Know that tingling sensation you get when you pop a piece of “cooling” gum between your chompers? Sprite’s newest innovation, Sprite Chill, promises a similar sensory experience for every single sip in a can or bottle — minus the minty flavor, of course.
Sprite Chill is supposed to taste a cold start to finish thanks to the addition of “a proprietary blend of cooling agents.” Available now in both full sugar and zero sugar varieties, the invention from the company’s R&D department promises the resulting cooling effect will build as you continue to drink, replacing the sense of freshness that is often lost the longer a carbonated beverage is exposed to air.
As someone who wholeheartedly believes room-temperature soda should be a crime, the idea of a soda that comes with a cooling experience caught my attention. I acquired a can (which we all know is superior to bottles, right?) of Sprite Chill Cherry Lime to see whether these undisclosed cooling agents actually make a difference.
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The first sip, fresh from a few hours in my fridge, tasted like a sparkly Cherry Lime-flavored Sprite. I picked up on a bit more fizziness compared to a normal can, but nothing extraordinary. But then I took my second sip, and my third sip, and I noticed that my mouth actually started to feel colder.
I stepped away from my can for a few minutes, and the chillness surprisingly lingered. It’s truly similar to the whole-mouth cooling effect from gum, as if I could blow out cold wind like an air conditioner. It was odd, but enjoyable.
Coca-Cola’s Felicity Boucetla, Senior Director or Product Development for Sparkling Flavours, wasn’t able to share the details with me about the additions that made for this distinct feeling. But Boucetla did tell me that the team “spent time getting the right nuances together so that it is bold, right from that first sip and follows all the way through until you finish that last sip of the can or bottle.”
“We know our customers are looking for more multisensorial experiences, so we were looking at how we could bring that to life,” Boucetla said. “We asked how we could really elevate refreshment to the next level. How could we bring the coolest, coolest experience?”
I’m not sure that the sensation is something everyone will love, but if you’re the type of person who laments how your soda doesn't taste as good in those last few sips, Sprite Chill might be your answer.
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