Korean Sparkling Pine Bud Punch

Korea's Forest in a Bottle: Taste the Pine, Dude!

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Name: Sparking Pine Bud Punch
Category: Soft Drink
Ethnicity: Korean
Brand: Lotte

There is nothing I love more than a perfectly-timed soda. I know, I know, the western world has declared war on all sugary carbonated beverages. But when the time is right, a cold bubbly soda paired with spicy Mexican or soy sauce satiated Sichuan food is an incredibly satisfying experience. Yet while most soda flavors quench the pallet perfectly, others mystify, bewilder, and shock. Recently I ran into Sparkling Pine Bud Punch and I must say, I was stunned by what I just consumed. Sparking Pine Bud Punch is a Korean soda flavored with the taste, smell, and general milleau of a Pine, YES, Pine tree. It has a marvelous mild green color which obviously references the rich green pigment of pine needles. I approach my bubbly concoction with trepidation but move forward as the CO2 starts to tickle my nose. I sip gently. The flavor is deeply herbal, earthy, and sappy. I am then hit with the big bass note: Pine, pine, pine. I never knew I was familiar with that flavor until I tried a soda of its namesake. This punch is a funky tree flavor with a fragrance and taste of Pine tree and Pine needle essence. I am shocked by how this creation came into existence.

Surely the world has created soda flavors from natural sources like birch, ginger and sarsaparilla. But never did I think a soda would come from the great Pine. The soda is sweet as to be expected, but not too sweet. It is carbonated, but not overwhelmingly so. The pine flavor is intriguing, but nothing to fawn over. If you zoom out from this soda, you get a semi-sweet herbal pine tree soda reminiscent of a carbonated natural household cleaner and degreaser. If you were to carbonate and sweeten Pine Sol, you would get Sparkling Pine Bud Punch. And I’m not sure many Americans would get understand this drink. I’m not sure I get it either. But I must admit at the end of the neon green bottle, I don’t hate it. I simply love the idea of the drink and flavor more than the taste itself. Korea has an uncanny ability to bring new flavors of all foods and drinks to life. This silly drink is no exception. One thing I know for sure: this drink is not the next world-wide success. We also know its way better than licking your neighbor’s Pine tree. 

Rating: B (It's certainly an acceptable drink, but I don't know why.)