I tried the michelada from hell...

You can thank Pepsi and the Buffalo Bills for this one

Pepsi has been knocking it out of the park lately. I loved the Maple Syrup Pepsi a couple of years ago, and the recent pineapple and mango flavors, against all odds, actually tasted kind of like pineapple and mango. I even liked the Peepsi last Easter.

But, Pepsi may have crossed a line with their current Buffalo Bills tie-in:

That’s right, Pepsi, real Buffalo sauce, a celery stick, and a blue cheese rim. Surely they have jumped the shark…er, buffalo.

On the other hand, there’s a Mexican beer-based cocktail called a michelada (try Pati Jinich’s recipe) with lime and some kind of chile-based addition. I’ve seen Tabasco, Tajin, chamoy…and some have quite a bit of tomato juice added, although that’s not something I personally grew up seeing. You could be forgiven for thinking it sounds disgusting, but I actually think it improves beer quite a bit. Is it possible Pepsi has hit on an idea whose time has come?

I bought the ingredients. Let’s find out

Kudos on the new label design, Pepsi. You’ve hit the modern retro sweet spot. I love the black background on the can in the ad above, the red-white-blue evokes the wholesome heroism of Superman’s cape, and the font is perfection. They’ve also really nailed the traditional Buffalo ingredients for this uncanny valley beverage, minus only the chicken, which was a good call.

I was afraid the blue cheese would be hard to stick to the rim, but I poured a circle of it on a plate, and it glommed on with no issues. The only change I’m making to the recipe? Pouring the Buffalo sauce over the ice before the soda, michelada style. It looks…kind of amazing?

I was worried that the sauce would flatten the soda through nucleation the way Sprite Lemon Tea does, but it stayed pretty fizzy. I have other concerns, though. The celery stick looks pretty, and there’s a long tradition of celery soda as a thing, but I have to admit celery Pepsi does not sound delicious. I love blue cheese, but how, howwwww could this iteration possibly be good? That funk, along with the sourness of vinegar in the sauce, ugh. There are also some bits of chile sauce stuck onto a few bubbles pond-scum style, not the most appetizing look…but the same thing happens with home-poured micheladas, and those are firmly located in Flavortown. I’m going to keep an open mind.

Let’s take a sip!

Okay. The blue cheese rim is revolting. It sticks in the corners of your mouth and fights with the Pepsi like Superman vs. Cthulhu. Fortunately, Cthulhu loses. And then…

it’s actually not bad. The Pepsi is up high, faintly scented with celery, and then the Buffalo sauce is down low, just a hint of spiciness. There’s no awkward vinegar tang. It’s like Pepsi…plus.

This is actually a pretty fun mocktail if you lose the cheese and try a salted rim, michelada style. I think the celery stick, though one might assume it’s just a gimmicky garnish, adds just a hint of green breath to the Pepsi dragon. It keeps the corn syrup from being too heavy. I think the ratio of Pepsi:Buffalo is about right — if you try it with a 20 oz. bottle, you might be underwhelmed.

Did I finish it? No. But I did drink about 6 oz. of it, which is more than I usually drink of a soda. I prefer cane sugar sweetened or unsweetened sodas and waters, and you might, too, if you give them a shot. IBS people often tolerate sugar much better than agave nectar (high fructose), corn syrup (high fructose if processed), or no calorie sweeteners (a frequent offender for all kinds of gastric complaints). And if you’re looking to reduce your carb intake, try an unsweetened sparkling water with a little juice in it, and then less juice, and then even less juice, and see how little you can get away with over time. I had to work up to unsweetened myself, and now I can’t even finish a 12 oz. soda if I try!

As for pairings, it may seem counterintuitive given my advice to pass on the cheese garnish, but I’m going to suggest chips and a creamy, non-spicy dip. If you drink this with something like hot wings, the spice in the beverage is going to be lost entirely. Think crudite and ranch, corn chips and French onion dip. It would also make a pepperoni pizza pop like mad.

If you’re feeling adventurous? Make a vanilla float out of it. Even Superman won’t be able to stop that much awesome.

Read more:

My Peeps Pepsi review, along with why they didn’t actually call it Peepsi.

Pepsi Mango review: The Eye of Sauron.

Maple Syrup Pepsi review, in which I make Maple Syrup Pepsi maple syrup.

My favorite unsweetened sparkling water (not an ad, have never talked to the Rambler folks or received any samples or other compensation. Try the grapefruit).