Mountain Dew Game Fuel Tropical Smash

It was summer of 2017 that Pepsico released yet another Game Fuel variation called Tropical Smash. This product was part of a promotion with the release of the video game Forza Motorsport 7.

Once again, Dew has added zero-calorie sweetener to a drink that already has almost 200 calories. I'm not sure how many dozens of calories are saved by adding Ace-K and sucralose, but I must be the only one who thinks that the taste of the product suffers because of it?

Anyway, the onset of Tropical Smash has a similar feel to the iconic smooth sweetness that normal Dew has, with little in the way of acidic bite to balance it. As the name suggests, bright tropical punch flavors dominate the palate; although official documentation says mango and pineapple, I get mango and banana. Regardless, it's quite tasty. Unfortunately it's punctuated with the sharp pinch of zero-calorie sweetener.  And minutes after drinking, the aftertaste is probably the worst I've ever experienced.

The 0-cal sweetener always takes these products' ratings down by 1 NOM, but this is the best one I've ever had, so welcome your first 3-NOM product with 0-cal sweetener!

Mountain Dew Game Fuel Tropical Smash:- Great

Original Mountain Dew(for comparison):- Great

Doritos Ultimate Cheddar

 

This limited time item is easy to miss, as its flavor doesn't necessarily seem very unusual.

First taste is intensely savory, the ingredients list revealing both tomato, onion, and garlic powder.  The cheese then takes over, but it's not intense.  Once again, the ingredients list tells that cheddar, monterey jack, and swiss cheese powders are involved here, though I don't think you're going to pick any of them out.  Honestly, the cheese flavor here is way too subtle, and left me wishing I had some original Nacho Cheese instead, with its sharp cheese wallop.  This was almost in 2-NOM territory, but I had to go low.

Doritos Ultimate Cheddar:- Passable

Original Doritos Nacho Cheese(for comparison):- Good

Lay's Kettle Cooked New York Style Pizza

 

I always like pizza-flavored things.  I was really curious if these were going to offer anything special.

In the end, they really don't.  This product is well crafted, though, as is expected.  You have cheese powder, tomato powder, basil and oregano.  It's quite tasty, reminiscent of more staid products like Pizza Pringles.

The only difference here is the kettle chip... perhaps they were trying to simulate the crispy crust of New York pizza?  Either way, the crunch takes away from the experience, as is usually my opinion.  They're good, but not special in any way.

Lay's Kettle Cooked New York Style Pizza:- Good

Original Lay's(for comparison):- Good

Twix Cookies & Cream

 

Note: This is a Presumptive Ephemeral Nom.

I'll hand it to Twix for putting out a new flavor that strays a fair bit from the original.

The cookie is chocolate and instead of caramel, we have creme not unlike Oreo creme.  In fact, this stuff is basically a differently shaped Fudge-Covered Oreo.

It's not particularly flavorful.  And it's punishingly sweet, unlike the original, which often leaves you wanting more when you've finished a pack.


Twix Cookies & Cream:- Passable
Original Twix(for comparison):- Great

Organics by Red Bull Simply Cola

Product circa: 2019

Note: This is a Presumptive Ephemeral Nom.

This stuff just sorta came out of nowhere, and I noticed it one day in my supermarket's bargain bin.

But upon research, I found that Red Bull has released a line of these organic soft drinks, and it seems they're aiming these to be mixers for alcoholic beverages.  The marketing is heavy with their use of whole and natural ingredients in these products, and frankly, it shows in the taste.

This stuff tastes like an average cola but with less sugar, bolder flavors, and a squirt of lime juice.  Everything is just so flavorful.  Immediately noticeable is the lime and lemon, and they've really let the tartness shine in this mix that makes it infinitely more refreshing than an average cola.

You'll soon start tasting the earthier elements like galangal/ginger, cinnamon, and kola.  You might even find the clove.  All the flavors are bolder than most colas you've ever tasted, save a few that come to my mind.

When it sits on ice a bit, I start wishing it were a bit sweeter, but I know that if I were sipping this outdoors on a hot day, I'd be celebrating how Red Bull made this drink.


Organics by Red Bull Simply Cola:- Great
Original Red Bull(for comparison):- Passable

Apple Pie Oreo

Product circa: Summer 2017

Oreo has been issuing new flavors so consistently, it's been a blur.  It feels like we've been getting at least 4 per year, and I'm not complaining.

The first taste of these will make it clear Oreo has finally used a red apple flavor (as opposed to green apple) in one of their products, and thank god.  Everything begins with an impressive accurate red apple flavor followed by cinnamon and other baking spices that you'd expect.  If I concentrate really hard, I think I can discern allspice.

The creme dons graham cracker-style cookies, which are very pleasant, and they even have the occasional chewy bran piece in them, just like a real graham cracker should.  Overall, the creme and cookie elements work very well together.  And even though I can detect a bit of salt in this snack, like a real baked good should have, I think these are a tad too sweet.

Apple Pie Oreo:- Good

Original Golden Oreo(for comparison):- Great

Coca-Cola Energy

Note: This is a Presumptive Ephemeral Nom

It's pretty interesting that Coke is releasing an energy drink version of their flagship product.  I guess it's a wonder that they've waited this long, as Pepsi has been doing this for years and years now.

There's an original flavor, cherry, diet ("Zero Sugar") and diet cherry.  I'm not sure I'll get around to testing the others unless I can find them on sale.

This stuff is a pleasant surprise.  Like its competitors, caffeine is much higher up on the ingredients list than its original version, and the additional bitter caffeine makes this product taste much less sweet than the original as well, and more refreshing, to boot.  I'm also very glad that Coke has not added any 0-calorie sweeteners to this, unlike competing Pepsi products.  This stuff also has guarana added to it, which I can taste.  It's very pleasant, and a nice twist to the original recipe.

Overall, I'd say this is just as good as Coca-Cola classic, but in a different way.  I'm really pleased with this experiment.



Coca-Cola Energy: - Great
Original Coca-Cola(for comparison): - Great