This Canadian-Exclusive Maple Pepsi Can Stay There

A few years ago, less than 6 months into a weird beverage news-themed side project of mine, Pepsi debuted some weird beverage news. In collaboration with IHOP, the two brands gave away a limited batch of IHOP Maple Syrup Pepsi cans (plus an even more limited batch of can-top-mountable syrup spouts, for the vibe). While this was years before I’d start reviewing that exact kind of strange collaboration for Sporked, I do recall enjoying the extra sweet take on Pepsi. Two years later, IHOP would offer the same soda on tap in their restaurants for a limited time only. Alongside the fountain drink, it was also sold as a float on the dessert menu–as if syrup-flavored cola wasn’t indulgent enough.

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While I never expected the maple syrup-Pepsi connection to extend beyond that initial giveaway, I’ve now got my hands on the third edition of this concept. Earlier this year, Pepsi released a patriotic maple-flavored zero sugar cola exclusively in Canada. When I covered the news, I said I’d be keeping an eye out for importers who might be able to get me a can of this less-than-new take on syrup soda. Luckily for me, I know where to find the good stuff. Back in March, I picked up my own can of this golden pseudo-sap at KC Soda Co. (the best soda shop in America, if you haven’t heard). Let’s find out whether we should be begging Pepsi to release this domestically or keep it northern at all costs.

Pepsi Zero Sugar Maple Cola from Canada Review

Canada-Exclusive Pepsi!

Pros: My best defense of this soda is that, technically, maple and maple syrup are different flavors. This is not maple syrup flavored, if you were worried Pepsi had conflated the two concepts.

Cons: As someone who was pleasantly surprised with the IHOP Maple Syrup Pepsi, I was expecting this to be the same thing… sans sugar. It turns out, sugar is pretty important to a sugar-flavored cola! This was a bummer, y’all.

There is an aggressively artificial maple flavor here, alongside a truly absurd artificial sweetener taste. While I loved the European Zero Sugar Pepsi Strawberries ‘n’ Creme, I’m honestly not sure if I’ve ever had a regular Zero Sugar Pepsi; I hope it’s closer to the original silver-medal cola than this dessert-ish variant is.

I can’t even give this soda the “maybe it’s past the best-by date!” out since there’s no date printed on the can. (Do Canadians not have best-by dates? Are they all just ingesting ambiguously aged products up there? We should do a wellness check.) In conclusion, I’d like to apologize to Canada for the tragic fact that this is what passes for an exciting patriotic beverage in their country.

Credit: Griffin Parker / Canadian Grocer

Rating:

4/10

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