Unfiltered Fresh Ginger: Ginger Ale by Bruce Cost – Pomegranate with Hibiscus

Ok, it has happened.  I am about to review the longest named soda I’ve ever seen.  Keep in mind at this point TheSodaJerks.net is home to nearly 500 reviews and this is by far the most obscenely long name we’ve come across.  Fresh Ginger: Ginger Ale by Bruce Cost – Pomegranate with Hibiscus is what’s in front of me and it will hence forth be called Bruce’s Pomegranate.  The first thing I noticed about Bruce’s Pomegranate is the amount of sediment sitting at the bottom of this bottle.  There are large chunks of something… like terrifyingly large chunks.  Some of them look are small dog treat sized and it’s frightening.  I’m now looking at the ingredients to see what this could be and I’m pleased to see it uses pure cane sugar as a sweetener.  It also seems to include brewed hibiscus with filtered water.  Maybe the large chunks are bits of hibiscus?  After consulting the website I’ve now learned that these large chunks are ginger and upending this bottle a few times should re-mix the formula I’m about to consume.  For the record this didn’t make me feel any better.  Smell time.

A floral yet lemon scent wafts out of the mouth of the bottle.  While the bird sizes pieces of ginger may still frighten me the aroma has calmed some of my nerves and pushes me to take a sip.  It does smell a bit like a cleaning solution, but since Bruce’s Pomegranate uses fresh lemon juice this can be excused.  Taste time.

That’s certainly the very definition of a natural ginger ale.  The burn hits the back of my throat almost immediately and I welcomed it.  What I can only assume is the pomegranate adds a slight twist on the normal ginger flavor with the smallest amounts of fruit sensation.  I’m not sure there are many flavors out there that could go toe to toe with this level of ginger and come out the victor.  I honestly have no idea what to look for in the way of hibiscus flavoring, but I can tell you the pomegranate is not alone.  There is a tiny friend of pom that rushes past on occasion adding a bitter aftertaste to every few sips. 

The carbonation levels are lower than you might think while still being noticeable to the overall experience.  Meanwhile the back of my throat has caught fire and here is where I realize that I’ve grown as a soda drinker.  When I started this site a natural ginger ale would scare me off with the level of pain it could cause to my mouth.  Now I appreciate a good burn although I would compare Bruce’s Pomegranate to more of a ginger beer due to the flame being set so high.  With the last few sips disappearing into my stomach what I think is the hibiscus flavor is making a push towards the front.

 I’ve started consuming most of the sediment and honestly I didn’t even notice I was doing it.  With a final gulp this ginger ale is finished.  While an all-natural ginger ale at heart the pomegranate/hibiscus combination added a little something to the drink overall.  Heck, even the lemon juice was present at times.  It may be a bit too harsh on the throat for some, but if you’re a fan of ginger ale at all then I recommend you pick this up. 

~A

Whenever we go out. The people always shout.  There goes Unfiltered Fresh Ginger: Ginger Ale by Bruce Cost- Pomegranate with Hibiscus... Dah dah dah dah, dah dah dah!

Sidral Mundet Manzana Verde

We love apple soda.  Apple soda is something we love.  With that said when we first proclaimed our love for apple soda it was suggested that we try Sidral Mundet because we’d love it.  We tried it and we did not love it.  In fact we told folks to steer clear of it.  “You should have had it in the glass bottle!” they said in reply.  While not reviewed on this site, Mike did try it in a glass bottle and formulated the same opinion.  Today is round three and it was given to us by Abel A.  Sidral Mundet Manzana Verde (Green Apple) is what sits in front of me, in a glass bottle nonetheless.  Of all the apple flavored sodas green is my favorite, no… my favourite.  That’s right I love it so much that I have to use the British spelling to convey said love.  The soda itself is a delightful mint green and is very appealing to the eye.  Being a product of Mexico it is of course sweetened with sugar and will more than likely require a bottle opener.  Smell time.

It did require said opener and upon removing the cap a blast of green apple aroma shot out of the bottle.  My faith is building that I may perhaps enjoy this beverage called Manzana Verde… by Sidral Mundet.  Taste time.

This is so much better than regular Sidral Mundet.  The apple flavor is stronger and not watered down.  I can decipher that it’s a green apple soda and not just an apple soda that’s green.  The carbonation is very light and hardly noticeable unless I swish it a bit.  Only after doing so do I notice a hint of bubble brushing against my cheeks.  The mouth feel throughout it was pleasant until I reached the end of my journey and found it to be a bit syrupy.  Even with this somewhat syrupy finale I would still recommend Sidral Mundet Manzana Verde as a drink to grab if you’re in need of some serious refreshment.  Overall I’m very pleased with this beverage and will ultimately recommend you purchase multiples.  Its strong points are color, taste, and carbonation with its only weak point being mouth feel.  Manzana Verde is a very nice entry into the genre of green apple sodas.  If I see it in a convenience store I’m sure I’ll pick one up for the journey ahead and suggest you should too.  Oooh, maybe with some Zesty Salsa Tortilla Combos!

~A

They're having a "green off".  Twist will win.

Cool Mountain Peach

Peach soda is usually a pleasant experience for me, but there’s just something about this bottle of Cool Mountain Peach that seems really, really generic.  The liquid inside is the appropriate color (if not a little on the pink side) and the label works with this scheme as well.  Keeping in line with the Real Soda bottling ways there is a message on the bottle that says “Chief Long Neck” which I can only assume is the “Native American name” of this particular bottle of Cool Mountain Peach.  Made with pure cane sugar, filtered water, and a host of nonsense this soda is very much a grab bag in terms of if I’ll like it or not.  Smell time.

While the scent does resemble that of a peach, when I placed it to the nose of our cat she backed away in an unsure manner.  Perhaps she could also smell the potentially over-sweetened aroma even my mere human nose discerned.  Taste time.

Like the old saying goes, “Trust the cat’s nose to know what’s best”.  Ok, so that’s not really a saying, but it still rings true in the scenario that just played out before me.  Cool Mountain Peach, a terrific name for a classic country song or an indie band, tastes of overly sweetened peach tasting chemicals.  Peach is already a dangerously sweet flavor so you must be careful when adding any additional sugars.  In this case it seems they went a few hairs in the wrong direction and created a beverage that would be better if the peach flavor held more of the stage.  Man, I use that “play” analogy a lot, but it works in so many aspects.

The carbonation level is fine, but it doesn’t really add anything extra to the beverage other than the typical fizz one might expect.  Overall Cool Mountain Peach is an average soda with way too sweet a taste for what could have been done.  I understand that sodas are typically sweet, but in this case it feels like they missed out on some potentially great flavors by making it so.

~A

Cool Mountain Peach... more like Cool Mountain BLEACH!  That statement isn't true at all, it was just fun to type.

Capt'n Eli's Strawberry Pop

Well friends it’s time once again for the adventures of Capt’n Eli and his faithful parrot Murphy.  This time those two scallywags are delivering an overabundance of strawberries from the neighboring town that’s apparently separated by a large body of water.  The neighboring town seems to have all the prime real estate when it comes to producing blueberries, strawberries, and root beer.  I’m also not really sure why they don’t give Eli and Murphy some lids for those barrels as you’d think they’d be easier to transport and there’d be less chance for spillage.  What are they going to make with those strawberries?  Well, Capt’n Eli’s Strawberry Pop of course.  This beverage should taste extra strawberry-y as it has both natural and artificial strawberry flavors.  Sweetened with cane sugar it’s sure to be a treat like the other Capt’n Eli beverages I’ve reviewed.

A rich, fulfilling strawberry aroma eases its way out of the bottle.  The scent is heavy and only tinges on artificial occasionally.  While the smell isn’t exactly drawing any maps for me I do hope that this strawberry pop doesn’t falter where so many others do by being too sweet.

Interesting first take.  I was reminded of pink cotton candy upon my first sip, but it wasn’t so sweet that my taste buds balked at it.  The strawberry flavor is there hidden behind a candy exterior.  Honestly this is a bit of a disappointment as I was looking to have a well done strawberry soda and I was greeted with sweetened, fizzy, liquid strawberry cotton candy.  I will still stick to my assessment that it isn’t overly sweet so that’s a plus.  There’s just too much artificial surrounding it.  It keeps the strawberry off the stage and places it to the side pulling the curtain.  Sure you see him every now and again, but honestly it seems like a mistake when he shows up. 

Capt’n Eli’s Strawberry Pop is one of those odd instances where the soda would be tastier if you didn’t know what flavor it was trying to be.  Since I know what the goal they wanted to achieve is (based on the label of a boy hauling fresh strawberries across a body of water) I’m left more disappointed than I would be if someone had just walked up to me and said “Hey try this fruity soda.”  On the positive side though the carbonation is really enjoyable and has kept me going back for more just to experience the sharp, almost pop-rockish, mouth-feel.  Another positive note is that Capt’ Eli’s Strawberry Pop doesn’t really linger in my mouth.   Yes, I can taste strawberry a good while after each gulp, but it’s not the syrupy curtain I reference so often.  Overall it’s a tasty soda with poor execution of what seems to be its intended plan.

~A

Twist was first mate for a number of ships in the Queen's Navy

Avery's Half Grapefruit Half Lemon

While I was perusing my local Ace Hardware’s oddly extensive soda selection I happened upon the oldest looking label I’d seen to date.  The label on Avery’s Half Grapefruit Half Lemon Soda looks like something you would find back in the fledgling stages of glass bottled sodas.  It’s completely text based with the exception of a coin printed right in the middle with what looks to be wheat on it.  According to this bottle coin the Avery’s brand was established in 1904… seems about right.  Even the flavor lives up to being from a simpler time of sodas.  “What kind of soda is this?” you might ask as you look at the bottle.  The cap clearly states that this soda is Half Grapefruit Half Lemon.  There’s you’re two flavors and their respective percentages.  Done.  What’s a little scary is there isn’t an ingredient list anywhere on the bottle, just a blurb that tells me they use cane sugar and the finest quality ingredients.  Perhaps the legal ingredient list was on the original pack of Avery’s and since I only purchased a bottle I’m not privy to such information.  Judging by the two flavors listed on the cap I’m going to go ahead and assume that this will be a rather tart beverage; guess the only thing left to do is try it.

Yes, Avery’s Half Grapefruit Half Lemon Soda does smell a bit like a household cleaner, but I honestly wouldn’t be much of a soda reviewer if I expected much differently.  It’s a very strong citrus wind that blows from the mouth of the bottle.  I truly hope this makes my mouth regret drinking it with at least a split second of sour.

Avery’s HGHL Soda does have more than your average bite to it in the flavor department.  The grapefruit and lemon (as described on the cap) are both given equal opportunity to shine.  When you think the grapefruit flavor is ending the lemon comes in and performs and just when you think the lemon is done back comes the grapefruit.  They really do work rather harmoniously together.  The carbonation is lower than other sodas so it really shows me that all of the tart I’m experiencing is coming from the flavor and not an illusion created by harsh bubbles.  After each sip my mouth is awash with citrus flavor and I think if this were a traditional fruit soda (cherry, grape, orange) that it would be off putting.  The subtle flavors of grapefruit and lemon however don’t really build upon themselves that much so the lasting after taste I receive is almost identical to the initial swig.  As great of a soda as this is there isn’t anything that takes it to the next level for me so I’m having trouble rating it.  I would like multiples of this on hand at any given time, but something tells me a pallet would be too much.  If you’re a grapefruit/lemon fan though don’t listen to me, just go right out there and buy this soda.  You won’t regret it.

~A

Twist is an eighth grapefruit

Leninade

When I opened my fridge today I just couldn’t resist grabbing the bottle of Leninade that’s been staring at me for the past month or so.  I’ve wanted to try Leninade for the past two or three years so when I found it in my local ACE Hardware I immediately placed into my basket.  Leninade is of course a reddish beverage who’s bottle sports such slogans as “Join the Party!”, “Get Hammered & Sickled!” and the slightly more obscure “A Taste Worth Standing in Line For!”.  The back has a few words written in Russian as well as another amusing statement, “Our 5-Year Plan:  Drink a bottle a day for five years and become a Hero of Socialist Flavor.”  So Leninade is already winning the war in style points.  They’ve themed this bottle to an impressive point and I’ve taken notice.  It’s one of the reasons I’ve wanted to try this beverage for so long.  Looking at the ingredients I see that Cane Sugar is the sweetener of choice for Leninade.  Good for them.  I can only assume that with a name like Leninade I’m about to consume a soda that tastes somewhat like lemonade.  It rhymes, so why would it taste like anything else.  That’s solid logic… right?  Ok, so I need to hush up and drink now.  See you on the other side of the smell paragraph.

Ok, before I start this I noticed something stamped on my bottle.  Not something printed on the official label, but stamped… like the expiration date kind of stamped.  It’s a sentence that reads “Imagine All the Soda”.  That’s it and it makes me really happy for some reason because I am imagining “All the Soda”.  Anywho… the aroma that is assaulting my nose is that of a very caustic sour lemon.  So apparently my rhyming logic may end up proving true.  I have no doubts that this beverage will declare war on my throat because it’s made by Real Soda, a brand that has burnt my mouth on more than one occasion. 

Well this isn’t as caustic or amazing as I thought it would be.  It certainly is lemonade based like I predicted, but to be more specific it’s “pink” lemonade.  The communist jokes just keep on coming for the folks at Real Soda.  The amount of tart has been increased just a bit from your common pink lemonade and of course it’s carbonated.  Lemonade with carbonation is normally a win/win situation.  You get the tastiness of lemonade with the fun fizziness of carbonation.  Like I said, win/win.  Leninade does indeed have the fun combo, but nothing else really stands out about this product.  With all the theming they put into the bottle I really hoped that the soda inside would be more than average.  If you want a fizzy, somewhat-sour pink lemonade with an average aftertaste then look no further because mediocrity is staring you in the face.  Now, if you’re a collector of amusing bottles or fake U.S.S.R. memorabilia then Leninade was made for you and should be used at your birthday/wedding/funeral.  Your decision, Comrade.

~A

Twist served in the Soviet Army back in the late 1800's... something about impressing a woman.

Boylan Shirley Temple

The fine folks at Boylan wrote me the other day and asked if they could send a four pack of their new Spring Seasonal - Shirley Temple over for review.  Having enjoyed Boylan’s before, I of course lept at the opportunity and now here I sit with Boylan Shirley Temple in front of me.  If you’re not familiar with what a Shirley Temple is besides the cutest little star this side of 1934, I’ll tell you.  A Shirley Temple is a non-alcoholic beverage made with ginger-ale, a splash of grenadine, and a couple of maraschino cherries.  That is the classic recipe at least.  Nowadays the ginger ale is usually substituted with a lemon/lime soda for a reason unknown to me.  Well bottlers at Boylan decided it’d be a great idea to bottle this flavor and once again here I sit ready to drink this cane sugar sweetened concoction.  The color of the liquid is a beautiful shade of rose.  The classic Boylan label adorns the bottle with a spring time color theme that seems very appropriate for the drink at hand.  Enough waiting, more drinking.

I wish I had a flower garden that smelled of Boylan Shirley Temple.  A brisk cherry scent floated about until kissing my nose with delight.  There’s also a hint of Twizzler which brings me back to reality and says that I should stay cautious.

So very fizzy.  The quick burst of cherry is almost immediately consumed by a flurry of tiny bubbles.  When the chaos ends I’m happy to see that the cherry flavor has survived and is sitting happily upon my tongue awaiting my review.  While the flavor does indeed linger after each sip it only overstays its welcome for a few moments.  You see, the mouth-feel of Boylan Shirley Temple is very effervescent at first and only begins to weigh down near the conclusion of my sip.  Unfortunately this involves the cherry taste building upon itself with subsequent sips which weakens the overall taste of the beverage.  I’m not struggling to drink it by any means, but the first impression I got does not match my last.  Thankfully the built up flavor never reaches a level of disgust, just unpleasantness.  It’s difficult for fruit based sodas to avoid building upon themselves and I can only think of a few where it actually improves the taste of the beverage.  I do wish the cherry flavoring tasted a bit more natural, but the flavor of maraschino cherries isn’t exactly found in nature.  All in all Boylan Shirley Temple is a delightful beverage.  While improvements could be made I don’t think I’d mind a pack being in my fridge right now.

~A

This beverage supplied to us by Boylan

Twist was on his way out the door for a meeting

Grandpa Lundquist Christmas Soda

So who’s ready for the New Year?  Who’s ready to let go of 2012 and move on to 2013 with new goals in mind?  What’s that you say “Guy who had the best 2012 ever”?  You’re not ready to let go just quite yet?  Well what if I told you I could give you an extra week?  What if you could drink a soda and get exactly one week back?  You can’t, but I am going to review this Grandpa Lunquist Christmas Soda a week late regardless.   Who knows, maybe it’ll remind you so much of the last week it’ll feel like you hopped in the DeLorean/TARDIS/Phone Booth and took a trip 7 days backwards.  This particular soda is sweetened with cane sugar and caffeine free, yay for that.  It also has natural hops and malt in its list of ingredients, boo to that.  In case you’re unfamiliar with Christmas soda this bottle has a brief history lesson on it.

During Jul (pronounced “yule” – Swedish for Christmas), children and adults alike enjoy Julmust, a unique, sweet and flavorful winter soft drink.

Created in 1920, Julmust was quickly embraced and continues to be a part of Swedish culture to this day.

Start your own tradition by serving ice cold Grandpa Lunquist Christmas Soda at all your holiday gatherings and winter events.

So there you have it.  I guess a review qualifies as a winter event so I guess I should get cracking.  Onward!

The last Christmas soda reviewed on this site was done by Mike and if I remember correctly he hated it.  Upon opening this bottle I have to admit I’m a little sad that it didn’t fill the room with a pine aroma.  Instead my nose searched out a citrus/cola scent that holds licorice tones as well.  Honestly I have no idea what this smells like, but my brain is still trying to piece together similar scent in hopes of an accurate description.  It doesn’t smell gross, so there’s that.

While I expected to hate a hops/barely beverage I don’t hate this.  Grandpa Lunquist Christmas Soda has a noticeable flavor similarity to green cough syrup, but the flavor isn’t so bold as to keep you from taking another sip.  Much like many holiday treats this beverage has a tummy warming characteristic as well.  I wouldn’t liken it to whisky or anything like that, but it does warm unlike most sodas.  After the cough syrup taste has subsided I was greeted with a flat cola flavor that just sort of sits on the back of my tongue.  Oddly enough this is considerably more refreshing than I ever would have predicted it to be.  Would I open the fridge after a long run only to pull out a Grandpa Lunquist Christmas Soda?  No.  Would I enjoy this with some popcorn or salty salty chips?  Yes, yes I would.  You’d think that when my main two descriptors of a soda are “cough syrup” and “flat cola” that I would give it a scathing review.  Maybe it’s the Christmas magic jammed into this bottle, but I don’t hate this soda.  I wouldn’t put it on the syllabus as required drinking, but if you see a bottle pick it up.

~A

Merry Twistmas!

Capone Family Secret Root Beer

It’s a chilly day outside here in Texas with a high of 59.  I’d be interested to see how many of our readers are scoffing at me right now.  Scoff all you like as a chilly day brings out my taste for root beer.  So if I didn’t think it was chilly you probably wouldn’t be getting a review right now… about root beer.  Ah well.  Today’s bottle on the chopping block is Capone Family Secret Root Beer.  For those of you not in the know, Al Capone was a gangster during prohibition that did a host of illegal things one of which was running booze.  The story I’m going to give to Capone Family Secret Root Beer is this.  Of course Al Capone needed to smuggle his booze in a container of some sort and before he got smart about it he just put them in root beer bottles instead.  Yes, I know that’s the equivalent of putting them in a bottle labeled “Not Beer I Swear”, but it’s the story I’m going with. 

Wait… I just found that the bottle has a story as well.  Let’s compare shall we?

“During the 1920’s Capone’s warehouses were raided by the police 137 time, eager to seize their inventory of illegal alcohol.  There were only a few items found on every single raid and it was not alcohol.  It was cases of the “Capone Family Secret” Soda.  After 80+ years the “Secret” Soda was finally made public, so families can enjoy great sodas, while experiencing a piece of history.”

So there you have it, a more complete tale to go with the soda at hand.  Apparently these are the ingredients of the “Secret” Soda:  Carbonated Water, Sugar Caramel Color, Sodium Benzoate (Preservative), Natural Flavor, and Citric Acid.  That sounds like something that would be in a 20’s soda to me… I’m sold.  I was wavering at Sugar, but once I saw that Sodium Benzoate was in there I knew this was a legit Capone family recipe.  Kidding aside, I’ve written way to much without drinking anything.  Onward!

This smells to be a rather rooty root beer.  A stronger than usual licorice scent smacked me the nostrils only to be followed up by what seems to be a rather noticeable vanilla aroma as well.  Well I’m leaning back towards impressed now that I’ve gotten a whiff.  Drinking time!

That is some of the most carbonated root beer I’ve ever tasted.  It attacked my mouth with a flurry of tiny bubbles all trying to break the legs of my taste buds.  With that said the high amount of carbonation creates a very foamy head that gives Capone Family Secret Root Beer a light and airy feel the likes of which I have never experienced before.  I’ll be interested to see if this particular mouth feel lasts the entire bottle.    Now the flavor is quite unique as well.  Even though some of Capone’s ingredients are a little suspect the taste is wonderful.  There’s an immediate burst of vanilla that lingers though each sip to the last possible moment.  As the vanilla taste begins its transformation into memory a familiar root beer flavor takes over.  Immediately my mind goes to Al Capone sending two of his guys out to take care of some “business”.  Sure he could have just sent Vinny Vanilla out to do the job, but he told Roddy Root to go with him and make sure it got done right.  The result is my tongue experiencing a one, two punch of vanilla and root beer that makes me wish it had ticked off the Capone family even more.  Now that I’m done with the bottle I can tell you that the foamy light mouth feel does decrease some, but lasts long enough that I can safely say it’s one of the most unique root beer sensations I’ve ever had.  The differences in mouth feel and flavor make it almost seem like I’m drinking two completely different delicious root beers and for that the Capone Family should be rewarded.

~A

Faux Fact:  Al Capone's pet of choice was an iguana named Twist.  Coincidence?

AJ Stephans Raspberry Lime Rickey

Today is a momentous day.  Let it be known that on this nineteenth day of December in the year two thousand twelve that I started to like green peppers on my pizza.  This honestly has nothing to do with the review at hand; I just figured that it would be amusing to have such an odd occasion documented for myself down the road.  Speaking of odd, (nice segue, no?) today’s soda flavor is two of my favorites combined into what I’m thinking will be a royal mess.  AJ Stephans Raspberry (yum) Lime Rickey (what?).  It has been well documented, like my love of green peppers on pizza, that I love both non-blue raspberry and lime flavored things.  With that knowledge existing on this plane of reality I still can’t imagine a Raspberry Lime Rickey being anywhere close to normal.  I know that cherry and lime mix, as do cranberry and lime, and strawberry and lime, but my brain won’t let raspberry and lime be a normal thing.  The ingredient list says nothing about either fruit actually being used in the making of this product, but cane sugar is fortunately present.  Enough wondering, it’s time to drink.  Onward!

Raspberry is the dominate scent floating out of the bottle and I must say it’s a rather lovely aroma at that, rich, sweet, and inviting to my nostrils.  Hopefully the taste is just as inviting to my mouth.

Ultra fizzy and not half bad.  While I’m sure that AJ Stephans would never use that as a slogan for their Raspberry Lime Rickey those were my immediate impressions.  The bubbles are small, but fierce and the raspberry flavor is a bit quieter than what my nose anticipated.  While the taste of lime isn’t dominating the beverage it does add a pleasant twang throughout each sip.  I’m not sure what strengthening the flavor of lime would do to the taste of the beverage, but I think it would be an improvement.  Give me more of that sour pucker feeling in the back of my cheeks.  Make my brain really decide which flavor it wants to taste more.  Right now the raspberry is so strong in comparison to the lime you’re never really given a chance to choose.  It’s like at the animal shelter when you’re looking at dogs and they’re two to a cage.  One of those dogs usually steps out in front of his cage mate and hogs the chain link door.  Meanwhile you have no idea what the other dog has to offer, he’s just back there trying to catch your eye while dodging a waggy tail.  There is a bit of a syrupy mouth feel at the finish, but the flavor left behind isn’t off putting.  I do wish that mouth feel wasn’t there at all as it slightly weakens a fairly solid beverage.  With that said, I will commend AJ Stephans for taking what I consider to be a risk in making a bottled soda with these two flavors.  It just didn’t work out as well for me as I had wished.

~A

Faux Fact: Twist invented the Boston Cream Pie.

Apple Beer

So I found a ton of awesome sodas at Ace Hardware and while I didn’t have an order for them I knew I wanted to try Apple Beer last.  I figured that Apple Beer was going to be the best of the bunch with a rich apple flavor and it would be my reward for a job well done on all the other reviews I’m slated to do.  Sadly this is not the case thanks to seven pounds of grey.  Seven pounds of grey is what our cat is.  She’s a little thing that we’ve had for around 6 years and has always been fairly small.  We figured she was the runt of the litter, but didn’t know because when we picked her up she was already 9 months old.  Seven pounds of grey hates having her nails trimmed to the point of drawing large amounts of blood from whoever tries to.  We’ve taken her to the vet and it takes two people and an extra fee to hold down seven pounds of grey so when we got a new Petco nearby I figured I could take her there.  Let’s now fast forward to 5 minutes after I drop her off with the salon specialist.  In that amount of time the salon specialist has found me in the store and voiced her fear of seven pounds of grey.  The giant man of a salon assistant has also voiced his fear so it’s now a three person job to get seven pounds of grey’s nails trimmed.  Ten dollars, four minutes, and three people later, seven pounds of grey has shorter nails.  I needed to relax and the Apple Beer from the fridge came a calling. 

Stare into the embodiment of violence

Apple Beer is made with pure cane sugar and apparently is a “Nineteenth century Bavarian tradition made in the Rocky Mountains since 1964”.  I’m just hoping for a ton of apple flavoring with some nice spices to boot.  The label strengthens my hope with a picture of a rustic looking apple covered slightly by a paper scroll with the words “Apple Beer” on them.  Onward!

I’m a little sad this was a twist off cap, but the scent that greets my nostrils has me quickly forgetting I ever cared about how I opened the bottle.  Apple cider soda is what my nose thinks it’s about to drink and my mouth is anxious to try it.

While I wanted a more complex flavor, Apple Beer definitely relaxed my brain within the first sip.  It’s a foamy beverage with a medium to light amount of carbonation.  Apple flavoring quickly saturates all of the available pores in my mouth.  My tongue seems to think it’s found a modicum of spice, but I’m guessing my brain is imagining it to keep itself happy and relaxed.  While there is no syrupy aftertaste the apple flavor stays for quite a while after each sip.  Since it’s a pleasant flavor I have no issue with that, but some might wish for a cleaner finish.   Overall I’m pleased with Apple Beer although as I mentioned before I wish it were a harsher beverage.  In a perfect world you would have to sip Apple Beer due to the complexities and spice that were present in each ounce.  What they gave us was a good apple soda that excelled in mouth feel and robust apple flavoring.

~A

Look how rustic the two of them are together.

Cheerwine

It’s Friday which means it’s time for a bottle of wine… CHEERWINE that is!  I’ve had many a folk suggest and laud Cheerwine over the past several years and finally I have a bottle in my possession thanks to the Dublin Bottling Works.  When you break the name down it does seem that Cheerwine is the perfect Friday beverage.  Both “cheer” and “wine” are things that people might experience upon arriving home from their week at work.  Since I would avoid the wine filled Friday I’m thankful that Cheerwine is a cherry soda, or at least I assume it is because there’s a tiny cherry on the bottle with the words “Unique Sparkling Soft Drink” surrounding it. I’m not sure how unique a cherry soda can be, but I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt.  Before I go on any further I must write this sentence where I happily inform you that Cheerwine is sweetened with cane sugar.  They opted to not write “Pure Cane Sugar” and went with the less popular, but Aaron preferred, “Real Cane Sugar.”  Enough of this chatter, let’s find out exactly what Cheerwine is together (but mostly me).  Onward!

A deliciously rich wild cherry scent greets my nostrils and pats them on the back as if they’ve been buddies for years.  Hopefully this experience won’t strain that relationship.

There is way more carbonation in this than I was expecting.  Each sip fills my mouth with a multitude of bubbles to the point where I have to initially search for the flavor.  After the search has ended and all parties are accounted for I’m greeted with a pleasant cherry burst that has little medicinal flavoring… which is always a risk in cherry flavored beverages.  The cherry scent isn’t overpowering nor is it as sweet as its scent might suggest.  Cheerwine is comparable to a muted Cherry Crush and before you take that as a negative give Cherry Crush a taste and you’ll realize that you can have less cherry flavor than that and still produce a good beverage. 

Since the flavor is somewhat subdued the drink becomes more refreshing than I would have predicted.  It’s not something that I would chug after a marathon or anything, but I could see enjoying a bottle of Cheerwine under the ol’ shade tree with your best gal/guy.  The two of you waxing poetic on if you should try to sell your stallion out to stud or if you should just keep working at the market where you know everyone’s name.  She’d/He’d, listen to your story and stay silent because it’s not up to them and y’all haven’t been dating long enough that they feel sure enough to help you make such a decision.  Instead to break the silence you reach for your cool bottle of Cheerwine and take a swig, only to notice out of the corner of your eye that your belle/beau is doing the same.  Just another small moment in life you’ve now bonded over… maybe you’ll marry her/him one day.

With that all said and the last paragraph doing its best to be more story than review here’s the true true on Cheerwine.  Even though it’s flavored with artificial cherry, Cheerwine delivers a pleasant flavor that would be great if it wasn’t for the overabundance of carbonation.

~A

This beverage supplied to us by The Dublin Bottling Works

Twist literally puts the cheer in every bottle.

Dublin Vintage Cola

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

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

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

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

~A

This beverage supplied to us by the Dublin Bottling Works

Twist wishes you a happy birthday!

Dublin Retro Creme Soda

With my computer now updated from Vista to shiny new Windows 8 I figured it was about time to write a review.  How those two things correlate I have no idea, but I’ve been fiddling with my computer for the last few hours and just wanted to work it into the review.  Today’s soda installment is Dublin Retro Crème Soda.  In case you weren’t aware, retro crème soda = red crème soda in the eyes of the Dublin Bottling Works.  Even though I have a seasoned palate I’m not quite sure what makes the red version the “retro” version, but life would be rather boring if we knew everything.  It’s time to taste this sugar sweetened treat.  Onward!

I do enjoy the look of red crème soda over its many brothers and the smell always seems a bit sweeter.  Is it?  Probably not, but in this case Dublin Retro Crème Soda delivers in the memory department and sends me back to enjoying a bottle with my dad.  I’ve told the story before somewhere on this site, so hopefully I’ll link it and we’ll all remember together.  Drinkin’ time!

With a nice punch to the tongue the Retro Crème Soda fizzes and bubbles throughout my mouth.  It’s not as smooth as your standard light brown cream soda, but the vanilla taste is unmistakably there.  While sweeter than many other beverages, Dublin Retro Crème Soda doesn’t overdo it and allows you to enjoy the entirety of the bottle without getting overloaded with sugar.  As I’ve said in other red cream soda reviews it’s hard for me to shove nostalgia out of the way so that I might accurately rate this beverage.  Since I’m paid the non-existent big bucks I guess I’ll just have to give it a go in one fatal sentence.  Dublin Retro Crème Soda is a tasty entry in the cream soda department and while it does nothing to stand at the top of Cream Soda Hill it camps somewhere about halfway.

~A

This was beverage supplied to us by Dublin Bottling Works

Twist is the only thing over the age of 30 that's not "retro"

Triple XXX Root Beer

Today’s fantastic voyage into my fridge paid off with a bottle of Triple XXX Root Beer and until this point I thought it was “Triple X” Root Beer or “XXX” Root Beer… you know, three X’s.  Upon looking at said bottle I see that it’s actually “Triple XXX” Root Beer which actually means we’re dealing with nine X’s here.  Now I’m not sure where that rates in terms of root beer, but I do know that you’re one X away from having a pretty nice Stetson hat.  The slogan of Triple XXX Root Beer is that it “Makes Thirst a Joy.”  I must say that this is one of my favorite slogans to date as its simplicity is perfect for an “old school” beverage such as itself.  Upon writing that last sentence I felt it was imperative to look up the history of Triple XXX Root Beer and was surprised to see that it’s “roots” (haha) stem from Galveston, TX which is right down the road from me.  If you’re interested at all in soda lore I recommended checking it out on the Triple XXX website.  Don’t worry; we’ll explain it to your parents when it pops up in their history.  Enough of the non-tasting portion of the review, it’s time to hopefully enjoy some cane sugar sweetened Triple XXX Root Beer.  Onward!

Oooh, I like the smell of this.  A rich rooty aroma escapes from the mouth of the bottle enticing me to drink its contents.  Normally smelling root beer doesn’t make me thirsty, but I can honestly say that the scent of Triple XXX Root Beer has me salivating a bit.

Upon first drink several thoughts fill my head about Triple XXX Root Beer.  First off the carbonation levels are higher than I expected, but not so much that the somewhat creamy mouth feel is completely lost although it’s walking a fine line.  Secondly, the root beer flavor is unoffending.  It’s not amazingly powerful nor is it weak and watery nor is it filled with numerous spices and flavors.  In fact with each sip I take I’m realizing how “normal” this root beer is.  There’s nothing really about Triple XXX that sets itself apart from other root beers, unless you count the fact that it could be the root beer baseline.  Fortunately there is a bit of caramel taste at the end of each sip which pleasantly lingers in my mouth.  This “Grand Finale of Flavor” if you will, is the highlight of Triple XXX Root Beer.  Personally I like IBC Root Beer better even if it is sweetened with HFCS, but then again I have a bias towards IBC that delves into the world of nostalgia.

Now for the sentence that makes the previous three paragraphs pointless.  Triple XXX Root Beer has no obviously faults or victories in terms of root beer taste and aside from a pleasant caramel finish just doesn’t make itself that memorable.

~A

This beverage supplied to us by The Dublin Bottling Works.

Twist was valued at over 9000 x's

Dublin Tart n Sweet Lemonade

When I blindly reached into my fridge today picking out the soda I would review imagine my surprise when a bottle of lemonade came out.  I wasn’t all that surprised mind you, as I knew the lemonade was one of five beverages I could have grabbed.  You all know that we rarely review non-carbonated beverages, but of course I’m going to give a pass to Dublin since they (1) Sent us a bunch of free beverages for the sole purpose of reviewing and (B) probably make some dang good lemonade.  Like all the Dublin drinks this one is sweetened with pure cane sugar so hopefully it utilizes it well.  Before I begin I must tell you about this tiny elf-like man on the bottle greeting me amongst the retro art, as if to welcome me into his lemonade home.  Thanks, Elf-man.  Thelfman.

The lemonade is titled Tart n Sweet and I must say the “tart” comes out in droves in the smell department.  It’s not cleaning product strong, but I found my taste buds flinching in anticipation of the sour nectar that’s about to envelop them.

Well it’s not as tart as I thought it was going to be, but I’m not disappointed as it still packs a pinch.  On the “tart-scale” from 1-10, with 1 being a nun and 10 being that ex-girlfriend you were too good for, I’d give this about a 6 which means nothing to you.  Even though it’s not shocking my ‘buds, Dublin Tart n Sweet Lemonade is still sour enough to resonate in my mouth after each sip.  Oddly, this is what I would imagine the lemonade at a lemonade stand tasting like.  Now sadly I’ve never tasted any lemonade stand lemonade, but now I can play the home version and it’s almost as good.  I’m pretty sure the kids running the lemonade stand wouldn’t use Ester Gum or Sodium Benzoate though.  Ignorant Children. 

The sweetness factor is noticed and appreciated as it doesn’t mind playing second fiddle to the tart mouth-feel.  If you’ve ever had lemonade that was too sugary you know that it doesn’t take much for that experience to start going downhill in a hurry.  Dublin Tart n Sweet has a fantastic bland of its titular adjectives.  Thankfully it’s not a very syrupy drink.  I find that it sits a few pounds heavier than light upon my tongue as I finish each gulp.  As far as lemonades go it’s about one step better than your standard fare.  Overall a pretty good showing.

Now for the sentence that renders the last four paragraphs pointless.  Dublin Tart n Sweet Lemonade tastes like you made it at home with its tart lemon flavor and a sweetness that can only be described as simple.

~A

With Twist in the picture it's Tart n Sweet n Sweet... D'awwww

Dublin Vanilla Cream Soda

Now that I’ve taken a four soda detour I feel it’s only right to get back on the road to Dublin and finish up the last six sodas they sent me.  The first landmark I see on the ol’ dusty trail is this bottle of Dublin Vanilla Cream Soda.  Cream soda is one of those beverages where it seems to be harder to differentiate the good from the great.  Hopefully since Dublin uses pure cane sugar I’ll think it’s the latter, but my mind is telling me this is like most every other cream soda out there.  Let’s find out shall we?  Onward!

The scent that wafts from the mouth of the bottle is one riddled with sweet vanilla.  Its smells so much of vanilla that it approaches the intensiveness of a product you might purchase from the Yankee Candle Company candle.  Why I name dropped Yankee Candle Company and didn’t just type “scented candle” is a mystery to me.  Perhaps I’ll get some kind of endorsement deal.  Time for a taste.

My initial opinion of the taste isn’t really a fond one.  As soon as the Dublin Vanilla Cream Soda hits my tongue I’m sadly greeted with a brief bitter flavor followed up with your standard cream soda fare.  Even though this is made with pure cane sugar the “artificial flavors” make themselves known right away and throughout the entire drinking experience.  It makes me sad to say that I’d rather drink an A&W Cream Soda than this and I can’t recommend that you purchase it.  The flavor isn’t gross mind you; it’s just inferior to several othercream sodas out there in this wonderful world.  You’d pick this up and finish the bottle with little problem, but I don’t think this soda would bring much more fun to your life. 

Thankfully it has the correct amount of carbonation in my opinion.   It’s not so fizzy that it takes away from what smoothness is there, but also not so flat that you feel like you’re drinking artificial sugar.  With all that said my Friday has turned sad as I was looking forward to my Dublin treat today.  Fortunately I have 5 different flavors in my fridge and I just know they’ll be better. 

To summarize in a sentence that renders the last four paragraphs pointless… Dublin Vanilla Cream Soda smells like a great cream soda, but tastes slightly below average.

~A

This beverage supplied to us by Dublin Bottling Works.

Twist was the 8th Beatle for 2 months.

Sodafruit- Boysenberry Soda

With my “sick mouth” fully gone now that I’ve been to the dentist I believe it’s time to start up the reviews again.  My smell-o-meter is functioning at a near peak level of 70% (peak for me is probably around 80%) and I’ve got one last bottle of Sodafruit to hopefully enjoy.  Today’s version of Sodafruit is Boysenberry Soda.  I chose to review this last because the last 30 years of my life have left me with little information on the taste of boysenberries.  The closest I’ve had to actual boysenberryies are dewberries, black berries, and raspberries.  Since a boysenberry is the child of a few of those I listed I feel that I can still give an accurate taste assessment, but you won’t be seeing the sentence “this tastes exactly like boysenberry” at any other point in the article.  Before I begin I’d like to list the ingredients of Sodafruit Boysenberry Soda because they are worth mentioning:  Carbonated water, cane sugar, boysenberries, lemon juice, citric acid, preservative (202).  Now that you know we’re dealing with some top notch ingredients (sans mystery preservative) I’ll continue.  Onward!

Before I opened the bottle I upended it and saw a large amount of seed/pulp floating around.  This may be a rather intense texture situation or I won’t notice the pulp at all, either way I’m excited.  The soda has a robust blackberry cobbler smell to it that’s very rich on even a scent level.  While I know this usually equals greatness I’m a little concerned about how rich Sodafruit Boysenberry is going to be.

The first thing I notice is that its mouth feel is a bit thicker than your regular soda.  Not V8 thick by any means, but its viscosity is a bit higher than Soda-X.  Sodafruit Boysenberry is also a bit harsher on the throat than Apple Crumble and Strawberry were and I think that’s to be expected due to the tart nature of the fruit used for flavoring.  The taste is rich, much like biting into a juicy dew/blackberry as the sweetness overcomes how sharp the soda’s flavor is about halfway through each gulp.  Much like when I reviewed the strawberry soda, the pulp I was worried about becoming a distraction has done nothing but blend into the background only to be seldom noticed. 

While delicious on many levels some might find this a bit too rich for their liking.  Each drink coats your mouth in boysenberry goodness, but it can feel a bit heavy at times.  If I could change something about it I’d maybe make it a bit lighter with a touch more fizz.  I know that adjusting the carbonation levels on a soda like this can be tricky, but I’m not dealing with science in my requests… I’m just waving a magic wand around without care.  Oh look at that, Stephen Moffat has gone back to writing individual episodes of Doctor Who instead of running the series and I’ve brought back Surge.  Now that I suddenly have the need to change a few things I’ll leave you with a sentence that you could have read instead of this review. 

Sodafruit Boysenberry Soda is full-bodied soda with a succulent taste that permeates every crevasse of your mouth and while it isn’t syrupy a nudge toward the lighter/fizzier side wouldn’t hurt.

~A

This soda supplied to us by Sodafruit

Twist spend 7 years on Knott's Berry Farm

Sodafruit - Strawberry Soda

I even licked Twist to get the flavor off of him

So the last review I did was for Sodafruit Apple Crumble and it blew me away.  Today we take another look at Sodafruit, but this time the cards aren’t in their favor and here’s why.  Apple is one of my favorite flavors of soda… strawberry is not due to the fact that strawberry soda is usually over sweetened to the point of being sickly.  I’m not saying that there aren’t good strawberry sodas out there; I’m just saying that there aren’t many that agree with my palate.  Hopefully my concerns are nullified due to Sodafruit’s simple ingredient list which is as follows:  Carbonated water, cane sugar, strawberries, lemon juice, citric acid, and preservative (202).  With an ingredient list as simple as that (minus the preservative of course)  I’d say Sodafruit Strawberry Soda has a decent chance of setting itself apart from the sticky sugary soda I associate with strawberries.  Onward!

Upon opening I get a very natural smelling strawberry scent and understandably so since there are bits of strawberry floating around in the bottle.  The scent also reminds me of one of those real fancy strawberry lemonades you might get from one of them sit down eateries, the kind you don’t get free refills on.  There’s only one way to figure out if my nose is telling my tongue the truth… well there’s probably a few, but drinking seems the best at the moment.

That’s damn good.  The natural strawberry taste shines through like gangbusters and it’s been sweetened to just the right amount.  A light fizz is ever present keeping the drink fun with every sip.  I find myself licking my lips to get every last bit of flavor I possibly missed during the initial swig.  The floating strawberry bits I mentioned earlier are noticeable, but unobtrusive.  If you’ve ever had natural strawberry lemonade with chunks of strawberry you know that despite its name strawberry doesn’t play well with straws as it keeps getting stuck within them creating “lemonade rage”.  If you were to consume Soda fruit Strawberry soda via straw you would have no such “rage”.  Since I’m on the topic of strawberry lemonade once again I must mention that the lemon juice used in the making of this soda can be seen in the shadows if you look hard enough.  If you’re a fan of Seuss then just picture the strawberry soda as Horton while the lemon juice sits atop the clover he protects with his life. 

With that last analogy being average at best and my Sodafruit Strawberry Soda bottle sadly empty it’s time to wrap up.  Sodafruit Strawberry is a wonderful experience of natural strawberry taste.  While noticeably sweet it’s not so much that you’ll regret coming back for more as the light carbonation keeps you interested.  I have no problem saying that at this point in time it’s the best strawberry soda I’ve ever had.

~A

This soda supplied to us by Sodafruit.

A “Twist’s Choice” Recipient

Sodafruit - Apple Crumble

Twist is mostly fruit juice

Now that my vacation is over it’s time to take a break.  Take a break from Dublin Bottling Works soda that is!  While I still have 6 or so more DBW flavors to go I recently received 3 bottles from Sodafruit that require my immediate attention as they’re made from an upstart brewer in New Zealand.  If you remember our reviews of the Hotlips brand of sodas I have a feeling that Sodafruit will be similar in taste and quality.  The ingredients of Sodafruit Apple Crumble are as follows:  carbonated water, cane sugar, apple juice, lemon juice, spices, and preservative (202).  While I’m not a fan of numbered preservatives, since I have no idea what they mean, I’ll stave off judgment until consumption.  I especially like that the nutrition label separates the amounts of cane sugar and fruit sugar.  The label itself is very simplistic, but it’s a simplistic soda so I honestly have no beef with this.  So there you have it.  Sodafruit is from New Zealand and seems to favor simple ingredients.  Why did I write a paragraph on a description I could have done in a sentence?  Onward!

I actually swore when I smelled this soda for the first time.  It smells like Apple Crumble.  It doesn’t smell like chemicals made to smell like Apple Crumble; it straight up smells like Apple Crumble/Pie.  If you’re an avid citizen of the Carbo-Nation then you know that Reed’s Spiced Apple Brew is my favorite beverage of all time due to its apple pie aftertaste.  Will Sodafruit Apple Crumble fall in the same delicious category?  The hype has started to build.

Apple Juice soda with a dash of cinnamon to boot!  Sodafruit Apple Crumble has a low level of carbonation that allows me to easily brush the bubbles aside and really taste the apple.  Speaking of the apple, the apple flavor in this is amazingly honest.  Sodafruit Apple Crumble is apple juice 2.0.  It may not have the nutritional values of apple juice, but it’s improved on the taste.  I do wish the “spices” were a bit more prevalent in their taste although the amount that’s used is still plenty to alter the flavor pleasurably.  I’m surprised at how refreshing an apple crumble flavored soda can be actually.  I was expecting a sweeter concoction that sat a little heavier in my mouth, but throughout the drinking process was delighted to find a lighter soda with a fairly clean finish.

 Overall Sodafruit Apple Crumble is one of the best sodas I’ve ever had the pleasure of drinking.  It doesn’t unseat Reed’s Spiced Apple Brew as my favorite, but its simple ingredients, refreshingly light mouth-feel, and glorious flavor have made me a fan for life.

~A

This soda supplied to us by Sodafruit

A “Twist’s Choice” Recipient