IZZE Sparkling Pomegranate

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Consumption of soda in 3...2...1...

It has been a long time since we’ve reviewed an IZZE product.  That’s a shame too as they make some really good soda.  I probably stopped reviewing them because Hipster Soda Drinker Aaron thought they were too mainstream since he saw them everywhere.  Hipster Soda Drinker Aaron was kind of an idiot.  Today though he goes away.  Today he becomes Soda Drinker Aaron once again when he opens this bottle of IZZE Sparkling Pomegranate.

Speaking of IZZE Sparkling Pomegranate, it has no refined sugars, no caffeine, no preservatives and is 70% pure fruit juice with a splash of sparkling water.  Ingredient wise we have an absolute winner on our hands here.  Taste has yet to be determined.

This smells more of grape juice than pomegranate, but since the ingredients include grape juice it’s somewhat understandable.  There is a pomegranate scent, but it seems to be happy enough playing second fiddle in this case.

This is wine for children.  I’m sure IZZE doesn’t want to sell it that way, but it’s the first thought that came to my mind.  The real deal grape juice lends itself easily to the wine comparison, but we all know that wine is so much more than grape juice.  The pomegranate adds the dryness you’d expect in a wine, but being soda it’s obviously sweeter.  Since the only sugars used are the ones from the fruits themselves it’s a fantastic balance.

Now here is where I come clean and say I’m not a wine drinker. I’ve had maybe 10 glasses in my life, and 5 of those were red.  IZZE Sparkling Pomegranate takes my tastebuds on a similar journey that the wine did.  A burst of flavor on the front end (although I like the IZZE version better) and a somewhat dry finish.  It makes me feel fancy, but not overly so, with each sip  I take.

Overall I’m thrilled with IZZE Sparkling Pomegranate.  The mouthfeel is nice with just enough fizz to remind you that you’re drinking a soda.  There is an aftertaste, but it mirrors the present taste accurately.  I really want some cheese and crackers now to enjoy with my bottle of IZZE.  

Hipster Soda Drinker Aaron kept me from reviewing this earlier in life and I dislike him for it, although maybe I wasn’t ready yet.  Perhaps Hipster Soda Drinker Aaron kept me from reviewing this with an unrefined tongue.  This is my favorite of the IZZE flavors and I immediately want more of it.  Pair that (WINE JOKE) with a stellar ingredient list and you’ve got a top soda.

~A

This was purchased at a Kroger Grocery Store

A “Twist’s Choice” Recipient

Topo Sabores Pineapple

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He clearly hasn't tasted it yet.

Take notice creators of fruit flavored soda.  If you don’t have a picture of the fruit your soda is flavored after on your label you’re making me sad.  I LOVE seeing this exact thing, especially if it’s a simplified picture of the fruit.  It just reassures me that I know what the flavor of the soda I’m about to consume will be.

In today's case that is Pineapple by Topo Sabores.  They have placed a tiny pineapple near the neck of the bottle.  Right about where a medallion would go if sodas wore chains.  Topo Sabores is from Mexico and uses cane sugar to sweeten.  They don’t feel the need to plaster “Pure Cane Sugar” or “100% Cane Sugar” or “100% Natural Pure Raw Cane Sugar” on their bottle.  Sweetening with cane sugar is the norm in Mexico, as it should be.

That’s unfortunate.  The scent is a mixture of pineapple and vomit.  While I haven’t tasted this soda yet I KNOW it will not taste like it smells.  It won't taste like vomit, right?  Right?  This is going to taste like a sugary pineapple soda and we’ll all move on with our lives and forget my initial take on the scent.

I’m pleased to say that Topo Sabores Pineapple does not taste like a mixture of pineapple and vomit.  That has to be the saddest declaration I’ve made in a while.  Taste wise there is considerably more cardboard flavoring than I anticipated which is welcome in this case given aroma.

Let’s get through the good points now before I just start hating on this soda. While I don’t really like it there’s no reason for me to harp on what is certainly someone’s favorite soda.  The mouth feel is good and prickly and there is a fun amount of fizz.  I’m happy to say that the bubbles last the entirety of each sip.  

I was incorrect in assuming that this would be sugary sweet as there is an appropriate amount of sweetness within each sip.  There is little to no syrupy mouth feel either.  So it seems like I’ve figured out that the only issue I have with this soda is the flavor.

Sadly flavor carries quite the weight when it comes to reviewing sodas.  In the case of Topo Sabores Pineapple I’m just not able to recommend it.  From the initial smell to the cardboard taste that has yet to go away even though I’m almost done with the bottle, I can’t suggest it.

If you’re a pineapple fan give it a shot, but even then eh.  Just promise me that when you see the bottle on the shelf you’ll think of my face… that way when you taste the soda it’ll be an improvement from your previous state of mind.

~A

This soda was purchased at Kroger Grocery Stor

Jupina

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I like this picture more than I should

Just when you think you have nothing to review someone goes to the Grand Cayman Islands and grabs you a soda.  Three sodas to be exact… well two sodas from Grand Cayman and one from Mexico.  The one in question today is Jupina, with a tilde over the “n” although I’m not really sure how to do that.

The labeling of Jupina involves a picture of a pineapple upon a pineapple background.  There’s a lot of pineapple involved here so let’s go ahead and assume that’s the flavor.  The ingredients show that this can has 50 grams of sugar in it.  That my friends is a bunch o’ sugar.  Other ingredients listed are standard artificially flavored soda fare.  Let’s crack the can and give it a go.

It smells a little bit like an orange pineapple mix, but I’m still thinking this is primarily a pineapple soda.  Trust me when I say I’d prefer it be orange/pineapple.  I’m not sure why you wouldn’t trust me on that, or why I even needed to say “trust me”.

That is not the color of a pineapple soda.  That is the color of a cream soda.  I’m now officially worried.

I’m no longer worried.  This is a pineapple cream soda and I’m 100% cool with that.  Pineapple cream isn’t something I’m used to, but the combo works out nicely.  In the case of Jupina though the cream outweighs the pineapple.  

This heavy cream taste keeps the pineapple’s bite at bay.  Not that a pineapple is a very violent fruit, but it’s not as tame as Jupina makes it seem.  Reaching the end of the sip you’re tapped by the grenade like fruit.  Honestly I’d compare it to someone accidentally shoulder checking you in a crowded venue.  It’s a little unexpected, but as long as you’re not a complete jerk you’ll quickly forget about it.

I can honestly say that Jupina has exceeded my expectations as a soda.  Perhaps if I could read the Spanish language I’d know it was pineapple cream, but I feel I enjoyed it more being a surprise.  

If I could change any aspect of it I’d add a bit more pineapple taste to give the end a little more violence.  The smooth cream start and bumpy end would be a nice ride for a soda to give.  

This soda was given to my by Rasslin’ Jakit

Fitz's Strawberry Pop

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It's almost artsy.

I haven’t had a Fitz’s soda in a long time, but I don’t really recall fond memories of them.  Something about the aftertaste, but I’m not going to double check myself because I’m lazy.  Anywho, today’s soda is Fitz’s Strawberry Pop and it’s a vibrant red color that screams to be consumed.  It’s also sweetened with all natural pure cane sugar.  The only thing that would have made that funnier is if it was 100% All Natural Pure Raw Cane Sugar.  Just say “cane sugar” I’ll think of it exactly the same.

With a vibrant red strawberry soda comes a vibrant red strawberry scent.  It’s more of a candied scent, but still very enticing to me.  Now, all of a sudden, I look forward to drinking this and hope that it’s not just overly sweetened nonsense.  

CARDBOARD!  That’s what was wrong with the other Fitz sodas.  Fitz sodas have a pretty great taste to them, but ultimately the underlying cardboard flavor at the end is what sets me off.  

The guy across from me, we’ll call him Buttons, cannot taste the cardboard I do but says the soda dries out his mouth at the end. What dries out your mouth better than cardboard?!  Ok, so a bit of a stretch, but at least I know… sorry, we know, that this cardboard taste isn’t universally tasted.  

Aside from whatever I’m tasting on the back end (hehe) Fitz’s Strawberry Pop doesn’t taste like overly sweetened nonsense.  Even though the strawberry flavor seems very artificial there are still a few climbs and drops in its track.  It’s varied enough that I feel like I’d enjoy it quite a bit if it wasn’t for that other thing.  

Fitz’s Strawberry Pop also has a nice nibble to it.  Not strong enough for a bite, but you’re still going to see a mark for a little while.  I personally prefer bites to nibbles, but who knows if we’re even talking about sodas now.

All in all, this is a decent soda that unfortunately has a flavor in it that touches my tongue weird.  Even with that cardboard taste I’d still recommend that you try a bottle out.

~A

This soda was purchased at a Shell Gas Statio

Petey's Bing Raz

Imagine the my luck.  I found two “Delicious...Refreshing” soda within two weeks of each other.  Of course they’re the same brand of soda, Petey’s Bing, but the flavor of the day...vor is Raz.  Being in tune with the advertising world I can tell you that Raz probably means that raspberry is involved.  A quick look at the ingredients tells me I’m right.  Both raspberry and cherry juice concentrate are involved so I look forward to my first swig.

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His nose is stuck.

Smells like a candied raspberry, but thankfully not one of the blue variety.  This smells like red.  That’s a confusing sentence out of context, but you get it.

Petey’s Bing Raz just slapped my taste buds to the floor.  Raspberry flavor shows up immediately and forcefully.  It’s tart, sweet, and tangy tastes last throughout the duration of the sip.  A highly consistent beverage throughout in terms of taste, Bing Raz leaves little aftertaste on the backside and does most of it’s talking/walking up front.  

I haven’t said it yet, but I like this soda.  You don’t get many raspberry sodas with the power this one has behind it.  It’s brash and unapologetic for the tingly ride it takes my tongue on.  The only downside I can find is that the flavor wavers a small amount at the very end.  Now it doesn’t change so much that I’d retract my “consistent soda” statement, but it is a little different.

Some might find Petey’s Bing Raz a bit too pungent for the pallet.  I personally believe it’s too strong to be refreshing, but not every soda out there is supposed to refresh….oh awkward.  I just remembered the word “Refreshing” is on the can.  Ok, so it’s not refreshing in a “just went for a run let me get something to drink” sense.  Perhaps it’s refreshing in a “my mouth is dry and I just need liquid” sense.

Ah well, buy some and ignore this abrupt ending.

~A

This soda was purchased at Sprouts groce

Petey's Bing Black

What if I were to tell you that there’s a soda out there that’s both “Delicious” and “Refreshing”.  Wouldn’t that be amazing? Well according to the labeling of the can in front of me, Petey’s Bing Black is just exactly that… both delicious AND refreshing.  

The soda at hand seems to be what we would classify as a “Lifestyle” beverage.  One that gets you your ginseng, your B vitamins, your C vitamin and the like.  It’s also, and this is a personal perk for me, make with blackberry juice.  I’m going to go out on a very sturdy limb and say that’s why it’s called Bing “Black”.  

According to the ingredients it has both blackberry and cherry juice from concentrate.  It’s sweetened with cane sugar and… yup, it has Guarana seed extract in it which confirms my “Lifestyle” beverage theory.

Smell wise you get a nice mixture of blackberry and cherry aromas with the edge going to blackberry.  This makes me a little excited to try it, but I’m still quite cautious.  

Pouring my friend a cup I see that Petey’s Bing Black has a great maroon coloring to it that begs for me to drink it.  This seems like the beverage equivalent of judging a book by its cover, but we all like visual stimuli around here, right?

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The finish is considerably better than the start in the case of Bing Black.  Starting off the soda seems a bit empty and almost tinny to me.  Then the script is quickly flipped and my mouth is filled with the natural flavor of blackberries with a hint of cherry.  Being that the transition is so immediate the reaction my tongue has includes a little bit of confusion.

Confused my tongue isn’t sure what to expect next and ends up with a bitter finish and a fruit juice taste on my lips.  Petey’s Bing Black doesn’t tell a cohesive tale, but it knows some interesting short stories.  While I ultimately like to read short stories, I’m not big on drinking them.  Perhaps my tongue just isn’t smart enough to enjoy this beverage as it should be, but that shouldn’t stop you from giving it a try.

~A

This soda was purchased at a Sprout’s grocery store​