Tuesday 10 June 2014

Something WKD this way comes

DBS is not without his mischievous streak, and for a connoisseur his tastes are remarkably catholic—this is man who conducted his own Bacardi Breezer group tasting. (In this respect he reminds me of another friend who is quite the gourmet and has eaten in some of the world’s finest restaurants, yet is equally likely to scoff a packet of Haribo or urgently seek out the new Marc de Champagne flavoured Magnum.) So it was no real surprise that he presented me with this.

It’s not the only “limited edition” booze product pushed out to cash in on World Cup fever (Ish gin have rebranded their Ish Limed as Ish Limão for the occasion), and in WKD’s case it is so limited that it isn’t even mentioned on their website.

WKD Brazilian is an alarming fluorescent yellow colour. Pop the cap and you are assailed by a powerful confectionary fruit aroma that reminds me of Refreshers or Parma Violets. On the palate the association with Refreshers is enhanced by the fizziness. The taste is an intense blast of synthetic melon, lime and kumquat, but with sort of sour, overripe off-note and a slightly bitter aftertaste. Mrs H. thinks it tastes of lime jelly, and I think she is right—it is reminiscent of lime but overblown and unnaturally concentrated. Oddly, there is also a hint of tea, a slightly drying element. It coats your teeth in a rather disturbing way.

As you can probably tell, I’m not a fan of WKD Brazilian. I guess I didn’t expect it to taste particularly natural, but what surprises me is how concentrated the flavour is—a bit like eating fruit gums (or indeed raw jelly cubes). On the WKD Facebook page they give a few punch-style cocktails and I can imagine that this drink becomes more palatable in dilution.

But, at the end of the day, why not just make a Caipirinha?

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