Fever-Tree Ginger Ale

I went on a search for some new soda to review, as I’m very low at the moment, and went into what I thought would be a goldmine of sodas.  Sadly this was no goldmine, but it did have one nugget to give me to make sure I didn’t leave empty handed.  Fever-Tree Ginger Ale is the subject of today’s review… and oddly enough it is gold from head to toe.  Fever-Tree Ginger Ale is bottled in such a way you’d expect to find this in a mini-bar in a very nice hotel room.  It’s a full 6.8 oz. of light gold liquid so it has the ‘hip tiny bottle factor’ going for it as well.  I must also say that I enjoy the simple gold bottle cap with the "Fever-Tree" printed on it.  The ingredients in Fever-Tree Ginger Ale are as follows, Spring Water, Cane Sugar, Citric Acid, Natural Gingers, Natural Flavours, and Natural Caramel.  That’s a fairly simple recipe for ginger ale… let’s see if it works for them.

Silly me, I just tried to twist the cap off and found myself in need of a bottle opener.  How could I have forgotten that I’m dealing with Fever-Tree… la ti da!  Immediately upon opening I get the very recognizable scent of ginger entering my nostrils.  The aroma was so strong that I’d almost think I was about to drink a ginger beer instead of the much tamer ginger ale.  Well I guess there’s only one way to find out.

As the ingredients would have me expect, this is a very pleasant soda.  It has the initial mouth feel of a ginger beer but quickly slows down to the speed of the much calmer ale.  Pretend you’re driving a DeLorean, just cruisin’ the streets.  You pull up next to some guy riding a bicycle and act as if you’re going to drag race him.  Revving the engines a couple of times you make your intentions all the more clear.  When the light turns green you gun it, racing off for about 25 feet before you turn to the guy on the bike and laugh, then slowing down to the posted speed still enjoying the fact that you drive a DeLorean.  That’s what my first impressions of Fever-Tree Ginger Ale are, and I don’t really care if the analogy makes any sense.  I like this initial burn.  It scared me for a split second when I thought my throat was going to be toasted by the end of this review, but it’s good to be scared every now and again.  The overall flavor is fairly clean, but there’s always a reminder that you’re dealing with real deal ginger.  This isn’t really something you’d drink on a hot day, although I’m not sure there’s a ginger ale that fits that particular bill.  

While I do enjoy several aspects about this Fever-Tree Ginger Ale I do have some complaints.  First off is once you get past the burn you’re greeted with a reliable ginger taste but it doesn’t hold up for very long and becomes a bit watery.  Second the ingredients are kind of vague.  It says that there are natural gingers in the bottle but I can’t seem to find the actual measurement.  Maybe Reed’s has spoiled me in the ginger department, but if you want to be the best ginger ale then Reed’s is a name you’re going to have to trump.  By the way, I’m re-reading my review of Reed’s Original Ginger Brew to refresh my mind of how I felt about it and I noticed something odd.  That review was written about a year ago but I referenced DeLoreans in it as well.  Maybe there’s something about good ginger ale that makes me think of Back to the Future… or maybe I’m just a nerd.

~A

Twist was born in a Fever-Tree.