Tag: Soda

REVIEW: Shirley Temple 7UP

Marvo 8 Comments

7UP has given us a gift this holiday season. A brand spanking new limited edition flavor — Shirley Temple 7UP! Woo hoo! Santa finally read my letters. Opening doors for people and being a narc on folks who fart in elevators really paid off this year.

Wait a minute.

A pomegranate AND cherry flavored 7UP? There’s been a seasonal Pomegranate 7UP before, and Cherry 7UP has been around for decades. So this new Shirley Temple 7UP is just a combination of two previous varieties, making it a not-quite-a-brand-spanking-new limited edition flavor. Bah humbug!

It’s also available in a Zero Sugar version, and along with 12-packs, there’s a 2-liter version, so share this festive drink with your friends at your holiday party.

Full disclosure: I’ve never had a Shirley Temple. Call me sheltered. Call me unworldly. Call me Shirley. Or call me someone who has never purchased a bottle of grenadine. But I’ve never had an opportunity to try one. For those unfamiliar with the old-timey, non-alcoholic mixed drink, it combines lemon-lime soda or ginger ale with a splash of grenadine (a sweet syrup made from pomegranates) and is topped with a maraschino cherry. Yup, that sounds old-timey.

While my lips have never sipped on an actual Shirley Temple, I’ve consumed a few cans of 7UP’s attempts to honor the beverage named after someone some folks will have to Google, and it has put me in a festive mood. Shirley Temple 7UP is delicious. If I were to offer this to a Grinch, drinking it would make them smile.

But here’s the thing I find odd about this drink. Its flavor reminds me of an Orange Julius. If I think harder than I should when drinking a soda, I notice the cherry. But for the most part, I taste a mildly tart orange citrus flavor. Maybe my taste buds are broken? However, I’m not sure about that because they successfully determined this year’s Mountain Dew VooDEW Mystery Flavor.

But with that said, this Shirley Temple 7UP is a wonderful tasting soda and the most satisfying 7UP limited edition flavor I’ve had in a long time. It’s miles better than Pomegranate 7UP, which has attempted to be a holiday thing twice.

Does this have to leave? Can it stay around? Or at least, bring it back every holiday season, Keurig Dr Pepper. I’ll narc on more gassy folks in elevators if that happens.

Purchased Price: More than one should pay on eBay
Size: 12 fl oz cans
Purchased at: eBay
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 170 calories, 0 grams of fat, 40 milligrams of sodium, 46 grams of carbohydrates, 45 grams of sugar (including 45 grams of added sugar), and 0 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Limited Edition Oreo Coca-Cola Zero Sugar

Brandon 10 Comments

Like a wide-eyed kid away at college, far from home for the first time in their life, Coca-Cola is going through a bit of an experimental phase. Over the past year or so, it mixed its classic carbonation with DJs and conceptual artists, with abstract ideas and intangible tastes like “space.” But like that same aforementioned college kid, things have mostly returned to normal. Well, except first they wanna try one last thing, okay?

Partnering with Oreo for a collaboration that—ahem—swings both ways, the bold and daring can now get Oreo cookies that taste like Coke and Coke that tastes like Oreo cookies. I love flavored Coca-Cola—even when they’re bad, they’re at least fun—so I was eager to drink the cookie.

Cracking open a mini can, I was assaulted by the aroma of, well, Oreo. I took a tiny sip, and yep, there it was: I was totally drinking the famous creme-filled chocolate wafer cookie. As the artificial chocolate flavor coated the inside of my mouth like some greasy sugar juice, I got the tiniest hint of good old-fashioned Coca-Cola, then a crashing wave of aspartame and acesulfame potassium.

The artificial sweetener in this hits HARD. I’m a regular Coke Zero drinker, so it’s not that I’m not used to it; something about the balance in the Oreo Coke, though, is different. I’ve had the same thing happen in some of the other limited edition Coke Zero Sugar flavors, and honestly, it makes it too much. It reminds me of being a kid and accidentally being given a Diet Coke at a fast food place. When I was young and unaccustomed to the artificial tang, that first sip was like getting slapped in the mouth.

And unfortunately, I felt it really hindered my enjoyment of this otherwise fun flavor.

Oreo Coca-Cola Zero Sugar is a fun idea and nothing more. If you’re a Coke completist or someone who likes trying new and unusual things, and you see a bottle, grab it. It’s worth a couple of bucks, and who knows, it may be your new favorite thing. (A lot of chatter I’ve read online so far seems to really put me in the minority, so, as the adage goes, your mileage may be different than mine.)

Purchased Price: $5.98
Size: 10-pack mini cans
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 5 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 can) 0 calories, 0 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 gram of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 45 milligrams of sodium, 0 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 0 grams of sugar, and less than 0 gram of protein.

REVIEW: Limited Edition 2024 Mtn Dew VooDEW

Marvo 21 Comments

Personally, I love that Mtn Dew has continued the tradition of offering a mystery flavor here in 2024.

I hope the brand never stops pumping out these flavors.

No other brand has had the creativity to keep this up for this long, with Oreo and Peeps doing it for a couple of years and then giving it up.

Keeping in line with previous VooDEW varieties, this one is also flavored like a particular candy.

So, much like all other Mtn Dew mystery flavors, the soda’s label design, ingredients list, and milky color don’t hint at what this is supposed to taste like.

Though, the label does tell us that this is the sixth VooDEW iteration with an eye inside a red number six.

Also, for those who wish every soda flavor had a zero sugar version, VooDEW 2024 has a zero sugar version, but I’m only going to cover the full sugary version in this review.

Right now, I have to say that this might be my favorite VooDEW so far, although every year has been good to great tasting.

Before I tell you what I think the mystery flavor is, I should say that it’s fruity, a tad sour, and maybe creamy, which pretty much narrows down what it could be.

Um, sorry, Snickers, Twix, M&M’s, Reese’s, Hershey’s, etc, you’ll never have a VooDEW flavor that tastes like any of you.

Really, with the first sip, I thought I was drinking a previous VooDEW that tasted like Skittles, but after taking a few more swigs, my taste buds helped me come to a definite answer.

So what do I think it is?

Take the first letter of every sentence in this review, which I’ve separated for convenience, and put them all together for my guess as to what this delicious VooDEW mystery flavor is.

Purchased Price: More than one should pay on eBay
Size: 20 fl oz bottles
Purchased at: eBay
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 bottle) 270 calories, 0 grams of fat, 85 milligrams of sodium, 73 grams of carbohydrates, 73 grams of sugar 73 (including 73 grams of added sugar), 0 grams of protein, and 91 milligrams of caffeine.

REVIEW: Fanta Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Haunted Apple and Haunted Spritz

Tiffany 4 Comments

Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetl—SHHH!

While he’ll eat anything we want him to eat, swallow anything we want him to swallow, let’s not summon him to try any of the new Fanta and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice movie collaboration beverages.

In anticipation of the upcoming sequel, Fanta created four specially marked packages featuring the actors’ faces. There’s only one new limited edition flavor – Haunted Apple – on shelves, which features the bio-exorcist himself!

I specify on-shelf because there’s another new collaboration flavor on Coca-Cola Freestyle machines only: Haunted Spritz.

I will also say that Betelgeuse’s Haunted Apple flavor has pretty sweet packaging with the iconic black and white pinstripes of his suit. It looks even better on the can versus the 20-ounce bottle, which is clear with the label featuring the pinstripes.

The rest of the packaging doesn’t really stand out as much; it looks best all stitched together on the movie theater fountain cup. The special Beetlejuice cup was only available in the medium size at my local theater.

Both Haunted Apple and Haunted Spritz are delightfully hued. The former is a neon green, and the latter is a deep, haunting purple – both apropos of the spooky season and movie.

I also enjoyed watching the blending colors pour from the Coca-Cola Freestyle for the Haunted Spritz. My human eyes could only see purple and then red syrup. Maybe ghosts, like The Maitlands, can see more spectral colors in this.

However, neither is “spine-tingling,” as stated. It’s not even the slightest bit stimulating as this is caffeine-free, like most Fanta flavors.

Haunted Apple reminded me of drinking a caramel apple pop and a fall candle in that overly fragrant artificial way. There was a distinct crisp apple flavor, but it was quickly taken over by caramel and a hefty dose of cinnamon. It’s not a red-hot cinnamon but more of a fall spice, like in apple cider. It was unexpected and a bit jarring, so I petition to rename this to Haunted Spiced Apple or Haunted Fall Apple to help better explain what to expect. Also, I don’t know about you, but I don’t love drinking the smell of air fresheners or candles. Lastly, it’s really just not as good as other apple sodas out there.

As for Haunted Spritz, it’s always fun to guess a mystery flavor, and this one was no exception. The purple was unmistakably a candy-like grape, but I couldn’t identify the red syrup being mixed with it. Grape and cherry do NOT create what I was tasting. But what I tasted was Fruity Pebbles. Trippy. While it was a fun couple of sips, there was no way I could consume a whole cup of it as it was incredibly sweet. However, I may consider siping this again when I watch Beetlejuice Beetlejuice in the theater.

The new flavors are great for the novelty and got me to buy lots of Fanta, but I wouldn’t rank these as favorites. So, I won’t be sad when these limited edition items float away in the Lost Souls room.

Purchased Price: $7.99 (Haunted Apple), $6.25 (Haunted Spirtz)
Size: 12 fl oz cans/12 pack (Haunted Apple), Medium (Haunted Spritz
Purchased at: Meijer (Haunted Apple), Emagine Theatres (Haunted Spritz)
Rating: 5 out of 10 (Haunted Apple), 6 out of 10 (Haunted Spritz)
Nutrition Facts: Haunted Apple (1 can) – 160 calories, 0 grams of fat, 50 milligrams of sodium, 42 grams of carbohydrates, 42 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein. Haunted Spritz – 400 calories.

REVIEW: Mtn Dew Infinite Swirl

Marvo 2 Comments

I’ve enjoyed every Dew blasted with pineapple flavor, from Maui Burst to Baja Gold. Although, I enjoyed the former more than the latter. And that adoration extends to the 7-Eleven exclusive Mtn Dew Infinite Swirl, a Dew with a blast of pineapple berry flavor.

Its Smurf blue color brings to mind other recent Dew varieties, Liberty Chill and Summer Freeze. That blue hue looks good with the soda’s yellow and red-colored label.

Infinite Swirl has a pineapple-forward taste with some berries on the back end. At first, the blue color made me think it was blue raspberry. But, as always, the label artwork gives a clue. The red ribbons with seeds on them seemed to indicate strawberries, and when I realized that, I began to taste that berry more prominently. The two flavors make a delicious fruity combination. As someone who is a fan of pineapple and strawberry-blasted Mtn Dew varieties, this is definitely a favorite. In fact, I love it as much as the Dollar General-exclusive Maui Burst, one of my favorite Mountain Dew varieties.

Unfortunately, like Maui Burst, it’s a store-exclusive product. But 7-Eleven locations (and sister stores, like Speedway and Stripes) I think are a bit more plentiful than Dollar General locations, so this might be easier to come by. (UPDATE: Did a quick Google search to fact-check, and it turns out there are as many 7-Eleven locations the US as there are Dollar General locations, which is very surprising.) Also, for those of you wondering if there’s a zero sugar version, there isn’t one at this time. But I’ll try to buy enough of it to perhaps give PepsiCo a reason to make one because this pineapple berry Dew is that good.

I hope Infinite Swirl’s time on shelves is infinite. I read that this is a permanent flavor, and I really hope that ends up being the case because it’s a DEWlicious tasting Dew.

Purchased Price: More than one should pay on eBay
Size: 20 fl oz bottle
Purchased at: eBay
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 280 calories, 0 grams of fat, 85 milligrams of sodium, 76 grams of carbohydrates (including 76 grams of added sugar), 0 grams of protein, and 94 milligrams of caffeine.