What is going on, my fizzy friends? Welcome to another issue in the hit Scarlet series: Beverage Review with Gabe Schmick. In today’s issue, I will be reviewing the absolute bananas (or should I say raspberries) new permanent flavor of Coca-Cola: Coca-Cola Spiced. 

Coke has recently had quite a few flops regarding its quest to add another flavor to its menu of caramel-colored soft drinks. The recent Coke move is a recent example of this it was set to be an episode of beverage review, but I found the flavor so disgusting and repulsive that I immediately aborted the review because merely writing about it gave me horrific memories of the intergalactically bad taste and the strange type of carbonation that “moved.” However, Coca-Cola Spiced was a different story, as previous flavors were advertised as limited edition creations, Coca Coca-Cola Spiced aims to be a permanent flavor along with original, diet, cherry, etc. 

When looking for Coke Spiced at the globally famous Hannaford Brothers Supermarket, my biggest dilemma (not a Green Day reference) was what type of fluid-consuming vessel I would use to evaluate the flavor. I went with the hit new container sweeping the nation: the mini soda can. The mini soda cans have recently swept the soda market seemingly without warning. This innovation in soda delivery to the tastebuds truly is revolutionary.

When I first tasted Coke Spiced, I found the flavor to be rather tasty with a smooth raspberry flavor that was fruity yet sophisticated. However, the aftertaste was simply nothing more than regular Coke flavor, a flavor I am not particularly fond of. However, I decided to give it a second try and upon taking another swig I found my mouth tasting a lot like shampoo – and not even good shampoo – I’m talking cheap, discount at the Dollar Tree shampoo. This combined with the Coke flavor I already despise made me have second thoughts on the once pleasant initial taste. In all honesty, it’s not a good soda in the Coke canon, which is why I’m giving it a 4/10.