So, after an experiment over the summer, sugar Pepsi has returned to stores with an even more retro logo than the weird cursive blue-on-blue Pepsi Throwback had before.

Grabbed a couple of 12-packs at Target today while shopping for new-old Power Rangers toys. I didn't see the Mountain Dew Throwback in the picture, but I did see "Heritage Dr. Pepper", which sounds troublingly right-wing. Heritage Dr. Pepper! Relive the days when you could get cherryish soda at a whites-only counter in Alabama!

I appreciate them making sugar versions available, but I'm not sure I'm a fan of the retro marketing. Hey, old man! Are modern innovations like USB ports, wi-fi hotspots, and high-fructose corn syrup just too much for you? Well, while us whippersnappers pound our pancreases (pancrei?) into submission, enjoy your life circa 1978. Try not to spill any on your disco clothes!

I'm not sure sugar sodas are any healthier than corn syrup, honestly. But I do think sugar colas taste better. Not necessarily other kinds of soda. I mean, sure, the sweetener in Dew Throwback is natural, but that yellow color never will be. But when it comes to colas, there's a roundness, a bit of extra caramel, to the sweetness that I don't find in corn syrup colas.

Sure, they could be tweaking the formula to fuck with me and make me perceive a difference that otherwise wouldn't be there, but I've tasted the difference all the way back to Jolt, so odds are it's either real, or a construct of my fevered brain.

Anyway, the Throwback is once again availabe for a "limited time", but it must have been a fairly successful experiment for them to try it again with new packaging.

And in case you were wondering, Blue Ranger, Green Ranger, and the Retarded Robot/Head In A Tube two-pack.