I Found a Store Brand Cola That’s Almost a One-to-One Dupe for Coke

Coca-Cola may have an iron grip on the cola market—with Pepsi trailing behind, desperately trying to convince people that, yes, Pepsi is okay—but that hasn’t stopped other brands from trying to replicate the soda’s secret recipe. As we found out during a recent cola taste test, most of them are pretty unsuccessful. But there’s one budget store brand that gets pretty darn close. 

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The best store brand Coke dupe is…

After tasting a bunch of wannabe Cokes, we concluded that Signature Select, the store brand at Albertons-owned stores, makes the best almost Coke. The Signature Select Cola is crispy and sweet and has that touch of saltiness to amp up flavors, just like Coke. The bubbles are pleasant and small. And it’s cheap. You can get a 2L bottle of Signature Select Cola for about half the cost of a 2L bottle of Coca-Cola Classic. 

How much does it actually taste like Coke?

Is Signature Select Cola a perfect dupe for Coke? No. We conducted a blind taste test and our taster immediately knew which soda was Coke and which wasn’t. Coke is just Cokier than Signature Select. However, I’m not sure you’d be able to immediately tell you weren’t drinking Coke if you had an isolated glass of Signature Select. 

I’m not alone in my opinion, either. For those of you who trust Reddit and only Reddit, then allow me to point you to a commenter in this post, who recommended Signature Select as the best generic soda brand and another commenter who replied, “I’m trying that now and I’m surprised how good it is! Tastes like Coke to me.” In another post about generic soda brands, a Redditor with the handle FruitSuit wrote, “My husband loves Coke, but I have been getting the Shaws brand (Signature Select) and he actually prefers that one now.”

I’m not saying you should forgo Coke in favor of Signature Select Cola. Coke is better. It just is. However, if you’re looking to save some money or if you’re buying in bulk for a party, then Signature Select Cola is definitely the way to go.