by Stuart Le Grice

Created on: March 11, 2008   Last Updated: September 20, 2011

I remember the days when the only choice to be made when you fancied a can of Cola was whether you preferred Pepsi or Coke. In today's market you can have your Cola with the caffeine removed or the sugar substituted, you can have it flavoured with lemon or laced with a hint of vanilla, you can even try it with a tinge of cherry - which is where I find myself today with a six pack of Cherry Coke.

Pulling the tab of the can releases a pleasant gassy sigh and a closer sniff reveals that familiar cola scent but with a deeeper, fruity smell. The bubbles dance on my tongue as I take a swig and the flavour envelops my mouth. The Cola flavour is still very much in evidence but is soon replaced by a morrelo cherry type taste. Once swallowed the familiar sugary cola taste is left on the palate. Where cherry coke wins points from me is that it is a fuller tasting drink, coke with lemon for example seems a little wishy washy, almost as if the lemon has been thrown in as an afterthought. But with Cherry Coke the flavours sit comfortably together, complementing each other to glorious effect.

Also, an area I feel Cherry Coke excels is as a mixer. I'm not much of a vodka drinker but for the purposes of research I dribbled a measure into a tumbler and topped it up with the Cola. And it really worked, something in the taste complemented the Cola beautifully, I find with a normal vodka and Coke the sweetness drags the liquor down but the added cherry seems to lift the vodka so that its taste is not suffocated. It really did add to the whole drinking experience.

I find that Cherry Coke is a pleasant enough drink although a touch more cherry flavour would have improved the drinking quality. It is also a nice mixer if you select your alcohol carefully. That said, too much Cola of any kind is bad for your teeth so it should be imbibed sparingly.

So, do I like Cherry Coke? You bet I do; I'm all for variety in the drinks we can purchase so adding cherry to coke is a win win situation for me. It is true that my tastes vary and as such I may go off cherry cola in time, but at the moment it is my cola drink of choice, and a choice I am happy to be able to make. Those that don't like it can simply choose to buy something else, simple really.

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