Orangina Cassis Orange

I must admit, I've never been the biggest fan of orange juice. It's tolerable enough, but sometimes it's not sweet enough or the pulp gets in the way or I'd rather just have grape or apple juice. But this isn't just any orange juice, it's cassis and orange. And I know about as much about cassis as you probably do. Apparently it's a black currant, considered a super food, and has a sweet tangy flavor. Will it be an orange juice that finally appeals to me?

The weirdest thing happens when I open the bottle, it pops and a mist comes out, which actually lingers in the bottle neck for a while. Kind of a strange situation. But that means it's carbonated too, oh no. Guess I wasn't familiar enough with Orangina to know that, but hopefully it'll be tolerable or I'll be lapping it all up in micro-sips. It's notable that this is also a seasonal flavor, presumably only available during the winter. As far as the smell, I do smell a certain fruity tartness alongside the orange smell, and the drink has more of a reddish color to it than the usual orange juice. I guess that's the cassis.

Okay, so the carbonation isn't too overwhelming, and I can focus for the most part on the flavor. It's a pretty nice flavor! It's a little light on sweetness, but I can taste the orange alongside what kind of reminds me of a tangy raspberry flavor. The two seem to have about an equal blend. I like how the orange adds some acidity, and then the cassis adds some sweet tartness to the mix. It's a shame those bubbles have to go and mask away the flavor...

The longer I drink it though, the lack of sweetness does begin to wear me down. If you like unsweetened orange flavor this is probably your thing, but for me orange isn't good enough a flavor to be carried by it alone. I mean there's the cassis but it's not the most sweet thing either. Still a nice refreshing blend of flavors, and like everything else in this crate very reminiscent of the holidays. Maybe fruitcake for this one? Different worlds but you get the point.

Rating: 6 - Aruff!