Monday, July 16, 2007

Have a Cuke and a Smile

A few weeks ago, I read about a new drink Pepsi was introducing in Japan with some rather unusual attributes. In fact, the name says it all: Pepsi Ice Cucumber.

Pepsi Ice Cucumber ... only available in Japan. (07/16/2007)
Pepsi Ice Cucumber ... only available in Japan. (07/16/2007)

Leave it to the Japanese to invent a cucumber-flavored soda! So when I heard that the Japanese representative for the company I work for was coming to the United States for some meetings in July, I jokingly sent him a link to the news story and asked if he could bring some Pepsi Ice Cucumber with him.

Taste the flavor of the cucumber! (07/16/2007)
Taste the flavor of the cucumber! (07/16/2007)

Well to my surprise, a couple of weeks later he actually showed up with an entire case of 24 bottles! He said it was hard to find, too, having checked with several stores before he actually found one that had the drink in stock. I was floored that he was able to pull it off, including getting it through airport security!

Deciding if I like it or not. (07/16/2007)
Deciding if I like it or not. (07/16/2007)

We passed a bunch of them out at the office for a taste, and out of all the people that tried it, nobody hated it (although nobody loved it either). The best analogy I heard was from Melissa who compared it to cucumber-melon lotion. "It tastes like that lotion smells," she told me.

Move over Dr. Pepper! (07/16/2007)
"Move over Dr. Pepper!" (07/16/2007)

It's definitely an interesting experience. As it turns out, according to a recent BusinessWeek article, Pepsi Ice Cucumber was largely a publicity stunt by the Pepsi company, which only produced 4.8-million bottles and then immediately discontinued it. Well we're definitely glad we got to try it before it disappears forever.

2 comments:

TIM said...

I tried it as well and it really wasn't as bad as you would think. The flavor was mostly like a "Sprite" with a hint of cucumber. Too bad the American mentality couldn't handle this drink...

Anonymous said...

I know! I was totally wanting to try that. Oh, well, I guess I'll have to just keep adding Christine's cucumber foot scrub to my Sprite...boring...