And The Valley Drinks: Abita King Cake Soda

Now is usually the time of year where everybody goes haywire over Abita's Mardi Gras Bock, what is largely viewed as one of Abita's best offerings (I'm high on it, but Seersucker is my personal runaway favorite). This year, Abita threw a curveball and introduced King Cake Soda not too long after they lifted a page from Not Your Father's and made a hard root beer they labeled Bayou Bootlegger. So it's nice to see Abita play around and offer more unique selections.

The King Cake Soda rolled out nearly an entire month ago and I was able to snag a sixer from Oak Point in Watson and decided to pair it with a banana filled king cake, because I make excellent decisions. When I talked about it on Twitter, people were really surprised because it was apparently hard to find. But now it's everywhere and I dare you to go to a supermarket and not find it. It runs for about six bucks a pack, which is more than what you typically pay for a 12 pack of Coke, but at the same time you're getting something distinctly different from plain ole Coke.

Review

Abita's mission was clear: to create a soda that as closely resembles the taste of a king cake as possible. And by Grabthar's Hammer they did. The first thing you'll notice is the sweetness, it's absolutely loaded to the brim with cane sugar, and it's understandable because that's the most obvious way to achieve the taste of the icing and well, sugar that coats a king cake. Then you're slammed with the distinct and overwhelming taste of cinnamon. Which, again, yeah, that's definitely part of the king cake. Not only did Abita faithfully recreate the taste of the king cake, they replicated how you taste a king cake: sweet first, cinnamon second. Here's the thing though: it's way too overpowering. It's GREAT for a novelty drink once every few days or so, but you definitely can't have more than one a day, especially if you're not a big soda drinker like I am.  I'd still give it a 4/5 stars.