Just The Specials: OREO X Coca-Cola Collaboration

Welcome to the table,

Just the Specials is where your good buddy gourmand, Anton, tastes various vittles from across the culinary landscape. Why? Because random food forces me to get outside of my comfort zone, and that is how you get personal growth or some such. I was not looking forward to this one but it may not be the reason you think.

There was a time in my life when I drank way too much soda. I know some people say “I drink too much soda,” and they may have a can or two a week. I was drinking upwards of ten cans of soda a day. I was somehow fairly fit, that probably had something to do with the fact I was, at this point in my life, not eating much of anything. I had a metabolism I would sell all of my comic books to get back because it was that good.

At some point, around the start of COVID, I decided I would stop drinking soda. It was really difficult, but I managed to give it up cold turkey, as the kids say. It took a year or two for the cravings to stop and I was really grumpy for a time as I tried to fight my body craving the super sugar carbonation drinks.

Since 2019, aside from a handful of seasonal offerings and the random ginger ale, I have not had a soda of any kind. I did go through a six-month stretch where I drank more cran-pineapple juice than is probably healthy, but for the most part, I am just drinking water now with a squeeze or two of MIO in it.

All that being said, I was nervous about trying out this limited-time offering. But for you, dear reader, who I like to imagine are here just to see what weird nonsense I am going to eat next, I was willing to give it a try.

The Coca-Cola people say they are “Introducing the new Coca‑Cola Zero Sugar OREO Limited Edition Creations, a delicious duo that celebrates friendship with every sip. We’re combining the best traits of Coca‑Cola Zero Sugar and OREO to help you find a new friend with all the flavor.”

It tastes pretty much like an OREO. To a degree, it’s almost alarming. I’m not sure what kind of sugar-free syrup magic they are using at the Coca-Cola, but this tastes, for all intents and purposes, like liquid OREO.

It’s the consistency of regular Coca-Cola, but the flavor is so spot on it’s alarming. Once you get over that the small can is kind of a perfect size if you are not drinking soda on the regular, I could see this being a really nice mixer for a fun festive alcoholic beverage.

All in all, it’s not something I would drink all the time but as far as weird collaborative beverages go, this one is not bad at all.

There is a collaborative OREO cookie that is supposed to taste like Coca-Cola, but everywhere I have checked has not had it in stock. An elderly store employee at one of the big-box shops said “ehhhh” when asked what he thought of them. So until these things show up in front of me, you will have to wait for my weigh-in on them.

Until next time, if there is something weird or seasonal you want to hear about next, drop a comment on the Comicon.com social media feed and we will see what we can make happen next.