Tag: Soda

REVIEW: Mtn Dew Baja Caribbean Splash and Baja Passionfruit Punch

Marvo 3 Comments

“Always two there are. No more. No less.”

That quote from a green, wise old man can be applied to the Sith and with annual Mtn Dew Baja flavor extension rollouts.

With the new Baja Caribbean Splash and Baja Passionfruit Punch, Mtn Dew has turned almost all the most popular tropical fruits into Baja flavors. (Waiting for banana and papaya, Mtn Dew.) Pineapple has been used twice, mango once, whatever is in tropical punch once, and then there are these two latest varieties — Caribbean Splash with a blast of guava and Passionfruit Punch with a blast of, well, you know.

Baja Caribbean Splash smells tropical, but its aroma doesn’t quite bring guava to mind. Its orange-red hue also doesn’t quite remind me of guava flesh, which in my head is pinkish. But its flavor is guava, although a lot milder than I’m used to because I grew up drinking many cans of this. Although I wish the guava stood out more, Caribbean Splash is tasty, and I like it slightly more than the other new Baja flavor.

Even though the can’s artwork shows a volcano spewing out many purple passionfruit, I was surprised by Baja Passionfruit Punch’s purple color because I grew up drinking many cans of this which depicts yellow-skinned fruit (lilikoi is passionfruit here on this rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean). But the soda’s slightly tart taste does bring to mind the passionfruit juice I’ve consumed over the years, but much like Caribbean Splash, the tropical fruit flavor needs to be punched up a bit. Also, I don’t know if the purple color is influencing my taste buds, but its aftertaste made me think of Mtn Dew Pitch Black.

Overall, Baja Caribbean Splash and Baja Passionfruit Punch are great and worth a try to fulfill your fruity caffeine needs. But I was more impressed with previous Baja Dew flavors, like Baja Gold and Baja Mango Gem. Anyway, they’re still good, and I look forward to next year’s Mtn Dew Baja offerings (again, waiting for banana and papaya).

Purchased Price: More than one should pay on eBay
Size: 12 oz cans
Purchased at: eBay
Rating: 7 out of 10 (Caribbean Splash), 7 out of 10 (Passionfruit Punch)
Nutrition Facts: (1 can) Caribbean Splash – 170 calories, 0 grams of fat, 50 milligrams of sodium, 44 grams of carbohydrates, 44 grams of fiber, 44 grams of sugar (including 44 grams of added sugar), 0 grams of protein, and 55 milligrams of caffeine. Passionfruit Punch – 170 calories, 0 grams of fat, 50 milligrams of sodium, 44 grams of carbohydrates, 44 grams of fiber, 44 grams of sugar (including 44 grams of added sugar), 0 grams of protein, and 55 milligrams of caffeine.

REVIEW: Coca-Cola Limited Edition Ultimate

Holly 30 Comments

Video games partnering with soda brands to cross-promote is such a natural partnership. It’s a synergy of two things that already tend to be consumed by the same people and often allows for a bump in sales/game play. This summer, Coca-Cola partnered with Riot Games’ massive game League of Legends to release a new limited edition drink under their Creations banner: Coca-Cola Ultimate. Described as being +XP (experience point) flavored, the sixth addition to the Creations line is just as odd and unique as the other offerings.

+XP is often earned in games through tasks/challenges that contribute to you gaining a level, so I was extremely interested to see how they would interpret that concept into a flavor. Its smell was that of a sweet berry that almost gave me the vaguest hint of Pepsi Blue. Don’t worry, to all that hated that drink; the initial aroma was the only thing that reminded me of the divisive blue beverage.

The first sip was overwhelming to my pallet as it didn’t match the berry smell. I should have known better with the Creation line than to assume it would taste how it smelled. Taking my time to savor the soda, I tasted peach on the front with a hint of citrus on the back. The tried and true Coca-Cola flavor isn’t really present. The sweetness you expect from a Coke is absolutely there, but the signature “cola” taste is barely there.

The lack of a strong cola flavor didn’t detract from my overall enjoyment. While I am sure that will turn some off, I genuinely enjoyed that this tasted like a whole new concoction because other Creations varieties drank like “Coke with added flavor.”

When researching the connection between the drink and League of Legends, I was a little bummed to find it wasn’t inspired by anything directly from the game. However, you can access some interesting benefits by scanning the QR code on the bottle or can. It will take you to the Coca-Cola Creations page, where you can access different activities tied to the game. It’s worth noting you don’t have to buy the drink to access these benefits: in-game missions can yield you an exclusive emote, AR lenses can turn your likeness into an LoL emote, and you can add your face into a video to share.

While I cannot speak to whether or not I gained XP drinking Coca-Cola Ultimate, it was an overall enjoyable drink. The connection to League of Legends doesn’t seem as deep as other soda x game collabs have been, but I think it will work in Coke’s favor: LoL fans can enjoy in-game rewards and limited edition soda fans can enjoy a new offering.

Purchased Price: $2.29
Size: 20 fl oz bottle
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 bottle) 240 calories, 0 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 55 milligrams of sodium, 65 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 65 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Sprite Lymonade Legacy

Mike 5 Comments

The Coca-Cola Company has released Sprite Lymonade Legacy, a strawberry-lemonade-flavored take on the classic lemon-lime soda. Released with the tagline “Celebrating 50 Years of Hip-Hop”, will this soda do justice to the legacy of one the most influential musical movements of recent memory?

Here’s the bad news: the only music I listen to are Broadway show tunes and movie/videogame soundtracks. So, unless Hamilton counts, I’m completely unqualified to judge whether a strawberry-lemonade soda adequately represents hip-hop from a musical perspective. But I do know my way around a soda fountain, so I feel up to the task of reviewing this soda.

I open the lovely pink can, pour the soda into a glass, and am surprised at the lack of red or pink coloring in the liquid. It instead appears as ordinary, vaguely cloudy yellow lemonade. No doubt the cloudiness is from the modified food starch in the ingredient list and not the clarified lemon juice listed, but I appreciate how much like real lemonade it appears.

The scent is very strawberry-forward, and the flavor really brings the berry. It’s certainly artificial; you won’t mistake this for a freshly squeezed lemonade with crushed strawberries from the county fair. Think more of those old-fashioned strawberry candies. Underneath all that berry is a distinct lemon flavor, separate from the lemon-lime of classic Sprite, but there’s no mistaking this for regular Sprite Lymonade.

A strawberry flavor is a natural addition to the existing Sprite Lymonade. If you’re one to get excited about new sodas (And I am! And I suspect readers of this site are too), this may seem like an underwhelming brand extension. I, however, have come to appreciate this simple soda. At a time when Coca-Cola is releasing Coke varieties like “Pixel,” “Dreamworld,” and the upcoming “Sound Of A Lover’s Step As They Approach,” I can appreciate how much a touch of strawberry can add to a soft drink. The others all end up tasting like fruity bubblegum to me anyway.

Sprite Lymonade Legacy is a soda that does exactly what it promises. Some red coloring would have added to the strawberry experience, but the flavor is on point.

Purchased Price: $ 7.29
Size: 12 fl oz cans/12 pack
Purchased at: Woodman’s Market
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 can) 130 calories, 0 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 mg milligrams of cholesterol, 65 milligrams of sodium, 35 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 35 grams of sugar (including 35 grams of added sugars), and 0 gram of protein.

REVIEW: Mtn Dew Summer Freeze

Marvo 6 Comments

Mtn Dew Summer Freeze is a Dew with a blast of summer Americana, but after tasting it, it’s more like a Dew with a blast of nostalgia. Because is it just me, or does this taste like another Dew flavor? A case of deja DEW?

While Summer Freeze’s bright blue color brings antifreeze to mind, its aroma reminds me of the fruity frozen novelty represented by the red, white, and blue ice pops on the can. Its flavor has a punch of blue raspberry with a bit of cherry on the back end. There’s also a hint of citrus that represents the white lime/lemon part of the patriotic pop.

For the most part, this does taste like a melted popsicle, but I can’t shake the fact that, as someone who has done durations with the different Dews, this Summer Freeze might be a slight reformulation or renaming of a previous flavor. But, overall, it’s a fun tasting limited time addition to the Dew lineup.

What’s also fun is the can’s graphics, which are filled with red, white, and blue bro-sicles that look like they’re trying to get into as much mischief and fun as they can before they melt to oblivion. The images are also sprinkled with Dew references, like the ice cream truck’s license plate being MD1940, which refers to Mtn Dew being invented in 1940; then there’s “DTD” on the fire hydrant stands, which stands for, everyone say it with me, Do the Dew; and then the “DSA” tattooed on the stick of the upside down popsicle that looks like it’ll melt to oblivion first, which might be a nod to a previous summer Dew, DEW-S-A.

Ohhhhhhhhh!

Could this be a reformulation of DEW-S-A? It was a combination of Mtn Dew Code Red (cherry), Whiteout (citrus), and Voltage (raspberry), but made during Dew’s dark days of adding artificial sweeteners with high fructose corn syrup to bring down the drink’s sugar numbers a little. Perhaps Summer Freeze is the result when the sucralose is taken out of DEW-S-A, and maybe that’s why it tastes so familiar to me. Oh, speaking of artificial sweeteners, this is also available in a Zero Sugar variety.

Purchased Price: More than one should pay on eBay
Size: 12 fl oz cans/12 pack
Purchased at: eBay
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 can) 160 calories, 0 grams of fat, 50 milligrams of sodium, 43 grams of carbohydrates, 43 grams of sugar (including 43 grams of added sugar), 0 grams of protein, and 55 milligrams of caffeine.

REVIEW: Limited Edition Peeps Pepsi

Vin 17 Comments

Let’s just get it outta the way – I don’t know why it wasn’t called “Peepsi” either, but I’m sure Pepsi has a rule against altering its iconic name no matter the reason.

That being said, it wouldn’t shock me if this bizarre collaboration was borne out of one “hip” PepsiCo executive saying, “Peepsi would make bank, no cap.” To which his colleagues would’ve probably replied, “Greg, we’ve gone over this, we don’t change our name, and please stop saying that, caps are essential to our product.”

I’ve tried to avoid Peeps Pepsi discourse because I imagine it’s absolutely dripping with hyperbole. People who don’t like Peeps DESPISE Peeps. I’m just imagining everyone acting like this soda is an affront to everything holy. I just know that’s how it is… but I probably shouldn’t try to create a straw man, I should just go and grab a straw, man.

This review is already an affront to everything holy.

Alright, here’s what I’ll say about Peeps Pepsi – it’s almost ok.

I like the scent. I wouldn’t exactly say it screams Peeps, but it makes for a nice unique twist on the usual cola smell. Once that smell translates into taste, it starts to get weird.

If this was a mystery flavor, I think a decent chunk of guessers would land on “marshmallow,” but not necessarily “Marshmallow Peeps.” Maybe as a total shot in the dark guess at some kind of snack brand synergy we’re used to at this point. You can twist my arm and get me to admit it kinda reminds me of Peeps, but I expected more of a match.

It’s obviously super sweet, but I don’t think it’s a pleasant sweetness. This soda is loaded with sugar, but it still tastes like it’s made with an artificial sugar substitute. The marshmallow flavor comes across as a really cheap attempt at a mutant vanilla cola.

There are stages of flavor in every sip that I’ll try my best to explain because I rode the same emotional roller coaster as that woman in the famous kombucha meme.

There’s a moment in the mouthfeel process – let’s just pause for a second and cringe at the fact I just wrote, “mouthfeel process.” – where it seems undrinkable. For a second, it tastes like the smell of an artificial “cake” scented candle or something.

There’s basically a film that materializes after the effervescent bubbles burn off and before the lingering “vanilla icing” aftertaste bursts in. It’s as if you momentarily ingested a buttery lotion. I felt like I was drinking a lesser brand’s attempt to clone a Pepsi Vanilla or something. I never really got to “Peeps,” even after literally comparing it to an actual Peep.

Ultimately, it’s pure novelty and Peeps-adjacent at best. Without the weirdness I attempted to articulate, I might even tell you to go for it. It’s not nearly as vile as I imagine some people will tell you it is, but it’s not even close to being really good either. Both of these products work better on their own.

I like Pepsi and I like (stale) Peeps, so I’m not mad I tried it. Seriously though, I like my Peeps marshmal dente. I want them to taste like a hard memory foam pillow covered in sand. That’s how I like my Peeps, but I definitely don’t need to have them in soda form ever again.

Purchased Price: $2.28
Size: 20 oz
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 4 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 Bottle) 260 calories, 0 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 55 milligrams of sodium, 69 grams of carbohydrates, 69 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein.