Product Review: Pepsi Shiso

Bangorang Rufio:


I know what you're thinking. You're thinking - it's finally happened, Alex has finally mistaken drain cleaner for a fizzy drink and gone and killed himself. Either that or he thinks he's in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: The Secret of the Ooze, and he's trying to turn himself into a giant monster-man like Shredder. Well my friends, no to the first and yes to the second. I mean, no to both of them. But how could I say no to Pespi Shiso?


Brewed to an unhealthy green that makes melon soda look positively organic, Pepsi Shiso hit the shelves this week. I was disappointed to find that it wasn't some unholy Shiso-tainted Pepsi-cola. Instead it seems to be just a Pepsi-branded shiso-flavoured fizzy drink. It's actually not bad, and does smell and taste (at least at first) like shiso (oh, which is a strong, sour, basil-like herb that's used in Japanese cooking). Like Green Tea Coke though, it's not the affront to man and God that I was hoping for. Well, this is Japan, another candy or soft-drink assault on the palette is always just round the corner.