THE FUSE

I’m an equal opportunity soda drinker — and one born in the Carolinas, at that (home of Pepsi, might I add). I didn’t drink much of it at home, but my grandparents always had a mini fridge stocked with ice-cold soda cans and Yoo-Hoos that I happily sipped on anytime I visited.

Now that I’m an adult, with adult money and an adult fridge (and mini fridge), I dabble in carbonation as often as I want. And there are a lot of different sodas out there, with seemingly new flavors popping up every month. The most recent on my radar? Pepsi Wild Cherry and Cream.

Pepsi is no stranger to releasing new flavors. There’s a glut of options lining grocery shelves across the country (and the world). You might recognize this latest one: Pepsi Wild Cherry has been around since the late 1980s, and added cream to that resume earlier this year as a limited-edition drop (it was so popular, shoppers had it shipped to them because it was sold out in stores).

It was so popular that the brand brought it back, and revamped the packaging for this rerelease. The new design and revival of the drink is currently available in 12-ounce cans and 20-ounce bottles in both original and zero sugar. You can find them nationwide at grocers like Walmart, Amazon, and more.

Although the flavor first launched earlier this year, this was my first time trying Pepsi’s new Wild Cherry and Cream. As a cherry enthusiast, I was excited. I received the package after a long day, and I went straight into the original can, popping the top off and taking a big swig.

It was bursting with cherry flavor, followed by a velvety vanilla-cream. (That overarching smoothness is a trend that stays with you from start to finish.) It’s very good.

Just as the classic Pepsi has a zero-sugar counterpart, so does Pepsi Wild Cherry and Cream. It’s cherry-forward like the original, but, admittingly, that flavor doesn’t last long. The cream hangs around, though.

Similar to North Carolina’s beloved cheerwine, I like that they both have a subtle, not punchy, cherry — it’s smooth. The cream balances the flavor well; it’s not overpowering, and the cream lingers for an impressive amount of time. I’ll definitely keep a case in my fridge.