Buckle Up, Y'all: I Tried the Peeps-Flavoured Pepsi, and It Is a WILD Ride

Image Source: Courtesy of Pepsi

Let me preface this by saying I'm not the biggest fan of Peeps. While I love marshmallows and have eaten them in many forms (including straight out of the bag), the Easter-themed ones in particular just never did it for me. Instead of the soft and pillowy texture of regular marshmallows, Peeps are more dense and chewy. They also taste very artificial to me (sorry to you, Peeps!). But I'm also the type of person that will try anything once, so when I saw that Pepsi was releasing a new Peeps-flavoured soda, my first thought was naturally, "That sounds quite disgusting, and I would like to try it."

The Peeps-flavoured Pepsi comes in three mini Easter-themed cans — yellow, blue, and pink — but the flavour is all the same, which is regular marshmallow Peeps. The Pepsi is also its normal colour, so if you were hoping for a fun pastel liquid, you'll be disappointed (I was kind of expecting that too, TBH!). Also, can we just acknowledge the fact that they really should have named this Peepsi?! OK, thank you, moving on.

Image Source: Caitlin Gallagher

As for the taste, I have never related to the Kombucha Girl and her viral reaction to trying the drink more than in this moment, but the Peeps-flavoured Pepsi takes your taste buds on a wild ride. I was genuinely surprised by how much I liked the flavour in the beginning. It tasted like vanilla marshmallows, but it also heavily reminded me of the old cotton-candy-flavoured Bubble Yum from back in the day. It was definitely sugary, and in the words of my husband who also tried it, "You wouldn't want an entire can of that," but it really is nice at first! But after the initial hint of vanilla, it travels into regular Pepsi flavour territory, and if you've never thought to dip your Peeps into a can of soda, you'd be right. The two flavours just don't go well together.

But then, after the Pepsi flavour subsides, you're left with a bit of a weird aftertaste that honestly made me just crave water to neutralise whatever awkward party was taking place in my mouth. The experience ended with a stale, sugary taste left just hangin' around. And yes, this all happens within a few seconds:

Image Source: Caitlin Gallagher

If you really love Peeps (or just like to try weird things), I would say go for it. The first few sips really are enjoyable, but you might want to avoid big gulps on this one. The only bummer is that this Easter-themed beverage won't be available in stores, so it might be hard to come by. You have to enter a social media sweepstakes to win a few cans by sharing a photo of how you're safely enjoying the spring weather with your favourite Peeps. The pictures must be posted to either Twitter or Instagram, and you need to tag @pepsi, #HangingWithMyPeeps, and #PepsiSweepstakes.

It's a fun drink to try, but personally, I'll just continue eating my marshmallows where they belong: in the middle of a s'more or right out of the bag.

Image Source: Caitlin Gallagher