Sidral Mundet

It's a proud moment for us here at the Weird Soda Review Tasting labs. The Lead Assistant Tester has asked that he be able to provide a review today, so last night I went out and acquired a Weird Soda for a good testing run. Today, following the Mexican theme of the previous review (Jarritos Tamarindo), we have Sidral Mundet. This is another Mexican soda, not uncommon here in San Diego (although less often seen than Jarritos). There's nothing on the bottle itself to indicate what flavor it is intended to have, though, until you realize that imprinted in the glass of the bottle itself is the outline of an apple.
And then you see that on top of the bottlecap, it says "apple soda". But I like the sort of transcendent moment of realizing that the asnwer was before you the whole time when you see the apple in the glass better.

All quotes in this review, unless otherwise specified, are from the Lead Assistant Reviewer. Good luck, kid!

Where and when: purchased 3/22/09 at Vons, Vista, CA
Color: "Hmm...light brownish-yellow. Kind of a coppery-red."
Scent: "Apple cider. Kind of sweet spicy. A tiny bit of spicy, but mostly sweet." I concur, it's more like apple juice than a fresh, sweet cider, but definitely apple.
Taste: "Sour, spice at first. Then kind of a sweet bubbly. Lemon apple soda?" I agree, the initial taste is quite tart, but it fades quickly into a sweet. There's an interesting transitional feeling of coldness between the tart and sweet. "Sparkling apple juice with not quite enough sugar in it, so the sour overwhelms the sweet for a moment. I like it." (sound of smacking lips) "Oh! I got a little bitter there!" (drinks some more) "I *really* like it. I think it's better than the chocolate soda. Oo! Ooh! After it's been open for a while, the sourish bubble--you stop tasting it very much."
The K-i-C says "Hmm. Yes, that's a very *real* apple." This is said in an approving tone.
This is the first apple juice or soda I've had in some time where I feel as though I can taste a bit of apple peel as well as juice. This is a good thing; it's more like a liquid apple. Not quite as much as fresh unfiltered cider, but more than any regular juice.

This is pretty good stuff. The initial sour is a bit odd, but not unpleasant, and the sweet which follows is very nice. There is complexity in the sweet, but it's faint; mostly, it's a pretty intense aple flavor.
"It's one of the best sodas I've had".
Aftertaste: "When you leave it in your mouth fr a while, you stop tasting it. You just move your tongue around, and it feels really cold." I agree, the aftertaste is mild.

It's worth noting that the only listed flavorings are natural sugar, apple juice from concentrate, and citric acid. Not even "natural flavors". It's also unusual in that the bottle specifies that it is pasteurized (not usually a consideration for soda, but understandable given the apple juice). Probably worth considering as a "natural soda", but rarely marketed as such.

Quaff rating: 3.5. Pretty nice, pleasant. Good apple flavor.
Cough rating: 0.5. Nothing offensive here.