Flathead Lake Strawberry Orange

It’s 9:00 in the morning, which is usually way too early for a soda review.  Last week though was lacking in said reviews so I figured I’d try to get an early start to this week by writing one in the A.M.  When I opened my fridge I tried to find the most breakfast like flavor and Flathead Lake Strawberry Orange was the most obvious at hand.  After pondering it for a moment I realized that strawberry orange isn’t exactly a common flavor, yet it seems like the two would pair fairly often in the soda world.  The two should create a tart yet sweet sensation that’s fun for the whole family.  I’ve never been particularly impressed with the ingredients of Flathead Lake sodas so we’ll just hope it delivers big on flavor.  That’s what this is all about anyway, right?

A fun fruit punchesque aroma simultaneously greets my nose and excites my brain for the flavor that may be contained within this glass prison.  The bright red-orange color of the soda itself is also rather inviting as the beads of condensation roll down the neck of the bottle.  If I was to rate this on just appearance and scent then Flathead Lake Strawberry Orange would be doing very well.  Of course all citizens of the Carbo-Nation know that those two are only part of what makes a soda great. 

I immediately can tell that if this were fizzier I’d like it a lot more.  There is indeed a created flavor that begins to taste like strawberry/orange yet it takes the exit to cotton candyville somewhere near the end of each sip.  This is made even more noticeable by the amount of carbonation used in the beverage as I said less than three sentences ago.  While the carbonation levels are not low by any means, if the fizz levels where higher my tongue would be focused on the tiny explosions happening on it rather than the vague sugary flavor this soda eventually becomes.  The vague sugary flavor isn’t terrible, mind you.  I just wish that the initial strawberry/orange combination had been strong enough to last throughout each swig.  Flathead Lake Strawberry Orange is still a good drink in terms of taste, look, and scent.  Thankfully, there is no terrible aftertaste, but the velvet curtain of syrup fall on the stage that is my mouth.  All in all this soda starts off quite tasty, but the soda itself is its own undoing.  Like so many sodas before it the flavor can’t support the weight of all the drinks taken prior.  This causes the soda drinking experience to go from enjoyable to consuming liquid sugar just to finish it.  It’s this aspect that makes Flathead Lake Strawberry Orange an average soda.

~A

Twist keeps asking for a pair of tiny sunglasses.