Taste Test, a weekly blog post of the A.V. Club in which its staff sample and present their verdict on unusual foodstuffs has recently taste-tested HBO’s Tru Blood Beverage.

Tru Blood Beverage is a blood orange-flavored carbonated drink that comes in a replicated bottle design as seen on the hit True Blood series and is exclusively sold on the HBO’s online store.

The Unanimous Verdict

The A.V. Club gave a positive reaction to the beverage.

“It’s definitely not just some crappy orange soda squirted into a classy bottle. It’s made with cane sugar, not high-fructose corn syrup, and it’s not overly sweet, like most orange-flavored stuff. It looked deceptively thick when poured, but not insanely so.”

They also tried mixing Tru Blood with Tequila, Bacon vodka and Three Olives grape vodka. And from this experiment, they made a tasty margarita-like concoction (with a great mix of sweet and tart taste) from mixing Tru Blood and Tequila, that has been made set as the sure winner among the three mixes.

Here are the reactions from the A.V. Club people:

• “It’s actually refreshing. This is the first drink we’ve taste-tested in forever where I feel like I could drink a whole bottle of it. Am I a vampire yet?”
• “This is actually really good. It’s a little sweeter and a little less sharp than most orange soda. It doesn’t get up my nose as much. But it’s richer and fruitier.”
• “Tastes like a carbonated cough syrup… not too sweet, honestly not that bad.  Might be good mixed with ginger ale or plain vodka—not the bacon crap.”
• “It’s thicker than I expected (that’s what she said!), but I guess that goes with the blood theme. However, it’s a little more syrupy than I’d like, so it would actually probably be better watered down. Maybe mixed with Sprite. Or booze, obviously.”
• “I think the thickness is what made it a good mixer with the tequila. Put that in a fancy glass and throw some colored salt on the rim, and you’ve got a $9 specialty margarita.”
• “The flavor is a nice sweet-sour balance, but there’s a mildly artificial aftertaste, which is weird considering it’s made with cane sugar.”
• “Very good with the grape vodka. Tasted like the purple juice ‘relax’ drink, minus the sluggish side effects.”
• “Tasted like carbonated Hawaiian Punch.”
• “I will still never watch the show.” [Boo for this reviewer, shame on you!]
• “It’s chalky. Probably why it tastes like ground-up Smarties.” [who doesn’t like Smarties!]
• “Tru Blood and Vio have similar problems. Both are overly sweet and rich, taste artificial, and are carbonated for no good reason.”
• “Tastes like a melted cherry Slurpee.”
• “With bacon vodka, it tastes like biting a live pig, which I suppose is pretty vampire-like.”
• “With grape vodka, it’s actually a shot I might give a girl at the bar.”
• “I guess fans of the series will find this kitschy, but my appraiser tells me my Addams Family collectors’ cups aren’t worth shit.”
• “If real blood tasted like this, all vampires would have dentures instead of fangs. Am I right, people?”

So there you have it folks, a pretty positive and fair reactions out from the A.V. Club guys. On the other hand, I think these beverages would be great as a collectible but it sure won’t hurt if you’d like to taste some of it during the Halloween season with a group of vampire wannabee friends.

If you would like to buy Tru Blood Beverage, Shop the Official HBO Store for True Blood costumes, t-shirts, DVDs, music and posters

SOURCE:  A.V. Club

(Photo credit: HBO Inc.)