Victoria's Kitchen Sweet Almond Water

Flavored water is a really good thing. Generally, it's low or no-calorie, pretty easy to find in a vending machine or convenience store (read: not Whole Foods), and certainly a good alternative to unhealthy sodas (those darn carbonated beverages!). Even more, the spectrum of flavored waters is pretty broad.  Over my years (all 15 of them), I've probably seen no less than 15 flavors of flavored waters. Strawberry, Raspberry, Blueberry, Mixed Berry, Citrus, Mango... Hopefully you've noticed a trend. They're all fruits. 

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is Almond Water, Aquafina FlavorBlast's high-society, wealthy step-uncle (who came from Whole Foods). And this one isn't exactly no-calorie either, with 110 per bottle. Almonds are not fruits (although they're a close relative to the peach), they're nuts. That being said, I'm not too afraid of this one, primarily because it doesn't actually have the solid nuts in it, but just "natural almond flavors," as the third ingredient behind water and Pure Cane Sugar (which is why it was at Whole Foods). So, I guess it's just sweet water and Almond Extract? Sounds like an interesting drink around the holidays. We'll see how it goes.

Color: A turbid, cloudy beige. Kind of like a dissolved Alka-Seltzer, or maybe like a Jones Cream Soda. Although, if you've seen the new White Cherry PowerAde floating around, it looks pretty similar to that too. 

Smell: Definitely not what I expected. It has a smell, but it's definitely not Almond. Actually, I smelled it and immediately thought of artificial cherry, like a cherry slushy or cherry water ice (sorry again for my Mid-Atlantic region comparisons). Not a bad aroma by any means, but isn't this an almond drink?

Taste: It's very light, and not as sweet as I would expect from a drink with real sugar as a main ingredient. That being said, it is branded as a water beverage, so it makes sense that it would be a somewhat thin flavor. As for the Almond flavor, I can't honestly say I taste a distinct Almond flavor. In fact, the flavor (to me) tastes exactly like that artificial cherry that I smelled originally. It's not exactly a strong flavor either, which leaves me unsatisfied with the drink as a whole. To me, almonds have an earthy, almost creamy flavor, and the drink really doesn't capture that at all. Instead, I just get an almost floral flavor alongside sugar water. Kind of like an air freshener. Mmmm, bottled Febreze.

Rating: ***

This one falls into the pit of mediocrity, unfortunately. It's a shame too; I really wanted to like this one. At the end of the day though, if you are going to revolutionize the flavored water business, you've got to come through with the flavor (preferably one other than artificial cherry). That being said, maybe I just have a confused pallete. I definitely think this is one to try for yourself, as you might perceive the flavor differently than I did. It's certainly light and refreshing, and I could see it being really good on a hot summer day, or mixed with something else, but alone? Just not enough flavor to do it for me.
Onward!