06.07.08
Zest-o Calamansi Soda
Calamansi? Like Calamansi Damacy? Is this a fruit that rolls around picking up stuff that sticks to it until it’s ripe or something? What’s a calamansi? OK, Godzilla tells me that it’s a sort of orange thing which I can live with. It’s also apparently sour (at the moment, who knows with Godzilla) with a sweet peel. And smells like a tangerine and looks like a lime. So this is one confused fruit.
What happens when you make a soda of it? Glad you asked. Zest-o (and also still hee) has gone and done such a thing so let’s check it out shall we? Well, it is tart and a tad tangerine-y about the edges. I’m not sure about the whole “With Honey” that’s emblazoned on the can because I’m not tasting honey. Unless it’s maybe honey that thinks it might be sugar cane or something.
But does it taste of swamp water? The last two Zest-o sodas (Dalandan Soda and Diet Dalandan Soda) had a bit of a swamp water thing going on and I’ve been curious if that was just dalandan or if it was Zest-o. I’d love to say that it was the dalandan but after having a swig or two of calamansi soda I’m thinking that maybe that’s not entirely the case. Calamansi certainly doesn’t smell as strongly of the lagoon nor does it taste as powerfully of the bayou but sadly, there is just a touch of quagmire out there in the upper fringes of the taste. Certainly it’s not as strong so maybe calamansi is more of an inland fruit. I’m also willing to overlook the slight mire-y because the rest of the soda is pretty tasty.
It’s got a decent carbonation and a nice tart taste that isn’t over sweetened. I’m not getting honey as the packaging promises but I don’t think that’s a bad thing really. Honey would sort of push a decently tasty soda into the weird. I might not choose Calamansi over Pepsi but I’d certainly choose it over dalandan and even most of the Ramune I’ve reviewed.
Rating of 3 wasabi peas out of a possible 5 wasabi peas.
