low on flavor.  It's almost like these are under-seasoned and could use more salt, though I'm sure the sodium of this product is already sky-high.

Red Bull Coconut Edition/Summer Edition 2018

 

Product circa: 2018 and intermittent since

This has had permutations throughout the years.  It was called Summer Edition in 2018, and since has been called Coconut Edition.

Ostensibly a coconut berry flavor, what I get is the expected Red Bull taste with a sour berry added in, and a hint of coconut.  I wish it had more coconut.

M&M's Mega

 

Product Circa: Intermittent

Giant M&M's candies whose form factor is flatter than your average M&M's... probably because they would be too firm to bite through, otherwise.  Their taste and texture are otherwise very reminiscent of the original, surprisingly.  But are they more fun to eat than the original?  Very.

Pepsi Salted Caramel

 

Product circa: 2017

I had high hopes for this one, but it falls flat a bit.  Your typical Pepsi with some added burnt sugar flavoring, the kind that would be added with any cheap “salted caramel” flavored product. (And there’s no additional salt in this stuff.)  I applaud Pepsi, as usual, for having such a creative variation, but sadly, this doesn’t stack up to their usual successes.

Pringles Grilled Beer Brat & Beer Can Chicken

Products circa: Summer 2025

A nice promotion done with Miller Lite beer.

Neither of these products contain meat products, so like is most often, they have to lean heavily on yeast and MSG instead.

Neither of them have a particularly meaty flavor, and instead rely on a mix of savory herbs and aromatics.  The flavor for both is fairly subtle and aren't memorable.  They're not bad, but not particularly good, either.  The Grilled Beer Brat has a particularly glutamatey/cheesy taste that approaches the taste of sausage.

It must be noted, however, that the Grilled Beer Brat variety has the distinct aroma of pork when you open the can.  No idea how they did that.

Funyuns Sour Cream & Funyuns

 

Note: This is a Presumptive Ephemeral Nom.

Product circa: 2025

We certainly have seen meta products like these before, haven't we?

Anyway, these seem to be like regular Funyuns with "sour cream & onion" seasoning on them instead of the traditional seasoning, which is definitely different.  The milk powder is noticeable, and the spices are bold, almost even like ranch dressing seasoning.  I would say these are better than the original.

Fritos Flavor Twists Lime & Jalapeno

Product circa: 2025

Note: This is an Presumptive Ephemeral Nom.

I love to see new flavors of the Flavor Twists.  These were a nice sight for sore eyes.

The lime is assertive, but there's a heavy sweetness that balances it very well.  You have your typical savory spices, along with buttermilk powder that gives it that fatty/cheesy flavor that it really needs with the lime.  The jalapeno isn't overly flavorful, but the heat doesn't let you ignore it.  This is probably the best lime-flavored snack I've ever had.

7-Up Shirley Temple

 

Note: This is a Presumptive Ephemeral Nom.

Product circa: New Year 2025

A novel and quaint idea, this stuff is very scant on flavor.  It's sweeter than 7-Up, and the color is cute, but I'm not getting any flavor that's easily identifiable.  I could be convinced easiest of cherry, and there is some generic berry flavor that might be trying to simulate pomegranate.  I've read excited and nuanced reviews of this stuff online, and my opinion is that they are getting caught up in the marketing.  This is a fun product, but in the end, it's a sweet "pink" lemon-lime drink.

Doritos Gaucamole!

 

Product circa: 2025

Note: This is a Presumptive Ephemeral Nom.

Akin to most of the "meaty" chips flavors, Doritos Guacamole doesn't actually have any avocado in it.  (Which is funny, because it's the only reason I can eat it, as I am allergic to avocados.)  Instead, it has every ingredient in guacamole except for the avocado.  They really took a "kitchen sink" approach here, with your typical spices and aromatics, but also jalapeno, sour cream powder, cheese powder, and tomato powder.  The taste is reminiscent of ranch flavoring, as many of the flavors are in common with it.  But there is a tanginess on the chip that makes everything else taste light and fresh.  I swear there is cilantro in here too.  For a product that doesn't quite know what it wants to be, it's pretty impressive.

Doritos Late Night Loaded Taco

 

Product circa: 2025

I'm fairly certain that this product was released many years ago, but I can't recall if I tried it back then.

A fairly complicated mix of many different flavors.  There is no meat in the ingredients, but there is cumin, coriander, onion, and garlic, which do a pretty decent job at simulating the flavor of the type of seasoned ground beef you'd find in tacos.  There is tomato powder in this, but I don't taste it.  I do, however, get a bit of the regular cheese powder thrown in here as well.  Very good!

Oreo Thins Tiramisu

 

Product circa: 2024

I love that they are issuing more flavors in the "Thin" format.  It's odd that these don't claim to be a limited time product.

Maybe it's for the best.  These aren't bad, but they barely ring the bell for tiramisu.  There might be a touch of coffee in there, but it's hard to tell.  Otherwise, it feels like a chocolate cookie with buttery brown sugar creme.  Not bad in the least.

Gatorade Electric Flash

 

Product circa: 2025

With no description of what it tastes like, the internet says that Gatorade Electric Flash tastes like the orange and lemon lime flavors combined.  They are right.  And it's delicious.  That's about it.

Doritos Late Night Sizzlin' Cheeseburger

 

Note: This is a Presumptive Ephemeral Nom

Product circa: 2025

Though I never posted it on this site, some 15+ years ago I recall having this same product.  It was a revelation.  Each component of a cheeseburger could be parsed from the taste of the product: beef, cheese, tomato, onion, mustard, pickle, and even lettuce.

While I commend that this product actually has beef in the ingredients list, this still doesn't quite measure up to the older version.  At first bite, the beef, cheese, and pickle immediate produce the cheeseburger "vibe".  Aside from the additional onion, and perhaps mustard, that's where this product stops.  It's still delicious, though.

Powerade Sour

 

Note: This is a Presumptive Ephemeral Nom.

Product circa: 2024+

These were a lot of fun.  They tasted great, and the sourness is a great addition to the sports drink genre.  I would buy these regularly if I see them regularly

Cheetos Flamin' Hot Dill Pickle

Product circa: 2025

Note: This is Presumptive Ephemeral Nom

I get it.  It's dill pickle flavoring combined with Cheetos' Flamin' Hot.  They just don't work well together.  I'd rather either of them over the combination.  Otherwise, it's passable.

Goldfish Butterbeer

 

Product circa: 2025

Odd timing for this product in 2025, but it was exciting to spot it.

The butterscotch coating on these is occasionally evident, but otherwise they are just a delicious brown sugar/molasses cookie.

Keogh's Guinness Crinkle Cut Irish Potato Chips

 

Note: This is Presumptive Ephemeral Nom.

No idea if these are hard to find, but they're certainly not easy to find in my parts.

These chips are a celebration of yeast, which can be tasted and also seen high-up on the ingredients list.  The first bite will give you the fruity side of yeast most often found in beer, with that signature fruitiness that's almost banana-like.  It then quickly settles into the savory side of things, with a deep cheesy savoriness with hints of onions and soy sauce.  The ingredients claim coriander and nutmeg, but I don't taste those.  A fascinating experiment!

Cheetos Puffs Cheese Pizza

 

Note: This is a Presumptive Ephemeral Nom

I love a good pizza-flavored snack, which is always signaled with powders of cheese, tomato, and oregano.

It seems like they really half-assed this one.  The added tomato powder somehow dampens the cheese seasoning, and it all feels under-seasoned... like it needs more salt (which I'm sure it doesn't and is already high in sodium).

Doritos Golden Sriracha

 

Product circa: winter 2025

This is a Presumptive Ephemeral Nom.

A frankenstein flavor that likely uses artificial flavor compounds.  The first bite is dominated by chile (not too spicy), mustard, and savories like onion and garlic.  There is a tanginess, but also a sweetness that is almost fruity, and my guess is it's the same flavoring used in the Lay's Sweet & Spicy Honey.  Like that product, this one also has a throwaway name; I suppose the presence of chile and garlic could pose as sriracha.  Not bad, but I would never buy this again.

Mountain Dew Baja Punch & Baja Flash

 

Product circa: summer 2021

As part of the 100 Days of Baja promotion, these 2 products were released alongside Baja Blast's 2021 summer release.

Baja Punch: Very light, and not syrupy.  Interestingly, I don't get the Dew base at all.  There's a tropical melon here, almost like a watermelon agua fresca.  A bit of Sweetart to prevent it from tasting too natural.  There's cherries on the label, but I don't get that at all.

Baja Flash: One of the greatest Dews I've ever tasted - in the Top 3.  A perfect pineapple coconut flavor that I'm not sure I could clock as a Dew.  As of this 2025 writing, I still have a few cans left, which I will cherish.

Pringles Hot Ones Los Calientes Verde

 

Product circa: winter 2025

I've had the sauce on which this snack is based.  The sauce isn't my favorite, but it's damn good, and a complex sauce, much more special that the average one you'd get on any store shelf.

The first taste noticeable here on first bite is the sweet tomato/molasses like character that you'd find on a barbeque chip, which frankly doesn't fit with the rest of this product at all.  It's an odd introduction.

The rest of the experience is pretty straightforward.  The majority of the flavor on this chip is an exceedingly tangy green chile, with potent heat following up the rear.  The heat from a single chip is commendable, but after a few of these go down the hatch (no pun intended), you'll realize this is the kind of heat that builds and builds.  And few more, and you'll be huffing and puffing.  These are some of the hottest mainstream chips I've ever had, and easily the hottest Pringle I've had.

Pringles Philly Cheesesteak

Note: This is an Presumptive Ephemeral Nom.

Product circa: autumn 2024

No beef flavoring here, like usual, and instead it is mimicked by yeast powder.  The central flavoring on these chips is a sharp American cheese, which is impressively pungent.  This is followed up by onion, and that's about all for this simple experience.  The outstanding American cheese, however, makes these quite interesting.