Another Time Soda Fountain - Cherry Vanilla Dr Pepper

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I asked my waiter at Another Time Soda Fountain to recommend something to me for review.  “Cherry Vanilla Dr Pepper” was his response.  When I asked what made their Cherry Vanilla Dr Pepper different he said that they make it the old fashioned way by combining Dr Pepper, Cherry, and Vanilla syrups then carbonating them.  Judging by the color of what he delivered this truly is something different.

Not a lot of aroma comes off the top of the glass, but I still can’t take my eyes off of the auburn coloring of the soda.  I know what’s in this.  Cherry Vanilla Dr Pepper is a known quantity in my mind, but it never looked like this.  I’m sure the camera on my phone didn’t do it justice… just trust me.  Yeah, nothing could go wrong with just trusting me.

Son of a gun that’s a great blend.  All three flavors race towards my tongue and end up in an all out brawl.  From this chaos “Cherry” is the clear winner as he triumphantly stands atop his two battered foes.  Dr Pepper, a very rich version of the drink most are familiar with, is the first to stumble to his knees pushing Vanilla’s face into the dirt as he attempts to stand.

Vanilla is alive.  Vanilla is awake.  Vanilla doesn’t want to get up though.  Even though he’s still on the ground after the brawl you still can’t take your eyes off of him.  Just picture three men in front of you, two standing and one flat on his face.  Which one is going to pull your attention?

Vanilla ultimately lost the fight, but the bruises and marks he left are still apparent on his opponents bodies.  Each sip includes vanilla to the point where it almost seems as if this drink were a float instead of an ice creamless soda.  

The syrup hugs my teeth in delicious fashion, but still pushes me to go brush.  Did I bring gum?  I really hope I brought gum.

Today I was introduced to the way Dr Pepper could really taste if put in the correct hands.  Don’t get me wrong, like most any Texan I like Dr Pepper, but when it’s created in the manner listed above you end up with a bigger, stronger animal.

Another Time Soda Fountain’s Cherry Vanilla Dr Pepper is a better version of whatever you imagine it to be.  

~A

This was purchased at Another Time Soda Fountain in Rosenberg, TX  

Another Time Soda Fountain - Lime Phosphate

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Ok, now that I’ve had my first phosphate (cherry) I feel much better using The Soda Jerk moniker.  The next drink I’ll try from Another Time Soda Fountain will be their Lime Phosphate… mostly because I just like lime flavored things.  Where I think handmade cherry sodas are good, I think the potential for handmade lime soda is through the roof.

Oh MAN is that green!  The only thing greener is the face of the patron next to me… because it’s green with envy.  Ok, I lied.  No one is sitting next to me, but if they were I’m sure my statement would ring true.

The scent is strong enough to know that this will taste like lime candy and I’m 100% ok with that.  I probably look like a nut smelling all of the drinks that are brought to me.  Then again I’m also the only person in here on any piece of technology and no one other than my waiter has paid me any mind.  He’s a pretty great waiter by the way, very attentive.  I wish I was better with names so I could remember it.

Wow, that’s a much more violent flavor than the cherry.  I’d rather be dead than red.  I want to be seen in green!  This is straight up carbonated lime candy and I’m happy to say the flavor is strong enough to make my throat feel a little scratchy, which is just the right amount of power to give a soda.  Carbonation levels are perfect, making each sip an absolute joy to take part in.  With each sip the soda overtakes my taste buds more and more to where all I can taste is lime between sips.  

I can’t really call it an aftertaste as it now permeates my being.  It is an all-taste as it’s has bonded with me forever due to its strength.  Thankfull the all-taste has the exact same flavor as the soda.  I want to drink more of this, but I know if I did I’d be too full to write anymore reviews here and I’d like to write at least one more.  

This lime phosphate is so much better than the cherry that I’m questioning if I liked the cherry as much as I said I did.  It’s colorful, powerful, flavorful.  That’s three things it’s “ful” of and consuming it in this environment only makes it taste all the better.

~A

This was purchased at Another Time Soda Fountain in Rosenberg, TX

Another Time Soda Fountain - Cherry Phosphate

/ Another Time Soda Fountain/

I walked into Another Time Soda Fountain in Rosenberg, TX when they opened today at 11:00.  I was the only person in here for about 10 minutes.  Now 30 minutes later it’s filling up quickly with folks of all ages.  

My view

 I’m “on assignment” for two reasons.  Reason number one is that I now have a laptop (chromebook to be correct) and I’m now able to write on the road.  Reason number two is that ever since I heard of Another Time Soda Fountain I wanted to review their sodas but was unable to due to not having the resources in the first reason.

As soon as I entered I must say I was impressed by the decor.  It really does have an old fashioned sense to it, but not so old fashioned that everyone wouldn’t feel welcome.  It’s a very positive environment and the customers that entered after me seemed to all be having a good time.  It’s like they all left their bad moods (if they even had one) at the door before coming to eat.  

I’m sure that all sounds rather sappy, but it truly is a remarkable place.  I never told them what I am doing there and so far no one has asked.  They just make sure I’m comfortable every so often and well taken care of.

That said, let me move on to business.

I came here to have a Cherry Phosphate made by an actual Soda Jerk.  It’s one of the oldest soda recipes still used today and I sadly haven’t had one.

Thankfully it was brought to me in a clear glass so I can see the vibrant red coloring.  The crimson straw that I’ve accessorized with is the only thing that challenges this soda’s plumage.  

So many straws to choose from!

It has the slight scent of maraschino cherries, but ultimately is less powerful in aroma than I thought it would be.  Part of me just thinks this is going to taste like any other cherry soda, hopefully I’m incorrect in my presumption.

Interestingly enough it doesn’t completely mimic a commercial taste.  The cherry is somewhat muted, but still rich enough to deliver the most important of messages loud and clear.  Carbonation is lighter than I thought it would be, never having a phosphate before.  As far as the mouthfeel goes it seems a bit more syrupy than your standard can of soda.  This is because they primarily deal in syrups here when creating their sodas.   

Right outside

This extra syrup feeling causes the aftertaste to primarily come from what has attached to my mouth during this consumption process.  I’m not sure why I said “consumption process” instead of drinking, but there’s something about this atmosphere that wants to romanticize the experience.  Oooh, I bet they make a good grilled cheese.  

Anywho, Cherry Phosphates aren’t as significantly different as I thought they would be.  It’s tastes like you would think a homemade cherry soda would taste like, simple but good.  This is a pretty decent start to my first foray into phosphates, but I have a feeling the lime phosphate I’m going to try next will be even better.

~A

This was purchased at Another Time Soda Fountain in Rosenberg, TX

 

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Howdy Cherry Jubilee

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I really wish there were more flavors of Howdy soda.  It’s such a friendly word that means so very much to me.  Well today’s version of Howdy sounds even friendlier because it’s flavor is Cherry Jubilee.  How positive of a name is that?!  Howdy Cherry Jubilee.  Can you say that and be angry?  The answer is no, no you can’t.

I really need a travel Twist. Any ideas?

Howdy Cherry Jubilee is a bright red soda with a mauve and pink label.  The colors used here dance well together and are really enticing to the eye.  As well as being attractive Howdy Cherry Jubilee is sweetened with cane sugar and includes a small handful of natural and artificial ingredients to make up the rest.

Wow, that smells like cherries grenadine.  Quite the powerful scent at that, it invites quick consumption with its aroma.  Who am I to turn down such a polite invitation?

Wow, it tastes like liquid maraschino cherries.  At least with the first few sips the mouthfeel is relatively clean and doesn’t have a syrupy taste at all.  Howdy Cherry Jubilee is a very sweet soda, but does a great job at walking on the correct side of the “too sweet” line.  The carbonation gives a nice quick burn with each sip adding another layer of enjoyment.

About halfway down the bottle I’m still enjoying it and all of the initial experiences are holding true.  Sometimes you want a soda’s drinking experience to alter a little so it doesn’t build on itself.  In the case of Howdy Cherry Jubilee the flavor doesn’t stack so the consistency is wanted.

As I do in many of my reviews I’m going to go ahead and suggest you drink this one for dessert.  This is a fantastic soda and one I would recommend to most anyone out there.  Perhaps the best cherry soda I’ve had to date... at the very least it’s a top three.  The cherry flavor is candied as stated before, but if you’re not looking for a genuine cherry taste you should have no issue.  

Even if you don’t find any of my writings to be convincing, how can you resist buying a bottle of something named Howdy Cherry Jubilee?

~A

I bought this at an HEB grocery store

Jones Berry Lemonade

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I like Jones Soda, they’re good people.  My step-sister was at a wedding expo and there was a Jones Soda booth.  Being of sound mind and body they went to try some soda samples.  Since my step-sister is a wonderful person she began bragging on the website, the very one you’re reading now.  Well the Jones Soda rep knew about it already, because everyone in this story is awesome, and she gave my step-sister some sodas for me to review.  One of them has a label and it’s label says Jones Berry Lemonade Soda.  The other two are naked so figuring them out might be a bit of a challenge.  

Thankfully, today’s review is the clearly marked Jones Berry Lemonade… so let’s get on with that.

Twist was absent the day this picture was taken.

Well for one thing it’s blue.  It’s so very blue.  If anti-freeze was blue it’d look like this.  Secondly, Jones uses can sugar in their sweetening.  I’m expecting a very fruity, very sugary, very flavorful beverage.  Let’s see if I’m right.

This blue, blue soda smells a bit like cotton candy.  The scent is heavily laced with sugar, so much so that I’m a little worried this might be too sweet.  Of course “too sweet” is a subjective term so take it for what you will.

This just in!  Jones Berry Lemonade Soda is NOT too sweet, I repeat it is NOT too sweet.  In fact it’s got a pretty good level of sugar.  It’s almost like they make sodas for a living.  As far as the taste goes I’m quite happy with it.  The lemonade shines through almost as vibrantly as the blue color.  This thing is so blue anyone who walks past me gets sad and starts playing harmonica.  Anywho, the lemonade is a great partner to the “berry” flavor.  It’s almost like a defibrillator is being used on my tongue.  

The closest real world item I can compare this to is liquid blue SweetTarts.  It’s not raspberry flavor per say, but the taste is close enough that I feel comfortable comparing the two.  All in all this is a really fun soda to drink.  It’s got a really exciting and fun taste that differentiates well from other berry or lemon based sodas.  It’s not the most refreshing soda out there, but I’d put this in the “dessert soda” category so I’m not all that concerned with refreshment.

So there you have it.  Jones Berry Lemonade soda is definitely worth picking up.  It’s got a great mouth feel, flavor, and experience.  It’s a little syrupy towards the end, but nothing that should scare you away.

~A

A nice lady at a wedding expo gave this to my step-sister who in turn gave this to me

Sipp Mojo Berry

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Any soda that has a “Superior Organic Soda” sticker on it starts off on the right proverbial foot.  Any soda who’s “Superior Organic Soda” sticker matches the color of the soda… well you’re just making art at that point.

Hello darkness my old friend. Forgot to set the exposure again.

Today’s entry is Sipp Mojo Berry.  Sipp is USDA Certified Organic soda.  Mojo Berry is apparently a mixture of blackberry, mint and lime.  Here’s the part of the review where I sometimes look at a label and hope I don’t see the words “Natural Flavors”.  *Turns the bottle around*  Here’s what’s in the bottle: Carbonated Water, Organic Agave Nectar, Organic Natural Blackberry, Organic Natural Color, Citric Acid, Organic Natural Lime, Organic Natural Spearmint, Natural Blackberry Flavor.

HOORAY!  I literally know everything put into this soda.  Organic Natural Color is a little weird, but I can live with it.  So far Sipp Mojo Berry is on the right track although I’m a bit concerned with spearmint being an ingredient.  My soda history with spearmint is a shaky one at best so I have my doubts.

Blackberry is the prevailing aroma and it smells just like the real deal.  I’m hoping my brain hasn’t set Sipp on a pedestal it couldn’t possibly reach.  The ingredients are great, the bottle/label is great, the aroma is great… they’re either about to knock it out of the park or disappoint me.

This tastes like a fancy soda.  Of course I should have guessed that with a name like “Sipp”, but after tasting my first “Sipp” I have confirmed it.  All three of the listed flavors are accounted for.  Blackberry, being the strongest, has bullied his way to the front of the line.  He waves at me in a cool fashion and steps to the side to reveal Mint and then Lime.  

Mint and Lime are buddies.  They tried to fight Blackberry one day, but it didn’t work out well for them.  He blackened both of their eyes and chipped a couple of their teeth.  They’re so beat up that people confuse them for one another when there together.

Aside from all this the soda is really light.  Bubbles within the bottle are tiny and powerful, creating a good experience all around in terms of feel.  

I want to like this soda a lot, I really do.  Perhaps I’ve been “spoiled” with all of the sweet nonsense over the years.  Sipp Mojo Berry does some really good things, but that mint/lime combination creates a bitter taste that my pallet just doesn’t find that appealing.  Sure they could load it up with sugar and probably mute it a bit.  Something tells me that would go against everything they’ve done in creating this beverage.

In theory Sipp Mojo Berry is great.  Personally though, it’s not my style as I believe it could be improved with a little additional agave.  Ah well, that’s why I deliver opinions and not facts.  Fact driven reviews would be so boring.  Bah!

~A

I purchased this at a HEB grocery store

Sprite LeBron’s Mix

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There are two entities on this earth I trust to make a delicious special edition soda, the video game industry and basketball players.  Fortunately today’s entry is from the latter.  Sprite LeBron’s Mix is basketball’s own LeBron James’ own personal mix of Sprite.  I didn’t catch any commercials for this, but I picture him in a lab coat with goggles holding test tubes or something at the Sprite laboratories.  

Twist also took his talents to Miami before returning home. He was arrested.

All of that potentially imagined lab work resulted in a “Lemon-Lime Soda” that is “Natural cherry and orange flavored with other natural flavors”.  The word natural is so nice they worked it in twice.  Let’s see what else is in the bottle.  Carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, citric acid, sodium citrate, and a dash of sodium benzoate for luck.  Man, LeBron really knows his stuff.  If only Hotlips or Swamp Pop had gotten a hold of his soda making prowess.  Enough chit chat, time for reviewing.

Immediately this smells better than regular Sprite.  The orange aroma jumps out immediately and attacks the ol’ olfactory gland.   I’m having a harder time finding the cherry.  Hey!  You in the back with the sophomoric mind.  Quit snickering.  Anywho, I’m having a harder time finding the cherry, but hopefully it’ll be there in taste.  Let’s find out.

Oddly enough I taste more of the cherry than I do the orange.  Both of these tastes, as natural as they may be, seem artificial to me though.  That’s not to say this isn’t good.  Sprite LeBron’s Mix is better than original Sprite yet worse than Sprite Remix.  Of course there are a lot of sodas worse than Sprite Remix.  The guy that gave this to me said he felt it tasted like Surge cut with Sprite.  I can definitely see where he came to that conclusion, but I’d need to taste more orange to completely agree.  

The carbonation level seems to be on par with Sprite, perhaps a little too carbonated.  The syrupy mouthfeel of Sprite is lessened to some degree, which is nice.  All in all though this tastes like cherry Sprite with some orange and smells like orange sprite with some cherry.  The more I drink it though the less natural it tastes so I’m going to stop now.

~A

This soda was given to me by Wrastlin’ Jakito

Boots Beverages Dewberry Soda

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I tell people that my favorite dessert is blackberry cobbler with ice cream.  That’s a lie.  My favorite dessert is dewberry cobbler with ice cream.  I say blackberry because most people don’t know what a dewberry is.  They taste very similar to blackberries.  So much so that I probably couldn’t tell the difference if they were baked in a cobbler.  

Twist thought it was Boo Berry Soda. DIBS ON THE IDEA!

The reason I prefer dewberries is a sentimental one.  My family used to pick dewberries on the side of the road on occasion.  It was a very rare occasion, but it occurred at least three times in my life.  I’m pretty sure they were wild dewberries on no one in particular’s land, but we picked them just the same.  

So it made me especially happy to see a dewberry soda and then thrilled me even more to find it was made by Boots Beverages.  I’ve never even heard of Boots Beverages, but they hail from my home state of Texas, Bellville Texas to be exact.  The label is adorned with the face of a kid known as “Mark Kristen”.  There’s a story along with his name that I’ll relay to you now:

“Mark was 5 when sorting returned bottles… barefooted of course.  At 7, he ventured a tad from the family soda business.  He picked dewberries along the Santa Fe tracks and sold them on Hwy 36.  He gave his first $14 profit to Deedie so she could buy a poodle puppy.  Deedie later sold Mark her interest in KDC.  Mark suggests you be real sweet to your mother.”

Well that was fun.  I hope every Boots Beverages has a story.  I also hope these are delicious sodas because I want to like them so very much based on character alone.  They’re sweetened with sugar so it’s already off to a good start.

A powerful aroma easily glides its way out of the mouth of the bottle.  It’s a candy like dewberry scent, so I doubt we’re going for realism here.  That’s fine.  If you can make a delicious soda I don’t really care how you do it.

It’s sweet and a little tart.  The candy scent I took in translated almost exactly as a taste.  It’s very much dewberry with plenty of sugar.  Carbonation wise it holds small amounts of tightly packed bubbles.  They’re fierce when you feel them, but they back off fairly quickly.

I like the flavor quite a bit, but I really wish the tart sting of a dewberry had more of a presence.  That’s what I don’t really understand about raspberry, blackberry, and dewberry flavored drinks.  So often they have the sweet side taken care of, but they rarely hold the bite that keeps me coming back.

This is just fine though.  Perhaps since they removed the tart, like so many upstanding saloons before, they could add some cream.  Dewberry Cream Soda would be pretty dang good.  I’m not drinking that though.  I’m drinking a pretty good dewberry soda that relies a bit too heavily on the sugar.  Still a fun company though.

~A

This soda was purchased at an HEB grocery store.

Minta Strawberry

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So earlier in the week I had a mint soda called Minta.  I was not kind to Minta, but I still wanted to give their strawberry variation a try.  Here are the ingredients to Minta Strawberry:  Carbonated water, natural sugar, natural flavors (gah, vague) citric acid, fruit and vegetable juice for color.  So it’s the same ingredients as before, but now with vegetable juice for color!  I’m sure the “natural flavors” were altered as well because they had to add the strawberry in somewhere.  “Natural flavors”... JUST TELL US WHAT THEY ARE IF YOU’RE SO PROUD OF IT!  

Remember when sodium benzoate was my rant?  “Natural flavors” is the new hotness.  “New hotness” is passe.  Anywho, let’s open this thing up.

So the scent is strawberry mint.  That makes me feel a little better about what I’m about to taste.  I mean it doesn’t smell as minty awful as the original flavor, so it can only be better.  Right?

Twist is crying crocodile tears... due to a transplant.

Slightly!  The powerful mint taste is still there, but thankfully strawberry has wrestled him to the ground.  Well, as much as you could wrestle an 800 pound gorilla to the ground.  Mint is still the dominate flavor, but you can clearly see strawberry hanging on as mint tries to throw him off.  Much to mint’s chagrin, strawberry keeps holding on and you keep getting glimpses of him as he’s twirled about.  

The carbonation levels work pretty well with the taste, but it’s still not enough to sell me on it.  Ultimately the mint flavor ruins the beverage for me.  I expected the strawberry to be light, but I wanted it to have a fighting chance.  To be fair though it’s Minta Strawberry, not Strawberria Mint.  

So here I sit with a half can of Minta Strawberry in front me.  I don’t really want to finish it, but I could if I had too.  Sure it tastes better than Minta, but I’m not sure it tastes so much better the rank will be any higher.  I guess I’m just not cut out to enjoy mint sodas for the time being...unless it was chocolate and mint.

~A

This soda was purchased at Sprouts using donations from readers like YOU!

Fluids Soda Co. Radiant Red

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Wanna play guess the flavor?  In front of me I have a bottle of red soda with a red bottle cap.  The brand is one I’ve never heard of; it’s called Fluids Soda Co.  Now the listed flavor is Radiant Red so you’d assume what “Radiant Red” would taste like should be somewhere on the label… nope.  Instead of a picture of cherries, strawberries, watermelon, or blood orange I get a picture of a transmission sitting in front of some checkered flags.  

"Twist" "hates" "it"

The label makes sure I know that it’s sweetened with “Pure Cane Sugar”, but as far as I know this is a transmission flavored soda that’s “Made in the USA”.  Perhaps it’s a generic “Red” soda.  Perhaps I’ll use “quotes” nine or “ten” more times while writing this review.  Either way I’m tired of this mystery.  Let’s see if my taste buds can become taste “detectives”.

Well the scent doesn’t help me at all.  I guess it’s cherry or strawberry… I think… possibly.  It’s such a faint aroma I honestly can’t tell.  Methinks the taste might not be as vague.

What in the world is this?  Ever find yourself melting down cherry cough drops and then adding equal parts carbonated water?  You do?  Well fantastic, you don’t have to do that anymore because Fluids Radiant Red exists on the market.

I don’t know if this is the worst “fruit” soda I’ve ever had, but the thought has crossed my mind enough that it needed to be typed.  Really the only redeeming value it has is that I’m not gagging on it and the carbonation levels are nice.  Other than that I’d stay far away from this.

So there you have it.  Fluids Soda Co. Radiant Red is terrible and I’m going to stop drinking it now.

~A

I bought this at a Shell Gas Station in Houston

Bundaberg Lemon Lime & Bitters

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Wow, my posting schedule isn’t very consistent at the moment is it?  Perhaps I need some bitters to get me back to being healthy in my writing.  Thankfully I used the term “bitters” to seamlessly transition to the name of the soda I’m reviewing today.  Bundaberg Lemon Lime & Bitters is what’s in the fancy green bottle in front of me and I’m looking forward to kicking off (13 days late) 2015 with this review.  

Twist is bitter about bitters

Bundaberge Lemon Lime Bitters is a collection of cane sugar, spices, lemon juice, lime juice, and a few other ingredients not excluding some bitters.  In fact the front of the label says it’s made with aromatic bitters...which we all know are the best kind for soda.  Of course, we know that.  Now we should all nod knowingly at one another to confirm that we know that.  After a quick pause in this knowledge we’ll continue the review.

So, scary thing.  When I opened this bottle it didn’t fizz at all yet the first ingredient is carbonated water.  The aroma that flows out is that of lemon lime with a definite backer of unidentified spices.  I’d be excited to move forward with this review, but part of me thinks the soda is flat and I’m not sure I want my first review of 2015 to be a dud.  Sigh, oh well.

Good news everyone, this soda isn’t flat.  It’s a very small, neat fizz, but it’s definitely there.  The carbonation seems to add just enough texture that each sip is fun to experience.  Thankfully the lemon lime flavor is present as well.  That last sentence understated the lemon lime flavor quite a bit so let me try again.

I’ve had a lot of sodas and lemon lime is usually one of the more boring ones to review.  Bundaberg Lemon Lime & Bitters doesn’t fall into the boring category as it is a top 3 all time lemon lime soda.  It’s incredibly easy to discern the lemon flavor from the lime.  Normally when these two brothers are together people just assume they’re conjoined twins and call them lymon.  Not in this bottle they aren’t.

Lemon and Lime each have their own distinct flavor and it harmonizes well.  Each burst of citrus I’ve consumed is wrapped up in the bitters that Bundaberg has added.  Of course this does make the drink lean toward bitter a tad, but the 40g of sugar offset that quite nicely.  Instead of focusing on the bitter aspect of it I find myself trying to pick out all the spices used in the creation of this soda.

The spice aspect is something I haven’t experienced with a lemon lime soda before.  Well, perhaps I have but I just can’t remember it at the moment.  Either way it adds another level to an already good soda.  You have lemon, lime, and then a full cast of supporting characters that make the play even better.  Sure if only one of them were on stage you’d question the director, but the way they work together is wonderful.

The only weakness I can identify is the way it feels after I take a sip.  I would think a beverage like this would have a drier mouth feel, but it’s not.  Instead each sip ends with a bit of a syrupy feel (not too heavy though) that scuffs the overall experience.

With all that said, Bundaberg Lemon Lime & Bitters is a fantastic soda that I would recommend anyone try.  For those that like lemon lime, or fancy sodas, or spiced sodas, or citrus sodas in general… this one is for you.

~A

This soda was purchased at World Market

Quinabeer

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George Prince flexes his impressive biceps on a can of Quinabeer.  I don’t know who George Prince is though.  My brief search led me to more picture of the young Prince George than I cared to look at.  Quinabeer is made by Cawy and other than having a “body builder” on it’s label it resides in a red can.  Now Coca Cola has done a pretty fantastic job of making me associate red and white cans with Coke, so I immediately assume that Quinabeer is a sort of cola.  It probably isn’t, but that’s what 32 years of marketing has done to my brain.  Let’s find out what it really tastes like, together.  Except for those of you who already know.  You be quiet.

George Prince once claimed a victory over Twist. Perhaps this is why you've never heard of him.

Well this smells like orange soda.  I no longer have any clue regarding Quinabeer.  The scent did make me salivate though, so good on them.

If Big Red had orange flavoring it would taste like this.  A coupling of orange and bubble gum, Quinabeer is truly unlike anything I’ve tried to date and that’s getting harder and harder to do.   Both of these flavors have equal billing in the program and neither outshines the other.  This balance is met with a rather raucous carbonation that sizzles at the end of each sip.  I’m usually not a fan of bubble gum flavored sodas, but the citrus cuts into it enough that I can forgive it.

Now for the bad.  Quinabeer leaves a very syrupy feel in my mouth.  Its flavor just kind of hangs about like a kid who graduated still lurking around his high school.  Sure, maybe he was a great guy when he was a senior, but now it’s just kind of creepy and you wish he’d go away.

Creepy guy aside, Quinabeer does have a combination like I’ve never seen but the flavors involved are just alright.  I’m not going to tell my friends that I tried Quinabeer.  Don’t get me wrong, I consider all of you my friends… but you understand… right?  The fact that the entire time I typed this paragraph my mouth was occupied by the syrupy ghost of George Prince has me questioning my initial ranking.  Ah well, better luck next time.

~A

This soda was purchased at World Market


Blue Plate Special Blackberry Cobbler Soda

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Blackberry Cobbler is my favorite dessert of all time if it’s accompanied by a scoop of Blue Bell Homemade vanilla ice cream.  Here’s where my Texan shows as I made sure to include the brand of ice cream.  So I’m a bit worried to try this blackberry cobbler soda by Blue Plate Special because I know it won’t spark my taste buds like my favorite dessert.  Let’s just get this over with, shall we?

Fool Twist once shame on you.  Fool Twist twice shame on you.

Ok, so the aroma is very blackberry heavy, but also has a candy finish to it as well.  As far as fruit flavored sodas go that’s about par for the course.  It smells like the candy version of the fruit on the label.  Since soda is liquid candy the logic is solid.  

Hey, guess what everyone!  It doesn’t taste as good as my favorite dessert!  The blackberry taste is sadly much more sweet than I’d like it to be and my taste buds can’t even chase down the taste of crust.  So what I have here is an overly sugary black berry soda.  Is it good?  Yeah, it’s alright.  

Even though it’s sweetened with cane sugar the soda still holds tightly to my teeth and tongue after each sip.  It’s not really syrupy, but I could do without the aftertaste as it’s just more of the same saccharin flavor.  

Carbonation wise it works rather well with it’s small clusters of powerful fizz.  If only the taste was more than average and actually tasted like black berry cobbler.  What annoys me the most is that I know they can do it.  Blue Plate Special makes the most accurate Red Velvet Cake item outside of Red Velvet Cake.  Why does blackberry cobbler have to suffer.

I’m going to stop now before I get too harsh with the review.  The bottom line is that this is an alright soda that doesn’t deliver on what the label promises.

~A

This soda was purchased at World Market

Cawy Lemon Lime

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Welcome to “Plain-cans-ville”.  This can of Cawy Lemon Lime, much like it’s Watermelon soda, looks like something you’d see in a sitcom vending machine.  It’s made by Cawy and the flavor is lemon lime.  That’s all the label wants you to know.  Oh, and there’s some snowflakes of some sort as well… perhaps they’re stars.  Who knows?  

If I judged books by their covers I’d say this is going to be insanely generic although I’m happy to see the ingredients include extract of lemon and lime oils.  Perhaps this one ingredient will push this from generic to recomendable.  That’s quite the important leap in rating.  Let’s find out together shall we, as we always do… because we’re a team you and I.

A stronger than expected lemon lime scent (heavier on the lemon) pops out of the mouth of the can.  Aside from being strong the aroma itself is nothing special.  I’m ok with “regular aromas” though because they’re more likely to lead to average or good drinks than they are bad.  Either my expectations will be met or they’ll be exceeded.  C’mon, buddy.  Let’s you and me find out together.  Team us!

You're a syrupy aftertaste!  No, you are!

Two things.  Thing one is the fact that this is more lime based in terms of flavor than it is lemon.  Does that make it a Lime Lemon drink?  Thing two is the fact that there’s something off about the taste of this, but i can’t put my finger on it.  Perhaps “Thing two” will go away the more I consume as my palette gets used to the flavor.  

Cawy Lemon Lime does have a decent amount of flavor to it.  Thankfully this flavor is pretty good and in my opinion better than Sprite, but not quite as good as 7Up if we’re going to compare.  The lime taste I’m getting is fairly sweet and candy like while the lemon seems to be on par with other limon sodas.

As I hoped “Thing two” is pretty much fading away although I think I figured it out.  Some drinks have syrupy aftertastes that linger after each sip.  Cawy Lemon Lime gives you this experience right off the bat.  The first thing I taste is that syrupy aftertaste and it lingers throughout the entire duration of my sip.  On the plus side the more I drink the less I notice it as it builds upon itself to the point where everything tastes kind of syrupy candy limey.  That’s the kind of review you get here folks.  What does Cawy Lemon Lime taste like?  Well it’s kind of syrupy candy limey.  Good night, everybody!

~A

This soda was purchased at World Market

Jones Peanut Butter and Jelly Soda

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It’s been a while since I’ve reviewed a Jones soda.  Probably because I don’t run across them in the wild as often as I once did.  So a smile hit my face when I stumbled upon a bottle of Jones Peanut Butter and Jelly Soda which will from here on out be called JPBJS.  

I’ve had a PB&J soda before by Lester’s Fixins, so this isn’t my first foray into the world of sandwich sodas.  My bottle of JPBSJ has a picture of a man who has taken several bites out of his PB&J sandwich.  The look on his face is so full of contentment and joy that he now makes me want to stop this review and eat a PB&J sandwich.  If PB&J were a brand this man would be the best advertising icon of the 21st century.  Man, that looks good!

Hopefully the flavor of the soda will bring the same expression to my face.  The fact that it’s sweetened with cane sugar is a good start.  Let’s see if the taste is a good finish.

Twist is so happy he's a vibrant green.

The scent of JPBJS is one of the most bizarre things I’ve come across.  It smells like two separate scents from two separate items.  The grape is very “grape soda” smelling and not so much jelly.  Standing right beside this grape scent is that of a very dense peanut butter.  It’s quite odd how these two aromas are so distinct coming out of this bottle.  This gives me hope for the taste.

That’s pretty dang accurate.  I may not be making the face of the greatest advertising icon of the 21st century, but the expression I am making is one of quiet respect.  An initial burst of mild grape soda, which would honestly be quite good on its own, starts the show.  A moment later the peanut butter catches up and completes the C-C-C-Combo.  This combination of flavors works seamlessly together as they would in the food dimension.  Even though I’m sure at least a portion of this taste was created chemically (the soda contains no peanuts) my brain doesn’t have the constant thought of “fake flavor” running through it with each sip.

As you read prior, I’ve only had two PB&J sodas so far on my infinite soda journey.  So I can without a doubt say that Jones Peanut Butter and Jelly Soda is the best PB&J soda I’ve ever had to date.  There you go PR people.  There’s the quote you can use, slightly edited, for the cover of your magazines.

“Jones Peanut Butter and Jelly Soda is the Best PB&J soda I’ve ever had…” - Aaron of The Soda Jerks

Seriously though, it’s a great soda and it’s to its credit that even though it’s an odd flavor I could still see myself drinking this on the regular.  Perhaps you should too.

~A

This soda was purchased at World Market

Boylan Orange

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Good ol’ reliable Boylan Bottling Co.  Some of the first sodas we reviewed on this site were Boylan, but then I stopped.  I stopped because I knew Boylan would always be there for me if I needed to review something good, but couldn’t find anything odd.  It’s the same reason I don’t do a lot of Jones Soda either.  I think over the past 5 years I’ve reviewed most every Boylan though.  I’m sure there’s a few I’ve yet to conquer, but my love of Boylan has been a slow burn.  That fuse has finally led me to Boylan Orange.  

Wanna know what’s in Boylan Orange?  Me too.  Carbonated Water, cane sugar, mandarin and tangerine oils, natural orange flavors, citric acid, ester gum, yellow 6, and sodium benzoate.  Aside from those last two ingredients, that’s a respectable cast of characters for the Boylan Orange Show.  Every play has a couple of kids dressed like trees and talking to each other, so we may be able to let the last two slide if we don’t find ourselves sneaking out by intermission.

Perfection

A strong orange odor, or odorange, lifts out of the mouth of the bottle.  A natural orange scent paired with that of orange candy is what my nose notices, or nosetices.  Now that I’ve created the two newest words in the English language I feel I’ve accomplished enough to go on.

Boylan Orange tastes a bit more tangerine than orange to me, but that’s completely acceptable as tangerine is the sweeter of the two citrus and has a very similar flavor.  These two flavors are backed by tightly packed miniature bubbles that sprint quickly across the stage without hardly anyone noticing until they're almost out of view.  The carbonation lift at the end of each sip gives my throat just enough harshness to make me smile.  After all an orange soda should cause a little burn, at least in my book.  

Fun fact:  Most orange sodas have a cardboard aftertaste to me.  Honestly though, I don’t know why I taste cardboard in so many of them.  I really wish I knew what made my taste buds react that way.  Thankfully Boylan Orange doesn’t succumb to this nearly as much as others do.  I’m looking at you Frostie!

All in all Boylan Orange is a very good orange soda though I’ve found two detractors during my drinking of it.  As I’ve consumed this entire bottle the sweet flavor has built upon itself to be cloyingly sweet by my last few sips.  This same build up created a somewhat syrupy mouthfeel by the end as well.  So it’s very good, but it’s not perfection.  Who is though besides Twist?

~A

This soda was purchased at World Market

Cawy Watermelon

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This can of soda looks like something you’d see on a television show.  Like a bag of “Let’s Potato Chips” it just looks incredibly fake.  The word “Watermelon” is emblazoned at the top of the can with a country bumpkin kid below enjoying the worlds largest piece of watermelon.  Only after searching the can for a bit do I see that it’s made by Cawy.  Cawy was an international brand founded in Cuba, but is now headquartered in Miami, Florida.  

A scroll with French words on it label one side of the can while what can only be assumed to be the English translation occupy the other side.  “Soda, Naturally and Artificially Flavored” it says.  Let’s run the other side through Google Translate and see what we get.  “Soda flavored with watermelon.”  That’s not quite the same thing at all.  In fact according to the ingredients it’s a straight up lie.  Natural flavors aren’t even a listed ingredient.  This Cawy Watermelon is getting shadier by the second.  Better open it up before I learn too much.

Twist is crying.  You just can't tell.

Ok, so it smells like watermelon and a little bit of cantaloupe.  In case you’re not aware, I’m under the belief that cantaloupe was created by the devil.  Why else would it taste so foul?  Clearly Satan made it to trick people into eating it.  Every fruit it touches it ruins.  It’s truly an evil fruit.  With that said I really don’t want to drink this.

I have no idea what this even tastes like.  It’s not “projectile vomit” bad, but I’m almost certain I won’t be finishing this can.  A sickly sweet watermelon(?) taste oozes over the entirety of my mouth.  Even my lips are subjected to this interesting flavor.  When I’m not tasting watermelon(?) I’m tasting bubble gum and I’m pretty sure I shouldn’t be.  The mingling of the two flavors results in the birth of a sugary medicinal baby.  Quite similar to Amoxicillin, but add a terrible watermelon(?) taste to the mix.

I think I’m going to stop now.  Don’t get me wrong there is a very brief upside to this soda.  Remember?  It’s not “projectile vomit” bad.  This baby doesn’t taste very good.  At the right angles he’s cute, but once you really get to know him you’ll be happy you never had kids...or if you did have kids they grew up and became root beer or cola.  You know, something respectable.

~A

This soda was purchased at World Market

Nesbitt's Honey Lemonade

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I like lemonade.  Who doesn’t?  Don’t answer that because I would judge you harshly.  I also like soda.  Who doesn’t?  None of you because you’re reading this site.  I seriously doubt my prose are impressive enough to pull people (if you can call them that) that hate soda.  So since I like both lemonade and soda you know I love it when a carbonated lemonade finds its way in front of me.  Today that beverage is called Nesbitt’s Honey Lemonade and their logo is fantastic!  It’s the kind of logo I would proudly wear.  A circular logo that half lemon and half honey comb.  Genius!  

Twist is disappointed, but you didn't hear it from me.

Looking at the ingredients I see this is sadly sweetened with HFCS, but also includes honey!  It’s listed right there next to Yellow #5 so you know it must be an important ingredient.  Yellow #5 and Honey working together as they always should.  OK, so I wish this was a little more natural of a drink.  Perhaps the flavor will make me forget my wish.

Impressively enough the aroma that comes off the bottle is indeed a mixture of lemon and honey.  The honey rides in on the tart scent of the lemon.  He’s waving wildly to make sure I notice him and see the neat trick he’s doing, but I knew he was there from aroma alone.

That is the finest (in the minimal sense) carbonation level I think I’ve ever encountered.  Such a miniscule amount of fizz, barely enough to even register as a mouth feel.  Like a feather tickling an elephant it is.  I understand they didn’t want to take away from the fact that it’s a lemonade, but c’mon.

As for the flavor I see why the honey was trying to get my attention earlier.  If I didn’t know about him it would be easy to just think this was a sweet lemonade.  Thankfully he waved at me so I can appreciate the mild honey flavor I get with every sip.  Average is how I would rate the lemonade portion of this soda.  It’s not all that flavorful and you could replicate it by purchasing numerous other products.  

Now that I’m at the bottom of the bottle I’m finding that the honey flavor stacks on itself a little bit.  It’s not enough for me to rethink the rating of this beverage, but it’s a neat thing to look forward too.  All in all this is a fun concept that ended up being a passable soda.

~A

Hello Kitty Ramune Strawberry Soda

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Ramune is a Japanese soda that incorporates a marble in the sealing of the beverage.  Hello Kitty is Hello Kitty.  If you combine the two you’re a giant robot away from a Japanese cliche trifecta.  Since I don’t have my own mech I’ll just review this Hello Kitty Ramune Strawberry Soda instead.  The label is very pink with Hello Kitty prominantly featured.  It seems she either has strawberries balanced on her head or they’re supposed to be some sort of bow.  Let’s go with the bow angle.  Oh, this soda is totally chemical...but it’s also Hello Kitty.

One day I’ll be good at these marble openings.  Today was not the day.  Once the marble was removed a burst of strawberry candy aroma hit my nose.  I kind of figured it’d be super sugary, but it’s also Hello Kitty.

Twist is a rejected Sanrio character.

Wow, the carbonation level of Hello Kitty Ramune Strawberry Soda is much higher than I initially expected.  This higher level of fizz cuts the flavor enough to not make it taste like a syrupy mess.  The soda itself is right below the “too sugary” mark that I’ve made up on some imaginary sugar ruler.  You know what this tastes like?  It tastes like you ordered a Strawberry Fanta from some fast food place and their soda fountain has the CO2 and syrup levels wrong.  

I’m finding out that there are times that strawberry soda needs to taste like a syrupy mess and this is one of them.  I want my mouth to be candy coated in strawberry syrup.  I want the aftertaste to linger longer than it should.  I feel like I’m drinking half of a strawberry soda.

What’s somewhat unfair about all this is that I wouldn’t rate this any higher if I got my wishes that I listed above.  No matter how you cut it this has a very generic flavor, like a lot of Ramune, and it just doesn’t stand out...but it also has Hello Kitty.

~A

This soda was purchased at World Market


Surge

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A mere four ounces assures me that I’m not dreaming.  The label is exactly as I remember it over 15 years ago, but there’s a 16 where the 12 should be.  That difference of four tells me that I live in a reality in which you can buy Surge.  That’s right Carbo-Nation, if you haven’t heard you can buy Surge once more.  Brought to life in 1997 and put to sleep in 2003 Surge has been given breath.  It’s currently exclusive to Amazon as of this review.  When I found out I shrieked in excitement and purchase a 12 pack simultaneously.  Surge was one of the first sodas I NEEDED to drink.  All of the Coke and Pepsi memories of my childhood blend together into a mush.  Surge is attached to a handful of memories I can still recall.  

There was a time that I enjoyed pairing Surge with powdered donuts.  Sadly I do not have such donuts in front of me now, but I will pair them once again.  I don’t know why I liked this pairing, but it worked like gangbusters...although I’m guessing most people don’t even know what gangbusters is.  

Mark one off the bucket list for Twist

No matter how I try to downplay it I know I’ve already over hyped this beverage in my mind.  They got me.  Coke got me right by the childhood.  That sounded more illegal than I intended it to.  It’s 1:30 in the morning and I’m exhausted, but I must review this caffineated beverage for 15 year old Aaron.  He has minimal worries.  He doesn’t hold a job, have a kid, or make payments on a house.  15 year old Aaron stays up late and plays video games.  Let’s raise a glass to 15 year old Aaron!

The orange and lime scent rush past my nostrils.  32 year old Aaron has a feeling that Surge tasted really generic all those years ago, but 15 year old Aaron doesn’t care.  He and his friends drank this buy the case.  32 year old Aaron is pretty sure that his younger self just fell into the media trap that Coke created.  15 year old Aaron couldn’t care less and takes a swig.

32 year old Aaron goes to bed because he knows that 15 year old Aaron has won.  The first sip brings back a wash of memories.  Old man Aaron thought this would taste generic, but he was wrong.  It tastes like Surge.  The bursts of orange and lime combine to create a insanely refreshing soda.  Lime eventually wins out, which is how it should be for any drink that contains lime.  

Carbonation levels are just fine.  The bubbles are fierce but small, packing an excellent amount of punch to the tongue and throat.  Oddly they are only felt near the finish of the beverage which creates a nice duality in terms of mouth feel.  I really need to stop drinking this because it’ll probably keep me up all… SHUT UP OLD MAN AND DRINK YOUR SURGE..ok.

Surprisingly, Surge isn’t nearly as syrupy as I thought it would be.  There is of course somewhat of a syrupy mouthfeel, but it’s less that you’d experience with a Sprite.  The finish is the glaring weak point to this beverage.  The aforementioned syrupy feel combined with the dying lime and orange flavors create a sadness in my mouth.  What goes in with a party finishes with a whimper.  Leaving with a whine isn’t something a soda called Surge should do.  

Turning off the nostalgia for a moment, Surge really impressed me in terms of flavors and feel.  It played to one of my favorite tastes, lime, and it kept the same sensations going throughout all 16 ounces.  Honestly, if I could change one thing about this re-release it would be the can.  I wish they’d put it in 12 ounce cans, but 15 year old Aaron has never seen a 16 ounce can so he’s pretty ecstatic.

~A

This soda was purchased off of Amazon.com