Paulaner Spezi
330 mL can 2.87 g sugar / oz. |
History The Bavarian brewery Riegele patented a 50-50 mix of cola and orange soda in 1957. The drink was marketed under the name "Spezi", a Bavarian colloquial term for friend. Perhaps its no coincidence that the mix was invented not far from where the Radler, a summer-weather 50-50 mix of lager or other light beer and lemonade was popularized in the early 1900s. Nowadays a Radler is often made with bar tap lemon-lime soda. Another newer permutation, the Diesel, is a 50-50 mix of beer and cola. Coca-Cola's West-German subsidiary responded to the growing popularity of these mixed drinks by creating their own cola-orange brand Mezzo Mix in 1973. The mix of flavors would have been a natural extension of their Coca-Cola and Fanta brands. Perhaps in response to the new big-name competitor, Riegele signed a licensing agreement in 1974 with Paulaner Brewery to expand its production. The contract also allowed Paulaner to sell its own recipe of the cola-orange drink under the Spezi name. In 2022, Riegele sued Paulaner to break the contract and win back exclusive control of the name of its creation, but lost. In popular use, the name "Spezi" has become a generic description of all cola-orange sodas. Review I hadn't researched anything about this drink before trying it, so I didn't know what it would look like pouring it into a glass. Would it be dark or light in color? Now I'm tasting both aspects of cola and citrus flavor. The first sip is strong, salty & bitter like a cola. Then the flavor dissipates to a lighter, smoother citrus flavor. The mixing of flavors is intriguing. The quieter orange and lemon citrus flavors and the upfront cola. Its got a lot of flavor, and the bitter cola makes it a refreshing pick-me-up. And the last memory is a lingering round juicy flavor. Mmmm.
Ingredients Water, sugar, orange juice from orange juice concentrate, lemon juice from lemon juice concentrate, carbonic acid, colorant E 150d, acidifier phosphoric acid and citric acid, acidity regulator sodium citrate, natural flavor, aroma caffeine, antioxidant ascorbic acid, stabilizer locust bean gum. Made by Paulaner Brauerei GmbH & Co. KG |
