The Snack Attack: Sierra Mist Rebrands As Mist Twst, Adds Cherry Flavor To Lineup [TASTE TEST]
Have you been looking for Sierra Mist lately? Well, you're not going to find it anymore.
The lemon-lime soda has undergone a complete makeover and rebranding, with a new look, new taste and a new name: Mist Twst.
The new lineup of beverages includes Mist Twst, Diet Mist Twst, Mist Twst Cranberry, Diet Mist Twst Cranberry, and Mist Twst Cherry -- an all-new flavor.
Sierra Mist has gone through several transformations since the soda was introduced in 1999, but this is the first time PepsiCo has done a total rebrand of the product with a whole new name. And the formula is different.
In 2010, Sierra Mist change to Sierra Mist Natural when it ditched the high-fructose corn syrup from its recipe in favor of good ol' sugar. A few years later it dropped the "Natural" from its moniker and in 2014, Stevia, a natural sweetener, was added to the recipe to further reduce the pop's calorie content.
The new Mist Twst is going back to its roots, adding high-fructose corn syrup back to the recipe. PepsiCo says it's all about putting more emphasis on the drink's taste rather than its nutritional benefits, or lack-thereof.
Review: Mist Twst Cherry
PepsiCo describes Mist Twst Cherry as "a crisp, refreshing and caffeine free Lemon-Lime flavor soda with a splash of real juice." And that's a very accurate description. You can really taste the lemon-lime flavor in this soda before the cherry notes take over.
This isn't a cherry soda, it's a lemon-lime soda with a dash of cherry flavoring. And that's really exciting because it's a flavor that isn't really represented in the market right now. The only thing I can really compare it to is Cherry 7-Up which, although I find it delicious, tastes like straight-up cherry pop.
As far as the recipe, it definitely tastes like the Sierra Mist of years past. There's a huge difference in taste replacing the Stevia sweetener with high-fructose corn syrup, which doesn't really deserve its horrendous reputation in my option. There's no "diety" aftertaste that you often find with alternatively sweetened drinks. It's just a crisp, refreshing beverage.
Rating: 8 out of 10
The Snack Attack is a new daily feature on CBSDetroit.com that centers around all things food. Know of a new snack we should attack? Send an email and we'll be sure to add it to the list.