Coca-Cola Orange Vanilla
/The first I heard of Coca-Cola Orange Vanilla I was skeptical. The cola/orange pairing didn’t seem like it would work. I thought it would be too messy for the vanilla to navigate around. Now that I have it in front of me I’m kind of excited. Coca-Cola is a huge company, and they don’t release new flavors like this often. I’m sure the market research and taste tests for this new flavor point to it being a success. Why would they make it otherwise?
The can catches your eye easily with an oversized “Coca-Cola” adoring the side with bold colors. The ingredients are what you’d find in most any Coke, meaning this is sweetened with HFCS. They do make a sugar free version as well though. That’s enough out of me, lets find out what all the hubbub is about.
Huffing the newly opened can, as I tend to do, introduces me to an orange/Coke hybrid aroma. The vanilla isn’t at the forefront of the scent which leaves me even more unsure of what’s to come. My personal hope is that the vanilla finds a way to shine through the bite of the Coke and the potentially exuberant orange. The time has arrived to taste.
When I first open a can of Coke and put my mouth to the opening, before I take a sip, there is a sensation. A release of carbonation wafts in and around my mouth and nose. Within that gas is the essence of the Coke I’m about to consume… a soda ghost if you will. There’s a slight burn to it, as if the soda ghost is preparing you for what’s to come. Upon opening this can of Coke Orange Vanilla I was greeted with that same soda ghost.
The ghost filled my mouth with a burst of orange with a cola burn, and then I began to drink. The first to fall across my tongue was vanilla. Soda ghost hadn’t spoken of vanilla, at least not loud enough for me to hear, but I was expecting him because I experienced the marketing of this soda much like you have. Vanilla found his place and sat.
Immediately after, orange burst through as promised. It was almost if he was racing vanilla to be first in a race in which winning didn’t matter. Vanilla sat quietly as Orange ran about my mouth, flavoring most every nook and cranny and making a mess of things in general.
I suppose this caused enough of a ruckus for Cola to follow behind and make sure the two flavors were behaving properly. Vanilla was, but then again Cola had known Vanilla for years. Cola trusted vanilla. Orange on the other hand was an unknown. As soon as Cola’s eyes were those of a parent who’d lost all patience Orange settled down.
Cola surveyed the room for a quick second more, walked over to Vanilla and said “You’re in charge” before leaving. Vanilla, now with the blessing of Cola, was the primary flavor as the aftertaste waned. Orange grumbled, making is dissatisfaction known.
In any family there’s going to be a little chaos, but in the end you’ve still got one another to make it work.
~A
This was purchased at Kroger
