Coca-Cola K-Wave Zero Sugar
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Virgil's Zero Sugar Root Beer
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I don’t really want to write this review because I’m afraid I won’t like the soda. There have been several sodas over the last 10 years that I didn’t think I’d like, but that never really bothered me until now. The soda in front of me is Virgil’s Zero Sugar Root Beer.
Read MoreOogave Loca Ginger Ale
/Been a long time since I’ve reviewed an Oogave product. If I had to guess I’d say it’s been over a year. If I had to look it up and give you an exact date I’d say June 5th, 2013. Loca is the diet brand of Oogave and today I’ll be reviewing their ginger ale. It’s an all natural 10 calorie drink sweetened with both stevia (boo) and agave nectar (yay). I don’t think I’ve ever had a diet ginger ale so this should be an interesting experience.
Twist wanted to use the same Cypress Hill Gang joke as last time, but I wouldn't allow it.
Even though my sniffer isn’t at full functionality I can still discern the scent of ginger ale when I put my nose up to the can. It’s a lighter aroma than Canada Dry, but perhaps the fact that it’s diet subdues the scent.
Upon first swig the ginger taste is very apparent, which is quite pleasing to my taste buds. It’s not as sweet as most ginger ales, but if you’d read the first paragraph or even glanced at the picture of the can you could probably figure out why on your own. The taste is light and easy to return to, leaving no syrupy feel in my mouth afterwards.
On the negative side of things it feels a little over carbonated. It’s a rush of foamy bubbles with each sip. Something I think would work better with a root beer instead of a ginger ale. You can tell it’s a low calorie beverage without looking at the can. The flavor, while pleasant, feels weakened and you get that diet vibe on the back end of each sip. At no point does it taste chemical, but it may not be as rich as you would like a ginger ale to be.
All in all (a phrase I use entirely too much), Loca Ginger Ale is a great addition to the country of diet sodas, perhaps even the governor of a state. In the world of sodas however it’s more along the lines of a nice next door neighbor. Did that analogy even make sense? Probably not, but I’m done anyway.
~A
Oogave Loca Diet Cola
/In front of me I have a soda made by one of my favorite companies, All-Natural Oogave. On the same note, I have a soda in front of me that contains an ingredient that I’m not all that fond of, stevia. Here’s the twist. The company I love used an ingredient I’m not thrilled about and now all I can do about it is review the can of Loca Diet Cola in front of me. First off our history with Oogave is well documented. They were one of the first believers of this site and supplied us with many a tasty beverage. Heck they’re the only company we’ve done a “company review” on (there was supposed to be more of those, but we got lazy). So as I said before, we like Oogave. Now for my beef with stevia.
Stevia, if you are not aware, is a natural sweetener that is very low cal. Stevia is a great alternative to sugar in diet beverages, but for me and many others it leaves a disheartening aftertaste. Any beverage I’ve ever had that was solely sweetened with stevia has not been in my good graces. Never fear, stevia fans. Once upon a time we stumbled upon a beverage that was “split sweetened”. It used both sugar and stevia and the results were fantastic. It seems that sharing the duties with a delicious sweetener was right in the wheel-house of stevia. Fortunately Loca Diet Cola deals with stevia the awesome way.
Loca Diet Cola uses both stevia and agave nectar (an Oogave staple) to tastify their soda. This results in a 10 calorie cola which may still leave you skeptical, but hopefully I’m about to sway you to the positive. Aside from the sweetener, Loca Diet Cola is an all-natural beverage, but if you’re a fan of Oogave like we are that shouldn’t surprise you in the slightest. Even though I’m a fan of their products I too still have my doubts that this diet cola is going to knock my socks off in the taste department. I guess there’s only one way to find out.
A noticeable cola scent rises from the mouth of the can. It doesn’t have the “chemical scent” that many diet colas have and for that I mark down a point in the “nice” column.
The first sip reveals that I will not be partaking in that dreaded stevia aftertaste today, so good for you Loca Diet Cola. Now that my fear has been quelled I can focus better on the task at hand. Each sip I take includes the following: Cola flavor, club soda flavor, cola flavor. I’m not really sure what’s happening in the middle there, but the cola flavor kind of ducks out for a second and I’m left with a curious experience. I don’t find Loca Diet Cola as rich as other colas in taste, but that may be by design. If I were to do a blind taste test on this beverage I could tell you that it’s a diet cola, but a good diet cola and that’s good because those are so far and few between.
The carbonation level in Loca Diet Cola is great as the bubbles are staying strong throughout, racing around my teeth and gums. It’s this racing speed that surprises me as many Oogave sodas are lower in carbonation due to the agave nectar not getting along with the C02 molecules… more or less. Apparently the addition of stevia allows those molecules to attach a little easier and create the very fun mouth feel I just experienced.
Overall, Loca Diet Cola is a good diet soda and one I would recommend to anyone out there that either drinks diet beverages or is considering switching to diet beverages. In a world where diet sodas are usually a chemical stew it’s really nice to see an all-natural, organic entry into this market. Go Oogave! Googave!
~A
Who you tryin' to get crazy with ese? Don't you know I'm drinkin' loca?
Jones Zilch - Vanilla Bean Soda
/As previously stated in the black cherry review, Jones sent us a pack of their new Zilch brand sodas. Today’s installment is Jones Zilch Vanilla Bean Soda. The first thing I notice is the color of the soda itself. It looks like dirty water, which isn’t very appetizing. Had it been a little darker I think I would have been fine with it. The fact that it looks like a liquid that’s supposed to be clear, but is not, is a bit off putting. My bottle picture today is a skateboarder in mid air over some rather sharp looking steps, God speed my good man.
Upon opening this bottle I had to press my nose against the top, (don’t worry it’s clean), to get any kind of vanilla aroma in my olfactory glands. As always this scares me that the flavor I’m about to ingest is going to be so faint that I won’t enjoy it. Fears aside, it has to be consumed… bottoms up.
I’m happy to say that you can taste the vanilla in this soda; although much like the black cherry, the best part of the flavor is in the aftertaste. The taste that occupies your mouth prior to the vanilla aftertaste is one of seltzer water. I really wish the initial taste was the best part of this drink, as it’s no fun waiting on an aftertaste to enjoy something. Oddly enough the more I drink this the less I taste the slightly sweet vanilla aftertaste I initially did. The bottom line is that this is a drinkable soda, but that’s about it. Sadly it’s very bland, and reinforces why we rarely do “diet” reviews.
Verdict: Buy a Bottle!
~A
Twist used to skateboard, until the incident
(Note: This beverage was provided to us by Jones)
Jones Zilch - Black Cherry Soda
/We love Jones Soda. They’ve always been good to us; in fact they are one of the few brand names to make it to our Best Friends List. The bottom line is that Jones Soda makes quality beverages. Recently they sent us 4 new flavors from their lineup. Three of them from their Jones Zilch line… which has zero calories/zero sugar; and another flavor that I’m a bit more nervous about, Tofurky and Gravy. Today we examine the first of the Zilch flavors, Black Cherry Soda.
I picked Black Cherry Soda because it’s a flavor I’m familiar with. IBC Black Cherry Soda was something my mother and I sought out at the grocery store when I was a kid. We didn’t buy it often, but more as a reward for when times got stressful. So I associate the flavor with good times.
As I look on this bottle though and stare at the calorie/sugar content I’m a bit nervous. Here I have a double whammy of things I love, Black Cherry Soda made by Jones, coupled with two things that I avoid, zero calories/zero sugar. Jones uses the word “Zilch” in their labeling instead of diet, which I think helps my mind from thinking about it being sugar/calorie free. On the upside though, they have added some Vitamin C (30% your daily value) to the soda, and that always score points with us. Before we being though, let me say that this will be reviewed as a soda, not a diet soda. We’re not looking for the best diet soda’s out there. We aren’t TheDietSodaJerks, but that does give me some idea for a spin off site…kidding.
Jones Zilch Black Cherry Soda has a great maroon coloring to it, just what I expect of a good black cherry soda. Upon opening it I have to really try to get a whiff of black cherry into my nostrils. This is a bit off putting to me as the smell often mirrors the flavor. Ah well, bottoms up!
The initial taste of Jones Zilch Black Cherry Soda is that of a diet black cherry soda. I know, I know, no sugar… but I my hopes were high. It’s also has a flavor that seems to be more on the sharp side, instead of rich like I would have predicted. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as after you ingest it your mouth is left with a sweet aftertaste…not a heavy chemical cocktail. Honestly it tastes more like a strongly flavored carbonated water to me, very light, with a good amount of fizz. It does refresh the pallet a bit, not as well as maybe a tall glass of ice water, but better than the few diet drinks I’ve had. The last taste I had was sweeter than all the rest, maybe I should have up-ended the bottle once before tasting. Overall impressive for a sugar free soda, as I’ve had sugar filled black cherry sodas that weren’t this good.
~A
Twist is watching his waistline
(Note: This beverage was provided to us by Jones)
Tab
/To bust into year two of The Soda Jerks, not only do we have a soda which both of us reviewed, I decided to do something out of the ordinary and review a drink which is:
a. Name brand
b. In a can (although it’s happened before)
c. Diet
That’s the big one. Diet. Honestly I thought if a diet soda was going to be reviewed that it would be, what else, a Virgil’s product, but no, I decided to try the granddaddy of them all, Tab.
Anyone who watches The Sarah Silverman Show knows that Tab is delicious, or at least sarcastically delicious. This is one of those things that every soda sommelier, professor of pop or cola connoisseur has to try once in their life.
It’s actually not that bad, although it’s 99% chemicals. This is probably the best diet soda I’ve ever had. Note that best diet soda doesn’t mean it’s anything great, it’s just the best of the diet sodas I’ve had.
I really don’t know what else to say. Tab is something you have to experience yourself. The best way I can describe it is Diet Coke but not anywhere near as awful. It’s cheap and still readily available so go get yourself one for funsies.
-Mike
