Review: Throwback Pepsi Tastes Light and Refreshing

When Pepsi was released last year with real sugar - and without corn syrup - I was in soda heaven. Whenever I bought Pepsi, I bought the Throwback Pepsi. And when local grocers in both Tampa, Florida and Newark, Delaware didn't have the Throwback Pepsi in anything but cans - I stocked up on 12-ounce cans. I hadn't bought so many soda cans in my life as I had when I resorted to buying 8-pack and 12-pack boxes of Throwback Pepsi cans. But I did, because Pepsi hadn't tasted so good to me before. I really can't recall if the Pepsi I had as a boy in the 1980s came with or without corn syrup.

Throwback Pepsi - Flavor and Product

I pretty much summed up already that I enjoy the flavor of Throwback Pepsi far more than I do the "regular" Pepsi I've been buying for years now. But what is so different about the flavor? That real sugar makes all the difference in the world.

Although I hadn't really realized it because I've been drinking corn syrup-laden Pepsi for probably almost my entire soda-drinking life, I now realize how thick the regular Pepsi's texture is. The flavor of the two Pepsi products is different. I'm inclined to say the regular Pepsi has a somewhat acidic, syrupy flavor that I don't sense in Throwback Pepsi. The biggest difference is the lighter flavor and texture of the Throwback Pepsi - compared to the heavy texture in the regular Pepsi which almost seems to coat my teeth and inside of my mouth.

So far this year, I've been able to find Throwback Pepsi in a 20-ounce bottle. I couldn't find any in plastic bottles last year, at least not where I had been shopping.

Another change in 2010 comes in the packaging label itself. In 2009, Throwback Pepsi came in dark blue labels with a bold, cursive-style logo. This year, it appears Throwback Pepsi is coming in a package that looks exactly like the Pepsi label I grew up with as a kid in the 1980s. The logo has a white background with the word "PEPSI" written in blue, blocky writing inside the familiar red, white, and blue circular emblem. If not for the word "Throwback" scrawled across the bottom of the plastic label, I'd swear I was living in 1987 again.

The only difference between this bottle and those of the 1980s is that these bottles don't have the attached, black plastic bottom which prevents the bottle from falling over when stood upright. No big deal, though. I buy Throwback Pepsi for the flavor. The familiar logo I've been seeing on the 2010 Throwback Pepsi product is just the sweet icing on the cake.

How Does Throwback Pepsi Compare to Regular Pepsi in Terms of Nutrition?

Ounce for ounce, Throwback Pepsi looks much like the regular Pepsi on the food label. However, you'll be interested in learning that while both Pepsi products have 100 calories per 8-ounce serving, total carbohydrates and sugar are actually lower in Throwback Pepsi with natural sugar than regular Pepsi.

Throwback Pepsi: 27 grams carbohydrates and 27 grams sugar
Regular Pepsi: 28 grams carbohydrates and 28 grams sugar

However, there's a bit more sodium in Throwback Pepsi than in regular Pepsi:

Throwback Pepsi: 25 milligrams sodium
Regular Pepsi: 20 milligrams sodium

As far as I'm concerned, Pepsi should go on making Throwback Pepsi as a permanent product offering instead of keeping to the limited-time selling window that they've advertised. Pepsi has so many products already - why not one more - Throwback Pepsi - as a permanent part of the Pepsi product lineup?

At any rate, Throwback Pepsi has been reentering supermarkets across the country in recent days. Be sure to check it out for yourself at your local grocer.

Resources

Personal and first-hand knowledge and experience
Throwback Pepsi 20-ounce bottle
Regular Pepsi 2-liter bottle