Slumber cola.

I reviewed Starlight Coke back in April, and now it appears Coca-Cola is going to spring a bizarre, inscrutable soda on us at least once a season. Thus the Dreamworld Limited Edition that I picked up this week. 

What's it supposed to taste like, we wonder. Cherry Coke tastes like cherry, Vanilla Coke tastes like vanilla, and Starlight Coke tasted like exploding hydrogen. (Not really.) So what does Dreamworld Coke taste like? Making an important speech in your birthday suit? Falling? Handing your mom a cigar while Dr. Freud takes notes? 

According to Coke's site, "Coca-Cola Zero Sugar Dreamworld makes the most fascinating parts of our imagination real. This limited edition sparkling beverage from Coca-Cola Creations explores the realms of the surreal, the imaginary, and the otherworldly. Experience the familiar Coca-Cola Zero Sugar taste now with a surprising and unexpected flavor from a dream world." 

Okee doke! Here we go! And…

Tastes like Coke mixed with fruit. It's not too far off that Diet Coke Twisted Mango they were selling a few years ago, which I liked and no one else seemed to. Maybe with some guava and papaya as well. Maybe if you chewed some Mike & Ike Tropical Typhoon candies while drinking a Coke Zero you'd get the same flavor. It's not bad, but it doesn't say Dreamworld to me, unless your dream is a cheap Caribbean vacation in a country where they have to fence off the resort. 

I admire Coke for shooting the moon when it comes to naming these things. Starlight and Dreamworld both evoke a sort of floaty, ethereal, peaceful feeling, although the first is more glorious and the second more weird. 

If someone were to tailor a beverage to my personal dreamworld, it would have to taste like hotel continental breakfasts, business vending machines, and whatever could be gleaned from a train station stand, because my dreams are always about work, city streets, commuting, and hotels. I have no idea why. Once in a while in a dream I will decide I am going to drive somewhere distant, like northern Canada, and only after going along a highway for a while do I realize I will not be able to get home by bedtime as planned. Try stuffing all that into a bottle, Coke.