Sometimes Foodie: Baby's First Liquid Death

Liquid Death canned water sounds like it's ripped from an episode of Metalocalypse, but it's legit! And it's actually been around for a while.

You'd think I would have gotten into this stuff a lot sooner, what with it being covered in skulls and having the tag line, "murder your thirst." Completely my aesthetic, and yet, I never got around to it.

Then, last night, I was at Walmart grabbing seasonal cat treats (because I'm that kind of pet-mom), when I spotted an 8-pack of "Berry It Alive," on the discounted food end-cap. I figured, what better time to drink Liquid Death than in the midst of Spooky Season? Plus, it's discounted! (Not sure why, but it was only $7.00, a bad omen?)

So, let's find out if this is...to die for?

Branding-wise, I love everything about this. From the skull artwork to the metal-typefaces, it gives me life, which is funny, considering this is, "Liquid Death."

"This ruthless tallboy of flavored sparkling water has a twisted plan to use natural agave and exploding bubbles to murder your thirst and recycle your soul."
How can you read this and NOT hear Brendon Small's Nathan Explosion-voice in your head?

After seeing my friend, Jared, drink these from time to time, my current understanding of Liquid Death is:
It has awesome spooky branding.
They opt for aluminum cans instead of plastic bottles.
It's water, but like, cool goth water.
And...that's about it.

Opened, it smells sweet and fruity. Right away I detect blackberry, and maybe cherry, but that's about all I can pin-point. Sweeter than I expected.

Taking a sip, to my surprise, it's sweetened! I avoided looking at the ingredients because I didn't want to spoil my, "going in blind," sipping experience, but there's agave in this. So, unlike the stuff I buy from Aldi which tends to be "flavored"-in an air-quotes-worthy way, this is actually flavored AND sweetened. I can taste cherry, blackberry, the sweetener, and something tart to finish. Looking at the ingredients, I am guessing that tartness might be coming from the hibiscus. As much as I love the branding, and the overall concept, I don't really care for this flavor. The citric acid and tartness just aren't sitting right with me, it's making me think of artificial sweeteners, which I am never a fan of.

Flavoring is all about personal preferences. I'm not a hibiscus lover, or an agave-person, had I looked at the ingredients I probably wouldn't have bought these after all, but that's what I get for going in blind and getting caught up in awesome branding.

I did not enjoy this particular brush with Liquid Death, but it hasn't put me off their products entirely. Maybe I should just stick to their OG Mountain Water, which is agave-less. Have you had a brush with Liquid Death? If so, what were your thoughts?