Terme Di Crodo - Mojito Soda

a convincing “virgin” mojito

Italian sodas have always been kind to me; i’m assuming the (usually) good quality stems from a long tradition of Italian food and drinks, one which I particularly like and respect.

• taste profile: smells like lime, which branches off into mint almost immediately. a good start. it is mildly sparkly, definitely well balanced. not too dissimilar to the smell, the taste debuts with strong lime flavours. its sweetness bridges the transition to mint, which nicely rolls off your tongue as the bubbles dissipate. given the “strength” of the flavour and its sweetness, it struggles to be refreshing. i would be wary of trying this with ice too: i don’t see this as friendly to dilution with water, as one step over a particular “sweet spot” will likely just lead to a subdued, (literally) watered down experience. to its credit, the flavours are convincing and appear natural. the aftertaste, however, is sweet and minty, leading to a sort of stickiness of the mouth felt with many other sugary, carbonated soft drinks.

• rating: 7/10; a convincing “virgin” mojito. though subjectively too sweet (particularly in the aftertaste), the gustative journey is simple and coherent, and the convincing flavours do wonders for the drink. where it truly falls short is its likeness to a real alcoholic mojito, where the absence of that extra dimension brought on by the rum is truly felt.

• background:

  the Terme/Fonti di Crodo brand hails from the town of Crodo, the springs of which were allegedly discovered by crusaders in the 12th century, according to the company website and another spa website i found while poking around. it has since become a reputable brand of soft drinks, with Lemon Soda as its headliner for… about half a century. this basically means you can tell your friends you’re having crusader water every time you start chugging down a virgin mojito.

  Terme di Crodo have been acquired by Royal Unibrew, a Danish company, the brands of which i have never tried. FAXE is in their portfolio, a brand of beer with penetration in African markets, as well as comically large cans on the Romanian market (and probably others). nonetheless, the company is making efforts to achieve greater penetration in the Baltic (inc. Finland) and Western European markets. Terme di Crodo used to be in Campari’s portfolio of brands before it was taken over by its current parent company.