AltWeeklies Wire » Culture » Food+Drink

Halloween Treat Or Crime Against Nature?

By J. Caleb Mozzocco
Columbus Alive | October 6, 2005
Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. Case in point: The Jones Soda Co.’s Candy Corn soda. The ingenious flavor scientists at Jones just seem to be showing off their ability to make carbonated beverages taste like anything they want them to with this Halloween-themed soda, part of a line sold exclusively at Target and including Caramel Apple and the more pedestrian but palatable Strawberry Slime and Scary Berry Lemonade.

Now, why anyone would want a soda that tastes like a candy of questionable popularity is beyond me, but I’ll be damned if Jones hasn’t done for trick-or-treat candy what they previously did for Thanksgiving dinner with their turkey flavored soda. The bright orange concoction does taste just like candy corn; after swallowing the tangy, cream soda-like liquid, the aftertaste left lingering in your mouth is the same slightly stale, chalky, caramel-y taste that haunts your taste buds after a handful of candy corn.

As if aware that no one (other than maybe little kids) could possibly want to drink much of this stuff for any reason other than a mixture of novelty or curiosity, Jones and Target are wisely selling it in four packs rather than six packs, and in the little eight-ounce half-sized cans. The fact that this stuff exists in any size, however, is a little scary, and smacks of irresponsible flavorology bordering on mad science. But I suppose that what makes it perfect for Halloween.
Tags: Jones, soda, Co.

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Founded in 1983, Alive is the Capital City's oldest and only independent alternative and is known for providing a forum for the area's free thinkers. The paper's spirited and original perspective on music, arts and culture distinguish it from the...
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