Julmust

Here's a soda I've had in the back of my fridge since the holidays. Julmust is Swedish, and literally means 'jul' for Christmas, and 'must' for must... so it's a Christmas must. It is primarily sold in Sweden during the holiday season and outsells Coca-Cola during this time. Due to it's popularity recent Easter and Summer versions are sold under their respective names but the drink remains the same. Coca-Cola tried for a time to produce it's own Julmust to compete with the original from Roberts AB, but the line was fazed out.

Harry Roberts, a chemist, created the drink with his father in 1910 as a non-alcoholic alternative to beer. Made with hops, malt extract and other spices, the syrup is still made by the Roberts AB company Örebro, Sweden. It is made in the US by Kristall which also produces a line of fruit-flavored sodas, that include Black Currant and Lingonberry.

It smells like a heavy dark beer, and yes, it tastes like beer. As I am not a beer drinker I was not fond of this drink, but found it interesting to try nonetheless.

Coco Rico Coconut Soda

While I haven't been able to find much on the history of this drink I can tell you that it is made by a family owned business in Puerto Rico, but which I found on a pilgrimage to an asian supermarket.

It has a light carbonation level and a practically imperceptible coconut scent. It's clear in color and has a very strong coconut flavor with a sugary sweet finish. I tried this out of the novelty since I do not like coconut in food, however this is not entirely intolerable. I imagine that if you eat coconut products often you would like this, but it isn't for me.

Coca-Cola

I'm not going to review Coca-Cola like I would other sodas... it's internationally known taste sort of makes it the default cola against which all others have to be compared. And if you can't tell the difference between the sugary Coca-Cola and the more acerbic Pepsi, you ought to scrape your taste buds. Therefore I am going to discuss the history of Coca-Cola here.

Coca-Cola was created by a druggist like so many other early sodas, for more detail on the evolution of sodas see my earlier post here. Dr. John Pemberton developed the drink in 1886 in a backyard kettle and was originally called Pemberton's French Wine Coca. Coca wine was as alcoholic drink made combining wine and cocaine. Due to the waning popularity of cocaine use at toward the end of the 19th century Pemberton created a non-alcoholic version of his drink and his bookkeeper, Frank Robinson, suggested the name Coca-Cola. First sold in Jacob's Pharmacy in Atlanta, Georgia on May 8, 1886, it only sold about nine servings a day at five-cents a glass from the soda fountain.

There were three versions of the drink being sold by the year 1888, all sold by different companies. Asa Griggs Candler, an Atlanta businessman, bought into John Pemberton's company in 1887 and incorporated it as the Coca-Cola Company the following year. But Pemberton also sold to a small collective of businessmen and his son Charley started selling his own version. Because John Pemberton stated the name Coca-Cola belonged to his son, Asa Candler sold his drink as Yum Yum. This didn't catch on so Candler supposedly purchased the rights to the name Coca-Cola, the sale of which was later disputed, but by then Candler had changed the name of the company to The Coca-Cola Company and in 1910 had early records burned.

As lore states, the early formula of Coca-Cola did contain cocaine along with kola-nut extracts high in caffeine. It wasn't until 1905 that cocaine was removed from the drink by making a change to using spent coca leaves, which are the refuse after extracting the cocaine from the leaves. Today, the company uses a cocaine-free extract prepared by the Stepan Company in New Jersey, which is the only company in the US the government allows to import and process coca plant. Stepan acquires its plants from Peru and Bolivia. The cocaine the Stepan Company extracts from the leaves is then sold to Mallinckrodt in St. Louis, Missouri, and which is the only company in the US the government allows to process cocaine for medical uses.

Coca-Cola used marketing well and grew rapidly through the early 20th century. Although, first bottled in 1894, the company was worried it looked too much like other bottled drinks. The Root Glass Company of Terre Haute, Indiana presented a contour design, inspired by the shape of the cocoa pod, which was introduced in 1916 and is now an internationally recognized symbol. In the 1920's bottle sales exceeded fountain sales. By the time World War II began Coke was now selling in 44 different countries. Sales of canned Coke would not become available until 1960. In 1985, New Coke was introduced in an effort to combat Pepsi sales, causing an uproar from loyal Coca-Cola drinkers (even Fidel Castro voiced his dislike). In a major marketing debacle Coca-Cola reverted back to it's old recipe, now named Coke Classic.

Coca-Cola produces it's formulated syrups for Coca-Cola and subsidiaries like Fanta and Sprite for distribution to licensed bottled around the world in some 200 countries.

Cricket Pomegranate Raspberry

Cricket released it's first soda beverage in 2002 with an aim to make a cola healthier than your average soda. Their soda's contain no phosphoric acids, high-fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors or artificial colors. Their sodas are also enhanced with 2 cups of green tea.

When opening this bottle it became alive with carbonation and had a rich raspberry bouquet. It's tart like a raspberry would be with only a light pomegranate taste in my opinion, which is nice because I quite like the raspberry. As with other Cricket sodas the green tea is tasted in the finish, but it doesn't leave any green tea after taste lingering after swallowing. 

Refresco Goya Pineapple

Goya was founded by Spanish immigrant, Don Prudencio Unanue, as a local food distributor in Manhattan in 1936 to bring Latino foods to the area. The company has grown from a family storefront to an international food and beverage manufacturer and distributor.

The Refresco line of Goya made sodas include flavors popular in the Latino market such as Pineapple, Tamarind, Coconut and Sangria as well as traditional flavors such as Grape, Fruit Punch and Strawberry.

This soda uses high-fructose corn syrup over the cane sugar many traditional sodas have switched to in recent years. The pineapple flavor is strong and tart, but sugary. I would say from the more chemical finish it has that this is largely flavored by artificial means, although the label lists 'natural and artificial flavors'. It's sill a refreshing summer drink, but I have other pineapple sodas I would prefer.

Jones Soda Zero Calorie Vanilla Bean

For more on the history of Jones Soda see my previous post here.

The "Zilch" line from Jones Soda is their line up of no calorie or diet sodas. While there is a small amount of vanilla smell and decent amount of carbonation, I found the flavor of this to be lacking. This tastes like a carbonated bottle of hotel soap. A bit chemically tasting and contrary to the natural taste I was expecting from a name like Vanilla Bean.

Archer Farms Sarsaparilla

Archer Farms is a brand name of the Target department stores. Being a private label of recent years there isn't any history to report on for this brand.

Sarsaparilla is a plant native to Central America whose name comes from the Spanish words 'zarza', meaning shrub, and 'parrilla', meaning little grape vine. Most people are only aware of sarsaparilla from old western movies. Sarsaparilla was fazed out because a key ingredient was sassafras root. The FDA banned the usage of the steamed root extract due to health concerns over the oil safrole, a byproduct of the dried root bark. Modern sarsaparillas use artificial flavoring. Sarsaparillas, Birch Beer and Root Beer drinks are all quite similar in flavoring as they were variants on the drink Sarsaparilla.

As carbonation goes, I found that while tipping the bottle back produced the expected fizz it still felt quite flat in my mouth. The taste itself is what is to be expected from this family of drinks. It's sweet and has a mild root flavor. Sarsaparilla tastes like root beer to me and one thing I've always found difficult is trying to explain what root beer tastes like. I was confronted with this when traveling to England for the first time and my British friend and I were discussing differences in food and drink when I mentioned root beer. He asked me what it tastes like and I couldn't describe it as anything other than 'root beer'. Think about this sometime and see if you could try to describe the flavor of root beer to someone that's never tasted it. There aren't many congruent flavors out there to use as analogies.

Jones Soda Strawberry-Lime

Urban Juice and Soda Company began in 1987 as a beverage distributor out of Vancouver, Canada. By 1995 the company began producing its own line of soft drinks under the name of Jones Soda. In 2000, the company relocated to Seattle, Washington in the US and changed it's name to the Jones Soda Co. Since 2007 the entire Jones line up has been made with cane sugar rather than high-fructose corn syrup.

Jones Soda is most commonly known for two things, one of them being their labels which vary from bottle to bottle. Consumers can submit their own photos to the Jones Soda photo database which continually rotates the images on the labels. The marketing draw lead to selling customizable soda packs which can be ordered with your choice of photo. Secondly, Jones is well known for a wide selection of unique flavors such as Fufu Berry, Chocolate Fudge and even flavor named Fun. There are also many limited edition flavors made popular more for their novelty than flavor. The Thanksgiving flavor pack included sodas created to taste like turkey, green-bean casserole, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie and brussels sprouts. In future years the Thanksgiving pack included flavors like smoked salmon pate, and pecan pie. Jones Soda also produced a theme pack for the hometown Seattle Seahawks NFL team which included flavors like Perspiration, Dirt, Natural Field Turf and Sweet Victory. Among other themes, there is a set based on a Magic: The Gathering card set, a Dungeons & Dragons theme pack, Halloween, Valentines and even a Chanukah themed soda pack.

This flavor smells of sweet strawberry candy. It has a pretty good level of carbonation to tingle the mouth. I like it's tartness. There isn't much of a lime flavor but it's more of a strawberry with a puckering sourness to it.

Shirakiku Ramune Melon

Shirakiku is a Japanese brand, making Ramune sodas in several flavors. For more on the history of this type of bottle see my earlier posting here.

This drink has the high carbonation level of the other Shirakiku Ramune drinks. The aroma is like that of a honeydew melon. The flavor is like a mixture of melons but a sugary cantaloupe is the predominant taste here. Not one of my favorites but I've never been big on eating melon either. 

Shirakiku Ramune Lychee

Shirakiku is a Japanese brand, making Ramune sodas in several flavors. For more on the history of this type of bottle see my earlier posting here.

The Lychee is a small tropical fruit producing ever-green tree. The tree produces small red fruits with a textured rind covering a white flesh. The plant is native to China but now grown in several parts of the world.

When breaking the seal with the bottle's plunger, this beverage has an airy flower-like aroma. The drink has a high carbonation level. As the drink hit my tongue I tasted bubblegum, but the flavor quickly morphed to what I can best describe as flower petals. It could also be described as a mix of exotic chemical and sweet candy combined. It is indeed a complex flavor.

Apple Beer

Apple Beer is a naturally brewed soft drink that dates back to the 1960's. The drink is a variant of a German beverage called Fassbrause, a drink brewed from fruit and spices which dates back to the 1800's. In 1964 The Apple Beer Company of Salt Lake City began to produce this variety of the drink. Apple Beer was originally only sold in cans, but became available in glass bottles for the first time in 1998.

As I am not sure what to expect from this drink I give it a good whiff after opening, but it strangely has no smell to it at all. The drink appears flat after opening, but a very nice carbonation emerges when tipping back the bottle to drink. If pouring it will develop a foamy head. It has a nice tingle and does in deed taste like fresh apples but with a tiny hint of spices. The crispness to it is sharper than a cider and I find that I enjoy this drink and imagine it best in the autumn with the smell of leaves in the air. Definitely give this a try if you are able to find it.

Cheerwine

Cheerwine began in 1917 when L.D. Peeler purchased a cherry flavoring from a salesman in St. Louis. That same year the company was relocated to North Carolina and was renamed the Carolina Beverage Co. In the 1950's, a chemist working for the company re-developed their own flavoring for the beverage, ending the purchase of flavoring from St. Louis

To begin with my review I have to point out the wonderful retro styling of the bottle. Upon opening the drink smells like a Cherry Cola, but the taste is very un-cola. Cheerwine has a rich cherry flavor like a dark Bing cherry. It's made with cane sugar, rather than high-fructose corn syrup and has a high carbonation level, unlike many other glass-bottled sodas. The finish is smooth and doesn't leave a chemical taste. It's a very nice drink for those who enjoy cherry beverages.

Fukola Cola

The folks at Skeleteens decided to make a line up of "counter culture" sodas of which this is one. I'm not so sure yet how counter culture their sodas are other than the unusual names they have. Apparently they were banned in some areas due to their names and labeling. At last check the company website was no longer in service.

Fukola Cola has the aroma of Pepsi. It's taste however is much more herbal. Among other things the ingredients include ginseng, guarana, lime and orange oils, clove, echinacea, sage, kava kava, damiana, african capsicum, and something called skullcap. While it has a complex herbal arrangement, the predominant flavor is still cola so it's something I can get behind. All in all not a bad cola. I'll see if I can get my hands on some of this brand's more unique flavors in the future.