I Tried Coca-Cola’s League of Legends +XP Flavor And I Am Upset

Coca Cola is aiming it’s marketing at gamers, and the flavor is musty and odd – like bubblegum on your shoe.

League of legends +XP Coca Cola

Image via Coca Cola/Riot Games

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Coca-Cola has been experimenting with its flavors through its “Ultimate” Limited Edition run for many months now, and every flavor arrangement has offered something new for fans to try out. Unfortunately, many of these combos have been less than desirable, from cotton candy aftertaste to harsh artificial coconut. The most recent experiment, which seems to be aimed at gamers, tries to liquefy League of Legends – and the outcome isn’t great.

What is Coca-Cola’s Ultimate Limited Edition?

Coca Cola Ultimate League of Legends
Image via Coca Cola

I’ve always gotten a kick out of trying new a Coke. The Ultimate Limited Edition partners with famous singers or tries to use a phrase as inspiration to create new flavors.

The most recent option, called “Move”, was a pina colada-inspired Coca-Cola mashup that while not as horrible as Starlight or Dreamworld, still left my mouth tasting like how Forever 21 smelled in 2007. The only thing missing was the body glitter.

What Does Coke’s Ultimate League of Legends +XP Flavor Taste Like

As far as I can tell, the League of Legends +XP flavor tastes like stale bubblegum.

I found the new flavor sitting on the shelf at my local grocery store, without seeing ads for it previously. I grabbed it off the shelf and brought it home, curious as to how they would manage to manifest XP from LoL into a tangible flavor.

When popping off the lid, the scent immediately hits you. It’s a stale, overly sweet smell that has a hint of citrus. My mind immediately jumped to a moment in middle school, when I found an ancient Double Bubble gum wrapper in a jacket one fall. It smells exactly like that wrapper.

Naturally, I had to take a drink to truly appreciate the horrible desicion making I had achieved. The first thing you taste in the +XP League of Legends Coke is the regular taste of Coca-Cola. However, after a moment, the perfume backbite of bubblegum overwhelms you and coats your mouth like film.

Because Coke is already so sweet, the addition of an even sweeter, overpowering flavor similar to bubblegum leaves you casting around for the nearest bottle of water. Needless to say, I was deeply upset.

Despite the sleek logo, and the desire to grab gamers up with an “XP” flavor, there is nothing about this Coke that is sitting at level 100. Instead, I’d say skip it entirely and just go for the regular flavor.