We Tried The New Diet Coke Flavors, And Here's What We Thought
It's 2018, and Diet Coke has an all-new look and four new flavors. On January 10, Coca-Cola announced that they were relaunching Diet Coke after 35 years with not only the classic flavor but four new fruity variations inspired by the millennial audience: Ginger Lime, Feisty Cherry, Zesty Blood Orange, and Twisted Mango.
Since many of us on The Daily Meal staff are proper D-Coke addicts, our friends at Coca-Cola delivered us a six-pack of the new Diet Coke flavors to try.
Here are our honest reviews:
Ginger Lime
"The ginger lime is the most subtle, but the ginger is surprisingly spicy on the finish." Subtle, indeed. Blame it on wintertime congestion, but several editors had trouble finding the lime flavor in this can. Luckily, the ginger flavor came through at the back end of our palates with a nice little bite. We liked the ginger essence so much that several editors thought a stronger flavor would really compliment Diet Coke.
Feisty Cherry
"Isn't this just Cherry Coke?" was the most prevalent query we had. Yeeeah... most editors were pretty sure this flavor was something that's been around for quite some time. And don't get us wrong! Diet Cherry Coke is classic, so what makes this "feisty?" We're not sure. Maybe it's the mild essence of "cough syrup," as one less enthused taster mused.
Zesty Blood Orange
This type had the best balance between the iconic Diet Coke taste and a new fruity flavor. The blood orange did taste a bit more like mandarin oranges, as multiple tasters noted, but who's really keeping tabs on that? This one wasn't too sweet. One taster noted, "the flavors wasn't that strong — a pro and a con. When in need of a pick-me-up, I wouldn't say no but I also wouldn't seek it out."
Twisted Mango
While the rest of the flavors had a clear essence of classic Diet Coke, Twisted Mango tasted a bit more like a new variety of Fanta. It was far and away the sweetest flavor, and while some liked that, others had better ideas for getting twisted with this one. "The mango was sickly sweet, but would probably make an okay mixer with booze since the alcohol would cut it," they wrote. Not a bad idea!
The new flavors of Diet Coke (and the redesigned, sleek cans) will roll out into stores later this month. While you get ready to try them, check out 10 things you didn't know about Coca-Cola and Diet Coke.