Oh Canada, you need to share Pepsi Maple Cola with America

Welcome to the first international edition of Snackology. For this very special set of reviews, we’re heading all the way to Canada. (Hopefully we’re still allowed to visit after today’s men’s hockey gold medal game ...)

Or, more specifically, Snackology reader and Rochesterian Scott Fybush generously offered to pick up some Pepsi Maple Cola on a recent visit of his across our northern border. Scott knew that I was on the hunt for this Canadian exclusive from Pepsi, and he sent me a few bottles of Pepsi Maple Cola along with a couple cans of Pepsi Zero Sugar Maple Cola. (You can tell Scott is a true Snackology reader since he knows that I gotta have my zero sugar soda.)

I was instantly jealous when I learned that Pepsi Maple Cola was rolling out ... and I couldn’t have it. Or, at least America couldn’t. (Look, Canada, I know things between us aren’t super right now, but I also gotta have my limited-edition sodas.) Pepsi Maple Cola rolled out last month, and according to National Post, the flavor was only going to be on shelves for a month.

This isn’t the first time that Pepsi has released a maple flavor, previously partnering with IHOP on Pepsi Maple Syrup Cola in 2022 and 2024. While that version was available in America, you either had to jump through a bunch of social media hoops or had to go to an IHOP restaurant to enjoy it. I missed out on that exclusive, but from what I read when the new Pepsi Maple Cola was revealed, the latter version was expected to have a much more authentic vibe.

Scott’s Pepsi shipment arrived at my place on Saturday, and he included a few bonus items ...

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What it costs

I’m actually not sure how much Pepsi Maple Cola and Pepsi Zero Sugar Maple Cola go for. If pricing in Canada works like it does in the United States, the 20 oz. bottles and 12 oz. cans probably go for what a normal Pepsi goes for. At least a few loonies and toonies, I’d guess. (Toonies are awesome.)

My thoughts

The last time I was in Canada was a few weeks before my 30th birthday — over a decade ago. But before that, there was a time when hopping over the border was super easy. As a kid in Rochester, all it took was your birth certificate. And as a young adult between the ages of 19 and 21, all you needed was your driver’s license.

Niagara Falls was just a few hours west of Rochester, making it a great destination whenever my friends and I wanted to partake in an activity that we weren’t legally allowed to do in America. Seeing the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. Obviously. Not like we had our trips planned to what time the LCBO closed or anything. Just a bunch of friends going to see the sights. I wouldn’t even know what a pack of Molson Cold Shots are.

Pepsi Maple Cola

I had resigned myself to the idea that Snackology would never get to cover Pepsi Maple Cola. It was only going to be available for four weeks. And while I should renew my passport, “I have to go to Canada to buy a new flavor of soda” just didn’t seem like an urgent enough reason.

So I was thrilled when Scott offered to track down Pepsi Maple Cola.

It made sense to me to start with the standard Pepsi Maple Cola. There was instantly a rich maple aroma upon opening the bottle. My first sip revealed a matching maple taste. It wasn’t too sweet — which was good since my taste buds are never prepared for the bombardment of sugar that comes with a non-zero sugar soda. But if I wasn’t accustomed to zero sugar soda, Pepsi Maple Cola would’ve hit the spot.

I moved on to Pepsi Zero Sugar Maple Cola. This one was fantastic, and right in my non-sugary wheelhouse. I took careful sips, knowing that I had to savor the two cans that I had. (Couldn’t chug this one and immediately crack up a second can like I did with Mr. Pibb Zero Sugar.) It’s unfortunate that this flavor isn’t available in America. The pairing of the caramel notes of cola with the slight sweetness of maple is a perfect match.

Snack Score

Pepsi Maple Cola and Pepsi Zero Sugar Maple Cola

🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪 (5 out of 5)

Oreo Maple Creme

I didn’t know that Scott had included a package of Oreo Maple Creme cookies along with Pepsi Maple Cola, so their inclusion was a fun surprise. Snackology isn’t a stranger when it comes to new Oreo flavors, but this one definitely wasn’t on my radar. (I can track a ton of incoming new foods in America, but that ability gets stretched thin when I have to go past our borders.)

The Maple Cream Oreos, which my research tells me have been out for a few years now, is “the first permanent flavour released exclusively in Canada.” The maple levels on these Oreos are more subtle than what you get if you’re lucky enough to find Pepsi Maple Cola, but their scaled back intensity pairs well with the golden Oreo cookies.

The big difference between the Canadian Oreo Maple Creme cookies and the limited-edition Oreo Maple Creme cookies that were released in America (part of a wild lineup that included S’mores Oreos, Oreo Marshmallow Moon cookies and Baskin-Robbins Mint Chocolate Chip Oreo cookies) seems to be that the Canadian version proudly boasts that they’re made with “real Quebec maple syrup.”

Snack Score

Oreo Maple Creme

🍪🍪🍪🍪 (4 out of 5)

Hawkins Cheezies

Oh, did you scroll to this section thinking I was going to say something bad about Hawkins Cheezies? What negative thing could I even possibly say about Cheezies? They’re too delicious? They’re not made with enough real cheddar cheese?

Despite my the many nights I spent in Niagara Falls back in my younger days, I somehow never bought Cheezies. My working theory is that the LCBO didn’t sell them alongside those cases of Molson that I was stocking up on.

Snack Score

Hawkins Cheezies

🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪 (5 out of 5)

Snackology is a publication of The Omnicosm.

Issue No. 164

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Snackology is written and produced by Bill Kuchman.
Copyediting by Tim Kuchman.

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