Lean - Yella

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Today’s offering from ThirstMonger is a relaxation beverage.  Currently I don’t need a relaxation beverage because my wife is listening to one of the dullest power point presentations I’ve ever half listened to.  Ah, education.  Thankfully, I can focus all my attention on this can of Lean (flavor “Yella”) in front of me.  ThirstMonger sent me three flavors of Lean: Purp, Easta Pink, and of course Yella.  Having reviewed other relaxation beverages I had grown tired of the whole “purple drank” variation and was pleased to see that Lean offered other non “Purp” flavors for those that craved more variety from their chillaxation beverages.  Lean is labeled as the “slow motion…potion”.  Even their tagline has an ellipsis in it, this must be good.  I wasn’t all that shocked to see melatonin in the ingredient list, but I was surprised to see sugar.  I would have thought they’d have gone the HFCS route, but I’m happily wrong about that.  The band around the top of the can gives us the flavor title of “Yella”, but also includes tiny pictures of pineapples.  I’m not sure what I would have assumed the flavor of “Yella” was without this picture cue, so I’m pleased it exists.

Twist is always leaning.  Always.

An unusual pineapple cream aroma races out of the can, almost desperate for me to smell it.  There’s an unexpected amount of sweetness in this scent so I’m a bit more curious as to what Lean – Yella will taste like. 

Yella tastes as it smells.  There is a sweet, smooth, pineapple taste that washes over all aspects of my mouth.  The carbonation is small, but shows up in powerful bursts throughout the drinking process.  Even though there are tiny pineapples on this can, I’m quite pleased with the fact that “Pineapple” is not listed as the flavor.  While it is the primary taste I’m experiencing it has been mutated into something much more interesting than your standard apple of pine.  The sweetness, that I’ve now mentioned several times, is quite similar to what you might find in a cream soda.  There’s also a bit of vanilla within this pineapple soda.  This addition keeps each swig somewhat fresh and allows for repeated returns to the beverage.  On the negative side, Lean – Yella is somewhat syrupy and some might find it overly sugary.  There are only 28 grams of sugar in a serving which may sound like a lot, but Mountain Dew is made with a number that travels well over 40g.  This sweetness does build upon itself making it difficult to finish off this 16oz can, but all in all it’s a fairly tasty beverage.  The rating I give it may seem a little low, but just know it’s on the high end.

~A

 

Faygo Orange

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Orange soda is one of the staple sodas out there when you’re talking about the fruit flavored variety.  Personally I prefer grape to orange, but there aren’t many times I’d turn down an orange soda.  This cane sugar sweetened Faygo Orange in front of me has been dressed up in a simply stylish glass bottle and begs for review.  A quick peak at the back tells me that the ingredients aren’t really worth mentioning and I should be on my way with this review.

As seen here, Twist sleeps with his eyes open

Your standard orange aroma escapes the bottle top and does nothing to impress me.  That said, the flavor inside will hopefully hold a few tricks up its sleeve, less I grow bored with it as well.

A quick punch of carbonation and the rest is a sweet burst of orange that identifies more with candy than fruit.  This sweet, somewhat syrupy beverage has already taken a somewhat permanent residence in my mouth.  The velvet curtain, which is usually reserved for beverages sweetened with HFCS, has fallen and it’s all I can do not to taste this rather ordinary orange soda.  Faygo Orange isn’t something many would describe as “poor tasting”, but it’s somewhat yawn worthy.  I’d much rather purchase the store brand orange soda and take my chance with the HFCS if it meant getting a more vibrant flavor. 

~A

 

 

Almdudler

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Moxie is the official state soft drink of Maine; it’s rather important up there.  I think it’s pretty darn nifty that a state has an official soft drink.  Heck, I wish all states had one, that way I could make it a point to “drink around the USA” and try them all.  While official states sodas are cool and all, they don’t hold a candle to what I’m about to consume.  Today’s selection is the NATIONAL Soft Drink of Austria and it’s called Almdudler - 50 Jahre.  Since Austrian and German are similar languages I can tell you that 50 Jahre means 50 Years and is probably not a part of the name.  Heck English is Germanic so you probably figured that one out without failing German in college.  I have no earthly idea what Almdudler is, if it is indeed anything other than a brand.  TO GOOGLE! 

Ok, so Almdudler is just a brand, but the name apparently comes from an old phrase “auf der Alm dudeln” which means singing in the alpine meadows.  There’s your history lesson for the day and a few words that will surely end up carrying some unsuspecting Austrians to our site.  Howdy, Austrians! 

The romantic bottle scene is somewhat ruined by the giant green iguana staring at them.

Looking at the affixed English label I see that Almdudler is made with carbonated water, cane sugar, citric acid and natural flavors.  The ingredients go on to say that Almdudler contains NO preservatives or artificial ingredients.   That’s a little bit of a white lie as citric acid is a natural preservative, but since it’s the national soft drink of Austria we’ll let it slide.

Why did I think this cap would twist off?  No discernible smell comes from the bottle, but after a hefty huff I get the smallest ideas that it might be apple flavored.  The ingredients, as you might recall, just list “natural flavors” so I’m really just guessing here.  This is no time for guessing though, it’s time for drinking.

Well, it looks like I’ll be guessing for a while.  Wait… delayed apple taste, oddly enjoyable.  Almdudler doesn’t have a very strong flavor at all.  It avoids the crashing chandelier at the beginning of the play and just shoves a small boy out to quietly sing.  The initial taste has me stumped as it’s sort of fruity, but the flavor isn’t exaggerated enough for me to identify it.  Gradually I get a bit of citrus taste until I’m led to the subtle apple at the end. 

Ok, so I tried to cheat and look up the flavor of Almdudler by going to their website.  I was met with the yell of “ALMDUDLER!” and then given a… well how shall I describe it.  Did any of you ever play Monty Python’s Complete Waste of Time for PC?  No?  That doesn’t surprise me, but if you had you’d realize that this website is designed like that game from 1995.  It’s the perfect comparison, so I really don’t care if you get it or not.  Ok, so the website is very click friendly and has little surprises when you hover your mouse over it.  Here, go to the website already.  Just promise you’ll come back.

Long story somewhat shorter, I never found out the actual flavor of Almdudler, but I’m going to stick by my citrus to apple flavor assessment and recommend that you try it.  There is a bitterness that takes residence within my mouth as I take sip after sip.  It’s not going away, even if I wait a few minutes between consumption.  This bitterness, even though I’m not a fan, does keep the beverage from being too sweet.  I’ll take slightly bitter over nauseatingly sweet any day.  Such an odd experience.  The flavors are so familiar, but just different enough that it seems fresh.  If I had to classify it as a soda though, I’d probably say bitter apple.  Doesn’t that sound delicious?  Bitter Apple soda?  Yes, yes it does sound delicious.  There I answered for you.  Almdudler on the other hand is bitter apple soda plus, and the plus is really a minus in my opinion because something just isn’t working for me.

~A

 

Cherry Breese

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Hey, NERD!  You lookin' for something to read, NERD?  Too bad, because this soda has already been reviewed on Episode 37 of TheSodaJerks.net Popcast!  Find out what we thought of it and more "after the jump" as they used to say 3 years ago.  Don't get to feeling down though, here's a picture of the soda you wanted reviewed. 

 

Twist hates misspelled words.

Fentimans Mandarin and Seville Orange Jigger

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If I had a list of my top ten favorite bottle caps, Fentimans would be near the top.  Perhaps it’s my love of dogs, but the image of this great wolf like canine on the cap brings a smile to my face every time I see it.  What this hound is guarding is a bottle of Fentimans Mandarin and Seville Orange Jigger.  Now most of us are somewhat familiar with the taste of a mandarin orange.  If you’ve ever had a clementine or tangerine, those are both examples of the mandarin family.  Now I actually had to look up what a Seville orange was.  The Seville orange, or bitter orange, is known for its tart taste and has its oil used in perfumes and the like.

Two oranges entered this bottle and they’ll both emerge, but hopefully I will be the victor.  Cane sugar also entered this bottle, along with fermented ginger root extracts and of course carbonated water.  I’m a little nervous on how “bitter” this might taste, but I suppose there’s only one way to find out.

After upending this bottle it dawned on me how much the liquid inside looks like egg yolk.  The aroma, on the other hand, is very much that of orange juice.  Ok, so two of your ingredients are oranges, it’d be terrifying if it didn’t smell like orange juice.  Let’s see if I’m about to have a midday breakfast beverage.

Twist has eaten all varieties of orange.

While the initial flavor is not completely of my liking, I can definitely see folks enjoying this.  Four or five air bubbles rush to the back of the bottle each time I put it to my lips, creating a sound that can only be described as “blorb”.  In simple terms, Fentimans Mandarin and Seville Orange Jigger tastes like a somewhat fermented, somewhat bitter orange juice.  Even though I feel it can be hastily described as I have just done, each sip though is complex enough that I want take another and try to figure out all aspects of the drink.  There are hints of ginger throughout and the flavor doesn’t stay the same for any amount of time, it’s constantly changing from the first bitter bite to the eventual sweet orange sensation that sort of rests on my tongue.  Low carbonation allows for all of these changes to occur unhindered by potential raucous bubbles.  It’s such a great beverage, but I just don’t like the taste.

We’ve reached a point where I’m going to have to explain myself and the rating I’m about to give Fentimans Mandarin and Seville Orange Jigger.  This is a wonderful beverage that I think everyone should try.  The folks at Fentimans have my respect for creating it and all of the amazing changes that occur when you consume it.  All natural ingredients, a wonderful bottle, and of course one of my favorite caps of all times should make for a great score, but it doesn’t.  This is one of the times that I honestly think my opinion of this beverage is too low, but I can’t change how it tastes in my mouth so the score will also be lower than I think it deserves.  With that said, give it a shot.  Perhaps your taste buds will appreciate what mine could not.

~A

 

Faygo Vanilla Creme

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It’s late at night and I want to get a review done before bed, but I don’t want to drink anything that’ll keep me up too late.  So I reach into the fridge and let my hand pick out a beverage for me.  My hand apparently wants to stay up late.  I’ll give you the proper amount of time to make any dirty joke you like.  Done being immature?  Let’s move on.  So my hand picked out the super sugary beverage known as cream soda.  To be more specific it picked out a Faygo Vanilla Crème, which is just Faygo Cream Soda.  Faygo is something that was introduced to me much later in life… meaning this year.  I’m finding out that the classic look of the bottle ramps up my expectations of the soda.  Then after trying said Faygo soda my expectations become grounded and much closer to reality.  Let’s see if Faygo Vanilla Crème can keep my head in the clouds.

A very pungent vanilla aroma lurches out of the crystal clear bottle.  Speaking of clear, this is the clearest cream soda I’ve seen to date.  It looks like a bottle of water which kind of excites me for my soda drinking experience.  Perhaps my memory of Crystal Pepsi is clouding my judgment, but anytime I see a clear beverage that’s not normally clear I freak out a little bit… in a good way.

Crystal Twist was on the market for a hot second, but a law suit was immediately filed.

Wow, that is quite nice.  The extra carbonation surprised me at first, but since it was chased with a very smooth, very vanilla cream soda afterwards the contradicting mouth feels worked well together.  Ooh, I really like this.  My statement about Faygo letting me down does not apply to Faygo Vanilla Crème.  There is a sweetness you’d expect with a cream soda here, but it really pushes the boundary of too sweet.  The only way I dock points for the sweetness of Faygo Vanilla Crème is if it builds on itself in such a way that I can’t stand to drink it anymore.  Honestly though I think the burst of carbonation I experience at the beginning of each sip keeps the sugar from taking my tongue hostage.  Vanilla flavor lingers in all the crevasses of my mouth, but it’s not a negative sensation at all.  It is a little syrupy, but vanilla cream is one of those flavors that’s hard to keep crisp.

I’m about halfway done with the bottle and the flavor hasn’t really built upon itself that much.  This allows me to experience each sip I take much like it was my first.  Sure some of the initial magic is gone, but each sip is a pleasant one.  Well done Faygo, I doff my cap to you.  You’ve made a great cream soda with a sugar sweetener.  Yes the sweetness builds a little, but I think we’ll live.  This will probably get lower than you think it should by reading the review, but all in all it’s just a great cream soda.   Cream sodas have a hard time standing out in front of other sodas because they all taste so very similar to one another.  Don’t get me wrong though, this is one of the better ones, it’s just not a mind blowingly awesome soda.

~A

 

RootJack

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The folks at RootJack told the folks at ThirstMonger to tell me to drink RootJack without ice at an extremely cold temperature…purple monkey dishwasher.  I’m pretty sure the part about the purple monkey dishwasher was something added along the line, but needless to say I was quite pleased to see a beverage company tell me to stay away from ice.  So for a week this bottle of RootJack, Orange Flavored Root Beer, sat at the back of my fridge chilling.  Everytime I’d open the door I’d want to reach in and drink it, but I couldn’t… I must wait.  How does one keep oneself from drinking such an ususual product?  Orange flavored Root Beer, I’d never heard of such a thing, but my mind tells me it should work.  Looking at the label I’m happy to see that RootJack is sweetened with sugar and also contains a bit of guarana seed extract for energy.  This fun hybrid of flavors also has 100% of the vitamin C I need in a day, to fight scurvy of course.  With that said, it’s time for me to crack open this bottle and set sail for nowheres in particulars.

The scent that rises from the depths of Davy Jones locker is root beer heavy with a hint of the orange promised on the front of the bottle.  Do you know what a pirate’s favorite letter is?  You probably think it’s RRRRRRR, but he truly lives for the C.  Moving on.

TWist is better known at the Dread Pirate Roberts.

That is super bizarre.  Wow.  The first few glugs were just straight root beer, but then the citrus took hold of my taste buds and punched them square in the jaw.  The hint of orange the aroma spoke about was just the tip of the krackens tentacle.  I thought that RootJack would be root beer with a hint of orange.  I thought wrong as each sip starts off like calm day at sea; just enjoying a root beer with my swabbies, then the orange whale throws itself on board looking for Ahab.  It’s really confusing for my mouth and brain.  Each is frantically trying to figure out if it’s ok with this mixture of worlds. 

The sweetness level of RootJack is just right as I would have no problem drinking this with a meal.  While the flavor is wild, I still feel like it could pair well with your standard fare of hamburgers and hotdogs without taking away anything from them.  I’m also seeing why they wanted me to drink this cold.  The orange flavor could come off as offending to some if this was room temperature.  Even the bottle tells you to “Serve Cold”.  When’s the last time you saw another soda tell you the obvious? 

As the soda bottle empties the orange flavor becomes a bit more bitter, but not enough to turn me away from finishing it off.  Now that I have a proper place to put my message written on parchment, I’ll give you my final thoughts.  RootJack is truly a unique beverage from start to finish.  The mixture of two common flavors may confuse the mind to the point of not knowing if what you’re ingesting is something you like or not, but once you get your mind right you’ll find you wish you had another.  I’ve gotta hand it  to RootJack for taking a chance and setting themselves apart from the rest of the sodas out there.  The flavor combo was a little too combative for my tastes, but I still want to recommend that you buy multiples if just for giving some to your friends.

~A

Something Natural - Strawberry Peach

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ThirstMonger has once again sent me a beverage for review and it comes in the prettiest little bottle I’ve ever seen.  Something Natural Strawberry Peach is a sparkling water that comes in a shapely blue bottle and includes a friendly looking bird.  If I had to guess, I’d say the bird is a sparrow, wren, or finch, but then again I’m no ornithologist.  With a quick glance at the ingredients I notice that Something Natural lives up to its name with completely natural ingredients.  The sweetener is a double act of cane sugar and stevia which is a show I’ve seen delivered with success.  Just looking at this bottle is brining my mind a bit of peace after a long day of work.  I may keep this one for the collection, but not before reviewing it of course.

I picked the strawberry peach flavor because it seemed that would translate better for sparkling water than the other flavor I had at my disposal, black cherry.  Once I cracked the bottle open I was surprised to get as strong of an aroma as I did.  Both the strawberry and peach scents went straight to my olfactory glands and made their presence known.  Perhaps this sparkling water will be more soda like than I first anticipated.

Twist apologizes for the fuzziness of this picture

Something Natural Strawberry Peach really is a calming beverage.  Holding the bottle and drinking from it almost feels vacationesque and the flavor you get is quite nice as well.  Without consulting my site I can tell you immediately that this is the one of the best sparkling waters I’ve ever had.  The strawberry peach flavor is true and unwavering with peach being the lead in the play.  The stevia’s known aftertaste is lost amongst the carbonation and cane sugar.  It’s not a sugary beverage by any means, but it’s sweeter than most other sparkling waters I’ve had.  My biggest criticism will come from the aftertaste and it’s hard to single out Something Natural in this instance.  All sparkling waters have a dry, somewhat bitter aftertaste to me that nudges me out of the experience.  Now I’m sure many look forward to this aftertaste, but I’m not one of those people.  Something Natural Strawberry Peach does indeed have this same dry, bitter aftertaste that I’d rather it not have, but it’s what I’m working with.

All in all though, Something Natural is a solid beverage with good flavor presentation and a great ingredient list.  If you’re into sparkling waters I bet you’d love it.  Now if sparkling water isn’t your thing, I’d still probably give this a try to make sure your opinion is validated.

~A

Flathead Lake Black Raspberry

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Montana’s Legendary Soda, Flathead Lake, is known around the parts as almost being an above average soda.  For whatever reasons it never seems to be able to touch that rung of the latter and ends up falling off before it can achieve greatness.  Today’s Flathead Lake soda flavor is black raspberry.  I’m quite happy with this flavor selection as it is the superior taste when compared to its fake blue counterpart.  So there you have it.  Flathead Lake soda is average, but this flavor is one of my favorites.  Who will win out?

There's some kind of copyright infringement here, but I'm not sure who the guilty party is.

A delicious candy grape aroma rises from the bottle, which is odd since it’s a blackberry soda.  If I pretend hard enough I can make myself believe that I also smell the blackberry, but I can’t.  Hopefully I’ll be able to taste it.

Ok, so the taste is a bit grapey as well.  I’m going to go ahead and promise never to use the term “grapey” ever again.  Let’s move on, shall we?  Thankfully the second half of my experience does indeed taste like an artificially delicious black raspberry full of sugar and chemicals.  Still though, if someone were to give me this soda in a glass I’d assume it was grape, that can’t be good for the Flathead Lake flavor department.  Even though the flavor is mostly wrong it’s still a very tasty soda and the blackberry aftertaste is rather pleasant.  If anything I might label this as a grape/raspberry hybrid and go from there.  The carbonation level for this confused liquid is small, but tingly so it never really gets in the way.  All 43 grams of sugar are accounted for as you’d never mistake this for something healthy.  This level of sweetness makes Flathead Lake Black Raspberry ride the line of “drink with meal” and “drink for dessert”.  Flavor confusion aside this is probably my favorite entry from Flathead Lake.  Great job, guys!

~A

 

Squamscot Maple Cream

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This beverage is not invisible, we're just getting back into the swing of things.  Liquid will be present next time. 

Do you guys even type reviews anymore?  Yes, yes we do, but what we review on our weekly popcast doesn't get written down.  I'll tell you the ranking, but if you need some more details, or at least some white noise to fall asleep to, I'd check out the link below. 

Aaron's Verdict - Buy a Pack

Mike's Verdict - Buy a Bottle

~A

TheSodaJerks.net Popcast Episode 36 - Squamscot Maple Cream

Nawgan Lemonade

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I’ve had energy drinks, sleepy time drinks, “sexual prowess” drinks, and many other life style beverages.  The folks at ThirstMonger have sent me an “alertness beverage” to try.  That’s a first.  Now I know you’re probably thinking that an alertness beverage is just a fancy name for an energy drink and you’re right, but it’s the first time I’ve seen it called as such, and I approve.  The name of the alertness beverage is Nawgan and its flavor is Lemonade.  The Nawgan logo is a brain which leads me to believe that Nawgan is just a fancy spelling of noggin.  You know, like the Nick Jr. successor.  Nawgan has zero calories, vitamins B and E, and a host of chemicals that will hopefully make this taste like a delicious glass of lemonade.  Let’s find out together shall we?

This can of Nawgan has the most satisfying “CRACK” open noise I’ve ever heard.  Good lord that was loud and made me want to instantly start chugging it.  Lemons jumped out of this newly created hole and punched me in the nose.  The scent is strong.  There I said it two different ways.  I’m rather excited to try this now.  I find it odd how a sound that has nothing to do with the flavor excites me to what the drink might taste like. 

Twist completed the brain maze in only 2 hours.

Nawgan is non-carbonated and for being zero calories, has a pretty good lemon taste to it.  The initial sip does have a bit of a chemical feel, but it’s quickly washed away by the somewhat sweet lemon flavoring.  By itself Nawgan could fool you into thinking it is indeed lemonade.  If you were to compare it side by side with the real deal you’d probably find the real thing to be a bit stronger.  It has a very light mouth feel, but a noticeable lemon aftertaste that I don’t mind experiencing again and again.  Nawgan lemonade is a really easy drink to chug, which I would expect is something that you would want to do if you needed to get that jolt of energy as quickly as possible. 

WHAT?!  I just looked on the can and this has Stevia in it?!  I never would have guessed.  Great job covering up the aftertaste that usually leaves.  Wow, stevia done right.  It happens so infrequently.

For being a lemonade “alertness beverage”, Nawgan does a great job.  It’s easy to drink, the flavor is enjoyable, and I could see myself purchasing multiples of this.  It’s not going to replace lemonade, but at this point I’m pretty sure nothing is.  Nawgan Lemonade is one of the tastier energy drinks by far.

~A

Sof Drink Grape

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It has been three years since the kool kat on the Sof Drink label has visited my home.  Today this Jamaican feline finds himself on a bottle of Sof Drink Grape and I’m happy to see him.  I just got through traipsing around a cemetery so I’m a bit thirsty from all the walking.  Thankfully my tongue knew exactly what it wanted when I opened the fridge.  It wanted to be reunited with grape soda and the kool kat was the perfect door man for the job.  Even though Sof Drink Grape claims to have the original Jamaican flavor (of what I’m not sure) it still uses HFCS in its production.  Currently I’m a bit too thirsty to care and while I should be drinking water to quench this thirst my willpower isn’t strong enough to do so.  So let me dive into this grape soda and see what happens.

A grape soda without any real scent… that’s a first.  At least I think that’s a first, I didn’t really feel like researching the previous sentence so I suggest you just trust me on it.  If I place one nostril over the mouth of the bottle and inhale deeply I begin to smell a candy grape aroma, but it really is quite faint.  Something tells me the flavor will be much more powerful.

Twist things this drink is grape.

Well that’s fun.  Sof Drink Grape tastes like a melted grape popsicle with some added carbonation.  I could honestly stop writing the review at this point, but only one sentence of description might not look so hot.  It’s a very thick grape soda in the fact that it grabs hold of all the pores of my mouth and refuses to let go.  Even after the velvet curtain of syrup falls the actors on the stage stay there to be crushed under its weight.  The carbonation is the only thing keeping this beverage from being an Otter Pop that never found the freezer.  Alexander the Grape has been poured into a bottle and someone ruffled his hair up a little.  While this aspect makes it a very sweet drink it’s not so sugary that your question if you should continue consumption with each sip. 

I’ve already made the popsicle comparison twice now which shows that I really didn’t have any more in my sleeve.  This shows me that I should just stop and you just trust that the comparison is all you need to understand what Sof Drink Grape is.  It’s a tasty, thick, grape soda that tastes like a popsicle.  There I go again.

~A

 

 

Cock ‘n Bull Ginger Beer

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Twist consumed this and vanished.

Ever feel ripped off when you look up a review of a soda?  You probably will now.  Cock n Bull Ginger Beer was reviewed on TheSodaJerks.net Popcast Episode 34.  I'll tell you the rating here, but if you want the delicious descriptions you'll have to listen. 

~A

TheSodaJerks.net Popcast Episode 34 - Cock n Bull Ginger Beer

 

Barrel Brothers Root Beer

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Two guys dressed in barrels pose for a caricature of themselves.  Apparently they loved it so much they decided the picture would look great on a bottle of root beer.  These two guys I’m speaking of are the Barrel Brothers, and I will be consuming their soda today.  The label gives me no history of Barrel Brothers Root Beer, but it does tell me that this is from the makers of Apple Beer.  Apple Beer if you remember had the potential to be amazing, but faltered.  Here’s hoping the Barrel Brothers, Mac and Jack (two names I made up), do themselves proud with their product.  It’s a HFCS sweetened root beer so it’s not off to a great start in that department, although that doesn’t mean the taste can’t overcome the ingredients.

Twist was once a brother, but there could be only one.

A pleasant vanilla aroma with a hint of marshmallow rises from the bottle.  I’m quickly forgetting I ever saw HFCS on the label at all.  Perhaps the taste will completely wash that memory away.

That’s good root beer.  That’s really good root beer.  The scent translates directly into the taste as each sip is smothered with the smooth sensation of vanilla.  The vanilla flavor is so rich that it made me forget I was drinking a root beer for a brief moment.  At the end of each sip though the root beer rises from the foamy grave and grasps at the roof of my mouth, biting it with carbonation and a tasty root beer taste.  Barrel Brothers Root Beer would pair very well with ice cream as the licorice/wintergreen flavors you might find in other root beers are absent.  This is strictly about the vanilla, almost marshmallow, sensations mixed with an already good root beer.  It doesn’t build on itself that much which is surprising to me given the richness of it.  If I must pick nits about this soda there is a slight chemical taste that arises occasionally, but it’s not enough for me to shoo anyone away.  All in all, Barrel Brothers Root Beer is a treat that any root beer enthusiast would enjoy.  No, it’s not made from the greatest ingredients, but the flavor more than makes up for it.

~A

 

Party Pop

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It’s a little after midnight and I wasn’t even sure I was going to write a review today, but apparently I am.  My wife and I live with three animals so the house is rarely quiet.  It’s so rare that when you couple a silent house with darkness it becomes a little creepy.  I snuck downstairs, as to not wake the puppy, and blindly reached into the refrigerator.  What greeted me was a fairly creepy site in itself.  Two oddly drawn children stare at me from the label of this bottle of Party Pop.  Well technically the little boy is staring at me and the little girl is infatuated with the previously mentioned boy.  I don’t know what Party Pop is, but from the label alone it claims to be “The Original Foamy Soda”.  I’m going to go ahead and call that a lie without even researching it.  Other words listed on the bottle are “sangaria”, “cheers!”, “non-alcoholic”, something written in a foreign language, and weirdest of all… “kids”.  Over the ingredients I find out that this is an apple flavored soda, so it shouldn’t be terrible because “kids”.  For as strange as Party Pop is, it’s made with HFCS so it’s not off-the-rails bizarre.  The time has come for me to try “The Original Foamy Soda” known as Party Pop.  Since the “kids” seem to love it, hopefully I will too.

I think the foreign language that’s on the bottle, and now I see on the cap, is Japanese.  For the record, this is bottled in California.  Such an odd soda.  It smells like apple juice.  I’d go into more descriptive terminology if it smelled any different than apple juice, but it doesn’t.  Apple anything isn’t listed as an ingredient.  No apple juice, artificial apple, natural (apple) flavor, mock apples, how ‘bout them apples, there’s nothing about apples.  Fantastic.  I hope this blows my socks off, because that would just complete this peculiar experience.

Twist could steal her away in an instant.

WHOA ALL THAT FOAM!  Kidding.  It is a little foamier than your standard soda, but I’m not sure I’d make it a marketing point.  Perhaps if I still had my youthful innocence I could see myself pouring this into a glass and pretending to drink beer.  That’s exactly what this is, by the way.  This is kid beer.  It’s the color of beer, it develops a head like beer, and it’s called Party Pop like beer.  It’s “kids” beer.  Anywho.  It tastes like an apple soda that didn’t quite make it. 

The carbonation level is light and fizzy, fun some might say.  On the other hand that apple juice scent I was picking up earlier isn’t quite as honest.  There is an apple flavor being represented here, but it’s constantly haunted by a bitter ghost.  Before the apple flavor even hits the bitter ghost resides in my mouth chasing all of good flavors away.  The good flavors that do stay have to walk through said ghost, thus tainting their once tasty skins.  Slimed if you will.  What I’m about to say isn’t 100% accurate, but it’s the best comparison I can think of at this time of night.  Party Pop tastes like it’s 80% Apple Juice and 20% beer.  For some reason I capitalized “apple juice”, but not beer.  No idea why, moving on.  This beer/apple juice hybrid obviously isn’t working for me, but it’s not horrible.  Actually I take that back.  With each sip I try the bitterness builds on itself making Party Pop less “pop” and more “mistake.

This kid on the label with his cocked party hat is really starting to bother me.  It’s like he’s bragging about gaining the eye of the girl next to him.  Like he’s gloating to me that she’ll never be mine.  Dude you’re like 10 at the most.  I could take you out with one punch and I’m a weak 30 something.  Whataya going to do?  “Kids”.

~A

 

Vacation in a Bottle - Pomegranate Berry

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Today’s offering from Thirst Monger comes in a very serene bottle emblazoned with a picture of the sun setting over a great body of water.  Vacation in a Bottle, or as the kids call it ViB (pronounced Vibe), is the name of the beverage and the flavor is Pomegranate Berry.  I already feel as if I’m going to enjoy it.  I’m not usually one for full bottle art, but the more I stare at this sunset the more I just want to kick back and relax.  Being the ad guru that I am, I already see something they could improve upon… their slogan.  Currently their slogan is “Drink. Chill. Be Happy!”  While this is all well and good why not switch up a few words and make it “Chill. Drink. Be Happy!”?  Chill would take on a double meaning at this point and ultimately it would just work better.  If they take my advice I expect a nice crisp Benji headed my way. 

Twist is on Step Two of the ViB three step program.

ViB is caffeine free and uses cane sugar as a sweetener.  There’s a whole host of other ingredients, so if you’re interested, look them up.  As you know I’m concerned with the taste and I’m tired of waiting.

This beverage is in an aluminum bottle which is something I wish drink manufacturers would migrate towards more often.  I’d much rather drink out of an aluminum bottle than a plastic one.  I’m sure cost comes into play here, but in my world it doesn’t, so get with the program other companies!

A somewhat easily identified pomegranate aroma flows from the large mouth of the bottle.  There is indeed another berry scent blended in, but it seems vague in nature.  I noticed my mouth started watering though as soon as I took a whiff.  At least I know the scent has created some positive ViBs for my mind.  You see what I did there?  I took the name of the soda and used it somewhat incorrectly in a sentence.

Vacation in a Bottle – Pomegranate Berry is a bit sweeter than I thought it would be.  The ingredients list 10 grams of sugar per 8 ounces so I thought it might be a little short in the sweet spot.  I was wrong.  The sweetness plays well with the pomegranate and berry flavors.  At this point I’m going to stop referring to the generic berry flavor since the pomegranate is clearly the lead actor in this play.  Carbonation is fast and light, but powerful.  It feels like a miniaturized version of the same carbonation you’d find in a Coke brand Coke.  Overall I’m quite pleased with ViB. 

The flavor is strong enough to keep me from forgetting that I’m drinking a soda, but the mouth feel is light enough that it doesn’t seem like I’m drinking straight syrup.  There is a point in each sip though where I get a quick taste of artificial.  I’m not saying that anything in this is artificial, but just be warned that the initial flavor doesn’t flow through 100%.  With that said, I’ve already finished the bottle and would drink another, so it obviously didn’t bother me too incredibly much.  All in all Vacation in a Bottle – Pomegranate Berry was a good experience.  It did many things right and few things wrong, if you see some I recommend giving it a shot.

~A

Flathead Lake Strawberry Orange

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It’s 9:00 in the morning, which is usually way too early for a soda review.  Last week though was lacking in said reviews so I figured I’d try to get an early start to this week by writing one in the A.M.  When I opened my fridge I tried to find the most breakfast like flavor and Flathead Lake Strawberry Orange was the most obvious at hand.  After pondering it for a moment I realized that strawberry orange isn’t exactly a common flavor, yet it seems like the two would pair fairly often in the soda world.  The two should create a tart yet sweet sensation that’s fun for the whole family.  I’ve never been particularly impressed with the ingredients of Flathead Lake sodas so we’ll just hope it delivers big on flavor.  That’s what this is all about anyway, right?

A fun fruit punchesque aroma simultaneously greets my nose and excites my brain for the flavor that may be contained within this glass prison.  The bright red-orange color of the soda itself is also rather inviting as the beads of condensation roll down the neck of the bottle.  If I was to rate this on just appearance and scent then Flathead Lake Strawberry Orange would be doing very well.  Of course all citizens of the Carbo-Nation know that those two are only part of what makes a soda great. 

I immediately can tell that if this were fizzier I’d like it a lot more.  There is indeed a created flavor that begins to taste like strawberry/orange yet it takes the exit to cotton candyville somewhere near the end of each sip.  This is made even more noticeable by the amount of carbonation used in the beverage as I said less than three sentences ago.  While the carbonation levels are not low by any means, if the fizz levels where higher my tongue would be focused on the tiny explosions happening on it rather than the vague sugary flavor this soda eventually becomes.  The vague sugary flavor isn’t terrible, mind you.  I just wish that the initial strawberry/orange combination had been strong enough to last throughout each swig.  Flathead Lake Strawberry Orange is still a good drink in terms of taste, look, and scent.  Thankfully, there is no terrible aftertaste, but the velvet curtain of syrup fall on the stage that is my mouth.  All in all this soda starts off quite tasty, but the soda itself is its own undoing.  Like so many sodas before it the flavor can’t support the weight of all the drinks taken prior.  This causes the soda drinking experience to go from enjoyable to consuming liquid sugar just to finish it.  It’s this aspect that makes Flathead Lake Strawberry Orange an average soda.

~A

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Twist keeps asking for a pair of tiny sunglasses.

Barton Springs Soda Company - Zilker Park Cola

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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

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Keep Twist Weird

Mr. Q. Cumber

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I’ve never liked cucumbers unless they’d been modified to the point of pickles.  Recently (within the year) I got the chance to try a cucumber soda and I really enjoyed it.  I can’t remember the name, but it wasn’t nearly as delightful as Mr. Q. Cumber.  See what they did there?  Other than put this soda in an adorable bottle they gave it an adorable name.  Mr. Q. Cumber soda is an all natural sparkling cucumber beverage.  The ingredients are rather adorable as well:  Sparkling filtered water, cane sugar, citric acid, and natural cucumber flavor.  That’s it.  Water, sugar, citric acid (a natural preservative) and cucumber.  How can you beat that?  Now here is where we find out if ThirstMonger.com did me a solid by sending me this adorable bottle.

As it should, Mr. Q. Cumber smells exactly like a cucumber.  There isn’t a sugary mask that makes this seem like the drink will be cucumber candy.  It holds the aroma of a freshly cut cucumber… a word I’m getting tired of typing.  Now I see why it’s called M. Q. Cumber, they became annoyed with the word cucumber as well.  This very accurate scent frightens my taste buds a little bit as they think they’ll be eating an icky pre-pickle.  Oh well, 7 ounces isn’t too much to handle.

Haha.  The drink literally made me laugh out loud, or LLOL for those wanting to refresh their 90’s internet abbreviations.  Immediately my mouth is struck with the cucumber taste that I shouldn’t like, but I do.  If I were to let this just sit in my mouth it seems like the cucumber taste would never vanish.  Yet, as soon as I continue the ingestion process my mouth is filled with large fizzy bubbles that wash away the majority of the taste and leave a refreshing coolness in their wake.  I genuinely like this soda.  It’s simple, but works on many different levels.  With four ingredients they’ve turned a flavor I normally don’t like into a very interesting soda that I’d happily buy multiples of.  The smaller 7 ounce size is perfect as well.  I’m not sure I’d want a full 12 ounces of this, but 7 ounces makes you wish you had 12.  It uses the Far Side/Calvin and Hobbes logic of going out while you’re on top.  Make them want more without giving them more, that way they’re less likely to tire of you.  I don’t understand why I like this soda when it clearly shares the taste of a vegetable I do not like.  Folks always say that cucumbers are refreshing.  While I don’t agree with that statement I will say that Mr. Q. Cumber is as cool as the other side of the pillow.

~A

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OH Q. CUMBER = CUCUMBER.  GENIUS!