Blood Orange Sparkling Italian Soda - Aldi: Cherry Hill, NJ
Two Aldi products in a row? Normally like to switch things up, but I wanted to share this with my mom and step dad (who are Neapolitan and Sicilian) so I had to hurry up and review this so we could drink it together.
(I'm trying my best to resist making Project Runway references, but I make no promises.)
As far as the packaging is concerned, we have a glass bottle with a twist off cap and some sticker labels. It's not different, or especially well designed, but drinking something out of glass is always fancier than plastic, so it definitely gets some points there. I like the bottle itself, but the labels seems really out of place. I know this is part of Aldi's Specially Selected line, which always has white text and a black backdrop, but the design looks very American-trying-to-look-European in this case. I would have liked to see something more rustic and simple. Still, it's not bad, it just seems a little disjointed.
Once opened, the fizzy liquid inside smells deliciously zesty and bitter. Similar to orange essential oil and grapefruit juice. It's way more zesty than I expected, but that's not a bad thing.
I poured it into a glass with some ice and look at the gorgeous color! I went a little overboard taking photos of it because it's so vibrant and colorful. I mean, it's a pink soda! I don't even like pink and even I think this is super pretty.
I took a sip, and it was nicely carbonated, but the overall flavoring was very tangy and bitter. It starts out refreshing and sweet, like most orange sodas, but the orange essential oils leave a dry and bitter flavoring on your tongue, similar to grapefruit juice. I personally liked it a lot. It's very different from other orange sodas on the market (because it's so tangy and dry), but I don't think my parents liked it all that much. Then again, I don't think either of them are a big fan of grapefruit. Even though this is supposed to be blood orange, the sour tangy flavoring is very grapefruit-like. My step dad said it was okay, but all three of us easily polished off the bottle, so I think they liked it a bit more than he let on. (There were other options on the table to pick from after all.)
I really like grapefruit flavored drinks, so the tanginess of this blood orange soda didn't bother me at all. I found it to be really zesty and refreshing, but I don't think this is for everybody. If you like tart and tangy beverages, you should definitely pick this one up. (I think it'd be a great cocktail mixer.)
If you had added a shot or two of Skyy Blood orange vodka your drink would have been perfect! Our Aldis are of course, sold out!
ReplyDeleteOh man, that sounds like a brilliant combination! My Aldi still has some, and I think it might even be on the clearance rack! (Gotta go get another bottle.)
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