Pepsi Mont Blanc

To my recollection, Pepsi has come out with these odd flavors only 6 times. The first was cucumber, which I did not sample. That was followed by Pepsi White, Pepsi Shiso, Pepsi Adzuki, and most recently Pepsi Baobab. I don't include the Pepsi Strong Shot in this cavalcade of weirdness because it didn't taste different than the usual Pepsi. It was simply hyper-caffeinated and more carbonated.

In my opinion, Pepsi has been moving in a steadily better direction with it's limited edition flavor choices, and they've also been doing more beautiful label designs with each one of these. The Pepsi Mont Blanc label is lovely with a wintry motif that conveys the elegance of the dessert it is modeled after. Of course, it could simply be that Pepsi has made a flavor based on my favorite dessert and I'm strongly inclined to believe their synchronicity with me constitutes a "good choice."

I picked this up for 147 yen ($1.82) for a 490 ml. bottle at a Family Mart convenience store. I'm not sure why 10 ml. has been shaved off of the usual 500 ml. serving of these types of drinks, but there it is. It was just released today and should be around for a few months. Though it's unlikely to be on all of the "konbini" shelves for longer than the first month, it will show up at other shops after its initial release. Note that the Pepsi Baobab lingered in boxes at sad little discount shops up until sometime last month. I got the feeling it didn't sell particularly well though I did like it.

I had good hopes for this and when I unscrewed the cap and gave it a whiff, I was greeted with chestnut notes though they were fairly artificial smelling. The best way to describe the smell is like a cross between a cream soda and root beer. The flavor also carries a bit of a cream soda feel with a chestnut finish. I'm guessing there is vanilla in it and that's why cream soda keeps coming to mind, but there is also a bit of a brandy or liquor-type flavor going on. This would be intentional on the part of Pepsi because mont blanc desserts are chestnut paste which includes sugar and often brandy. 

This tastes nothing like Pepsi, and it is unique but fairly tasty. The first sip in particular tastes very good, but the finish feels a bit flat and earthy. I'm not sure what that is about, but it tends to fade a bit as you drink more. Still, I liked this, and while I wouldn't drink it everyday, it is a nice change of pace, especially if you want a sweet soft drink which you're having instead of a treat. Note that this has 42 calories per 100 ml. so drinking the entire bottle is 205 calories. You won't be saving yourself any calories by having this instead of dessert, but you will be having a novel experience.