Perrier

Mystère Potion

Once again, we forgot entirely about Nestle’s French enfant, Perrier.

We try to block Nestle out of our minds/pocketbooks as much as possible anyway, but honestly we don’t buy much Perrier, despite how good they usually are, because these “slim” cans are far too small for people who need to be consuming sparkling water from the moment we wake up until the moment we go to bed. We need a daily keg, not a tiny little 8 ouncer.

However. A recent trip to Target had us face-to-face with the most bizarre exercise in Limited Edition we had ever seen. A large sugar skull effigy squished onto one of Perrier’s signature slim cans with the hypnotic invitation into something called “Mystère Potion”. Equal parts compelling and comical.

Given the current season (fall), we assumed this was a Dia de los Muertos crossover attempt. (And still think it is?)

The holiday has been increasing in popularity, and we can only assume that Perrier wanted to capture some of that Coco magic. And we don’t blame them, because Coco is pure f*cking magic.

However. A few things instantly confused us.

Another part of us thought, is this supposed to be New Orleans-inspired? Like French + skulls just take us there tbh. Also, le mot “Potion” with that rich, purple color also takes us to some witchy New Orleans place. We definitely get some “laissez les bons temps rouler” wafting off of this.

But again, the early November rollout, the Calavera can art. It’s a little LaCroix curaté in its muddled, multicultural execution. Especially considering the “mystère potion” is not exactly a mystery?

Because let’s state the obvious, like Perrier does : Right under the tease of a “Mystery Potion” the word “Blackberry” is printed underneath. Right there. BLACKBERRY. And if you didn’t notice, the haunting, dark purple skeletal sockets are in the shape of blackberries, sooooo… mystery solved? Before it even began really.

The only Mystère here is why it’s called Mystère. 🔮

Unless the flavor isn’t the “mystère” part, but the convoluted branding. Now that’s left us stumped. Anyway, we’re excited anyway. The chaotic, choose-your-own-cultural-origin adventure marketing worked.

We pop open this tiny little pop top and take a sniff over the tiny little mouth hole (seriously, does tiny equate to fancy in France? Give us some America jumbo sized sparkling water drink holes, Perrier.)

Unlike the size of the space you drink from, the aroma wafting off of this is surprisingly large and in charge. A rich, mixed berry compote. Possibly beneath some artisanal Icelandic Skyr. Yes, we realize we just described the scent of yogurt with fruit at the bottom, but this is fancy afterall.

Tasting Notes

🥛🫐

So as usual, this is great.

The blackberry is ripe and robust. Balanced fruitiness with that signature Perrier hint of salt and minerality that just truly does it for us. It’s subtle and delicate, without veering into the citric acid dregs category, like so many lesser subtle efforts towards something gentle and nuanced veer. No, this mysteriously remains full-bodied and definitive, while still retaining that light touch.

The usual Perrier artistry.

On the other hand, if you close your eyes and lean into your imagination, suddenly you’re imbibing a fruity cereal milk with a hint of salt (to make it fancy). Mystery Potion, indeed. This is all working and wth, why?

All of this amounts to some degree of mystery potion, and it’s mostly trying to unpack the intent here. Sure they tipped their hand and told us it was blackberry, but that milky cloudy overlay alludes to “potion” in a way that is both hilarious and also totally on point. It doesn’t make sense, but we really like it.

That low key saltiness as usual imparts something glorious to the overall effect. Lighter than the Ardor salt, but distinct enough to give it some Gerolsteiner glow.

Once again, the black sorcerers at Nestle lure us in with their dark corporate potions. Nothing like co opting sacred, spiritual rituals in the name of expensive sparkling water!