Daniel Hernandez
“What does it taste like to you?” ask the promo advertisements for the new soft drink Pepsi Retro on bus stations and billboards in Mexico City. Clearly, they're asking for it. We've dealt with this question before, suggesting that maybe Pepsi is hoping its new product can dig into the market so dominated by the delicious flavor of Mexican Coca-Cola. Now let's make the taste-test happen.
A four-pack of small Pepsi Retro bottles to go a lunch of pita bread, goat cheese, hot mustard and fresh blueberries. Nice bottle design. The soft drink is fizzy and light, as expected, with a hint of cinnamon simmering in there somewhere. Mmmmm. Interesting. Another bottle, and, yes, here comes the sugar headache. The pita and blueberries run out. My stomach is displeased. I press on. Bottle No. 3. The flavor remains uniform, but I can't have another. In fact, I can't help wishing I had a shiny glass bottle of Mexican Coke nearby. Verdict: a worthwhile one-time novelty, but it's hard to beat the “original.”
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