I suppose it's just as well that they decided to add the cola color to this one. The clear ones just kind of freaked me out and made me remember at all times that I wasn't drinking something normal - it was some odd, artificial construct that was intended to simulate some other kind of beverage, but it had alcohol (in case you couldn't taste it, which you totally could). The aroma is not cola, but it's cherry and that all-too-familiar wine cooler alcohol (not that it is necessarily different from regular alcohol, but it... definitely reminds me of wine coolers).First sip is pretty terrible. It doesn't taste like cola, cherry cola, or straight cherry. Instead, it's artificial ... what is it? Did you ever have those candy bottlecaps when you were a kid? Well, it tastes less like real soda than those do, but it's the same basic artificial route to get there. Oh, and then there is the alcohol covering it all. Maybe it will be swigged better.
Tip-in is watery artificial cherry and significant carbonation tingle. The middle spreads out into a very sweet, very watery cherry, cherry cola. It's not bad at this point, but, much like previous attempts, it's not something to go out of your way to get. The finish is a bite of alcohol and cola that trails off to just alcohol.
Bottom Line: My last one of these, and it may be the last hard soda I bother with.
1.25/5
