Kirin Nuda Cooling Grapefruit

You have to admire Kirin's testicular fortitude and not because they named this drink "Nuda". Using anything that implies nudity actually takes no balls whatsoever because even a hint of sex sells more products. No, I think it's pretty gutsy of them to sell a "cooling" beverage in the winter time in a country where most of the people (especially the women) have the heat-retention capacity of those in the reptile family. The last thing people in Japan want when the temperature drops below 82 degrees F. (28 degrees C.) is anything which is "cooling".

The Nuda brand has been around for awhile, but this is my first sampling of it. I like grapefruit flavored food and drink, but not actual grapefruit. Oh, I have tried to get into eating the real deal but I just never saw the point in smothering something in sugar in order to make it palatable. I figure that, if I'm going to go for a large amount of sugar, I might as well eat a donut and stop fooling myself into thinking I'm eating something healthy because it was plucked from a vine before being saturation bombed with sucrose.

The  point of the "Nuda" line has nothing to do with supple naked bodies but rather with offering up light refreshment with bubbles. The basic "Nuda" is clear sparkling water and this is the same with a hint of grapefruit flavor. I found it for 87 yen ($1.06) at Seiyu supermarket. The question wasn't going to be about how well this bowled me over but rather about how they worked with the grapefruit flavor. Since this is just a flavored sparkling water, one can't expect too much.

When you unscrew the cap, you can smell a light grapefruit flavor. The water itself is carbonated adequately. You can really sense the bubbles if you hold it in your mouth for a few seconds before swallowing. I rather like this because I like the burn you can get from carbonated beverages. The grapefruit flavor is just enough to be detectable, but not enough to overwhelm. It is quite a good balance because the flavor is there, but there's absolutely no bitterness.

Kirin recommends their sparkling waters as office refreshment. Their ads hint that this will perk you up in meetings, brainstorming sessions, etc. I think that's expecting a bit too much from carbonated water. Nonetheless, this is good sparkling water and if you are inclined to go with bottled water, this is no more expensive than plain water and a nicer experience. I'd certainly buy it again if I were out and about and wanted some water and if it were available and it definitely beats club soda, which has always had a funky taste to me.