The New Coke Zero

Coca-Cola announced last week that it would be discontinuing Coke Zero, and replacing it with Coca-Cola Zero Sugar.  This might not sound like a big deal, but it could be, depending on what this new version actually tastes like. 

Last year I was diagnosed with diabetes, so this guy who basically lived on Coca-Cola had to make some changes.  I cut down considerably, quit completely for several months, then looked for alternatives.  I have always hated diet soda and still do, so I had turned to Coke Zero.  I couldn't stand that either, as it was even more bitter to my tastebuds than the diet variations.

There were tricks I learned however.  Let the ice melt a bit so the water diluted it.  Putting a piece of red licorice in the bottle would sweeten and fight the bitter.  For the most part however I watched my sugar, leaned toward cleaner sodas, and kept real Coca-Cola as an occasional treat. 

But that's me.  The concern in the corporate level seems to be that folks were never actually sure what Coke Zero was.  One could assume, as I did, with the black packaging and the bitter taste, it might even be some carbonated coffee variation on Coke.  It wasn't.  But it also wasn't clicking well in US markets in the last decade or so.

The replacement, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, which has been very successful in markets elsewhere in the world, is said to be closer in taste to original formula Coca-Cola, and as the name implies, with zero sugar.  Clarity in the product name was also on the company's agenda, so that's a plus. 

Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, packaged in black but with considerably more red, will be coming to the States in August, so we'll see how much it tastes as hyped then.  In the meantime, if you are a fan of Coke Zero, you'd better stock up, because the plug has been pulled.  Drink up. 

Sprite: LeBron's Mix

LeBron is a basketball player, right? Let me hit the Google and double-check. Yes, LeBron James is an American treasure when it comes to basketball, and one of the best players in the world. Sorry, folks, but basketball is just not one of those things in my wheelhouse. Soda, on the other hand, is.

Recently when I saw Entourage in the theater I saw an ad for a new limited edition flavor of Sprite. Now I'm a Coca-Cola man, so yeah, Sprite is right along side there. This flavor of Sprite not only has cherry in it but also orange. I was enticed, my two favorite flavors in a Sprite, sounds like a plan.

Of course there's the very real possibility this could just be a drunken stint at the Coke Freestyle machine, a Frankenstein mix of what might taste good, but can't possibly... because, let's face it, we're not soda scientists - and neither is LeBron James, or at least I don't think he is.

The LeBron Mix, which apparently had been out before under another name, proved quite elusive to find. It was one of those things you see everywhere when it's under your radar yet nowhere when you want it. Fortunately The Bride was able to pick up a bottle in Philadelphia. Yes, at 7-Eleven, despite what Ray had to say about it on a recent episode of The GAR! Podcast.

The first thing I noticed was how much bubble and fizz was in the bottle before I even opened it. I was a bit tentative to twist off the top, half expecting a champagne-like explosion. It didn't explode when I twisted it open, but I did dig the contrast of the dark red label and cap against the lime green bottle. They should think about marketing this stuff during the Christmas season.

Once the cap was off, a wine bottle wave past my nose brought an aroma just like I had hoped, but. But when I tasted the stuff, it was exactly what I feared it was. It was terrible, like some blend of Mountain Dew (not my favorite) and urine (let's not even go there), wow, this stuff was awful. Not recommended. And LeBron, step away from the Coke Freestyle machine. Right now.

Why the Mad Men Finale Failed Me

I have loved this show, and still love it quite a bit. I was just left a bit disappointed with the series finale last night. I have nothing against happy endings, or for that matter, open ended endings, or even unhappy endings. As with anything however, it's the journey, not the destination. And of course, only the interesting parts of the journey.

I was happy for Joan, for Roger, for Stan and Peggy, even for Pete. I wished Joan had kept her relationship, and that Peggy joined her in business, but these are small things, and good things. But then there's Don. It always comes down to Don Draper. I'll say it. We all love him, but he's a despicable human being. Don Draper is a monster. Except when he is pitching. At that moment of magic where he is doing his job, we all love him, and that is what we all have tuned in to "Mad Men" to see - the legendary Don Draper pitch.

For much of the season, Don has been a drag on the story, a waste of air time, out of his element, and doing things we neither wanted to see nor wanted him doing. It was the same in last night's finale as he wasted his time, and our time, at that hippie retreat.

Oh, I do get it. Don needed that part of the journey. Without that smile of revelation at the retreat, there would have been no Coca-Cola commercial on the mountaintop, arguably one of the greatest achievements in advertising, and the crowning moment of the real world McCann-Erickson. We are to assume that Don Draper is the engineer of this masterstroke, but man oh man. Didn't we all want to see Don pitch that? That's why I feel more than a little cheated. This was no "Sopranos."

On a side note, did anyone else also see "Happyish" on Showtime last night? They did a slightly different and just plain wrong spin on the famous Coke commercial. I'm really loving that show, and you can hear me talk a bit about it on this week's episode of The GAR! Podcast.

Coca-Cola Life

Folks who know me know that I'm a Coca-Cola man. I don't drink coffee or beer or Pepsi, I like Coke. It's my vice, well, one of my vices. I'm not a fan of Diet Coke (or any diet soda, and if I'm being honest, Diet Coke is the worst of them) or Coke Zero, which just tastes bitter to me.

One recent addition to my vice has been the so-called Mexican Coke. It's available in a few places around here. This Coke tastes like childhood, mostly because it comes in a glass bottle and uses cane sugar rather than high fructose corn syrup. And yes, I've heard the naysayers who insist it still has corn syrup and that there is no real taste difference. I assure you, even if it's psychological, Mexican Coke tastes better. This stuff is heavenly.

Friend and fellow writer Rich Voza recently hipped me to a new Coke variety being test marketed in the UK and South America called Coca-Cola Life. This product's claim to fame is that it uses both cane sugar and stevia, a sweetener made from plants, thus the green label, to make the soda sweet. As a plus for the health crowd, it also has roughly 30% less calories.

Coca-Cola Life was released here in the States just in time for the holidays and I recently got hold of a bottle. At first try, there was no noticeable difference in Life compared to the original Coke. It was later I got the aftertaste. It's not a bad aftertaste, but it unpleasant to a degree, not like Diet Coke, but close. It also has very little fizz and zing to it, not flat, but getting there. All that said, it is the closest of the non-Cokes to the actual taste of Coke.

Coca-Cola Life would not be my first choice in beverage, but it would do in a pinch, and I'd much prefer it to Coke Zero, the Caffeine-Free Coke, and especially Diet Coke, which I believe may actually be brewed by The Devil, but that's just me.

The New AMC Marlton 8 Movie Theatre

I admit I was a bit hesitant when I heard the plan. The AMC Marlton Movie Theatre was going to jettison hundreds of seats in order to install new reclining loungers. I thought it was the last gasp of an already dying, perhaps on its last gasp, local theater. My friends and I called it literally 'the dead theater.' There was never anyone there, you always got a parking spot in front, and when the news came that they had finally closed, no one would be surprised. Not in the least.

Allow me to swallow those words.

Twenty, thirty years ago, the Marlton 8 as we called it, because it had a multiplex of eight theaters, a novelty at the time, was the happening place to be on the weekend. It was the place to be seen, and the place to see all the latest movies. Every date happened here. Welcome to the 1980s. Die Hard, The Breakfast Club, Amadeus, Batman, Weird Science, Robocop, Dirty Dancing, even Silence of the Lambs, I saw them here, and so did everyone else I knew.

There was a time, with the T.G.I.Fridays and the long forgotten ice cream parlor in the strip mall, every parking spot was taken and police had to direct traffic within the shopping center, sometimes blocking areas off to kids and other foot traffic. Three months ago, and as far back as maybe a decade ago however, the place was a ghost town. Business had moved elsewhere, into Voorhees with the Ritz, now Rave, and into Cherry Hill with the airport terminal sized and customer unfriendly AMC Loews with a whopping twenty-four theaters.

This weekend, The Bride and I had date night, On the Border for dinner and then Jack the Giant Slayer for movie. As this was the first week the Marlton renovation was complete, we chose there. I was stunned when we pulled into the nearly full parking lot. This was the Marlton 8 of old. Things got better as we went inside.

The lobby got a nice repaint and remodel as well. The refreshment area is a bit different too. Besides new menu items like chicken fingers, chicken sliders, pizza, and oh yes, French fries, there were also two Coca-Cola Freestyle machines. Color me impressed.

We did have to wait a while for them to clean the theater before we could go in and sit. I'm thinking it takes more time to clean individual seats than it did previously to just do a quick sweep. The line of impatient folks waiting to get in were not so understanding. I guess no matter how nice a theater is, there will still be jackasses who complain, and talk during the movie, use their cellphones, and bring toddlers to 10 PM showtimes - no way around it. Damn mankind, we're doomed.

The new seats are incredible, reclining loungers that come in pairs where can pull up the arm between them and cuddle. They also come with three cup holders each and touch controls to go up and down. Sooo nice. I did notice the theater's current occupancy was now 115 where it used to be between 200 and 300.

This is an incredible risk for the theater financially, especially when you consider we paid a very reasonable price for two prime time 3D tickets, nearly a third less than we would have paid at the Rave or Loews. I hope it succeeds.

I loved this movie experience. I have a new favorite theater. I can't wait to go back.

The Coke Freestyle

Anyone who knows me, and some folks who follow this blog, and especially my French Fry Diary closely, know that I am a Coca-Cola man. I will always take a Coke over a Pepsi, a Coke over coffee, heck, even a Coke before a water. It's just the way I prefer my refreshment, and my caffeine.

The last few years a phenomenon called the Coca-Cola Freestyle machine has come to my attention. Previously it was only available in the south, but recently a few have popped up in many local Burger Kings. I was elated, but not by the Burger King part, but this truly was a reason to go to Burger King.

The Coca-Cola Freestyle is a machine, like a thin soda machine, but the features are the alley where the soda is dispensed, and the touch screen above it. The touch screen is where the magic happens. You get to choose the brand of soft drink, it's sugar content and the flavor of it.

For instance, you can choose from Coke, Sprite, Minute Maid, Fanta, Dasani, Hi-C, Powerade, Vault, Pibb, Barq's, or Seagrams. Then you can choose if you'd like caffeine or sugar (the diet soda variety), and then you can even go farther and get your selection in a flavor of your choice like vanilla, lime, lemon, grape, orange, cherry, raspberry, peach, strawberry, lemonade, fruit punch or even cherry vanilla.

Literally, if you have the stamina, and are thirsty, and Burger King doesn't throw you out, you could be there all day. Truly Coca-Cola heaven.

Pepsi Throwback

When I first heard of this I was intrigued and had to find some. Pepsi Throwback is basically Pepsi Cola with sugar instead of the corn syrup normally used. Supposedly it tastes like Pepsi used to back in the day, before the Health Nazis ruined everything that was tasty in this country.

Just for the record, Pepsi Throwback is a different formula than the sugar-for-corn-syrup variation that is kosher for Passover once a year. It should be noted that while I’ve never noticed a taste difference between kosher and regular Pepsi, there is a significant and yummy difference over at the Coca-Cola camp. Kosher Coke rocks.

After much searching I finally found some Pepsi Throwback at a local Wawa. At the first taste, it was as if it was 1975 again and I was drinking from a swirled glass bottle. The taste was a rush of flavor, flavor I hadn’t had in decades – now this was Pepsi! I really did not expect the taste to be so different and exhilarating.

A second gulp and a third made me a bit dizzy. This stuff was out of the range of Jolt and perhaps more Red Bull. I was surprised. Great for a sip, but not for a whole bottle. Bring on the regular Pepsi. For those who enjoy the Throwback, it’ll be out there throughout April. And for the record, a Mountain Dew Throwback is also available, but my mind boggles at what that tastes like... possibly a twenty-four hour sugar high per ounce...

Baltimore Comic Con 2009 - Day Two

Bacon!

Any day that starts with people bringing bacon right to my door is a good day. With that in mind, my associate Ray Cornwall brought up a point in my report on the con yesterday that I was a bit slight on the positives of the Baltimore Comic Con. There are lots, beginning with the fact that the very cool hotel, the Tremont Plaza Hotel, was chosen by the Con. Indirectly, the bacon comes from them.

Other than the sound problems and the partitioned rooms, everything about the BCC is very well put together and nearly flawless. It's like a smaller, more friendly New York Comic Con, and that's a compliment. I really appreciate the focus on comics over pop culture, unlike other cons of recent years. Well organized, amazing guests, they even hosted the Harvey Awards - really, what can I say bad about them? I look forward to coming back again and again.

Ring Bearer

The day continued to start bright even before we entered the con. Just outside we saw Berni Wrightson and Steve Niles on a smoke break, marvelling at a great "Groverfield" t-shirt. From there we were just steps away from one of the best costumes of the con, the new Mr. Terrific, and he was accompanied by two members of the Junior Justice Society. The good day had only just begun.

One of my friends back home had asked me to pick up prop rings from DC Comics' Blackest Night. I didn't think the various colored rings would be available yet but the DC booth was on the agenda either way. I was right about the rings but DC was giving out the Black Lantern ring (thanks!) and Steven Schreck kindly played ring-model for all the prop rings to come. Apparently a full set will be available shortly from your local comics shop. While I have a certain distaste for events and crossovers, I am enjoying Blackest Night, and the little promotional props, like these rings, make the experience that much cooler.

Community

I mentioned earlier how Baltimore's con was much friendlier than others I've attended. It's true. While there was a lack of news due to the retailers meeting tomorrow - the big guns saving the announcements for Diamond as opposed to the folks who actually buy their products - there was a very cool sense of community here at Baltimore.

Yesterday I met some folks I hadn't seen in some time, said hello to new and old friends and met some folks I had only previously known online. But I also made new friends, just striking conversations up with strangers just because we obviously shared a common hobby. This is how the first conventions I attended back in the 70s and 80s were, back in the dark ages before the internet, before we were global and 'knew' everybody on a social network.

For instance I chatted casually with a gentleman and his son who had come up from the south. He was taking a rest as I was taking notes. Our conversation went on and off as we each did our thing. We compared hotels, cons and I told him where to find Coca-Cola. The best part of the chat was the bit I wasn't a part of. The man and his son were of two distinct nerd (and I mean nerd in a good way) generations. Dad would reference the Fantastic Four and the son would parry with Halo. In a geeky way it warmed my heart.

Later when my friend Ray joined me we started talking with a gentleman named Jonathan with whom we chatted for nearly two hours. The passion of which I spoke yesterday burned bright as our conversation jumped from Alter-Ego to Blackest Night from Dark Reign to the identity of the Red Hulk. It never descended into Trekkie or "Big Bang Theory" levels of fanboy-ishness but stayed a positive exciting exchange between people who love their hobby. Now that is what these cons should be about. Community.

Thanks to the Baltimore Comic Con for their cooperation and accommodation. This has been one of the more fun and fulfilling shows I've attended. Thanks for the opportunity. I look forward to the chance to come back.

The Big Contour

The change has been gradual over a couple months but now it's fairly complete and I defy you to find the old-style two-liter bottles of Coca-Cola anywhere. In my opinion, this is a bad thing.

The 'contour bottle' (tm) has long been a trademark of the Coca-Cola, for over ninety years as a matter of fact. Whether they ever trademarked it or not, the instantly recognizable package can not be mistaken for anything but Coke. They currently use it for all sizes of their plastic bottled containers - most recently as its two-liter size.

Coca-Cola claims it "offers a significant advantage for consumers beyond its classic good looks -- it is also easier to hold and easier to pour." I must disagree. Among the problems of this new bottle is the much smaller lip under the cap that makes it harder to grip than previously. The contour bottle is only easy to hold when one can grasp it with one hand, in my opinion, and that's just not possible with the two-liter version.

My main gripe with the new two-liter contour is that it is almost one to two inches taller than the old standard bottle used for soft drinks. This makes it impossible to store vertically in my fridge, and I imagine, most refrigerators. It's also too tall to fit in the fridge door.

It's my hope that Coke will go back to the standard bottle, or at least give consumers a choice. After all, they have corrected mistakes before. Remember New Coke? Bottom line, I love Coke, and I prefer Coke, but I don't mind Pepsi... and Pepsi will fit in my refrigerator door...


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