It's a new year, and there's no better time to review something sparkling and bubbly! This has actually been in my stash for quite a while. Back in October, I reviewed
this bottle of Sparkling Pumpkin Cocktail, and that came in a three-pack with two bottles of this. I wasn't able to find any of these items sold on their own in the grocery store, only in a large 3-pack of two caramel bottles and one pumpkin at BJ's, so I bit-the-bullet and bought the whole pack. I put one bottle out for my friends to drink at my cookie party a few weeks ago, and then I save this bottle to review. Let's see if this stuff is as enjoyable as it's pumpkin-counterpart.
Like all sparkling juices and cocktails, the bottle mimics a bottle of champagne or bubbly. It has some festive gold foil wrapped around the top and banded neck, so it does look very celebratory, but the actual label itself is a bit childish and playful.Since a lot of these cocktails are used for children and people who like to avoid alcohol, I think the playfulness of the label works well for the audience it's trying to attract, but I think it seems a little out of place with the rest of the bottle design.
One thing I did notice is that this bottle claims that it only contains three services. Is that right? It seems a bit big for only three servings. Plus, look at the sugar content! 30g for just 8oz? That seems a bit much, but this is a specialty and celebratory item, so I guess it's okay for a once and a while treat.
(Plus it's limited edition, it's not like you can drink this all day every day.)
I twisted off the cap, and the liquid inside smells sweet. Really sweet.
(Which makes sense with all the sugar.) To me, the aroma is so syrupy sweet it reminds me of the
caramel apple lollipops I reviewed over a year ago.
(They are one of the ugliest candies, but they taste so good!) If you liquified those lollipops with something carbonated, it'd smell just like this stuff.
I poured the bubbly liquid into a glass for a better look, and it was really lightly colored. I was kind of surprised the coloring was so pale, the
caramel apple soda from Jone's a few years ago was really dark and a lot more cider-y looking. This is almost as pale as white grape juice.
Turns out, this stuff is just as sweet as it smells. The liquid itself isn't syrupy, but it was way too sweet on it's own for me to really want to drink more than the recommended 8oz serving.
(Although it was no where near as sickeningly sugary as the Caramel Apple INTENSE Milk which I honestly couldn't bring myself to finish.) As far as tasting like a caramel apple, I think it's rather successful, although a bit more on the artificial green-apple side of things.
This stuff tastes kind of like the caramel apple pops I mentioned earlier, and it is pretty unique as far as sparkling non-alcoholic beverages go. If you are looking for something different to celebrate a holiday with, or something bubbly to serve at the kids table, this might be a perfect choice.
As an adult, I think this was fun to try, and it could be mixed with something else
(alcoholic or non-alcoholic) to try and cut the sweetness and make this more palette-able. Am I getting too old? I wonder if I would have liked this sugary stuff a lot more if I were younger, or if it really is just too sweet?
Have any of you tried it? If so, what did you think? 
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