Flathead Lake Huckleberry
/Huckleberry Finn is a literary classic. My mother used to have a very old edition of said book and in junior high I took it to school with me and tossed it in the bottom of my locker. It sat there, books piling upon it, tearing the spine off painfully slow. I brought it home and my mother was understandably angry. Well, at the time I didn’t understand because it was just a book. You could buy Huckleberry Finn at the store for $5.
Twist could mess up the Flathead Lake mascot
This has nothing to do with the soda I’m about to drink, I just wanted to get that off my chest. I still feel bad for ruining that book. Flathead Lake Huckleberry (there’s the tie in) Soda probably isn’t going to be as good as the words Mark Twain penned. If the taste equals his excellence in writing then I’ll shut down the website. I seriously doubt that will happen though because Flathead Lake usually tastes off to me. I like the story they tell, but the ending makes me not care if I hear it again. There ingredients are an assortment of chemicals and it’s quite obvious when you take a sip. Then again, I haven’t had their huckleberry. For the record I’m YOUR huckleberry and I’m ready to review this.
A grape aroma surrounded by candy flies out of the bottle. The scent is not solely grape, but that’s definitely the smell in charge. The tart huckleberry taste can be felt within my nostrils as I take deeper and deeper whiffs. Here’s hoping this above average smell isn’t a sugary mess in the taste department.
For having such a powerful aroma the taste is actually quite weak. Flathead Lake Huckleberry is a watery grape soda with whispers of flavor from a similar fruit. The carbonation is sharp and fizzy, but not enough to have me anxiously anticipating my next sip. Even if this did have a more powerful taste I’m not sure it’d be enough to change the rating I’m already leaning towards. It’s tasty enough, but even if you’re really into huckleberries I just don’t see this being your soda of choice. The flavors are muted, confused, and seem thrown together for the sake of being “not just a grape soda”. “This is huckleberry dang-it and people will notice us more because it’s not your standard flavor.” This is true. When I saw the flavor of this soda was huckleberry I became excited because it wasn’t a flavor I was used to. I can count on one hand the number of huckleberry sodas I’ve had. So Flathead Lake got me, but didn’t deliver on the flavor. Add this to the fact that my mouth is coated with a thin layer of “huckleberry” syrup and it’s really not that enjoyable of an experience.
No, it’s not a gross soda, but it’s not hard to make “not a gross soda”. I’ve done it, but it’s nothing I’d bottle and sell. Flathead Lake made one too, but instead of using huckleberry they used “artificial flavors” and called it a day. Again, it’s not gross so I won’t tell you to beware. It’s just so average.
~A
