Diet Coke with Cherry

In my teenage years (not THAT long ago), it's fair to say I was pretty much addicted to Diet Coke. I would often plump for a Cherry Coke, but often felt the guilt that it was a fat boy and not a diet...then low and behold the beautiful people in Cokeland released a diet version - all my Christmas' had come at once! I was a sucker for the brand, I loved the image, the logo, everything. I used to collect anything that had 'Coke' on: Clocks, T-shirts, Sweatshirts (I'll leave it there before I embarrass myself further). However, I can say without bias, I like Diet Cherry Coke very much. It's been around for a while, and I don't think it's going to go away - hurrah - unlike some other random varieties of Coke - such as Coke with a hint of Lime and dash of Bacon and a twist of Monkey poo (I made that last one up).

I defy anyone to tell me that they have never tried a Coke...but Cherry Coke is a different kettle of fish all together, if you don't like Cherries, you have no reason to touch it. But I urge everyone to grab a swig of the lovely Diet Cherry Coke.

Poured over ice, this soft drink is very refreshing, or chilled straight out of a can, is just as good. Some people find that it has a bitter aspartamin type after taste, but I don't agree. The flavour of cherry is unmistakeably echoed by the glorious, cokey flavour. The smell, I find is rather non-descript, it isn't unpleasant by any means, but it doesn't remind me of cherries or anything else for that matter - it does smell sweet though - if 'sweet' has a smell.

Nutritionally, Diet Cherry Coke isn't that great and if you're looking for a cherry drink that is healthy, there are better alternatives! A 250ml serving contains 2.5 Calories, 0.1g of Salt but no Sugar (just sweetners), Fat or Saturates (woohoo - this can be drunk guilt free). It also contains E numbers (E150d and E331) - so I would tread cautiously if you want to give this to small kids, but a little shouldn't hurt...but not before bedtime, this stuff contains caffeine - they'll be bouncing off the walls all night long! It is however a source of Phenylalanine (an essential alpha-amino acid) so there you go!

The labelling always makes me laugh as the description on the back of Diet Coke products goes on to say that it is a 'soft drink with vegetable extracts with sweetners'. Now, I want to know which vegetable this is, and why I haven't hunted this elusive veggie down? You mean to tell me there is a Coke flavoured carrot out there?? Hmm probably not, keep dreaming!

The only thing I will say against this product, is that it does leave your teeth feeling kind of fuzzy, and well, not feeling too nice really. It leaves an unwanted yet-oh-so-difficult-to-avoid film on your teeth, but nothing that good a scrub down with the old colgate won't fix - but don't brush your teeth before you drink, otherwise the taste will be repugnantly grotesque! Also, too much of the gaseous stuff will make you burp...LOTS...so be warned, if you're out trying to impress someone you fancy, too much Coke may make you come a cropper.

The drink is available in 330ml cans for approx 50p, 500ml bottle (approx 87p), 2 ltr bottle (approx £1.45), 6 x 330ml cans (approx £2.45) (you get the idea) from all good supermarkets and corner shops.

If you're really into your coke, you take a squiz at the website: www.coca-cola.co.uk, www.dietcoke.com or even www.dietcokebreaks.com (but I think that was just set up for a promotion) - none of the sites are particularly inspiring, but they're there...incase you're ever to tempted to read up on the brand!!??Nothing like a cheeky Cherry Cola (sorry, I had to include that somewhere...praise be to the Savage Gardeners)

So go on, pop your Diet Coke Cherry.

Thanks for reading.