Jones Soda Mandarin Orange

According to the press release I was sent (which featured both English and Spanish translations), "Jones Soda Co. is excited to introduce a new collection of Spanish labels and soda flavors honoring the culture and spirit of Hispanics living in America." It goes on to mention that these four flavors will "debut in the single-serve sections of select retailers in Los Angeles, San Diego and Arizona."

If you can't find them near you, the flavors are also available via the Jones Soda website. Besides the Mandarin Orange flavor, there is Lime, Fruit Punch, and Pineapple Creme. Each will feature photos from Jones Soda fans that "celebrate the community and Hispanic artwork."

Over the years, we've tasted many orange sodas, including Fanta Orange, Orange Slice, Orange Crush, Sunkist, and Tropicana Twister Soda Orange. There's been some drinks in there that aren't quite a real orange soda; Mountain Dew LiveWire comes to mind. There have been those that don't look like an orange soda, like the clear Sierra Mist Undercover Orange. But in most cases, these drinks taste pretty fake and syrupy.

Cocos features some crazy cartoon action!
Photo #10402 by Frank Barbara, Encinitas, CA

Jones Soda Mandarin Orange stands out from the pack, though it's a different kind of orange experience. Just like their limited time Halloween entry from last year, Jones Soda Blood Orange Soda, Mandarin Orange isn't exactly in the same flavor profile as a typical orange experience. The name isn't a misnomer; there does seem to be a mandarin influence here. Mandarin oranges don't have the same sourness as the typical citrus variety, and that's reflected in this Jones flavor. It's subdued, producing less "pucker", being more mild and sweet. If you've had Hansen's Natural Mandarin Lime Soda, you know what type of orange I'm talking about.

One of the best orange sodas I ever had was on a trip to Costa Rica I went on a few years ago… Fanta Naranja. It was pretty much Fanta Orange, but with real sugar. I'd pretty much put Jones Soda Mandarin Orange in that same category of excellence, which makes sense, given it's use of pure cane sugar — or as described on the label of this drink, "refresco superior de caña pura." This drink is very satisfying, clean, and not overly carbonated, allowing you to really taste the flavor.

We've reviewed many Jones Soda flavors over the years. One of our traditions here on BevReview.com is to take a look at the artwork featured on the bottle and provide some sort of comment about it, typically in a sarcastic way (which sometimes comes back to bite us, given that we've been contacted by many folks who tell us "hey, that's MY photo!") The photo on this bottle of Jones Soda Naranja Mandarina is #10402 and was shot by Frank Barbara of Encinitas, CA. This image, which is portrayed in black & white, appears to be some sort of sign by the side of the road, denoting a place called "Cocos". A character is visible which probably represents a fruit or vegetable, I think. There's a palm tree in the background, along with a bug, and the character is holding a container. Man, I don't know where to start with this, other than it probably would make a pretty great 1980s cartoon… you know, the type that don't make any sense!

Speaking of the bottle design, we see the standard Jones Soda white/black label color scheme in place, with the flavor name written in orange. This label is bilingual, with the Spanish title given prominence, while the flavor is translated into English below the photo. The nutrition facts, descriptive text, and ingredients are also presented in both languages on the back. Speaking of which…

Ingredients:

Jones Soda Mandarin Orange
Carbonated water, inverted cane sugar, citric acid, natural and artificial flavors, sodium benzoate (as preservative), modified food starch, potassium sorbate (as preservative), ester gum, Yellow 6, Red 40

A 12 oz. bottle packs 170 calories, 35 mg of sodium, and 42 g of sugars… and is caffeine free.

Whatever you call it — Jones Soda Naranja Mandarina or Jones Soda Mandarin Orange — this Hispanic-influenced drink features an excellently satisfying flavor experience. It's a different type of orange taste, one that's not as bitter, but surprisingly mild and smooth. ¡Muy bien!

Jones Soda Orange "You Glad For Change" Cola

The Puget Sound Business Journal noted:

"Going away from bottles was a serious mistake. The cans did cannibalize some of the bottle presence"…

For fiscal 2008, the company reported a net loss of $15.2 million, or a loss of 58 cents per share, which compares with a loss of $11.6 million, or a loss of 45 cents per share in 2007. Revenue fell to $35.9 million from $39.8 million in 2007.

With a new CEO (Joth Ricci) and direction, their 2009 looks to be one where they attempt to build on their strengths, including growing their Jones GABA line (which we mentioned here in 2007).

During the call, I posted the following summary to a comment made by the CEO:

Jones Soda: "New fun flavors, including pushing Orange Cola more broadly"

Just what is this beverage? Let's take a closer look at Jones Soda The Orange Cola — also known in a limited edition as Jones Soda Orange "You Glad For Change" Cola.

4-pack Bottle Packaging

Last summer, during the election campaign, Jones launched 4 candidate-themed labels for their new Pure Cane Cola — proving that Mountain Dew's DEWmocracy campaign wasn't alone in riding the coattails of voting. You bought bottles of soda with your candidate on them and Jones totaled the sales. Per the Campaign Cola website, Obama's "Yes We Can Cola" sold 15,996 bottles, followed by "Ron Paul Revolution Cola" at 6,516, "Pure McCain Cola" at 3,768, and "Capitol Hillary Cola" rounding it out at 2,244 bottles sold.

With the inauguration of Barack Obama, Jones decided to take one of their newest flavors, The Orange Cola, and give it a limited edition run with a new name and label… thus Jones Soda Orange "You Glad For Change" Cola. I was able to find it in a 4-Pack at my local store, though Jones is also offering it in 6- and 12-Packs via their website. An explanation on the side of the 4-Pack talks about the new flavor and presidential tie-in:

At Jones Soda, our motto has always been "Run with the little guy… Create some change." Well, you chose change, and Orange you glad that you did.

Welcome to the new Orange Cola. Let us know what you think at: jonessoda.com/orangecola

It also notes in smaller type that "Barack Obama does not endorse Jones Soda and Jones Soda isn't affiliated with the President Elect."

The box style tends to be the reverse of what we saw with the Halloween collection… orange border with black interior, highlighted by a touch of silver and white. What is probably a stock photo of Barack Obama is featured on the label with the only photo credit being "Jones President's Cola 2009, Barack Obama". Over on the bottle, we have the standard white border with black interior, orange lettering denoting the flavor.

When you open a bottle, it smells like cola, but not as strong as you've probably come to expect from a Coke or Pepsi. Less fizzy experience. The coloring is on par with the standard look of mainstream beverages… dark brown.

As for the taste? Very good, actually! The carbonation was scaled back, which I actually didn't mind. It let the flavor come through. And when you are dealing with a beverage that features inverted cane sugar, that's a clean taste! This drink probably leans more towards the Coke side of the spectrum rather than Pepsi. Sweetness is there, but not overpowering. As for that orange flavor? Very, very subtle, tied to the aftertaste. It's quite enjoyable, not strong. It's one of those things that you probably wouldn't notice unless it was gone. Just a bit of fruitiness there to add to your experience. However, to be honest, I had a hard time detecting an actual "orange" taste.

Here's the breakdown of what you'll find inside the bottle:

Jones Soda Orange "You Glad For Change" Cola
Carbonated water, inverted cane sugar, caramel color, phosphoric acid, natural flavors, potassium benzoate (as preservative), caffeine

A 12 oz. bottle of this stuff will cost you 160 calories, 35 mg of sodium, 41 g of carbs – 40 g of which are sugars. There's 36 mg of caffeine in the bottle, which breaks down to 3.0 mg/oz. This is less than regular Pepsi (3.2 mg/oz.) and Coke Classic (2.9 mg/oz.). Oh, by the way, the bottle is stamped as a "Product of Canada".

Overall, Jones Soda Orange "You Glad For Change" Cola is a great-tasting addition to the Jones lineup. I really liked the subtle citrus flavor and the very clean cola experience. Whatever your politics, you have to admit that this is one solid beverage!

This flavor is part of the bottled 4-Pack of drinks available for a limited time. The color of the drink is typical of an orange soda like Crush, Sunkist, or Fanta Orange. But that's where the similarities end.

Upon opening the bottle, you are greeted by an orange scent that is more like a naval orange than others typically used in soft drink smells. And your first taste starts like a typical orange drink, but then it changes. There's a fruity flavor, but it's not quite orange. Instead, it's more like a grapefruit-type of flavor, as if you were to combine Squirt and orange juice.

The flavor itself is clean, but frankly, not very strong. I felt is was quite weak in the middle part of the drinking process. The aftertaste is clean, but leaves you with a little sour/bitter/fruity experience to finish things off. Not what I expected at all.

I was glad that this drink wasn't gross as it typical of a lot of Jones Soda novelty flavors, but I was really hoping for a more robust orange flavor, especially since it uses cane sugar as a sweetener.

Let's take a look at the customer-contributed photos that appeared on this flavor during the Halloween season…

Let's start off with this color image (Photo #10101) sent in by Anthony Pavone of Nanuet, NY. I'm going to guess that this baby wasn't a big fan of pumpkins… or Halloween… or anything.

Following up with another color image (Photo #10089), we have what appears to be a carved and illuminated pumpkin face with more skull-like tendencies. This art was submitted by Ryan Miller of St. John's, Newfoundland. Wow, hitting the scary stuff up there in Canada, I see.

Moving on to a black & white image (Photo #10093) submitted simply by Kirsten of Warren, MI. It's quite the unique robot costume that reminds me of a large cardboard outfit I wore as a kid around Halloween. It was in the shape of an old Kodak Instamatic camera, complete with flashcube. It was well-praised, but man, what a pain to walk in!

Finally we have a rather poor image (Photo #10095) submitted by Juli Dimichele of Canton, MI. It appears to be some sort of dog wearing a pumpkin costume. Frankly, it looks ridiculous and I'm not even sure why Jones would have selected this photo. Not a fan.

And before we go, let's touch on the images found on the 4-Pack box. On Side 1 we have Photo #10086 submitted by Christina Sirimanivong of Waukesha, WI. First of all, that's quite a last name! Secondly, I actually know where Waukesha is! Finally, the pirate cat.. cute and good color. Nice job.

Then over on Side 2 we have Photo #10094 sent in by Desiree Wainscott of Cody, WY. It's a small girl wearing a which costume. What sells this shot is the expression on the girl's face. Kudos!

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Well, it appears that Pepsi at least has a stop-gap measure in place to shore up their orange misfortunes. According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Pepsi Bottling Group (PBG) has just signed a distribution deal for Dr Pepper Snapple Group's Crush, including Orange Crush and its spinoff flavors. It should be interesting to see how this increases the profile of Crush in the marketplace.

Here's the full story from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Pepsi Bottling Group to distribute Crush in U.S.
Joe Guy Collier
Thursday, August 21, 2008

Pepsi Bottling Group has signed an agreement with Dr Pepper Snapple Group to make and distribute Crush beverages in the majority of its U.S. territories, the companies announced Thursday.

Pepsi Bottling Group, based in Somers, N.Y., is the largest Pepsi bottler. Dr Pepper Snapple Group, a Plano, Texas-based beverage firm, was spun off earlier this year from Cadbury Schweppes.

The deal is significant because it will almost double the U.S. market penetration of the Crush brand, which includes Orange Crush, Diet Orange Crush and Grape Crush. Pepsi Bottling Group already distributes Crush in Canada.

Source

Additional detail, including which flavors are included, provided by The Wall Street Journal:

Pepsi Bottling to Distribute Dr Pepper's Crush Sodas
By Betsy McKay
August 22, 2008

The maker of Orange Crush is squeezing some new life out of an old soda standby.

Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. Thursday disclosed that Pepsi Bottling Group Inc., the second-largest soft-drink bottler in the U.S., will distribute its Crush sodas in most of the bottler's U.S. markets.

The deal is a coup for Plano, Texas-based Dr Pepper Snapple, spun off from Cadbury PLC earlier this year, and marks a comeback for a well-known brand that faded from store shelves after several bottlers dropped it for other brands.

The new arrangement will make Crush available in about two-thirds of the U.S., still excluding parts of the northern Midwest and northern mountain states. It is sold in less than 40% of the country now, mostly in the Midwest.

PBG will gain a widely recognized brand to take on Coca-Cola Co.'s Fanta, the leading orange soda by volume. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

PBG's move represents a blow for PepsiCo Inc., which stands to lose a large chunk of distribution for its own main orange soda at a time when sales of fruit-flavored drinks are performing better than cola. To accommodate Crush, which PBG will sell in orange, diet orange and grape flavors, PBG in those markets will drop Pepsi's Tropicana Twister soda, which comes in similar flavors.

While Coca-Cola and PepsiCo bottlers sell a few outside brands, they rarely take on a product that competes directly with a Coke or Pepsi drink. PBG distributes more than half of Pepsi's U.S. volume. It distributes Crush in Canada.

Pepsi spokeswoman Nicole Bradley shrugged off the distribution loss. "Of course we would prefer our bottlers to carry our products over anyone else's, but we have no objection to PBG's orange-soda decision," she said. "We're making bigger bets together, going where the growth is," such as enhanced water and energy-drink brands, she said.

PBG spokesman Jeff Dahncke said relations with PepsiCo have "never been stronger."

The market for orange sodas — which includes fruit flavors such as grape and pineapple — represents a small portion of U.S. soft-drink volume. They account for a 4.1% share of the market, according to industry publication Beverage Digest.

But fruit-flavored sodas are performing better than Coca-Cola, Pepsi-Cola, or other giant soda brands partly because they are popular among the growing number of Hispanic consumers in the U.S., according to Jim Johnston, Dr. Pepper Snapple's president of sales. "We believe Crush has some unlocked potential," he said.

Sales of orange sodas declined 1.6% by volume in the U.S. in 2007, hurt by consumers shifting to newer drinks such as enhanced waters and energy drinks. But the drop was less steep than the 2.3% drop for the carbonated-soft-drinks industry overall, according to Beverage Digest.

Source

The packaging design on this line features 10.5 oz. cans, bundled in 4 packs, similar to the trends we've seen with Tava and Nutrisoda. The shape and design of the can convey a light drink with nutritional/healthy overtones. The primary flavors come in silver cans, the green teas in green cans, sugar free flavors in light blue cans, and sugar free green teas in light green/yellow cans. They all follow a simple, restrained design that is prevalent in "Web 2.0" visual trends these days.

Upon opening the can, Valencia Orange had a "bubbly" tingle on the nose, similar to other sparkling waters. As for the taste, I can confirm that it was rather dry, in the sense that it didn't feel very syrupy or heavy in context. This is probably due to emphasis on it being a "sparking water with flavor from pure fruit." There was a slight hint of orange there, though if it was Valencia, who knows!

The sweetener of choice is cane sugar (23 grams), which provides 90 calories to a can. The drink also claims that it provides your full day's supply of Vitamin C. Be aware that there isn't any real fruit juice in the drink, however.

A full ingredient list is as follows:

Hansen's Natural Sparkling Sleek Valencia Orange
Pure triple filtered carbonated water, cane sugar, natural fruit flavors with extracts of California oranges, citric acid, ascorbic acid

The can also proclaims the following: "No High Fructose Corn Syrup", "No Preservatives", "No Artificial Colors", "No Caffeine", and "All Natural Flavors".

Overall, while I'm not a die-hard sparking water drinker, I must admit that Hansen's Natural Sparkling Sleek Valencia Orange provided a nice change of pace. It was light, but flavorful, and the carbonation was just about right. I'd probably try it again.

We also took a look at the "diet" version of this drink, Hansen's Natural Sparkling Sleek Sugar Free Valencia Orange. It has the same basic makeup as the original flavor, but uses sucralose and Ace-K as the primary sweeteners. This gives the Sugar Free version of the drink 0 calories.

Hansen's Natural Sparkling Sleek Sugar Free Valencia Orange
Pure triple filtered carbonated water, natural fruit flavors with extracts of California oranges, citric acid, acesulfame potassium, ascorbic acid, sucralose

The can design is similar, though the Sugar Free version uses a light blue background color vs. the silver scheme used by the regular edition.

Even though I'm not a fan of diet beverages, I have to say that the Sugar Free version of Valencia Orange was actually pretty good. Yes, you could detect the artificial sweeteners, but the rest of the flavors still shown through, making it a tolerable experience. Overall, not a bad substitution.

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We've reviewed a couple Hansen's products before (Hansen's Natural Green Tea Soda Tangerine, Hansen's Natural Green Tea Soda Pomegranate), but this was our first look at their soda line. It originally used glucose-fructose syrup as the primary sweetener, but now the ingredients proclaim the inclusion of cane sugar.

According to Hansen's website, Mandarin Lime is "our most popular and number one seller made with extracts of the Yucatan Mandarin orange and Colima limes." I don't care what they use, it's pretty tasty. Overall, the beverage is clear, with a clean, unnoticeable scent. In fact, "clean" is a great way to describe the experience. While close to a 7Up/Sprite/Sierra Mist texture, the overall taste isn't burdened down with artificial lemon-lime flavors. The carbonation is bubbly, but subtle.

A full ingredient list is as follows:

Hansen's Natural Mandarin Lime Soda
Pure triple filtered carbonated water, cane sugar, citric acid, natural flavors with extracts of yucatan mandarin and colima lime

Overall, it's a very tasty and gets a BevReview.com thumbs up!

UPDATE (7/25/2008): Our original review of Hansen's Natural Mandarin Lime Soda was focused on the original version, which utilized high fructose corn syrup… even though we noted that the product now is sweetened with cane sugar. Hansen's made the change in sweeteners in April 2008. This has been reflected in their new packaging:

Having tasted both versions, I can honestly say that the new cane sugar version is immensely more "clean" in taste (if that's even possible) than when I originally reviewed the drink. It's a positive move overall!

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I don't know if anyone remembers the juice brand Florida Gold. They used to advertise their product as "100% Valencia"… and man, it was some good juice! Definitely my favorite. But for some reason, it disappeared off the shelves. The only other times I got to experience really good orange juice was whenever my family would drive to Florida on vacations. When you hit that Florida Welcome Center, they gave you free juice… and it was great!

Which brings up to Tropicana Pure Valencia, a pretty tasty orange juice. The official press release provides a little corporate spin on the product:

CHICAGO, March 19 /PRNewswire/ — At last, there is a 100 percent pure juice with such luscious flavor, bold color and delicious taste that it is an orange juice like no other. Tropicana Products, Inc., a division of PepsiCo, Inc. PEP, today unveiled Tropicana Pure Valencia 100 percent orange juice, a national first from the juice leader. The juice will appear in grocery stores nationwide beginning this month.

Tropicana Pure Valencia is the most premium juice Tropicana has ever offered. Crafted from the top 3 percent of Tropicana's Florida orange harvest, Tropicana Pure Valencia contains only the juice from select Valencia oranges.

Valencia oranges are known for their deep, rich color; exceptional juiciness; and succulent taste. Unlike other oranges, Valencia oranges spend more than a year ripening on the tree, making them one of the sweetest. Fewer than 15 percent of Tropicana's 400 groves qualify as potential sources for Valencia oranges for Tropicana's Pure Valencia. From these, only the perfectly medium-sized oranges with the right taste profile are gently squeezed for Tropicana Pure Valencia.

… Tropicana Pure Valencia is complemented by a line of four other premium, 100 percent pure juice flavors made from luscious fruits. The four flavors include: Raspberry Acai, Pomegranate Blueberry, Indian River Grapefruit and Peach Papaya Mango.

So basically, it's an expensive juice. How pricey? The 54-ounce hourglass shaped clear bottle that we got for free typically runs about $5. So while it's good juice, you are going to pay for it.

And on to the flavor experience… the scent of this drink definitely brought an element of "fresh squeezed" to mind. It set itself apart right away with that. Then when you actually drink it… wow, that's some good juice. Nice smooth flavor, not bitter, not artificial. My only gripe was that there was some bits of "orange parts" in the drink, even though we had a no pulp version. But maybe that's what premium means. But if I'm going to pay that kind of money for juice, I'd like it to not have stuff floating around in it.

Adding to the "specialness" of this drink was a little booklet that was strapped to the cap of the bottle. Boy, does it go over the top in talking about how wonderful these oranges are! For your reading enjoyment, here's the text from that booklet:

This Changes Juice

Introducing Tropicana Pure Valencia.
A taste like you've never experienced.
An orange juice like no other.

A Truly Special Juice
The reason is as clear as a sunswept sky: Because this juice is 100% Valencia, and the Valencia is a special orange.

Why?

Valencias spend more than a year ripening on the tree, developing a deep, rich color, exceptional juiciness, and an especially succulent taste. Nature truly turns sunlight into sweetness.

Seeking Perfection
Our Valencias go through a rigorous selection process before they're picked. Only the perfect medium sized oranges with the right taste profile make the cut.

Ultimately, only the top 3% of our entire harvest is chosen for Tropicana Pure Valencia.

Handled With Care
Then we squeeze, but that's different as well. We squeeze slowly, taking great care and concern with each step. And we embrace the smallest details to ensure only the very best juice.

Tropicana Pure Valencia is our most luscious juice ever. A taste so spectacular, it'll change the way you think about juice.

To Full Savor Tropicana Pure Valencia:

1. Close your eyes and breathe in the incredible aroma.
2. Now open your eyes and take in the deep, intense color.
3. Swirl the juice in your glass to observe the full body.
4. Finally, take a sip. Let every taste bud be entertained by the luscious experience of succulent fruit

I must admit, that copywriter was on his game. Who would have thought that something you drink with your bowl of Cheerios in the morning could be a life-changing experience!

This flavor was first rumored last year when Pepsi moved to protect the trademarks on the name (both regular and diet) back in December 2007. This was followed by a promotional e-mail sighting in March 2008 related to the "Pepsi Stuff" loyalty program.

The drink is clear. Yup, no color. How about that? No, it's not Crystal Pepsi, but hey, it's clear with a different type of flavor. That has to count for something, right? The labeling on the 20 oz. bottle I had is prominently orange, highlighted with lime green stripes at the top and bottom. The Sierra Mist "Undercover" logo (first spotted in the trademark filing) is mostly blue. The "Undercover" name is called out in uppercase yellow letters, almost as if this phrase was being marketed as some sort of subbrand. This idea is emphasized by the fact that the flavor ("Orange") is written in a substantially smaller size below "Undercover". A very tiny label of "Limited Edition" is also part of the logo, which is an odd choice, given that these sort of callouts are typically in more prominent locations on a label (such as on the banding).

The flavor itself is described as "lemon-lime soda with a splash of mandarin orange flavor with other natural flavors." Upon opening the drink, it does smell like an orange soda. Close your eyes when you do it or you will be deceived. Even then, the orange is not as strong as what you might find in a Sunkist or Crush orange beverage. But what about the flavor itself? It's pretty good, when you consider the fact that it's based on what I consider a inferior lemon lime drink. The orange flavor is subtle, a little sweet. The difference is the tail of the beverage experience and the aftertaste… both are somewhat different. I think this a combination of two things… the flavor of "mandarin orange" vs. standard orange and the inclusion of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) as the sweetener.

The orange flavor in the finish threw me off a bit. It wasn't what I expected. It's different. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not. It did seem to hint back to the flavor I seem to remember from the Orange Slice days. It's more unique. At the same time, there was somewhat of a negative taste there, which either was the type of orange flavoring used or the syrupy HFCS aftertaste. In either case, I sort of liked it. However, I wanted to like it and will admit that I wish it tasted a bit better.

Like other Sierra Mist flavors, this drink contains no caffeine. A 20 oz. bottle (technically, 2.5 servings) packs 240 calories, 55 mg of sodium, and 65 g of sugars. The full ingredient list is as follows:

Sierra Mist Undercover Orange
Carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, citric acid, natural flavor, potassium benzoate (preserves freshness), potassium citrate, and calcium disodium EDTA (to protect flavor).

This isn't the first limited edition flavor that Sierra Mist has rolled out. Last summer they offered Sierra Mist Lemon Squeeze, and for Holiday 2006 and 2007 they offered up Sierra Mist Cranberry Splash.

This drink also represents another blatant marketing tie-in for PepsiCo. You may recall the August 2007 rollout of Mountain Dew Game Fuel, which was an obvious cross-promotional effort with the Halo 3 game for Microsoft's Xbox 360 console. In this case, Sierra Mist Undercover Orange is tied to Warner Bros.'s summer release of Get Smart, a remake of the 1960s spy parody show. This interpretation stars Steve Carell as Maxwell Smart and Anne Hathaway as Agent 99, both of whom are featured on the Undercover Orange label. The name ("Undercover") also hints at the spy genre, as does the idea of something being hidden or top secret — such as the orange flavor disguised as a clear liquid.

The drink concept isn't completely unique. It's really just PepsiCo's version of Coke's Sprite Remix brand that featured Sprite Remix Tropical, Sprite Remix Berryclear, and Sprite Remix Aruba Jam a few years back. Still, it's nice to see an orange flavor return to Pepsi's lineup. That's something that has been missed since the loss of Slice and hasn't been adequately replaced by drinks like Tropicana Twister Soda Orange.

Overall, Sierra Mist Undercover Orange is a creative limited edition that provides an orange flavor within a clear soft drink, much like Sprite Remix. The mandarin orange taste is considerably different from other orange sodas, though suffers from some of the negatives associated with HFCS and Sierra Mist in general. It's a clever tie-in to the movie Get Smart and provides a much needed orange flavor to PepsiCo's lineup.

Let me first talk about the packaging, however. If you look at this can, would it indicate to you that it's an orange flavor? The color is red, the name is Fury… just what the heck does that mean? Horrible, horrible branding. (There have been some recent sightings of a redesigned can that is actually orange in color and denotes the flavor in print, so perhaps Coke has learned from their mistake. They tend to be stupid. i.e. "Let's make Coke Zero with a white label!"… oh wait, black is better.)

Upon opening the can, it smells like orange. That's a good sign. As for the flavor, definitely fruity. The orange taste is obvious, but I thought I detected a bit of cherry as well. Maybe I'm way off, but the drink just didn't taste like a pure orange flavor. Think Mountain Dew LiveWire… or something else that doesn't quite feel stereotypically orange.

When compared to the original Full Throttle flavor, Full Throttle Fury is much better in the aftertaste department. Overall its a smoother, drink. There's somewhat of a bitter taste in the middle of the drinking experience, but it's not entirely bad. Overall, Fury produces a rather interesting, rich flavor. Huge improvement over the flagship. One would imagine that it would consider PepsiCo's Amp Energy Relaunch as a new competitor.

Like the original flavor, Full Throttle Fury comes in a 16 oz. can, denoted with the brand's aggressive flame logo, which is only made bolder by sitting on a red background. The "Fury" name is denoted in an orange-colored, brash font. The font logo panel also notes that this drink is "A product of The Coca-Cola Company".

Nutritionally (an oxymoron when you are talking about carbonated drinks), Fury is very similar to the original Full Throttle. It contains 144 mg. of caffeine, which breaks down to 9 mg/oz. This is on par with other drinks in the category such as Red Bull (9.64 mg/oz.), Monster (10.00 mg/oz.), and Amp (8.875 mg/oz.). An entire can will cost you 220 calories, 170 mg of sodium, and 58 g of sugars. When you take a look at the inclusion of nutritional supplements, each 8 oz. serving (there are 2 per 16 oz. can) contains 90 mg of ginseng, 605 mg of taurine, 0.70 mg of guarana, and 14 mg of carnitine.

A full ingredient list is as follows:

Full Throttle Fury
Carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, citric acid, taurine, naturalflavors, sodium citrate, sodium benzoate (to protect taste), ginseng extract, caffeine, carnitine fumarate, Yellow 6, caramel color, niacinamide (Vitamin B3), pyridoxine hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), guarana extract, cyanocobalamin (Vitamin B12)

Full Throttle Fury is a decent-tasting, orange-flavored energy drink. It's superior in many ways to Coke's original Full Throttle. Only the confusing packaging really hurts the beverage overall.

It was noted that the image was included in an e-mail associated with PepsiCo's "Pepsi Stuff" loyalty program, under the guise of being one of the first try to try a new flavor. You'll note from the image that the diet version is shown, branded as Sierra Mist Free Undercover Orange. The label description is hard to read, but it's clear that the flavor of "Mandarin Orange" is listed, a nice callback to the taste of Sierra Mist's predecessor, Orange Slice.

Also of note from this image is that the drink appears to be clear. Now isn't that interesting? So maybe the name of "Undercover Orange" refers to the idea that the drink tastes orange, but doesn't look like it. Clever! And why would they be using this gimmick for a drink like this? Well, it's just my speculation, but perhaps there's a movie tie-in at play, such as the upcoming Get Smart film that is set to debut in June.

Sierra Mist has been doing a lot of limited edition flavors as of late, including last summer's Sierra Mist Lemon Squeeze and the 2-time holiday favorite, Sierra Mist Cranberry Splash. The idea of a "hidden" identity would fit well with the spy genre represented in the film.

On the other hand, Sierra Mist could be positioning the phrase "Undercover" as their version of Sprite Remix. You remember those flavors, don't you? Sprite Remix Tropical, Sprite Remix Berryclear, and Sprite Remix Aruba Jam! All were clear beverages based on a lemon-lime product, much like Sierra Mist Undercover Orange seems to be. On top of that, if you look at the logo design, you'll note that the phrase "Undercover" is larger, with only a subheading of "Orange", leaving the possibility open for other flavors there.

Well, just like the clear Crystal Pepsi days, here's to everything old being new again!