Taste-testing Shaq’s new line of sodas

Shaquille O’Neal made a name for himself on the court, breaking glass backboards with his powerful dunks at LSU, then winning championships with the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat. The formidable basketball center has always been a star off the court as well, with turns in films like Blue Chips and Kazaam and even a career in music and video games.

Since retirement in 2011, O’Neal has become a b-ball analyst, making Inside the NBA one of the more entertaining television shows. But that’s not the only cookie jar he’s got his massive hand in.

Over the past few months, O’Neal has teamed up with Arizona Iced Teas to bring his line of SodaShaq to stores across the country. The soft drinks are dubbed “all natural” and also claim to have no preservatives, no artificial color and no artificial flavor. SodaShaq is a line of flavored cream soda—there’s vanilla, orange, blueberry and strawberry. For 99 cents, you can have a can of your choice and enjoy almost 24 ounces of sugary Shaq sweetness.

Though the clerk warned me that SodaShaq wasn’t great, I had to try it. I’m a fan of anything Shaq does, and the Orange Cream Soda was soon in my hands.

“You may like it,” she says. “But I don’t know. I have a feeling you won’t buy another one.”

If anything, I thought, the can would make a nice souvenir.

Sadly, the clerk was right. SodaShaq isn’t as awful as the clerk claimed or as bad as some of the online reviews I read. I could find myself drinking an entire SodaShaq and not realizing it. I was expecting a harsh, sweet drink in the vein of Barq’s Red Cream Soda. However, the taste in this one just isn’t there. There’s a faint taste of orange, but the rest is sugar water.

I hate to admit it, but that clerk was right.

For more information on SodaShaq, click here.