Barton Springs Soda Company - Zilker Park Cola

The last time a bottle of Barton Springs Soda ended up in front of me I was left with a rather disappointing orange soda.  Today the BSSC finds and audience with me once again, this time in the form of Zilker Park Cola.  Since the company is based in Austin their soda titles involve areas of Austin.  Zilker Park is listed as “Austin’s most-loved park”.  It’s a 351 acre park that, judging by the picture, does look pretty nifty.  Now the park looking nifty doesn’t mean the soda will be.  Sure it’s sweetened with cane sugar, but the ingredients also include artificial flavors and sodium benzoate.  I haven’t brought up sodium benzoate in a while, but it seemed as good a time as any to do so.  On the plus side, there’s something about the name “Zilker Park Cola” that immediately makes my brain think this will be above average in taste.

An oddly sweet cola aroma wafts from the bottle.  I was honestly expecting a bit more punch to my nostrils, but sweet can work too if crafted correctly.  I guess one way to figure out if it’s crafted well is to drink it.  Twist my arm.

That is super bizarre.  BSSC-ZPC (Seriously people make shorter names for your soda and I won’t have to do that) has a very unique take on the cola flavor.  The traditional cola flavor is there, but there’s a root beer sensation, a cream soda sensation, and a host of other “touches of flavors”.  This seems like an all beverage.  Seriously, there’s something for everyone in each sip of Barton Springs Soda Company – Zilker Park Cola.  See what happens when you prove yourself?  You get me to type out your entire ridiculously long name. 

The carbonation also plays a keen role in the enjoyment factor.  Bubbles attack my tongue once their lives feel threatened by my throat muscles trying to begin the consuming process.  These very bubbles create a very fun atmosphere for my mouth and help push me to quickly take another sip.  In other news; after the taste builds upon itself a little while I do get a bit of cough syrup flavor staring to coat my tongue.  It’s not all that off putting, but just throwing it out there. 

Overall Zilker Park Cola has a flavor that is deservedly named after a park.  It’s fun, it’s tasty, it reminds me of something I’d primarily consume in the warmer months of Texas… which is 10 of them.  I’m quite pleased to see a Texas soda company make something with this quality of taste and remove any doubt created by their aggressively average orange soda.  The ingredients aren’t the greatest, but the flavor stands tall and recognizable.  Barton Springs Soda Company –Zilker Park Cola is one you should buy multiple bottles of.

~A

Keep Twist Weird

Sprecher Puma Kola

Anytime I see a bottle of Sprecher in my fridge I know that at some point in my life I made a good decision.  Sprecher never disappoints even when I don’t particularly like the flavor.  Every product I’ve had of their reeks of trying to make a great soda, so I can tell you I’m very excited to review Sprecher Puma Kola.  Adorning the label is an adorable black puma that seems to be guarding kola nuts and cinnamon.  I don’t see either of these items in the ingredients, unless it falls under “natural flavors, but I’m not concerned as the Sprecher track record is a good one.  There are a range of sweeteners in Puma Kola, from glucose syrup to raw honey.  Honestly I’m just ready to crack open the bottle.

The powerful scent of cola punches me square in the nose.  This is a good start to what is hopefully a top notch beverage.  After the initial sock to the olfactory glands the aroma seems content to just occasionally poke at me.  Let’s “poke back” shall we.  By “poke back” I meant drink, but the analogy didn’t work… move on, nothing to see here.

 What amazes me is the lasting power of the cola taste that the very first sip of Puma Kola has left me with.  The flavor is one of the richest cola tastes I’ve had in a soda and it has me wanting more within seconds of finishing a gulp.  The carbonation level is lower than most cola.  It seems that before it was put into the bottle someone yelled at it and told it to stay out of the way of the general drinking experience.  Carbonation being stubborn mostly listened to them, but still shows you it’s part of the show.  While the kola nut and cinnamon are not officially listed in the ingredients, I’m definitely getting tastes that remind me of each.  The kola nut is the stronger willed of the two tastes while the cinnamon acts as the trees.  Melded with these two flavors is a creaminess that I don’t find that often in cola.  It’s not so creamy that I’d call it a cream soda of any sorts; it’s just different and gives a wonderfully relaxing mouth-feel to the soda.  The only negative I can see in Puma Kola is that the flavor might be a bit rich for some, perhaps a little too sweet as a sugary sensation holds on to all parts of my mouth as I review.

As I reach the end of each sip there is a slight burn that presides when the all of the tastes, carbonation, mouth-feel, and creaminess of Puma Kola join as one.  I liken it to the feeling you get when the favorite character in a play comes out and bows as the crowds cheering grows in comparison to what the other actors on stage had received.  You weren’t able to show your adulation throughout the performance, but now it’s ok to let loose and really show them how you feel.  That is the last few seconds of Puma Kola before it vanishes down my gullet.   Bravo!

~A

Even Twist is in awwwww of the adorable puma

Hockey Soda Energy

Today’s faire from ThirstMonger is Hockey Soda Energy, which is actually an energy drink.  I once called an energy drink a soda and the guy sending it to me made sure to correct me.  I’m pleased to see that Hockey Soda isn’t nearly as uptight with their nomenclature.  Hockey Soda Energy lives in a black can with an intimidating blue hockey mask emblazoned on the label.  Circling the top of the can are the ingredients of L-Glutamine, B Vitamins, L-Carnitine, and Taurine, circle the top.  I’m not a hockey player by any means as I’ve never seen more than a patch of ice on the road, much less a frozen lake.  Hockey Soda Energy forgives me for this and tells me to do the following:  “Dangle, snipe, and celly with this pro style energy drink, Hockey Soda Energy.”  I understand those to be hockey terms, but honestly I only know “snipe” of the three.  No matter, I’m also promised that “Hockey Soda Energy is a cola citrus energy drink infusing the past with the present.”  A cola citrus energy drink, huh?  I have no idea how one pulls that off, but if they can merge past with present then I’m sure cola citrus energy combinations are simple.  Let’s open this up, shall we?

Surprisingly this smells quite a bit like cola and I must say I’d already written it off that it wouldn’t.  Hockey Soda Energy has called me out, and in the case of the smell test, checked me into the boards.  See what I did there?  It’s a hockey analogy.  I can do it too.

With my first sip of Hockey Soda Energy I’m taken aback by the fact that the cola citrus flavor they promised is now happily swimming around in my mouth.  The initial first half of my sip is indeed flavored with cola, but a strong citrus blast comes through and cleanly sweeps it away.  Lemon, lime, and a hint of that taste that seems to be in all energy drinks, create what can only be described as a “zing” of citrus.  This zing is sour enough that your cheeks pull inward, showing the starting signs of “pucker”. 

Now of course with all this good, there is some bad.  First off the initial cola taste weakens with each sip you take.  This is because the secondary citrus flavor eventually takes full residence in your taste buds and the cola just can’t yell loud enough to be heard.  I really do like the citrus flavor that I’m ultimately left with, but it’s the cola/citrus combo that’s presented so well at the beginning that sets Hockey Soda Energy apart.  Secondly, I’m always going to squawk a little when it comes to high fructose corn syrup.  So… squawk.

To go back to the positive though, I’m honestly surprised by how much I like the taste of this beverage.  The fact that they actually pulled off a cola/citrus hybrid impresses me the most.  That impressive impression is followed by the fact that they’ve created an energy drink that doesn’t have a vague bubble gum sweetness to it.  In a market where energy drinks are a dime a dozen it makes me really happy to see one that, in my mind at least, shows how being different can sway even the harshest critics… I’m talking about me.  

~A

Oddly enough Twist turned down the role of Casey Jones in the new TMNT

Oogave Loca Diet Cola

In front of me I have a soda made by one of my favorite companies, All-Natural Oogave.  On the same note, I have a soda in front of me that contains an ingredient that I’m not all that fond of, stevia.  Here’s the twist.  The company I love used an ingredient I’m not thrilled about and now all I can do about it is review the can of Loca Diet Cola in front of me.  First off our history with Oogave is well documented.  They were one of the first believers of this site and supplied us with many a tasty beverage.  Heck they’re the only company we’ve done a “company review” on (there was supposed to be more of those, but we got lazy).  So as I said before, we like Oogave.  Now for my beef with stevia.

Stevia, if you are not aware, is a natural sweetener that is very low cal.  Stevia is a great alternative to sugar in diet beverages, but for me and many others it leaves a disheartening aftertaste.  Any beverage I’ve ever had that was solely sweetened with stevia has not been in my good graces.  Never fear, stevia fans.  Once upon a time we stumbled upon a beverage that was “split sweetened”.  It used both sugar and stevia and the results were fantastic.  It seems that sharing the duties with a delicious sweetener was right in the wheel-house of stevia.  Fortunately Loca Diet Cola deals with stevia the awesome way.

Loca Diet Cola uses both stevia and agave nectar (an Oogave staple) to tastify their soda.  This results in a 10 calorie cola which may still leave you skeptical, but hopefully I’m about to sway you to the positive.  Aside from the sweetener, Loca Diet Cola is an all-natural beverage, but if you’re a fan of Oogave like we are that shouldn’t surprise you in the slightest.  Even though I’m a fan of their products I too still have my doubts that this diet cola is going to knock my socks off in the taste department.  I guess there’s only one way to find out.

A noticeable cola scent rises from the mouth of the can.  It doesn’t have the “chemical scent” that many diet colas have and for that I mark down a point in the “nice” column.

The first sip reveals that I will not be partaking in that dreaded stevia aftertaste today, so good for you Loca Diet Cola.  Now that my fear has been quelled I can focus better on the task at hand.  Each sip I take includes the following:  Cola flavor, club soda flavor, cola flavor.  I’m not really sure what’s happening in the middle there, but the cola flavor kind of ducks out for a second and I’m left with a curious experience.  I don’t find Loca Diet Cola as rich as other colas in taste, but that may be by design.  If I were to do a blind taste test on this beverage I could tell you that it’s a diet cola, but a good diet cola and that’s good because those are so far and few between.

The carbonation level in Loca Diet Cola is great as the bubbles are staying strong throughout, racing around my teeth and gums.  It’s this racing speed that surprises me as many Oogave sodas are lower in carbonation due to the agave nectar not getting along with the C02 molecules… more or less.  Apparently the addition of stevia allows those molecules to attach a little easier and create the very fun mouth feel I just experienced. 

Overall, Loca Diet Cola is a good diet soda and one I would recommend to anyone out there that either drinks diet beverages or is considering switching to diet beverages.  In a world where diet sodas are usually a chemical stew it’s really nice to see an all-natural, organic entry into this market.  Go Oogave!  Googave!

~A

Who you tryin' to get crazy with ese? Don't you know I'm drinkin' loca?

Faygo Original Rock & Rye

Fun fact!  Well honestly it’s less fun and more fact.  We have never reviewed a Faygo beverage on the site.  Odd, huh?  So now that my fridge now has a smattering of Faygo products I figured it’d be a good time to try out a flavor that is a complete and total mystery to me, Faygo Original Rock & Rye.  The only “rock” slang I know is either ice or drug related so I’m pretty sure I’m way off on that one.  Rye is somewhat easily identified, but again not something I’ve ever experienced in a beverage.  The ingredient list doesn’t help much in clarifying the flavor either.  With a brief glance I learn that it’s sweetened with cane sugar and after that the ingredients just slide down a slope of chemical nonsense.  I must assume it is chemical nonsense because all they’ve allowed me to read is “artificial flavors”…oh and of course your friend and mine, potassium benzoate. 

Thankfully, beneath the name of the beverage the sentence “artificially flavored cream cola” is a road map for my brain, pointing me in the right direction.  I feel safe in calling this beverage burgundy in color and very appealing to the eye in terms of label art and overall appearance.  It’s a very classy looking bottle albeit simple.  Any wonders I have about the taste are easily ignored when I gaze at the container the soda resides in.  Smell time.

Faygo Original Rock & Rye is easily identified as a cream soda after a quick whiff.  There is also what some might consider a bubble gum aroma also present which turns me of a bit to the soda, but hopefully it won’t translate into the flavor.  It would be such a disappointment if this was just another bubble gum/cream soda.  Taste time.

I’m pleased to report that it’s not your standard bubble gum fare at all.  There is a cola flavor present in the early stages of my sip, but it vanishes quickly and transforms into something more akin to a red cream soda.  Throughout all of this a delightful artificial cherry taste can be enjoyed which will bring up zero similarities to cherry medicine.  It’s very well executed in my opinion. 

Now I’ve listed cola, cream, and cherry as players in this bottle of Faygo Original Rock & Rye, but to call this a cherry cream cola would be an absolute lie.  For one reason or another the flavors feel separated in the bottle which makes for a nice journey.  Dependable, recognizable cola greets you as you start your 2 second hike through your current sip.  He shows you the path you must take and points out the dangers ahead (Fire Tigers and the like).  Just as you’re feeling safe enough to travel on your own the cream gently shows you the exit.  As you approach the exit you look up and realize that cherry has been watching you all along.  You’re a little creeped out with that realization while simultaneously feeling a bit of joy.  The quick fizzing bubbles rush you out the door and you immediately want to see them all again. 

Unfortunately the end of your journey involves the dreaded velvety curtain of syrup that just coats your mouth to the point of wanting glass of water when it’s all said and done.  Faygo Original Rock and Rye isn’t a perfect beverage, but I have to appreciate the trip it takes me on with each sip.

~A

BONUS CONTENT FOR PAID MEMBERS ONLY...wait... we don't have paid members?  Oh well, here's some interesting info from Reader Jim.  Reader Jim, take it away.

Rock and rye pop was invented in Detroit by Anthony Wegener of A Wegener and Son Bottling works in 1885. Faygo did not invent the drink. The pop was reintroduced after the factory closed in the late 1950.s in 1973 in canned form. Under the approval of Mary Wegener the wife of the late Frank Wegener, whom was the son and former president of the company,. He passed in 1973. My family has cans from the Seventies with the label stating "WEGENER'S ORIGINAL 1885 ROCK AND RYE POP"

Twist will accept rye bread as currency

Death Valley Cola

Without looking for confirmation, I’m pretty sure we haven’t reviewed a cola in a long while.  Let me confirm that… ok so I reviewed Pepsi X less than a week ago, but that’s a cola with fruit in it.  The last pure cola we reviewed was back on March one.  Alright, let me start over.  It’s been a little over a month since a cola has been reviewed on this site.  Today’s selection sounded particularly tasty when I held it in my hand.  Death Valley Cola is what I’ll be consuming and the bottle says that it’s “A Taste of the Old West”.  The label includes a lone tumbleweed and a stagecoach drawn by 4 horses.  This illustration looks to be printed on a piece of parchment completing the “Old West” feel.  Seems pretty manly to me and since I just finished up moving a load of bricks this must be the right choice of beverage.

 The first ingredient is Indian Wells Artesian Spring Water followed by cane sugar.  These two ingredients delight me for a couple of reasons.  First off you need to have a good source of water for the basis of your soda.  Now I have no idea if the above listed source of water is any good, but it sounds good so they’re already in my brain.  Reason two I’m appreciative of those ingredients is that they just have “cane sugar” listed on the bottle.  Not, pure cane sure, untouched by human hands cane sugar, raw cane sugar… just cane sugar.  That’s all I need.  I don’t need the type of sugar fancied up.  If pure cane sugar is somehow different than cane sugar I’m sorry, but I honestly don’t think it is.  Smell time.

A mild cola scent quickly escapes the bottle.  In my opinion the aroma of Death Valley Cola should stay and fight, punching your nose with a fist tattooed with the word “COLA”.  Instead I get a rather weak cola smell.  Taste time.

While I haven’t been punched in the face I am happy to report that the taste is stronger than the scent.  Death Valley Cola has an interesting cola flavor backed up with what seems to be a caramel/root beer hybrid.  The last half of each sip seems to be populated by that hybrid flavor.  This doesn’t hurt the soda in any way; I feel it just softens the potential harshness that Death Valley Cola could wreak on the back of my throat.  Now I personally like a cola that makes me cringe a little with each sip.  Since Coke is the number one soda in the world I’d say that most enjoy the sharp sensation it brings.  Death Valley Cola is soft in comparison as the carbonation shows you the door to the rough sensation, but never opens it. 

Even though I feel that it could be a more complete cola I’m still happy with the overall experience it brings to the table.  It’s a robust beverage that doesn’t taste watery at all and the ingredients used are noticed though out.  There is not a heavy mouth feel to the aftertaste which can be attributed to the pure raw unfiltered cane sugar and the “Artesian Spring Water” keeps the taste clean.  Death Valley Cola is good stuff; it just doesn’t happen to fall into an elite group.

~A

Twist got into a gun fight once... ONCE!

Pepsi X

Ok, I know I’m late on this one, but according to the date on the can it’s still fine to open and consume this Pepsi X.  If you watched X Factor at all this is the Pepsi flavor that was attached to it and may still be; I have no idea if that is still a thing that exists.  I’m not even going to make X Factor jokes as I honestly couldn’t care less about their tie in.  I am glad Pepsi made a new flavor, the name is dumb (tie in or not), but I always appreciate a new flavor no matter the reason.  Speaking of that new flavor, Pepsi X is dragon fruit flavored cola.  Dragon fruit flavored cola sounds like a horrible idea to me as I can’t think of many fruits that would mix well with a cola flavor outside of cherry and possibly lemon/lime if you’re just into that sort of thing.  Well… maybe apple would to, but that’s about it.  Needless to say my expectations are low for this limited edition soda that all the other soda review sites were talking about 5 months ago.  Let’s give it the old smell test.

It mostly smells like Pepsi, mostly.  One note before I continue describing the aroma of Pepsi X.  My dog is eating his food behind me and it sounds like he’s enjoying the ever loving love out of it.  The noises he’s creating “wolfing” (ha!) down his food is almost making me jealous of his dog food.  Perhaps this jealousy of dog food will help sway Pepsi X’s flavor in my favor.  Back to the review.  It mostly smells like Pepsi, mostly.  There is a secondary player at work here, the dragon fruit of course and I’m surprised to see that it’s represented well enough to appear in the smell test.  I still don’t think it will mix well with the taste of cola, but at least the Pepsi people didn’t just slip in a drop of dragon fruit and call it a day.  Taste time.

That is a peculiar Pepsi flavor.  The very beginning and end of the taste I just experienced is most certainly cola, but the middle is a sweet hodgepodge of flower and spice.  Not being familiar with the actual flavor of dragon fruit I can’t honestly say if it tastes like one or not although I will say that the flavor I was greeted with doesn’t seem like one nature would make on her own.  A second and third sip reveals more and more levels of spice that my first sip didn’t.  It seems as if there’s some cinnamon or nutmeg flavoring throughout, but before I’m able to greet each of them properly a hardy smack to the face is delivered by artificial sweeteners.  The cola aftertaste I first experienced has dwindled down to what seems like a chemical cola bath of tastes.  I was incorrect in thinking that dragon fruit and cola couldn’t mix, they do mix quite well.  I’m just saying that Pepsi X is not the pinnacle of dragon fruit/cola friendship.  Hopefully someone will or maybe already has created a higher end dragon fruit/cola mix.  I’m sure things taste a bit better when their made to taste pleasant instead of promoting a television show.  Dang it… I brought up the tie in again.

~A

Twist was on Star Search, he was one of the many runners up to Sam Harris

C&C Cola

I finish off my run with C&C by reviewing their flagship soda, C&C Cola.  Will it taste like Coke, Pepsi, RC Cola, or will it be a different animal all together?  The red label makes me think they want to draw comparisons to Coke, but honestly there’s only one way to find out.  My cat keeps knocking the pens off my desk and it’s getting a bit distracting so bear with me as I take a plunge into the world of cola.

The hiss of the bottle opening distracts my cat long enough to forget the pen she was currently pawing to its death.  A familiar scent, much like RC Cola, reaches my nostrils just as she gets her attention back long enough to finish off the foolish writing implement that thought it could thwart her.  Coke red label with an RC scent?  I’m intrigued and the cat has ventured off into another part of the house never to be seen again… for a few hours.

C&C Cola is a good strong cola that gives the inside of my cheeks a bit of burn with my first swig.  It has the mouth feel of Coke with the taste of RC, a wise combination in my opinion.  The cola flavor is powerful, but not overly so as I’m not going into any coughing fits each time I take a sip.  Carbonation levels are good, keeping my mind from even associating this beverage with the word flat.  Is C&C Cola a game changer by any means?  No, it’s not, but I can tell some care was put into this soda as it’s one of their better entries into the non-alcoholic carbonated flavored beverage field.  I honestly don’t feel like I need to write much more about it.  It’s a simple cola that gets the job done as well as (or better than in some cases, I’m looking at you Pepsi) any mainstream brand I’ve come across.

 So that ends my 24 soda run with C&C, and I must thank them for their generosity.  I’m happy I reviewed C&C Cola last as it left me with a good taste in my mouth.  Was that pun intended or just a fluke?  You’ll never know.

~A

This beverage supplied to us by C&C

Twist says it was intended.  He's right, it was.

Dublin Vintage Cola

At this point I have two remaining bottles given to me by the fine folks at Dublin Bottling Works and of those two only one includes the Dublin name in its title.  Dublin Vintage Cola is what’s on tap today, but actually in a bottle in front of me thus rendering the first half of this sentence false.  For many soda companies “cola” is where you start.  If you have a good cola people will trust your brand more than say if you have a good lemon/lime beverage, but a so-so cola.  Curiously this is the first Dublin soda I can remember seeing without its traditional green “Dublin” bottle cap.  Apparently for Vintage Cola they went with the standard and logo-less gold cap.  Hopefully Dublin will deliver a solid entry in the cola genre with its cane sugar sweetened soda.  Onward!

A noticeable cola scent, not unlike RC Cola (the superior of the three main colas in my opinion) casually leaves the mouth of the bottle upon opening.  It’s a very nonchalant aroma that doesn’t get my hopes up, nor dashes them upon smelling it.

The carbonation is just a notch too high for my liking as it somewhat masks the cola taste with each sip I take.  Apart from that one complaint the overall mouth feel and flavor of Dublin Vintage Cola is pleasant, but not outstanding.  Compared to the three main sodas that use HFCS as a sweetener I would put this over HFCS Pepsi in terms of flavor and overall enjoyablity.  If compared to the Mexican or sugar sweetened versions of those colas, I’m sad to say that this would fall to fourth as the cola flavoring in Dublin Vintage Cola doesn’t sizzle as much on your taste buds as big boys on the block.  While there’s nothing wrong with Dublin Vintage Cola there’s nothing aside from the fact that it’s sweetened with sugar that would make me pick it over RC Cola or Coke.  When I started this review that last sentence was something I didn’t want to have to write, but sadly there it is.

Dublin Vintage Cola is a fine soda, but sadly it just blends in with so many others.

~A

This beverage supplied to us by the Dublin Bottling Works

Twist wishes you a happy birthday!

Refreshe - Cherry Cola

It’s time to re-visit the Safeway brand “refreshe” in all its un-capitalized glory.  Today’s flavor of choice is refreshe Cherry Cola, which contains 0% juice.  You know how I know this?  Well it’s stated on the can silly, if that wasn’t printed on here I bet I’d be wondering all day if there was real cherry juice in here.  Sigh… I wish sarcasm had a font because I’d use the heck out of it.  How’s about we use Comic Sans as the official “Sarcasm Font”?   People would like it more if it were used for the benefit of sarcasm wouldn’t they?  I understand that some use Comic Sans ironically, but let’s take it back from the Hipsters and use it for the sarcastic!  Surely a large portion of Hipsters are sarcastic so the lash-back won’t be that great.  So yet another trend is decided on this site.  TheSodaJerks.net:  Setters of trends, and nothing more!  Wait… we also review sodas.  Speaking of… this refreshe Cherry Cola has a very mysterious ingredients list as Natural Flavors are listed alongside HFCS, Coloring agents, and acids.  Let’s just open it up and see what we get.

The scent test proves refreshe Cherry Cola to be more cola than cherry, which is perfectly understandable.  I can discern the cherry scent mind you, but it wasn’t the first thing my nose noticed.  Then again my allergies are kicked up today so there’s that.  DRINK ON!

The first sip is a major disappointment.  The cola taste immediately falls flat and the cherry gets crushed underneath it.  Swishing it around in my mouth I can feel the cola trying with all its might to intrigue me with bursts of carbonation.  “Like me! Like me!” it screams, but once you stop swishing… it quiets down to a whisper.  Every sip I take allows the flavor to build on itself which you might think would help its case.  No, Ma’am.  No, Sir.  While the flavor is becoming more pungent it’s just revealing how weak of a Cherry Cola this really is.  You can almost taste the chemicals, assuming they are since Natural Flavors are all we’re given.  Honestly I hope they are chemicals because if you use real deal ingredients and you make it taste this underwhelming then shame on you.  Fortunately the aftertaste vanishes fairly quickly but you’re left with the caustic feel of refreshe Cherry Cola on your teeth.  It’s holding on to my enamel for dear life, making my teeth more easily grind when I close my mouth.  That’s it.  I’m done.  I could finish this can, but I see no reason to do so.  This is one of the worst attempts at a Cherry Cola, something that should be a treat in any definition, which I have seen in a very long time.

~A

Twist doesn't even realize it's there... that's how flavorless it is.

Fentimans Cherrytree Cola

Everyday I’m shuffin’… through the bottles in my fridge to figure out which one to review.  I wish one would just jump out at me.  LMFAO!  I can’t believe Old 52 sent us a bottle of Fentimans Cherrytree Cola!  For your information Fentimans Cherrytree Cola is a Fermented Botanical Cherry Drink with Ginger and Herbal Extracts.  That’s what the label says anyway.  This isn’t a level of fermentation though that would keep anyone of any age from purchasing it legally.  I’ve always liked the look of Fentimans bottles and the use of the Cherrytree Records logo (the two companies are linked by this drink) is a great addition.  It’s like the bottle is sexy and it knows it.  Fun fact from Wikipedia:  Cherrytree Records was founded by a Martin Kierszenbaum.  Funner fact from Wikipedia: Kierszenbaum (Kirs zen baum) is German for Cherry Tree.  This beverage in front of me is certainly a higher end soda as it uses cane sugar and ginger root as two of its ingredients.  Let’s see if it’s just as fun to drink as it is to look at.  Everybody just have a good time!

It’s not the strongest aroma you’ll smell, but a good whiff of Fentimans Cherrytree Cola will tell you they aren’t lying about the flavor.  The scent is more of a rich aroma than it is a pungent one.  I can tell there’s a lot going into the soda I’m about to upend into my mouth.  So come to my table, and take a sip.

Unique, I’ll give it that.  I don’t initially think of cherry cola when I’m drinking it which is odd.  The ginger is more overpowering than I thought it would be, but it doesn’t mask the cherry flavor to the point of vanishing.  This shares in the cherry flavoring better than Reed’s Cherry Ginger Brew and that was primarily a cherry beverage where this is a cherry cola.  This certainly tastes fermented a bit, and I’m not positive that’s working too well with the cola.  The cola base is very strong, but is held back by the constant reminder that you have two other flavors to deal with.  Fentimans Cherrytree Cola is like a dance battle in your mouth.  First you have Cola who steps up and reminds you why you joined this crowd of people to watch these random dancers.  He’s good, but not amazing, still worth your time though.  Then Fermented Cherry, or FC, jumps in and kicks Cola in the leg… breaking it.  You immediately don’t like him because he’s already a bit of a jerk (not the good kind), but you still watch in hopes that he’ll be entertaining.  Just as FC starts to grow on you his partner Ginger jumps in and makes the whole scene annoying.  She’s up in your face, screaming at you to “Take it to the Hole”, trying to get you to cheer more for her boy FC, but you’re just not having it.  All you really want is Cola to come back alone and dance or maybe just partner with FC.  Like many dance battles there’s just one too many players here for it to be completely enjoyable.  Remove one and you’d have either a smooth cherry cola, or a fun ginger cola.  Ok, I need to stop.  Hatin’ is bad.  I’m still going to suggest you buy a bottle as it’s a unique soda that I feel should be tried at least once, but I’m not promising it’ll be a night you won’t forget.  As for me… well I just kinda wish I had a Hot Dog.

~A (I work out)

Twist is NOT sorry for party rockin'

Double Cola

As usual the drink sitting in front of me has yet to be experienced by my taste buds.  Today’s installment shall be titled “Double Cola”.  Double Cola, according to the bottle, has “Double Measure” and “Double Pleasure”.  I find it kind of odd that the word “double” (which is looking less like a word every time I type it) is prominently displayed on this bottle three times.  Double Cola, according to Wikipedia, comes from the Ski line of beverages… none of which I have personally tasted but some of which I’ve been told to.  With that said I fully expect a super strong cola with this one.  Shouldn’t I?  I mean it’s double cola which I assume means double the cola flavor.  Let’s find out shall we?

So far so good!  The force is strong in this one, the cola aroma smacks me in the nose for even trying to work in a Star Wars reference.  C’mon Double Cola, I haven’t had a good cola in a while.  Let YOU be that next great cola I try

This isn’t what I expected at all.  Where’s the bite?  I expected a very strong bite to assault my throat like a hot Coke.  What I got was one of the smoother colas I’ve consumed which I would normally associate with weakness in flavor.  Not here.  Double Cola lives up to its name though, unlike "hilarious reference here", with a strong almost magical cola flavor.  The more I drink this the more I like it.  The deep cola flavor soaks into my mouth making sure I get the most out of each sip.  The cane sugar sweetening this cola makes sure it never feels syrupy during the consumption process.  I know I just said it wasn’t syrupy but the cola flavoring compares closest to cola flavored sno-cone syrup.  Not the sno-cone itself but the highest of rewards that awaits you in the bottom of your sno-cone.  You just thought a sno-cone was a dessert.  No, sir.  The dessert is the 35 milliliters of syrup that sit at the bottom of your Styrofoam cup.  Sorry to all you folks that only had sno-cones in actual paper cones.  Styrofoam cups are where it’s at in the world of sno-cone.  With all that said Double Cola delivered today.  I will now list this as one of the best colas I’ve ever had.  Try it and you will too!

~A

Twist's pleasure was actually tripled.  He knows how to work the system.

Zuberfizz Cola

My experience with Zuberfizz has been well documented.  The short story is this… when the batch isn’t watery it tastes great!  The only problem is that I’ve come across more watery batches than I thought I ever would.  With that said let’s reach into the Ice Box and pull out a Zuberfizz Cola.  Same simplistic art on the bottle that I enjoy so much coupled with one of my favorite bottle caps to date.  Glad to see that the art never gets watered down… now let’s find out about the drink.

The odor wafting from the bottle is one rich in cola flavor.  I’d like to point out that those flavors turned odor are all natural as well!  Zuberfizz always has top notch ingredients and in part usually has a great aroma.  Smell is one thing to be excited about but it won’t tell us if this batch is watery.  For that we need to drink!

While I’m not sure if this is the actual achieved flavor I taste.  The flavor could be much stronger… and it could be much weaker, so there’s no telling.  The mouth feel of Zuberfizz Cola is very neutral but that’s ok because it works.  It has about as much fizz as a 2 liter that was opened the day before, so don’t think going into this you’re not going to experience any carbonation.  The flavor I’m greeted with is no doubt cola but it doesn’t find any similarity to Coke, Pepsi, or RC.  I didn’t realize how sweet this tasted until I didn’t drink it for a bit.  My mouth has a slight sugary film coating it much like a veil on a bride.  That was just an overly romantic way of saying that the film isn’t bad at all… it just exists and that’s ok.  Unlike the veil you can never remove the film which I’m sure after a while might get annoying.  “How many foggy days in a row has it been now, Dave?”  “It hasn’t been foggy all week Jane… you’re veil, remember?”  “Oh yes, how silly of me!   I don’t know why I don’t ever take my veil off?”  “I think you’re trying to strengthen some lame analogy in a soda review.”  “What?” “Never mind.”  Leaving Dave and Jane alone I leave you, the reader, with this.  Zuberfizz Cola is good.  Its ingredients are good.  Its bottle art is good but it just doesn’t stand out to me amongst a cola heavy market.

~A

(This Soda was supplied to us by Zuberfizz)

That's not a pineapple behind Twist... it's an Iguana Fruit ready to bloom.

SAPS Cola

   A nice man from the website DizzyFrinks.com (see what he did there) contacted me and made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.  If I was more into the Godfather I’d make a better joke here.  I went and checked out DizzyFrinks.com and really liked what I saw.  Great design, nice layout… heck if I had any kind of experience in web design it’s pretty much what our site would look like.  I noticed he had a good selection of German beverages and I was curious to try one.  After carefully looking over them all I eventually became the proud owner of a bottle of SAPS Cola.  So I must thank the fine folks at DizzyFrinks.com for opening my eyes to a beverage I probably wouldn’t have even thought of procuring.   Now that you’ve passed over three, count them, three hyperlinks to said website hopefully you’ll visit after you’re done reading this review. 

   Being from Germany, SAPS Cola’s bottle is filled with fun German words and phrases.  “Koffeinfrei” is the first one I notice and my rudimentary understanding of German deciphers that it means “Caffeine Free”.  Next up is the sentence “Mit Biohonig Gesuesst”.  Again my 3 years of high school German crack this coded sentence to mean “With Biohoney Gesuesst.”  Ok… so maybe I need to look this one up.  Ah, here we go… “Sweetened with Organic Honey”.  Thanks so much Google Translate.  The bottle design is kind of fun with a short stocky body attached to a long slender neck.  Sadly the label itself is fairly boring with the exception being a cartoon bee resting upon the “a” in the word “Cola”.  I looked up a little information on SAPS Cola and found out that it’s 100% natural, has won some awards, and has no preservatives.  All of these things normally point towards a great drink.  Let’s sniff it out a little more before we put a blue ribbon on the hog.  (Honestly I just wanted to write a made up country saying there.  I think I did pretty well.)

   Wow.  I never thought I’d be able to smell the honey so strongly upon opening this bottle.  If this review continues to go this well maybe more beverages should use Biohonig.  I literally only smell cola and honey and now I’m even more intrigued.  Shall I drink it now?  Yes I shall.

   That tastes nothing like I thought it would, which is a nice surprise.  I didn’t expect it to be gross or anything but the cola flavoring is much more muted than I predicted.  The initial flavor is a bit off putting but very familiar to me.  Well I guess it’s not completely familiar because I can’t pin point where I’ve tasted it before.  I know I’ve had at least one other soda that included this mystery flavor.  I’m starting to think that this is similar to the first half of a sip of Moxie.  As we all know the second half of Moxie tastes like carbonated tires.  Sadly I can’t claim that humorous description of Moxie but it was placed on the site and I enjoyed it to the point of adopting it.  I know they’re trying to get the cola taste through all natural means but the honey is the winning combatant in this battle.  I think that the flavor is one that most American palates would find unique and maybe a bit off putting at first but I must say the more I drink it the better it tastes.  It’s almost like the honey has a mind of its own and it slowing taking over my mouth.  Not to the point where a swarm of bees has claimed residence in my throat awkwardly flying out one by one to the confusion of everyone around me.  That would almost be worth it though.  I would randomly produce a bee from my mouth only to watch everyone in the room freak out until the bee landed safely back on my tongue only to go back home behind my molars.  One can dream can’t they?  One…can…dream.  Anywho, back to the beverage at hand.  The level of carbonation is low but that can be attributed to the fact that SAPS Cola is sweetened with honey.  Carbon Dioxide doesn’t bond as well with honey (or other natural but alternative sweeteners) as it does with sugar.  This in turn leads to a perfectly new soda tasting “flat”.  I wish I could say I knew that because of my immense chemistry background but in actuality I was told this by a soda manufacturer.  I used to be bothered by this flat taste when I started reviewing but I’ve come to appreciate the mouth feel of these drinks now.  They don’t attack your mouth and throat as much allowing you to focus on the beverage at hand instead of reacting to the initial buzz (haha, get it, buzz?) of the carbonation.  With all that said it’s time to put down a verdict.  I can honestly say that the ingredient list bumps this cola up a notch.  Would this by my drink of choice if I lived in Germany?  No, probably not.  Do I recommend you purchase this from overseas?  Nope.  If you live in Germany already but haven’t had the chance to try this should you?  Yes.  In fact…

Twist ist durstig

Jarritos Mexican Cola

   Jarritos does such a great job making sodas that we’ve reviewed every one of them so far… except Strawberry.  Our bottle of strawberry was lost to some goblins in a fan’s house.  One day… one day.  Any who, imagine my joy when a fan of ours, “AX2”, brought me a bottle of Jarritos Mexican Cola.  I wasn’t even aware Jarritos sold a cola in the United States so I had to research.  What I found was that Jarritos Mexican Cola had run an ad campaign with the sentence “It Crossed!” as the slogan.  I can only assume that this means it has only recently found a home here across the border.  Doesn’t matter though because I’m raring to try it! 

   After tracking down my bottle opener  for this twist proof cap I am welcomed by a robust soda aroma wafting from the lip of the bottle.  It’s a stronger cola smell than Coke produces so hopefully we’re looking at a strong contender in the best cola category.  Time for some drinkin’.

   Very nice!  Just the right amount of carbonation and a great cola taste.  It’s not as strong or acidic feeling on the throat as Coke is but Jarritos Mexican Cola definitely gets the point across.  There’s something a little different with the cola flavor in this soda than in others and I can’t quite put my finger on it.  It’s almost as if they put more syrup in it than you would think they would be able to.  This doesn’t weigh down the beverage, in fact it’s almost like they made the cola flavor more efficient.  I could find a mathematical formula to represent this but that would be boring and very inaccurate.  Oh heck here’s  one anyway:

   It’s almost as if they condensed the cola flavoring so that you get more than you would think per sip.  Like I said… I can’t put my finger on it.  Cinnamon maybe?  I dunno.  The big question is, “Is it better than Coke/Pepsi/RC?”  The answer is yes.  Jarritos of course uses sugar so that already gives it a leg up on the competition.  With that said, and sugar aside, the flavor/mouth feel from Jarritos Mexican Cola is better than that of the big boys.  I would choose this every time over “Red” or “Blue”.  If you can get some Jarritos Mexican Cola in your area do so, in fact…

~A

Twist needs a Mexican brother named Disparar for cases like this

HEB Original Cola

   What sits in front of me today is a marvel of the world, but then again I’m not that well traveled.  HEB Original Cola is the name of the game: a store brand cola.  If you haven’t guessed by now, HEB is a grocery store here in Texas.  As far as grocery store chains go… this one is definitely in my Top Three.  “Why is this HEB Original Cola a marvel?” you ask?  It’s made with pure cane sugar.  THANK YOU!  A store brand cola made with pure cane sugar!  HEB Original Cola also doesn’t have any sodium benzoate polluting it either!  The art on the outside of the can is retro and unlike anything you’d see branded by a grocery store.  With all that said this still needs to taste delicious.  So let us find out together. 

   The smell that comes from this cream colored can is definitely that of cola.  You could wave this in front of my nose and I’d probably guess it was a Coke or an RC Cola.  I’m not the best sniffer in the world, but the aroma seems to be a combination of the two.  Enough chatter, more drink!

   Very nice.  HEB Original Cola tastes like a Coke but without as much of the bite.  That’s not to say its’ bite isn’t noticeable, in fact it’s quite pleasant.  As much as I’d love to sing the praises of this cola’s amazing flavor, it’s going to be pretty hard to.  There is nothing in the flavor that sets it apart from Coke, Pepsi, or RC… but that is where it achieves victory.  This is a store brand cola sold at a lesser cost than the big three.  HEB Original Cola also has better ingredients than the big three colas.  You’re getting the flavor of cola you’re familiar with for a cheaper price and with better ingredients.  Give me a reason NOT to buy it.  Think of any movie where they need to recruit a warrior of some sort to help defeat an evil force.  Do they pick the biggest warrior with the shiniest red armor that will join you for a price?  Do they pick the flashy blue warrior with the newest gear that constantly tells you how he could beat up the red warrior at a moment’s notice?  No.  They pick that guy in the back of the bar.  Sure he gave up being a warrior a lifetime ago, but they appeal to his honor, his morals, and his values.  He reluctantly joins, and the audience is disappointed at first that this was the best the group could get.  As soon as the first battle starts you realize he’s not just some washed up warrior, he’s Hebor, King of All Warriors!  All he needed was for someone to give him a chance, to let him shine.  Give HEB Original Cola a chance to shine.  Pick it up one day instead of Coke or Pepsi, and see if you aren’t impressed.

~A

Twist enjoys the fact that the can has a picture of a bottle cap on it

Pig Iron Cola

   Today’s installment is Pig Iron Cola, another soda given to me by Dustin H.  Had you listed to Episode 6 of the Popcast, you'd already know this.  I really don’t know what to think about this beverage.   I can tell you that it’s produced under the authority of Pig Iron BBQ.  I can tell you that their website is www.PigIronBBQ.net.  I can also tell you that their logo is certainly unique.  Now that you have all the knowledge I do, it’s probably best we look a little closer.

   Looking at the ingredients I’m pleased to find that they use cane sugar to sweeten it.  While that’s pretty much the only ingredient that sets it apart from “standard” colas, I’m still happy to see it.  The coloring of the soda itself is a dark brown, with faint red highlights when held up to a light.  The bottle cap adorning the top is your standard black top.  I prefer designs on bottle caps; it makes them stand out more.  Some people collect them, and if yours is a standard color what sets you apart?  Pig Iron Cola could easily do this, if it fits into budget of course.  Maybe one of the stars that circle their pig mascot would work something simple.   Now that I’ve broken down the bottle, it’s time to drink.

   Before I go on I must say that this has a very strong cola scent, one of the most powerful I’ve ever inhaled.  My expectations have gone up considerably.  I would almost recommend this cola on smell alone, but let’s taste it just in case. 

   This is certainly a cola, and a good one at that.  Just so you know what to base its flavor on, I would say that it most resembles RC Cola.  While it does taste like RC, it’s most certainly a stronger version of it.  This is potentially one of the strongest colas I’ve ever tasted.  Personally I think it has a strong amount of carbonation, Mike does not agree.  The cola flavor sticks in your mouth too, but you won’t have a problem with that as it’s quite pleasant.  If you’re like me some sodas affect the way your teeth feel.  In this case my teeth grind together a bit more easily after drinking Pig Iron Cola, not something I’m fond of but it’s a small complaint.  This is still a solid cola in my opinion, very strong, very brash, but the cane sugar still delivers a crisp feel to it.  I would score this higher, but other than being strong it doesn’t stand out to me in any other way.  If they changed the bottle design some, maybe added more natural ingredients, then I could see buying a case.  I realize that this is probably the second thought of someone running a BBQ, but our grading scale eases up for no one.  Still, I know nothing about Pig Iron BBQ, but I would assume that if their cola is this good, their BBQ must be great!  If you happen to stop into Pig Iron BBQ, I might just have the drink to compliment your meal.

~A

Twist likes BBQ too... crickets mostly

Sjampie

   I asked a friend of mine who lives in the Netherlands to suggest a drink for me to review.  His response was the Dutch beverage Sjampie.  Fortunately he’s the kind of guy that will pick me up an extra bottle, and then take the effort to get it to me.  Thanks K!  Enough chatter, time to review me some Sjampie.

   Before I go any further I feel obligated to give you the correct pronunciation of Sjampie.  It’s pronounced  Shahmp-ee.  That’s not exactly how I would say it, mostly because Sh-jamp-ee is so much more fun to say.  Moving along.  The bottle art is quite plain; it has a few yellow/green bubbles adoring the top and bottom of the beverage, but nothing all that elaborate.  The name of the beverage, Sjampie, sits on the neck of the bottle, while Corvo (which I can only assume the manufacturer) rests on the base.  In-between the two brands read the words “Limonadegazeuse Sjampie”.  This, from my best guess, is the flavor I’m about to consume.  While I associate Limon with lemon/lime, the color of the soda is brown… which leaves me a bit perplexed. 

   Silly me, I tried to twist off a foreign cap forgetting they usually need a bottle opener, time to get my flip-flops. (My mom purchased me some flip-flops with a bottle opener on the bottom… she’s the best)  Wow… upon opening it I get the smell of egg-nog cola, with maybe with a just a hint of chocolate.  I know there is no possible way for that to be the flavor, but needless to say my curiosity keeps going up the longer I hold this bottle in my possession.  Let’s Drink.

   It has the essence of a cola, the bite, the color… but it also seems to have a citrus flavor hiding within.  This is remarkably hard to attach a flavor to it.  It’s almost like a lemon cola with something else going on inside of it.  There is very light carbonation, but that seems to work with Sjampie.  In fact the smell, taste, and light carbonation of Sjampie make it seem like a drink that would normally house alcohol.  The flavor is not overpowering, in fact it’s quite mellow; almost like a flat, slightly watered down RC cola with a handful of lemons dropped inside of it.  I will say that it leaves a film on my teeth, much like drinking a warm Coke would.  Ok… the word “Limonadegazeuse” on the side of the bottle is mocking me… therefore I must look up what it means.  **Time Passes** Oddly enough as one word I couldn’t find a translation, but when I separate them into “Limon” and “Gazeuse” I get Lemonade – Soda Water.  This is a very rough Dutch translation of course, but I’m happy that I was able to at least guess the flavor. 

Twist is 1/128th Dutch

Moxie

   Well here we are at review 100.  First off thanks for your readership as we moved from our humble beginnings on livejournal, to the multi-million dollar corporation we are today.  Oh wait… we haven’t made a dime, but we’re millionaires at heart.  Today’s beverage was the most suggested beverage when we asked our readers what the 100th review should be… Moxie.  If you listened to the Popcast you'd know that.

   Moxie is one of the oldest sodas out there, some say THE oldest.  Really it’s very close between Moxie, Vernor’s Ginger Soda, and Hire’s Root Beer.  Looking upon the label I can tell you right away that this is no longer the original formula.  Replaced with chemicals I assume, with one exception that reads “Gentian Root Extractives”.  I’m pretty sure that one ingredient is going to give off a very unique flavor.  Before I go any further I just want to mention how much I enjoy the label art of Moxie.  The label is a man in a business suit pointing at you… it’s amazing.

   Upon opening up the bottle, with a rather bland cap I might add, it smells like it’s going to be one of the most awesome, unique root beers you’ve ever had.  I would even go so far as to say that it smells like a root beer/cola mix.  Let’s drink.

   The initial taste of moxie is great!  It has that root beer cola flavor you thought you would taste after smelling it.  It’s cool, refreshing, unique… something you could really see yourself buying from here on out.  “To Hell with Coke!” you’d say “I’m a Moxie Man now!”  Then something would go wrong in your mouth.  That sweet root beer/cola taste would fade away as the Moxie started its journey down your gullet.  What was once good, would now be replaced with evil.  The taste of pennies, dirt, and un-sweetened envelope glue now dance upon your tongue.  Your first reaction is to drink some more.  “This can’t be the aftertaste,” you’d say, “More Moxie should fix this right up.”  It won’t.  Sure, as long as the liquid stays in your mouth you avoid the horrible aftertaste, but who’s going to walk around with Moxie constantly swishing around their teeth.  While I don’t agree with pouring sodas over ice, this (ironically our 100th review) is a soda which must be.  Fortunately, pouring Moxie over ice cuts the horrible after taste in half.  It’s like watching your favorite sports team do really well against someone they weren’t supposed to beat, only in the 2nd half to have your entire team break their legs.  This is such a historic drink, with such a unique flavor that I have to recommend you try it.  So there you have it, one of the oldest sodas available, and our 100th review.  The next milestone is probably 250, so be patient, and keep reading.  Thanks!

 ~A 

Thank goodness Twist's taste buds aren't real

Oogave Esteban's Cola

   I’m very excited to try this next soda, Esteban’s Cola by Oogave.Before I begin, here’s a little history on the naming of Esteban’s Cola straight from the maker himself.

“We did the sodas in our restaurant for about four months before someone came up and said "you need a name." Funny, it never occurred to us to name it. And we decided to name the rootbeer after me with a Spanish flare because of how difficult the rootbeer was to achieve. The citrus flavors.......pretty much made themselves, but when you get into savory flavors like rootbeer and cola, you are taking on a whole world of possibilities. Incidentally, the only reason the cola has my name is because "Cola" is so short a word it looked strange on the packaging.”

   There, don’t you feel smarter?By the way Oogave soda is also USDA Organic, and Kosher... I think that’s pretty much everything that we may have previously missed on the label.Bonus information, the caffeine used in Esteban’s Cola is from green tea leaves... ok less typing, more drinking.

   Here goes.First off it has a good cola smell. I know that probably sounds weird, but smell is a big part of your taste.Now I sound like a 2nd grade Science teacher.The first thing I notice is how smooth this cola is.There’s not a lot of carbonation, so it’s not really fizzy.I can’t really compare it to another well known cola, which is good on their part.Since you’re forcing my hand to compare it to something I’ve had before, it would have to be Health Cola.Stop wincing at the name Health Cola btw, if you read that review you’ll know it scored well.While Health Cola was also low on the carbonation scale, it tasted a bit flat.This does not.Just because something doesn’t have carbonation doesn’t make it “taste flat”.This cola tastes very fresh actually, and every time I drink it I taste the slightest bit of cherry.Now there are no cherries to be seen in this beverage, I’m just saying what I’m taste.

   Not that you really wanted to know this, but Esteban’s Cola produces very clean burps.No “wow that root beer tasted better the first time” moments to be had.While I haven’t had all of the Oogave products yet, this is my favorite to date.If I had to improve it in some magical way, I would add a little more carbonation.I like my drinks a little fizzier... fizzyer....fizzier?Anywho, if you see Esteban’s Cola just buy it.

~A

Doesn't Twist look dapper in his black hat off to the side?