PEPSI BLUE IS BACK!
PEPSI BLUE (2021) REVIEW!
Grimey
I've got four words for you all today; Pepsi. Motha Fuckin. Blue. A severely underrated beverage that, for me, practically defined the two years it was around back in 2002 to 2004. Even though I no longer partake in drinking caffeinated beverages, it's a return that I, and many others, have long been waiting to see and today, we celebrate that joyous return.
A little background, PepsiCo released Pepsi Blue back in the middle of 2002. It was the result of 9 months of taste testing 100 different varieties of flavored Pepsi; really let that sink in. After Mountain Dew Code Red’s success (another crazy colored experimental looking drink under PepsiCo's belt) they decided to give it a try with there very own Pepsi Cola. I was 13 years young at the time; fresh into my teenage years. Guess who this drinks' targeted demographic was; teenagers! Needless to say, I subconsciously fell victim immediately. Fronted and advertised by Papa Roach, Sev, Britney Spears and Garfield: The Movie (none of which I was ever into.) PepsiCo attempted to make this soda edgy, cool, hip, rad or whatever other cliché choice words teens might use. Here's it's awesome commercial uploaded by YouTube user jimmetrock.
The thing is, for me, it didn't need a butt rock band, a sexy pop star or America's favorite lasagna scarfing cat to get my attention. In fact, I didn't have cable TV or a computer with internet at that time and heard nothing about this wild new Pepsi. My first sight of Pepsi Blue was in a small gas station down the road from my house. There it was, this INSANELY BLUE Pepsi drink, which was fucking bonkers at the time. The craziest thing we saw from a Pepsi before that was Crystal Pepsi which was long gone. Sporting this sharp silver metallic lettering and what could only be described as Goldbergs tribal tattoo in the background; this thing was fucking lit! On top of all, I had an obsession with blue things; popsicles, candies, liquids, Eifel 65... you name it. If it was blue, I wanted it.
PepsiCo would describe the flavor as just "berry" while fans might say blueberries, raspberries or even go as far to say it had a hint of cotton candy. I'll be straight with you all. I thought it tasted like a Pepsi was watered down with a punch of artificial blueberry but like.... in a good way. I suppose it's easy to throw "cotton candy" at it since cotton candy is merely sugar which all sodas are jam packed with. If you look at this soda and think "berry cotton candy" sure... you'll taste berry cotton candy. All I mean to get across is that it is such a weird mash up but it worked so well! We can argue it all day but that's a hill I'm willing do die on. Some people say it has to be ice cold; I beg to differ. I could drink it cold, room temp, frozen, fast, slow, in a box, on a hill... whatever. This was my jam.
THE LA BEAST HOLDING AN ORIGNAL EXPIRED PEPSI BLUE (WHICH HE THEN DRINKS, SERIOUSLY, CHECK HIM OUT ON YOUTUBE!)
Why was Pepsi Blue discontinued? I've found so many rumors but nothing definite. The big three I found were:
1. They alienated their audience with the use of their aggressive marketing strategy.. apparently Papa Roach and Garfield: The Movie wasn't everyone's cup of blue soda.
The product wasn't a popular flavor among Pepsi consumers yet I've read that their sales still did relatively well.
There was a lot of controversy over the use of the dye (Blue 1) that colored the beverage which was banned in several countries.
Regardless, fans of the drink still sought out for more Pepsi Blue through the years. Even famous youtubers like the LA Beast mentioned they'd like to see Pepsi Blue brought back. While the drink was discontinued in 2004 in the US and Canada, the drink remained available in the Philippines if you feel like spending $50 on shipping.
Fast forward to the present day. Again, those four words; PEPSI! (and I can’t stress this enough) MOTHA FUCKIN! BLUE! No small letters, all caps, exclamation points; the whole shabang. It is finally back! But, does it compare to the original? Starting with the packaging; meh. I would have loved seeing that beautiful 2002 label again or a spin off of it. I love USA, don't get me wrong, but I thought we had DEW.S.A already? Nothing beats that old label. Flavor... let me start by saying that there are very few beverages that have the absolute power to violently throw me back to childhood with a small sip but Pepsi Blue is definitely on that list next to Ecto Cooler and just about every Kool Aid flavor from the early 90s. It's exactly how I remember it (I described it earlier if you remember correctly).
I’m wondering now, this seems to be a “summer” flavor kind of thing now, will it be replacing Crystal Pepsi since, as far as I can tell, they've put it on the back burner after bringing it back a few consecutive summers? Because that’s something I am willing to get behind. My only wish is that they make a caffeine free version but that’s really my argument with most sodas. Listen, we don’t all want energy legs, some of us just want to be lazy without our hearts beating a million miles per hour while we drink our chemically dyed carbonated sugar water in peace. Just some food for thought *cough cough* I’m looking at you, soda companies!
Well, there you have it! Pepsi Blue is back for a limited time! I hope you enjoyed reading about insanely colored blue Pepsi that people think taste like berry cotton candy! If you’re interested in finding this beautiful blue elixir of the gods, you can find it at Walmart. I’m not sure where else; sorry about that. Thanks for reading!
