I was never really a creamsicle fan. When I was young, I could just never really wrap my head around the idea of "oranges" as a dessert. To me, oranges were for juice and to put in salads. Or to stick in my mouth to get a bit goofy grinning face.
I decided to step lightly into the Soda Shaq pool with this one because I know that "orange cream" is a flavor done with more frequency than blueberry or strawberry, but I wanted to save vanilla for last because I hope it's really hard to screw up that flavor.
So, what did I think? More after the cut.
First, let's discuss the can.
I swear, that must be Shaq's "Nobody will be able to identify your body because I'm going to wear your skin" face. Either that or it's his "keep smiling, find a way to lose these people because that really hot girl wanted to meet up in five minutes" face.
I love the fact that it proudly touts the lack of anything artificial. In fact, looking at the details on the side, I noticed a few nutrition details that were interesting. Looking up the Stewart's Orange Cream soda nutrition information, I found that, for the same serving size (of which this can contains three 8-ounce servings, Stewart's is 1.5) Shaq Soda is lower in calories, sodium, carbs, and sugars. It also has carbonated filtered water as its primary ingredient, not some kind of science-grown syrup.
Vegetable juices are used for color, and honey is used as a sweetener, making this probably the "healthiest" soda I've had in a long time.
Opening the can, I found a bit of frustration that immediately after puncturing the top, the pull-tab simply snapped off in my hand. You'd think a can designed for hands as big as Shaq's would be more durable. When I did drink from the can, the opening seemed to be the perfect size for easy flow, meaning I didn't have to "slurp" at all and it flowed without causing a ton of bubbles to form on my tongue.
I poured some into a cup to look at the coloring and watch the carbonation. On the "whiskey identification" chart, the soda fell somewhere between "Chestnut Oloroso sherry" and "Russet Muscat" in coloring. It had little carbonation with almost no head forming, and larger bubbles forming on the sides of the glass. Tasting it, it had little "fizz" on the tongue like so many sodas, which admittedly did help in drinking when it required less gas to be expelled later.
Flavor-wise, cream is the primary flavor, with orange being a distant second. It was surprising, because if you were to smell the soda in the can, you would certainly pick up the scent of orange. This is actually something I like, because what I do remember about many "orange cream" sodas I've tried before is that the cream is usually always drowned out by the orange flavor, simply acting as a way to weigh down the tongue, flavor-wise, so it doesn't just taste like "orange soda."
I suspect that the subtle orange flavor might also be tied to the lack of fizz when I drank it, as the lighter orange flavors would better travel through the air and stick around after the rest of the drink is swallowed.
Now, because this is a water-based soda, it didn't taste heavy at all. It tasted thin and light, letting the flavors wash over the tongue with ease. When I let the soda sit for a bit and come up closer to room temperature, I found that the orange became more pronounced, leaving a stronger aftertaste in the mouth.
So was it good? I wouldn't rush right out to buy one again, but I found it rather satisfying. I'd probably reach for it sooner than I would an orange Crush or Fanta, and it would take higher priority than most "orange cream" sodas if just because it's overall healthier and I can nurse it longer through the day.
For a dollar, it's a good value for your money. I'd give it a B-.
You're off to a good start so far, Shaq. Let's hope tomorrow's drink, the strawberry cream, keeps the record going.
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