Sprite Winter Spiced Cranberry

 

Product circa: 2024 and later winter seasons

Sprite's Cranberry version from many years ago was very good, and this product has proved successful enough to return at least one year so far for the winter season.

This stuff is really good, but I'm annoyed that I'm having such a hard time discerning its flavors.  Beyond the cranberry, I can't tell what "spices" exists in this formula.  It's possible that there are traditional baking spices in this, like clove or allspice, and they are simply toned down so much that they're barely recognizable.  But by my tongue, I think it's more likely a bit of ginger and juniper that are added, maybe.  Regardless, this is a real treat, and worth picking up a 12-pack each season.

Oreo Firecracker Pop

 

Product circa: July 2026

While not specifically targeted as a semiquincentennial promotion, it is certainly a seasonal release for Independence Day 2026.

I respect the attempt here.  Three different flavors of creme in a vanilla cookie, and each creme flavor corresponds to the three flavors of a "firecracker pop", more likely known as a rocket pop.  Indeed, all three flavors of creme are completely discernible here, though I would say the lemon is least of all.  The problem is that while not unpleasant, this cookie is just way too busy, in terms of taste.  In addition, per my personal tastes, the 3 cremes make the balance more akin to a Double Stuf, which is not my preference.

Herr's Jalapeno Cream Cheese and Hickory Barbecue

 

Products circa: July 2026

Labeled "United" and "Liberty", these are semiquincentennial products, this time Philadelphia-coded as "Flavored 4 Philly".  I have no idea how these flavors relate to the city, but Herr's is known as a fantastic regional brand located not far from it.

Jalapeno Cream Cheese: Essentially a sour cream & onion flavor, with a greenery amped up a bit by green chile, and perhaps the sour cream powder goes a bit deeper in flavor so as to be "cheese".  The heat builds up just a bit after a couple bites.  Not bad, but I won't remember these.

Hickory Barbecue: It starts as your typical barbeque flavor, but it's clear that the hickory here as a much more deep and woody flavor than your average chip.  One of the best bbq chips I've had to date.

Ruffles Buffalo Wings

 

Product circa: July 2026

Another semiquincentennial, and this time a truly quintessential (there's a pun in there somewhere) American flavor.

I've had plenty of "hot sauce" chips before, but these are among the best.  It's because they cranked up the boldness of the flavor, and also the vinegar seasoning, such that it actually evokes proper Buffalo wings.  Bravo.

Birthday Cake Cheerios

 

Product circa: summer 2026

Birthday, get it?  Whether this product is meant to celebrate the USA's semiquincentennial or simply Independence Day in general, it is not called out anywhere on the box, except for the fireworks as part of the design.

I was excited, but I'm not sure why.  I don't think cereal was ever going to taste like cake.  Instead, you had a generalized vanilla frosting flavor added to the Cheerios, with perhaps the sprinkles also being notable.  Not bad at all, to be sure, but it's about as good as any sweetened Cheerios varietal.

Gatorade All-American Mashups

 

Product circa: July 2026

I bought this fully having no idea what it was.  It turns out that it's a mystery flavor in celebration of the semiquincentennial.

As the internet would suggest, this stuff is a dead ringer for guava.  It feels like it tastes less salty than your average Gatorade, as well.  A really nice change of pace, but nothing too special.

Fanta Chucky's Punch

 

Product circa: autumn 2025

Released as part of a group of horror-themed sodas in preparation for Halloween 2025, I believe this one was the only brand-new flavor among them.

This stuff is good, and I'll tell you why.  Fruit punch sodas often miss the mark.  I would say most often they are simply too sweet, with not enough acid.  After that, they often have very little flavor.  This one bucks both trends with a restrained sweetness and flavor on the level of any proper fruit punch beverage.  Major kudos to Coca-Cola for producing this - too bad something like this isn't available permanently.

Arizona Frost ChillZicle

 

Product circa: 2025

Supposedly a juice cocktail meant to taste like an American "rocket pop", I would say that this doesn't hit the mark of that aim.  It has darker berry flavors that border on grape, and otherwise doesn't remind me of a rocket pop at all.

However, it's delicious.  Specifically, the style of this drink is not too sweet, in a way that reminds me heavily of some of the more well-balanced Snapples or even old-school juice box drinks.  The overall feel of this stuff is very nostalgic.  I will make it a point to try more of Arizona's juice cocktails!

Pumpkin Spice Oreo

Product circa: 2014 and intermittently after

Golden Oreo cookies with pumpkin spice-flavored creme.  Honestly, the flavoring here is probably the same bulk generic pumpkin spice flavoring used for every confection on store shelves that boasts the same name.  It’s lazy and, frankly, not stellar.

Mountain Dew Liberty Brew & DEW-S-A

                  

Products circa: various years after 2016

Liberty Brew- Supposedly this is 50 fruity flavors all in one recipe; it certainly tastes it.  There are some interesting but unknowable flavors that pop up here and there on the tongue, but ultimately this just ends up taste blue, like its color.  But this is one of the sweetest Dews I’ve ever tasted.  After this product was released, it was re-released in subsequent years as Liberty Chill.

Dew-S-A - This product is a mix of the Code Red, White Out, and Voltage products, to match the red, white, and blue theme of the American flag.  However, this formulation was the 2017 version, which had zero calorie sweetener in addition to sugar.  Aside from this awful sweetener combination, the tastes of Code Red and Voltage combine to provide an overall berry taste, but it's further ruined by the pepperiness of the White Out.

Kit-Kat Ghost Toast

 

Product circa: Halloween 2024

Nice use of an arbitrary rhyme to make this arbitrary snack themed for Halloween.

The white chocolate coating has been colored an alarmingly bright shade of orange.  This tastes like if the Cinnamon Crunch Toast cereal were made into a candy bar - and it's absolutely delicious.  A great combination, perfectly balanced with sweetness and texture.  A home run!

Mountain Dew VooDOO 2024

 

Product circa: autumn 2024

The yearly tradition returns.  Evidently this is known as "VooDEW 6.0".

Anyway, the flavor of this stuff hasn't been announced yet, but people online have been saying it continues the "Halloween candy" tradition by being flavored like a strawberry candy of some sort - some are staying strawberry Nerds, strawberry Starbursts, and even others.

I'm pretty underwhelmed with this one.  It definitely has a candy-like flavor that approaches cotton candy/candy floss.  When I push myself, I can understand the strawberry Nerds comparison.  I'll update this post when I learn of the reveal.

Fanta Haunted Apple

 

Product circa: late Summer 2024, promoting the film Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice

I've been thoroughly enjoying the horrible reviews of this stuff that I've been seeing online, and so I was excited to find a bottle and waste my money on it.

Damn, I'm disappointed, because it's really not that bad.  Self-described as a spiced apple soda, the spice is clear on the nose, and the apple taste is somewhere between green apple and red apple.  The spice also makes itself known on the tongue, and it probably contains more than just cinnamon, but it's hard to tell what.  The flavors combine with a bitterness at the end that prevents this from being cloying.  Honestly, it's really not that bad.  I've tasted so many things that were worse.

Mountain Dew Star Spangled Splash, Freedom Fusion, and Liberty Chill

 

Product circa: Independence Day 2024

Should they really keep doing this for the US Independence Day?  They will run out of vocabulary words eventually.

Star Spangled Splash: Dew with generic red fruit.  It's not bad, but I've tasted this kind of Dew at least a dozen times.

Freedom Fusion: A peach lemonade Dew which will naturally be compared to the KFC exclusive Sweet Lightning.  I've only had the latter once or twice, and it wasn't memorable enough to recall.  This stuff is very tasty, with a little tartness that goes a long way.  I would say that they should have upped the peach flavoring, but if they had, I probably would be saying I had wished they dialed it back.  They deserve a lot of credit for this one.

Liberty Chill: Another one of the occasional "omnibus" varieties that combines an absurd amount of flavors into one beverage (in this case, 50).  This is a mess... it's overly sweet, and if I try, I can pick out "blue", and "cherry", and that's about it.

Milky Way Caramel Apple

 

Product circa: autumns 2012-2013

One of those instances where brands trying to use a very small amount of green apple flavoring, along with sugar, to approximate a "red apple" flavor, seeing as red apple flavoring in candy basically doesn't exist.  These aren't the greatest, but I'm glad they tried.  The flavor combination works well enough.

Pumpkin Spice Oreo

 

Product circa: Post-2020 seasonally

They actually have a pumpkin flavor along with the requisite spices!  With that said, they are nothing special... in the bottom half of pumpkin spice-flavored junk food.

M&M's Cherry Cordial

 

Product circa: Intermittently from 2008, to maybe even the present; might have been seasonal for Valentine's Day or Christmas.

A very impressive feat.  They managed to make these taste like actual cherry cordials and not the artificial cherry that flavors every candy or soda we've ever had.  I don't know what the "cherry cordial" flavor is, but they got it.  Other than how incredible a technical feat this is, it's not overwhelmingly tasty.

Mountain Dew Holiday Brew & Merry Mash-Up

 

Products circa: holiday seasons 2017 and 2018-2020, respectively

Holiday Brew: Evidently this is just a mix of regular Dew and Code Red... so it's just a "diluted" Code Red?  It certain tastes like it.

Merry Mash-Up: I can detect cranberry in this, but otherwise it just tastes vaguely like a "red" Dew.  I'd love to see them take another try at a cranberry Dew!

Mountain Dew VooDew 2019-2021

 

Product circa:  Purchased online in 2022 as part of a re-release.

2019: Sweet orange, maybe vanilla? Delicious!

2020: Cheap tart candy (SweeTarts?) and a bit of fake grape.

2021: Fruit punch, heavy on the cherry.  Supposedly it was meant to taste like "fruit chews", and if you think about cherry Starbursts, this is a dead ringer.

Red Bull Summer Edition 2019

 

Product circa: summer 2019

For several years now Red Bull has issued summer editions of their product, and each year it's a different flavor.  This is totally in character at this point, because Red Bull now has well over a dozen variations of their original energy drink on the shelves, almost to a saturation point.

I don't often drink Red Bull products, but when I do, I regret it.  It's hard to say exactly what they were aiming for with this drink.

As the soda hits the tongue, the experience seems normal.  But after that, it's all downhill.  The short of it is that the main flavors of this drink seem to be a sort of floral coconut which, on paper, sound great to me.  But these two combine with the medicinal bubblegum taste of the original Red Bull to a result that tastes completely like sunscreen lotion.

That's the whole of it.  I feel like I'm drinking something that's not food.  Most Red Bull variations don't hew to the original's flavor, but in this case when it does, it's disastrous.  However, I'm going to give it 1 NOM, because I can somehow see that some folks might like this.


Red Bull Summer Edition 2019:- Passable
Original Red Bull (for comparison):- Passable