Mountain Dew - Johnson City Dew

Yesterday a package arrived at my door filled with hay and Mountain Dew paraphernalia.  It was a promotional kit telling me that I had the ability to choose the name and label art of Mountain Dew’s new malt flavored soda.  The soda was released in Johnson City, TN (the birthplace of Mountain Dew) as Mountain Dew Johnson City Gold, but now that it was going nationwide they needed a few new regional names and can art to go along with their product.

Anytime something is packaged in "hay" you know you're in for a treat

Here’s what it had inside.

Today I learned that Mystery Can + Free Awesome Markers make me giggle out of happiness

Now the contest ends today and I didn’t feel up to the task of creating amazing label art, but I did what I could.  If you’re a talented artist, or just bored, head on over to YourMaltDew.com and submit your entry.  As for the names they’ve already held the first contest for those so the job I was tasked with was to choose the best of three for my region.  Being from Texas I’m bundled into the “South” region where my name choices were the following:  Mountain Dew Southern Pride, Blue Ridge Dew, and Mountain Dew Southern Gold.  I don’t particularly like any of those names, but I have no one to blame for myself since I didn’t submit a name of my own.  Overall the best name in my opinion comes from the “Southwest” region with Mountain Dew Miner’s Malt.  I eventually chose Blue Ridge Dew as my name of choice for my region and started to think about my label art which you can see below.  With my terrible version of Twist scrawled in Sharpie on a can label a question popped into my head.  “If this soda doesn’t have a name, what do I call it in my review?”  Well I figured the best thing to do in such a unique situation was to use the original name for it, Mountain Dew Johnson City Gold (which honestly is better than ANY of the regional names in my opinion since the name holds a history.)

The likeness is so... so... so... so-so

I must be up front with you and say that I’ve yet to drink a “malt” soda that I enjoyed at all.  Now I will say that I’m more optimistic towards Mountain Dew Johnson City Gold just because it carries the “Dew” moniker, but still quite skeptical of the equation Malt + Dew = Tasty.  Since the can I received has no label, besides the amazing one I made, I can’t tell you what the ingredients are so you’ll have to research that on your own as it’s about my bed time.  Pretty much everything else you need to know was covered above so I figure it’s time to take a swig.  Onward!

The first time I smelled it I immediately thought of a Beer/Mtn Dew combination.  Frankly this scared me a bit since I hate the taste of all alcoholic beverages so I took another whiff and this time inhaled a lime/Mtn Dew scent with a hint of skunk.  Needless to say I’m not running down “Excited Lane” at this point, more like a cautious stroll down “Worried Blvd.”  My nose has told me a few white lies in the past so I’m just going to hope that’s what it’s doing now.

Congratulations to Mountain Dew on making the best tasting “malt soda” I’ve had to date.  The “Dew” flavor is thankfully the lead in this eclectic play with malt starring as the plucky sidekick.  While my nose is reminded of the skunk it smelled a paragraph ago every time I take a drink, my taste buds quickly erase that memory and replace it with an interesting hybrid.  This tastes like they took Mountain Dew and combined it with the flavor of lemon peel and beer.  It’s a little bitter, but nothing that will keep you from coming back for another drink.  Mountain Dew Johnson City Gold does remind me of beer, but not so much that I’m turned away by it.  Like I said earlier, I never got a taste for it, but the citrus “Dew” taste beats out the flavor of beer.  That and the fact that it’s non-alcoholic helps out as well. 

Is this a soda something I’ll buy once it hits stores in my area?  No, probably not, but I am excited that a soda company is doing something daring and different.  I can definitely see a market this will succeed in even if it might be niche.  If you like mountain dew or beer (not necessarily combined, but it wouldn’t hurt if you did) then I’d give this a shot.  Heck, if you’ve never had a “malt soda” and always wanted to try one I’d say this is the best starter “malt soda” available in terms of taste.  Look for the one with the lizard on the can… and then get out of my house.  Oh, and remember if you want to try your hand at label making head on over to YourMaltDew.com

~A

This beverage supplied to us by Mountain Dew

Like looking into a mirror

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

Dublin Retro Grape

Today’s entry into the eternal realm of soda review lore is Dublin Retro Grape.  I’m not sure if it’s retro in flavor, ingredients, or just as a sales technique.  The bottle art and the fact that it uses pure cane sugar as a sweetener could be construed as retro, but the flavor has yet to be tested.  Fortunately for this bottle, or unfortunately depending on if you believe bottles of soda to be self-aware, I’m going to unravel this mystery now.  With my trusty love of grape soda by my side it’s time we dive into Dublin Retro Grape. 

The aroma is rich and gets right to the point.  Currently my only fear for Dublin Retro Grape is that it might be too sweet for complete consumption based on how sugary it smells.  Fortunately I’m not one to shy away from too many grape sodas so let’s just move on.

While delicious, Dublin Retro Grape feels incomplete… let me explain.  The carbonation my mouth is initially hit with is a fantastic amount of fizz.  There’s just enough to create a mild burn with each swig.  This is something I feel all grape sodas should have as it adds to their character.  The grape flavoring is indeed sugary, but not so over the top that I won’t be able to enjoy this bottle all the way through.  In fact this particular grape flavoring might rank in a top 5, but definitely top 10 of grape flavors I’ve experienced in a soda.  The finish is where I start to have problems with Dublin Retro Grape. 

Let me start off by saying that at no point does this soda ever taste bad, it’s tasty throughout the duration of its consumption and will be graded accordingly.  To fully explain this I need to rewrite a classic movie scene.  Even if you haven’t seen The Shining I’m sure most of you are familiar with the scene where Jack Nicholson breaks down the bathroom door with an axe and says the ever famous line “Here’s Johnny!”  Now the entire time he is chopping at the door Shelley Duvall is screaming on the other side in the bathroom knowing full and well who is breaking through that door and what he’s going to try and do to her.  Jack Nicholson is going to try and break down the door, get inside, and murder her.  There’s very little assumption going on here.  Let’s now picture an alternate dimension where Jack chops down the door, looks inside with the same crazed eyes, and then just stands there without saying a word.  Maybe he’ll cough politely to imply that he’d like to be let in, but he’s not even remotely aggressive about it.  Oh, and then the movie ends.

That is what Dublin Retro Grape tastes like.   Here it comes through the bathroom door with its wonderful carbonation.  I’m screaming on the other side fully aware that a grape soda experience is getting closer to me.  Dublin Retro Grape chops a hole in the door with its grape flavor and gives me a crazy eye.  Still on the other side I now see the potential grape goodness that should be wrecking its way through the door any second.  Then it just stops.  It feels unnatural.  You gave me all this build up to the end, but it never follows through.  It just stands there so you can still enjoy its company through the door, never realizing its full potential.  Dublin Retro Grape never evolves to the next step of chopping down the door and murdering my taste buds with delicious and that’s really too bad because it’s a potentially great grape soda.  I’ll still rank this fairly high, but just know that it could have been even better had anything happened at the end.

~A

This soda was supplied to us by Dublin Bottling Works

Twist was originally cast as Tony in The Shining

Ski

I’ve been recommended a handful of sodas to review over the past few years and by far the most popular suggestion is Ski.  Well fortunately for those wanting me to review it I just happen to have a bottle sitting here next to me courtesy of the Dublin Bottling Works.  It’s no secret that I enjoy lime soda and it’s following my lime soda reviews that I usually end up with the suggestion to try Ski.  Looking at the bottle I see that Ski is not a lime soda like I initially though, but a citrus soda.  That’s all fine and dandy as the simplistically-retro bottle art makes me happy to even have this bottle in possession.  I’m also pleased to see that it’s sweetened with Pure Cane Sugar which is another point for this boxers corner.  Enough chitter-chatter, onward!

While the bottle may say “citrus” the scent that came wafting out of the neck was a strong lime with vague citrus undertones.  A quick glance at the ingredients tells me that Ski has both lemon and orange juice concentrate.  This probably just means my smell-o-meter is off and I’m mistaking the lemon for lime.  To be honest my allergies are acting up quite a bit today so if I was a reader I might just ignore this paragraph all together.  Good thing smell isn’t a large part of taste…sigh.  Drinking time!

Ok, allergies or not I still taste more lime than lemon within my first sip of Ski.  The beverage is smoother than I thought it would be, but has a medium amount of carbonation to keep it from being boring.  In fact the bubbles fizz for the duration of each sip which is a simple treat for your tongue.  While it has many similarities to other citrus drinks like Mountain Dew and Sun Drop, Ski’s attention to lime seems to be more noticeable.  Each taste begins with a rush of the aforementioned bubbles then a conglomeration of citrus flavors washes over your teeth.  It’s at this point where you don’t really see much of a difference between Ski and Sun Drop.  Sure, Ski is a little smoother, but the difference is minimal.  It’s only when you reach the finish of each sip that you are greeted by lime.  Lime is like an awesome Wal-Mart greeter.  Any Wal-Mart greeter will say hello as you enter the store (be-it orange, lemon, or lime), but only the best greeters will make sure your trip was pleasant enough that you’ll return again smiling.  That’s what lime does; he waves as you pass letting himself be known to you then as you’re leaving gives you a wink and wishes you well.  Here’s the part where I say that Ski didn’t live up to the hype I’d created for it in my mind, but that’s not the fault of Ski.  Even though I created this disappointment for myself I still am happy to have finally tried it and I think you should too.

~A 

This soda was supplied to us by the Dublin Bottling Works

Faux Fact:  Twist in Russian is Twistski.

Blueberry Breese

I opened my fridge and looked skeptically at the bottle of Blueberry Breese staring back at me.  It wasn’t because the name of the beverage is whimsically spelled or the fact that the label displays an abnormally strong breeze blowing blueberries across a park.  The reason I’m not so sure I’m going to like this is because it looks like the main flavor of Blueberry Breese is going to be candy.  As you may  know I really enjoy a good blueberry soda, but the ones I do like taste the most like real-deal blueberries and not some confectioners creation.  Blueberry Breese is from the Dublin Bottling Works which already gives it a good starting point, but the fact that is looks as if it’ll taste like blue sugar water scares me a bit.  Looking at the ingredients I see no mention of blueberries, blueberry juice, or boo berry cereal.  What I do see is that lemon and lime oils were used in the making of Blueberry Breese… this confuses me even more.  Now that I told you what concerns me let me finish on an up note.  Even though I knocked the label art earlier I really do like it.  It looks super retro and the smiling berries on the front make me smile back.  Hopefully this good feeling will continue on into the review.  Onward!

The scent does nothing to quell my concerns as a fruity bubble bath is the first aroma memory (aromemory?) to come to mind.  The plus side to this is that it doesn’t smell overly sweet either, something that will hopefully help in the taste department.

I’m pleased to say that it doesn’t taste like blueberry candy.  I’m not so pleased to say that it does have a bit of a bubble bath taste to it, but more on that later.  Upon my first sip my mouth told my brain it was drinking a diet beverage.  I’m not sure why this initially tastes like a diet blueberry soda, but it’s fortunate that it’s not a flavor that lingers.  After the “diet” wears off I’m left with a brief glimpse of what could have been.  For a fleeting moment Blueberry Breese becomes as fun to drink as it is to look at.  Its carbonation is fizzy, the flavor (while not the flavor of blueberries) is enjoyable, and it’s even kind of refreshing.  This is all erased from your tongue soon thereafter and replaced by the aforementioned bubble bath.  The final taste I get each time I take a swig is that of bubbles.  Story time.

When I was a kid I, like many children, liked to blow bubbles.  Well when I was at home I only had your standard bubble wand.  You’d dip it in the bubble liquid, purse your lips and blow through the wand creating bubbles.  Pretty standard fare.  When I went to my Granny’s house… that’s where things got crazy.  While she had the standard wand what made the best bubbles were the bubble pipes.  These bubble pipes worked my like a tobacco pipe would in the fact that you’d put the stem in your mouth and blow out amazingly shaped bubbles.  There was a blue pipe that made giant bubbles and a red pipe that made quad-bubbles and a few others that were equally amazing to 8 year old me.  The red quad-bubble pipe was my favorite as it created giant clusters of bubbles with each puff.  Much like the standard wand you’d have to swirl said pipe in the bubble mixture to fuel it.  The red pipe used a bit more mixture than any of the others, but the payoff was worth it.  Wanting to produce the most bubbles possible with each blow I often made the mistake of inhaling deeply while still “attached” to the stem of the pipe.  The result was usually my mouth receiving a coating of bubble mixture and my granny giving me a cookie to remedy the situation.  As delicious as the cookies were the bubble mixture never became something I ingested purposefully… and that’s what the aftertaste of Blueberry Breese is like.

~A

This beverage supplied to us by Dublin Bottling Works

Twist lived in a bubble for 8% of his life.

Dublin Orange Cream

It feels like a good day for a quick review.  Today’s bottle once again comes from the Dublin Bottling Works in Dublin, Texas.  The flavor housed within its glassy walls is that of Orange Cream.  While a somewhat Frankenstein creation Orange Cream usually has the best of both worlds that its coupled flavors have to offer.  From their home planet of Apfelsine the orange usually brings the tartness and punch that you would expect.  To counter this they brought the smooth taste one can only find on Rahm and mixed them together… thus bringing us the best of both worlds.  I know I said it was going to be a short review, but I think that plan is already failed.   Onward!

The scents mix nicely in this bottle of Dublin Orange Cream.  With each whiff I’m greeted with a smooth yet tart aroma.  Based on scent alone I just might love this soda.  Only one way to find out.

Not quite as good as the smell, but still a tasty drink.  Immediately the orange zaps the tip of my tongue and begins an awkward wash throughout my mouth.  What I mean by “awkward wash” is that the tangy orange started to transistion to the cream flavor about midway through my sip.  This transition wasn’t nearly as smooth as I thought it might be… much like puberty.  Around 10, some earlier some later, you think how cool it’s going to be once you’re a teenager.  You just figure you’ll wake up one day and be cool.  It’s only when the process begins and you’re stumbling over your oddly large feet that you realize becoming a teenager just might not be as simple as you once thought.  The orange flavoring is that ten year old taking on the world, wanting to show that it can grow up and be smooth and cool.  That’s when the transition period hits.  I can taste the changes from orange to cream and they aren’t all that smooth… lots of acne and growing pains to swallow. 

After the “change” has happened it still follows the same life lesson.  That cool teenager you thought you were going to be?  Yeah, now that you’ve grown into your body you’re no smoother than you were before.  The cream never really takes over in Dublin Orange Cream.  When I read “FlavorX Cream” I expect a somewhat creamy mouth feel… creamier than this at least.  The orange never lets go and doesn’t allow you to experience the full “orange cream” that you were promised.  Now I could make the comparison that this is your 10 year old self trying to fight back through all the nonsense adulthood you probably go through on a day to day basis, but this is a soda site not your psychologist.  Overall Dublin Orange Cream is still a tasty soda it just needs to work on a few things.

~A

This beverage supplied to us by Dublin Bottling Works

Twist has been through puberty at least 12 times by now.

Rummy Grapefruit Soda

I used to think that Fresca was a joke soda that only old people consumed.  Never in my young life could I understand why someone would enjoy a grapefruit soda.  Somewhere in my maturing I began to warm up to them more and more.  Eventually I found them quite refreshing and got to where I enjoyed the taste… not so much that I’d seek it out mind you.  Today’s review is of Rummy Grapefruit soda which best I can tell has been around forever.  With a red and white logo on a green glass bottle even this current version has an antique feel to it.  The slogan printed on the bottle reads “Get Chummy with Rummy”.  Without going back over my reviews I’m going to guess that this is the first time a friendship with a soda has been suggested to me.  The “My Buddy” jingle is now looping in my head with “My Rummy” having replaced the standard lyrics.  Hopefully as I consume my new buddy I’ll not regret letting him into my life.  Onward!

Ah, the grapefruit scent is strong with this one.  As I look at the ingredients to see if I missed reading the word grapefruit (I didn’t) I see an old favorite… Ester of Wood Rosin.  Even with all the chemicals that find their way into some sodas Ester of Wood Rosin might be the least appetizing one to read.  I don’t want to see “wood” anywhere in an ingredient list even if wood isn’t an ingredient.  Time to drink.

I was moderately thirsty before opening this bottle so I’m really hoping for something that will quench my mild desire.  Rummy is much smoother than I anticipated it being.  I associate a rough citric acid and sharp mouth feel with grapefruit sodas, but rummy has none of these.  While there is a constant tingle of carbonation throughout the grapefruit flavor has lost a lot of its bite.  This is like if 7up and Mountain Dew had a baby that rolled around in a grapefruit patch. 

Another thing I was surprised about was how sweet Rummy tasted.  Now maybe that’s because they used cane sugar to sweeten it, but once again my mind had an incorrect preconceived notion about Rummy due to the fact that I expected a straight up grapefruit soda.  I guess I really shouldn’t have expected it to taste a lot like grapefruit once I saw that it wasn’t listed in the ingredients.  So if you’re looking for a good grapefruit soda you probably don’t want to try Rummy.  Now if you’re looking for a tasty sweet “citrus” soda with hints of grapefruit then Rummy should be right up your alley.

~A

This beverage supplied to us by Dublin Bottling Works

Twist has also been called "rummy"

Dublin Cherry Limeade

The next several reviews I do are going to all be sodas from the Dublin Bottling Works in Dublin, Texas.  If that name sounds familiar it’s because they were the birthplace of bottled Dr Pepper and have been around since 1891.  Now that your memory is jogged you’ll probably recall that Dr Pepper recently *took away* (for lack of wanting to type all the legal nonsense) their ability to bottle and sell their signature Dublin Dr Pepper.  Was it deserved?  Was it not?  It’s been discussed so much I’m going to avoid continuing that conversation here on the site. 

When that all went down several fans of the Dublin Bottling Works felt badly about them losing their main draw and so much more, myself included.  If you’re still feeling bad for them I’m going to go out on a limb and guess they’d like for you to stop weeping over what they lost and take the time to see that they’re still a force in the independent soda bizz.  Twelve, count them, twelve sodas are made at the Dublin Bottling Works with seven of them being Dublin originals.  Today I’ll be reviewing one of those originals… Dublin Cherry Limeade. 

Like all their sodas, Dublin Cherry Limeade is made with pure cane sugar so immediately I expect to be drinking a higher quality soda in a matter of moments.  The label art is cute and has a retro feel which seems to be the theme among all the Dublin flavors.  Red soda with a green cap also suggests to me the flavor I’m about to ingest even if it weren’t emblazoned on the bottle.  Enough chatter, let’s begin!

Upon opening the bottle my nose does not detect much of a scent trying to escape.  Only after I put my good nostril to the top do I notice a hint of lime trying to whisper into my olfactory glands.  Since huffing the bottle isn’t progressing this review I’d better just drink up.

Delightful.  For some reason my brain immediately wanted to focus on the carbonation and how it affected the feel of the beverage.  While my tongue was initially splashed with a small dose of tickling bubbles it’s the end of the sip where they really ramp up and make themselves known.  I don’t know why I pretend the bubbles are living creatures with a job to do… it just amuses me.  After my questions about the carbonation were satiated I quickly realized that Dublin Cherry Limeade is a bit more cherry than limeade.  The lime flavoring is still present throughout the entirety of my sip; I just wanted to give you a heads up if you thought it’d be a 50/50 split.  Of course it is called a CHERRY Limeade which might infer that cherry should be the dominate flavor, but once again I’m going to avoid any conversation that might end in fisticuffs.  The cherry flavor used is rather sweet, but not overly so.  I wouldn’t quite put it in a “candy” category but it can certainly see said category from the seat it occupies.  One thing that surprised me is the cherry coating my mouth gets after each sip.  I really thought Dublin Cherry Limeade would have a cleaner mouth feel and I’m kind of sad it doesn’t.  Of course if I’m complaining about the latter half of a drinks mouth feel then you know I didn’t have a whole lot to complain about.  Overall Dublin Cherry Limeade is a good drink that I would suggest to anyone.  Could the flavor be more powerful with less of a syrupy finish?  Yes, but it’s still plenty good the way it is.

~A

This soda was provided to us by Dublin Bottling Works

Every prime numbered year Twist's skin develops a Cherry Limeade-esque taste

Sprecher Gorilla Grape

I know we just reviewed a grape soda, but I love them so and the Carbo-Nation isn’t a Dewmocracy so I’m able to review whatever I wish.  Fish Paste… I’ll just put it up under Lifestyle Beverages.  Creed Cologne… I believe that’s probably fruit flavored.  The Season 7 Trailer for Doctor Who… buyer beware because once again River Song had to appear and muck it all up.  I really just wanted to rant about Doctor Who before I started this review of Sprecher Grape.  We’ve reviewed a Sprecher product recently and it got a very good rating so I’m very optimistic about them creating a soda with one of my favorite flavors.  Once again I must note that Sprecher uses glucose syrup for sweetening their soda, but they also use grape juice in this particular case which just might off-set that faux pas.   Onward!

Upon taking the cap off the bottle I notice it read “Grape Gorrila”.  Is that the name of the soda or just something fun on the cap?  The label does indeed have a gorilla on it so I’m not sure if I’m supposed to treat the actual gorilla drawing as a word.  I would also like to note that this gorilla is all up in somebodies grapes.  Three of his hands are touching or close to touching a bushel of grapes and his face exudes such happiness that I’m growing a bit jealous.  I’ve checked the official Sprecher website and it’s just listed as “Grape”, but those who sell it list the flavor as Gorilla Grape.  This is going to bother me more than you realize.  Onward… again!

The soda itself smells like grape juice which excites my palate even more.  Grape juice is up there on the juice scale for me minus the amount of phlegm, sorry to be gross, it creates.  If Sprecher “Gorilla” Grape can give me a delicious phlegm free grape juice with a kick of carbonation we might just have something special on our hands.  Drink on!

While the flavor isn’t as strong as I thought it’d be this is certainly carbonated grape juice mixed with some glucose syrup water.  In short, it’s pretty dang good.  My initial swig tastes like a higher end grape soda, but as you continue the consumption process the “grape soda” flavor morphs into more of a grape juice flavor.  Then the carbonation burn kicks in.  Like I probably say in most of my grape soda reviews, a good grape soda needs a strong burn to rank highly in my book.  I’d love to read my book one day, I bet it would be super confusing.

 I want more of this right now so you know it’s going to rate well.  Each sip I take is almost identical to the last.  Sprecher “Gorilla” Grape doesn’t really build on itself that much keeping what I initially thought was well and good about the drink well and good.  With every sip the burn returns and my happiness strengthens.  While I really enjoyed this beverage it didn’t ever give me a “wow” moment which is why you might think I rated it too low based on the review you just read.  Sprecher Ravin’ Red and Sprecher Strawberry both had moments where I couldn’t put into words how good they were.  I will say Sprecher “Gorilla” Grape was close to being up there with them, but I needed just a touch more.  Delicious nonetheless though.

~A

Twists older brother is a grape gorilla.

Goose Island Concord Grape

I really wanted to like the Goose Island Spicy Ginger soda I had a few days back, but sadly it was boring and a shell of what it could have been.  Today I give another one of their sodas a gander.  Get it?  Goose Island… gander?  What would a soda review be without a little ornithologist humor?  Today’s serving from the Island of Goose is Concord Grape flavored soda.  Once again I look at the label in hopes of seeing “grape” anything… no luck.  Honestly that doesn’t bother me as much with this grape flavored beverage as my palate seems to enjoy grape sodas with a high amount of artificiality.  I will say that their bottle art looks very classy and I would happily display it at a variety of functions.  The previous sentence is only a truth if the soda inside tastes as good as it looks.  Onward!

With the flavor listed as Concord Grape I thought this might have more of a wine scent than that of your standard grape soda.  Honestly it seems to be about an 80/20 mix with the grape soda aroma being the stronger of the two.  A good smelling grape soda sweetened with cane sugar.  You might be onto something here Goose.  Drink on!

This tastes like an upscale store brand grape soda and I like it.  With my initial sip I was greeted by a quick carbonation burn (something that should accompany any good grape soda) which was whisked away by the titular flavor.  Once the grape flavoring made its appearance it was impossible to not compare it to grape flavored Jolly Ranchers.  Just to keep up appearances the aftertaste is also that of grape Jolly Ranchers; this is certainly a theme I can get behind. 

Here’s why this “grape flavored” soda works better than their “ginger flavored” soda.  That quick carbonation burn that greets you at the beginning of your sip never fully goes away.  Sure it may sneak off behind the ol’ barn to take a gander at a dirty magazine his older cousin left under some hay, but he’s always within calling distance.  For those of you that skipped that pointless analogy, what I’m saying is that the fizz gives the drink life.  The entire time Goose Island Grape Soda sits upon your tongue it’s alive.  It takes a very long time before it begins to fall flat and bore my taste-buds and that’s where Spicy Ginger failed.  So I tip my hat ever so slightly to you Goose Island, you make a good grape soda.  It’s not amazing and life changing, but it’s tasty nonetheless. 

~A

Twist has the power to turn red grapes green.

Lester's Fixins Peanut Butter and Jelly Soda

I love peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  Do you know why I love peanut butter and jelly sandwiches?  I love peanut butter and jelly sandwiches because I breathe oxygen and I feel the two things are both irrepressible reflexes.  Now I can honestly say that I’ve never searched out a liquid version of this delectable treat, but fortunately for everyone involved with this site I have one in front of me.  Lester’s Fixins Peanut Butter & Jelly Soda is what’s on the menu today and if it’s as accurate as their other beverages then I should be in for an interesting experience.  What’s making me want this more and more is the picture of a sloppy PB&J on the label.  It looks so very gooey… I wonder if they put butter on the bread as well.  By the way if you haven’t had a PBB&J you’re missing out big time.  Ok I don’t want to type anymore, I want to drink now.  Onward!

Well after smelling it I’m a little doubtful as it hints of cardboard.  Now maybe this cardboard aroma is actually that of bread, I mean they do have to have a bread flavor in there as well… right?  With a couple more whiffs I can’t say that I’d guess this was a PB&J soda if all I had to go by was scent.  Shall I pour us a drink then?

Not a bulls-eye in the flavor department, but at least the dart hit the target.  A surprisingly fizzy carbonation gives way to the initial bread flavoring which does taste a bit like cardboard, but not so much that I’d stop drinking it.  After the “bread” flavoring steps back into the shadows it’s time for the actual peanut butter and jelly flavor to show up.  Oddly enough the peanut butter is more prevalent than the jelly.  I figured the jelly would be the easier flavor to replicate, but it is hardly noticeable.  The lack of “jelly” seems to reduce the sweetness I expected to find as well.  I think if the “jelly” flavor was more powerful they might have a better tasting drink on their hands.  Don’t get me wrong this is still a drinkable beverage; I’m just not going to stock up on it.  At the end of my sip the “bread” stepped back up on stage and I was given an opportunity to “enjoy” all three flavors at once. 

Let me answer the obvious question of “Does it taste like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?”.  Yes it does, but this sandwich was made in 1000 years in the future by cold heartless robots and turned into a powder for easy storage.  You open your pack of PB&J powder and place it on your government issued plate.  Then you take a quarter cup of distilled water and pour it onto said powder.  The powder starts to change its consistency and looks like someone blended your soulless manufactured PB&J and dumped it on your government issued plate.  Begrudgingly you take your government issued spoon and dig in.  That’s how close to an actual PB&J this tastes.  Much like Aunt Viv from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air the character was there for all 6 seasons, but there was something “different” about seasons 4-6. 

~A

Whitewheat was developed by Twist

Goose Island Spicy Ginger

Let’s use our imaginations for a moment.  Picture yourself on an island with a saucy redhead, either sex works, and you’re looking around at all the flora and fauna.  Suddenly you hear a noise in the distance, a cacophony of honks and flapping.  You and your redheaded friend look to the horizon and see millions of geese flying your way only to watch them land all around you.  You didn’t know the name of this island before this moment, but it wouldn’t even matter if you had because from here on out you’ll refer to it as Goose Island.  You’re stuck on Goose Island with a Spicy Ginger and that’s what we’re reviewing today… Goose Island Spicy Ginger. 

I’m not sure why I drew out telling you the name of the beverage in such a way, maybe I was just feeling saucy myself.  Immediately I’m worried by this bottle of Goose Island Spicy Ginger because it says it has “natural flavor”.  Yes it’s sweetened with cane sugar, but I can’t seem to find the ingredient “ginger” listed anywhere.  If there were actual ginger used in this concoction then I’d assume (thus making us both asses) they’d list it on the bottle and not just “natural flavors”.  At least Canada Dry says it’s “made from real ginger” even though it has “natural flavors” in the ingredients.  Ah well, it’s the taste that’s important right?  Not the fact that up to this point I have to assume you made a ginger flavored soda and nothing more.  Onward!

There we go.  The scent at hand reminds me of a ginger beer which is stronger than I expected.  Again I must go back to the label which doesn’t specify if this is a ginger beer or a ginger ale, something I feel is fairly important.  Is my throat about to be burned or am I going to quell any queasiness in my tummy?  I guess the only way to find out is to drink it.

Eh, it’s alright.  Have you ever been on Splash Mountain or at least know what the concept is?  When you pass it by at Disneyland/World you watch people go over a large waterfall into a “briar patch” below.  So you know that when you get in the log you’re going to eventually take a giant fall, pose for a camera, and go home after having fun family adventure.  You see Disney knew that you’d be expecting that great fall so they added a couple of fake falls just to mess with you.  The buildup is there as you climb higher and higher, but when you reach the top you’re subjected to a tiny dip only teasing you for what is yet to come. 

That is a perfect, yes I said perfect, analogy of what Goose Island Spicy Ginger tastes like.  As soon as it hit my tongue my split second reaction was “Spicy Ginger Soda Town, here I come!”  After that split second had split I was left with sugar water with ginger flavoring.  It’s not gross by any means, but it’s boring.  At least Canada Dry has a strong enough carbonation kick to keep it “saucy”.  “Why do you keep bringing up Canada Dry?” you might be asking your computer screen.  I keep bringing it up because to me it’s the baseline of all ginger ale.  It’s the mass produced version that many of us have tried and if you can’t beat it then who cares.  If Goose Island Spicy Ginger could keep that initial “buzz” then it wouldn’t even be a contest and I’d recommend it immediately.  Sadly that’s not the case here, but the imagery at the beginning of the article was fun right?

~A

Twist was once Prince of Goose Island until the takeover

Sprecher Strawberry

Sprecher is one of those companies that sweeten with syrup (Glucose Syrup) and I never seem to mind.  Most if not all (I’m feeling too lazy to go through our archives) of their sodas are robust in flavor and overall experience so I tend to give them a pass.  Would they potentially be rated higher if they used cane sugar?  Yes, potentially, but it’s hard to fault a soda company that makes such delicious drink.  Today’s beverage is Sprecher Strawberry which is apparently one of their seasonal flavors.  Instead of failing to be a proper wordsmith I’m just going to use the words that Sprecher has decided to print on the neck of the bottle that explains exactly what I’ll be drinking.

“Sip into summer while enjoying this refreshing strawberrylicious seasonal soda.  Fire-Brewed in our kettles with honey, vanilla and other natural flavors for mouthfuls bursting with sweet fruitiness that remind you of warm sunshine, laughter, picnics, swimming and all things good in life!”

Ok, so they’ve now set the bar WAY too high.  This soda is going to remind me of “all things good in life”… somehow I doubt it.  I’m going to estimate that you might find one or two things during your time here on Earth that reminds you of “all things good in life” if you’re lucky.  Of course who am I to say that Sprecher Strawberry won’t remind me of the way my grandmother let me steal pickles of everyone sandwich while she played non-the-wiser.  Even if it does remind me of that it will also have to simultaneously remind me that my mom asked me what “happy, sad, medium and bad” had happened during the day… with the accommodating funny voice for each emotion of course.  Oh and let’s not forget seeing my wife walk down the aisle towards me.  Obviously I’m being overly critical about their word usage, but things like that bother me a little bit and I feel they should be pointed out.  I’m a Jerk, the name of the site implies as much.  With all that said, if you haven’t given up on this review yet, I look forward to being wowed by yet another Sprecher beverage.  Onward!

Opening this bottle was the equivalent of shoving strawberry jam up my nose.  It’s such a rich, robust, sugary scent.  If I were to smell this while wearing a blindfold I wouldn’t guess it was a soda at all.  I now see why the crow sitting in the strawberries on the label has a crazed look in his eyes.  He too can’t imagine that this soda is creating such a scent.  Enough babble, time to drink.

Wham, bam, liquid jam!  Sprechers doesn’t come off as just red sugar fizz flavored to taste like strawberries as so many other strawberry sodas do.  It seems that the vanilla, while only lightly tasted, is what might help set this apart.  The carbonation levels are medium-high, burning your mouth just a bit with each gulp.  I’ve had five sips now and with each one I keep expecting to end up with seeds in my mouth.  I’m sure it helps that strawberry juice concentrate is a listed ingredient, but still it’s impressive to me.  One of the best parts is that Sprecher Strawberry isn’t overly sweet like most strawberry sodas seem to be.  Sure it’s noticeably sweetened (21 grams per 8oz.), but I wouldn’t call it a defining characteristic.  The richness of the soda might be too much for some which does take away from some of its awesomeness.  Overall though this is one of the best strawberry sodas I’ve had with the only downsides being that it’s not sweetened with cane sugar and the fact that it could just be too much for someone to enjoy.  I would like to take the time to say that as much as I enjoyed Sprecher Strawberry it didn't remind me of sunshine, simming, or my wedding day.  With all that said though I’d still keep plenty on hand.

~A

Twist has a bachelors degree in strawberries.

Smart Peach

Today’s entry comes all the way from China courtesy of my good friend DeeAicht.  What I’ve got in front of me today is a Coke brand called Smart and fortunately two of the three words listed in English on this bottle identify the flavor as “Peach Flavor”.  I’m sure I could have figured it out with images of peaches exploding from the word “Smart”, but it’s nice to be reassured.  You may remember when Mike went to Epcot he reviewed Smart Watermelon as part of the Club Cool review experience.  If not I’m sure I linked it somewhere in the previous sentence.  A Peach flavored soda from China sure seems like a pretty good way to cap off the week, let’s find out if I’m right.

There is a peach scent, but it’s buried deeply underneath a vague citrus aroma.  I really had to search out the smell of peaches and there’s still a pretty good chance my brain just made one up so I would continue on with my life.  Now I’m kind of curious as to what this will actually taste like.

Well fortunately I’m not a cat because, as with every review, my curiosity got to me and I took a sip of the soda.  I’m happy to say that there is no citrus taste and that the peach flavoring is enjoyable.  A light carbonation brushes against my tongue, followed by a rather realistic impersonation of a peach.  After the gulp had been taken the taste intensified like it was challenging me to take another swig.  I’ve had a few peach sodas in the past and this one is the lightest of the bunch in terms of flavor and mouth feel.  It is of note that with each drink Smart Peach builds on itself becoming less and less clean, but it’s not something that would keep me from recommending it to anyone.  As with any soda that wanes in this manner I must still deduct points because who only cares what the first half of their soda tastes like if it degrades over the consuming period.  All in all Smart Peach is an alright peach soda that you probably won’t ever see unless you make your way to China.  If for some reason you find yourself in this situation feel safe in your selection if you happen to pick up a bottle from the store.

~A

Chinese is one of the several languages in which Twist has mastered.  All dialects by the way.

Flying Cauldron Butterscotch Beer

Those of you who are fans of the Larry Potter books will be familiar with this delectable treat.  Today’s entry is from the Flying Cauldron on Dragon Alley… Butterscotch Beer!  I’m sure you were jealous when Larry, Jon, and Calliope enjoyed this brew in the Four Broomsticks, The Hogs Shed, or the previously mentioned Flying Cauldron.  Be jealous no more, because the Flying Cauldron has broadened its sales region to include us Huggles… that’s humans to you non fans.  There’s even a brief history on the back of the bottle.  It reads:

Since 1374, the Flying Cauldron has been making this magical brew for under aged wizards or wizards who are young at heart at their brew pub in Hogsbreath England.  The recipe has changed little over the centuries.  It has the perfect combination of spells and quality natural ingredients.  Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream to create our Giggle Potion.

Then it’s signed by one Reed’s Inc.  I must say that their inclusion of the Giggle Potion is highly irresponsible as you may know with the wrong dosage you could easily laugh yourself to death which is no laughing matter… after you die… from laughter.  Well I won’t be creating any of the dangerous Giggle Potion today; I’m just going to drink this straight out of the bottle.  Upward!

Remember that candy jar your grandparents used to keep all their butterscotch in?  As far as you know it was filled with butterscotch for its entire existence.  That’s what this brew smells of… a very potent butterscotch aroma hits you in the face like a troll.  Since butterscotch is one of my favorite candies, hopefully this will be one of my favorite sodas.  Accio-Butterscotch Beer!

Liquid butterscotch.  The review is complete.  Buy all of it.  No, I mustn’t do that to my readers or my editor Rita Skeeta would hang me with a wizard rope or something.  Seriously though, this tastes like liquid butterscotch.   When it first hits your tongue, as I’ve now said twice, you get the taste sensation of butterscotch except the flavoring of the brew isn’t quite as rich as the candy.  I’m curious if that’s because it’s in liquid form.  The flavor seems watered down a bit, but I’m unsure if it’s even possible to achieve 100% butterscotch flavoring in a liquid with this viscosity.  Let’s see how much sugar is in here.  Wait… what black magic is this?  There’s stevia in this brew and I didn’t even catch an aftertaste?  I see that it’s also sweetened with 30 grams of cane sugar, but I would never have expected stevia.  At least they were smart enough to not sweeten with the sweetener that shall not be named. 

Butterscotch Beer carbonation levels are medium and it isn’t really noticeable until midway through my sip then it ramps up just a bit as the beverage completes consumption.  Thankfully it’s not a very heavy beverage so this “Reed’s Inc.” did a good job in what I believe would be a difficult task.  If I had to compare it to a Huggle beverage it would most compare to a rich cream soda that you’ve dropped several butterscotch in.  Maybe those of you who hate wizards, or wizardists as I call you, should try that approach instead of making trouble in Dragon Alley… OH WAIT, you can’t even go to Dragon Alley!  Incendio! 

So a big thanks to the folks at the Flying Cauldron for creating this soda.  Your spells were on point and though you endangered millions by leaking the Giggle Potion recipe I’ll buy from you in the future.

~A

One of Twist's middle names is Advada Kedavra

The Pop Shoppe Root Beer

We’ve reviewed countless root beers in the past 3 years and its music to my ears when I hear of another beer, in fact I cheer.  Now the Pop Shoppe will have its top popped before I stop so I can make sure this isn’t slop.  It’s sweetened with cane which goes against the grain and steers it from plain although anyone that’s sane wouldn’t complain about the cane being a bane.  The bottle is stout, but there is little doubt that the scent will shout into my snout before I pour it from its spout and drink like a trout.

Ok, I can’t do that anymore.  This Pop Shoppe Root Beer was going to be hot by the time I wrote the aroma portion of this review and we can’t have that.  Licorice is the scent of this root beer which is a slippery slope if they haven’t executed the flavor correctly.  Let’s find out shall we?

It does taste a little of licorice, but surprisingly it’s still a rather creamy root beer.  Many times when licorice is part of your ingredient population he scares away all the creamy goodness and smooth mouth feel.  The folks at The Pop Shoppe have brought us a nice blend of both in their entry.  Like many sodas you are first greeted by a small flurry of bubbles that rush along your tongue.  Then a rich root beer taste, with a hint of licorice, makes itself known to all corners of your mouth.  After consuming your current sip the flavor lingers for a long while, but it never feels as if it overstays its welcome.  What makes this root beer somewhat unique (oxymoron anyone?) is how light it feels in your mouth yet the flavor stays put as if it were a heavier beverage.  Thankfully I can’t compare this to one of the Big Three root beers.  While they make for an easy way to describe a flavor when you can’t make a comparison you know you have something north of average.  The licorice taste might run some off, but I’ve tasted much stronger.  Throughout this entire review process The Pop Shoppe Root Beer has kept a respectable head.  This aspect makes it constantly refreshing to look at, something I feel is notable in a soda.  With all that said this isn’t a upper echelon root beer, but it is something I think all root beer lovers should try.  The duality and concept of creamy licorice should be enticing enough for you to at least buy one bottle even though I think you should…(see what I’m doing here)

~A

Don't resist being kissed on the wrist by Twist, if you do you'll be pissed.

Jelly Belly Blueberry

I have a friend that will drink almost any blue liquid you put in front of him.  I haven’t tried Windex yet as I care too much for his health, but put some ice cubes in it and it’d probably look delicious to most anyone.  Today’s soda up on the chopping block is Jelly Belly Blueberry and if he’d been around to watch me remove it from my refrigerator I wouldn’t have held it in my hand long enough to feel the condensation.   

This looks like liquid Smurf… if of course Smurfs had blue blood, blue innards, and you removed their hats and shoes.  For those who might appreciate a nerdier analogy this is just a shade lighter than TARDIS blue.  As you might remember I didn’t really like real blueberries about two years ago and then that opinion was turned on its head after I had my first blueberry soda.  Jelly Belly sodas normally taste more of candy than the actual fruit it’s named after so it’ll be interesting, for me at least, to see how this goes.  Onward!

Ok, so Jelly Belly Blueberry has a blueberry muffin-esque smell to it; though it should be noted that those are rarely true blueberries that are used in the making of said muffins.  On the more frightening side of the scent lies a slight sickly sweet smell cowering in the shadows.  Hopefully when it battles with my taste-buds he’ll lose out and be washed away in blueberry greatness.  Drink anyone?

Jelly Belly Blueberry tastes less like candy blueberry than I thought it would.  Kudos to you Jelly Belly for finding the middle ground of reality and candy when flavoring this soda.  As hoped the sickly sweet taste is washed away in the initial kick of carbonation that rushes over the tip of your tongue.  What is left after the soda fills up your gullet is the flavor of the “blueberries” found in muffins… or a flavor similar to that.  It’s not amazing, but it is somewhat fun and flavorful, about what I expected from a Jelly Belly soda. 

Sadly I am noticing that the flavor has degraded rapidly after I consumed half of the bottle.  Each sip brings on a somewhat bitter aftertaste that takes all of the fun out of the drink.  I’m not sure I’ve had a beverage go Hyde on me this quickly in a while.  What have you done Jelly Belly?  This isn’t some BeanBoozled candy soda where you replace a decent flavor with a terrible one while chuckling to yourselves.  I unwrapped the present and saw the Crossfire box only to open it up and watch my older brothers socks fall out.  I don’t even want to finish this anymore and now my wife is complaining about how terrible and overpowering the scent has become.  Quickly taking the last few sips to satiate her olfactory glands I struggle to find any sort of semblance of the original flavor, thus ending my time with Jelly Belly Blueberry.  Not quite how I would have predicted it, but if I could predict how these sodas tasted then I’d have a lot more room in my fridge.

~A

Twist is forever Hyde.

The Pop Shoppe Lime Ricky Soda

Today is the day I give The Pop Shoppe their second chance to “wow” me with a flavor of theirs.  Their Black Cherry Soda was rather boring, but today I feel they might have a better chance.  Lime Ricky Soda is what I’ll be ingesting and if you’re a regular reader of the site, or you just search out lime soda reviews, you already know that lime is one of my favorite flavors.  Now a “Ricky” is an alcoholic beverage that uses whiskey/gin, mineral water, and half of a lime squeezed and dropped into the glass.  It’s referred to as “air conditioning in a glass”.  You can read about it on Wikipedia… I just did.  Anywho, I’m going to guess that The Pop Shoppe just named their soda flavor “Lime Ricky” to be catchy and are not trying to match the flavor of the alcoholic beverage, but I’ve been wrong before…. Approximately 20 minutes ago if my watch is working properly.  Onward!

The scent is that of a delicious lime soda.  It closer to lime candy than actual lime, but isn’t that what we’re drinking?  A quick look at the ingredients shows no lime, but the incredibly vague “natural flavors”.  Ah well, I’m too hot to really care about that right now.  I just want a drink.

While immediately refreshing, and I emphasize “immediately” and “refreshing” the flavor is lighter than I anticipated.  Perhaps it will begin to build on itself as I continue.  There you are little guy, I see you hiding behind that short burst of tickling bubbles.  C’mon out where we can chat a while.  Little closer.  Little closer.  There you are!  You’re a dainty little thing aren’t you?  While the lime flavoring doesn’t come out and punch you in the throat, the taste you get is still rather tasty.  There is no syrupy taste that lingers in your mouth; it’s a quick refreshing burst of lime that cools you down and improves your mood.  Every sip cools my chest a little bit more like an air conditionerOHMYGOODNESS I see what they mean now!  Seriously though, The Pop Shoppe Lime Ricky Soda does have a better cooling/refreshing effect than a lot of sodas do.  So hats off to The Pop Shoppe for their Lime Ricky Soda.  You could have increased the lime flavoring, but the drink wouldn’t have been as refreshing in my opinion.  Well done.  This drink will always be welcomed in my fridge.

~A

Twist was a bartender from 1870-1913