Lester's Fixins Pumpkin Pie Soda

Lester's Fixins is a line of very un-soda like foods in soda flavors. Their Peanut Butter & Jelly and their Bacon flavored sodas are pretty widely known for their novelty. Rocket Fizz produces the Lester's Fixins flavor line. 

I can't be sure, but the reason Pete's Pumpkin Patch may no longer exist is that they are both made by Rocket Fizz. These seem to taste nearly identical. The only difference might be a touch more of the nutmeg/all spice seasoning in the flavor. It wouldn't make sense for Rocket Fizz to make two pumpkin flavored sodas so they most likely re-branded Pete's into the Lester's Fixins lineup.

Pete's Pumpkin Patch Soda

Strangely, the website listed right on the front of the bottle is no longer active. There's not much information online on any history of this soda, but it is currently produced by Rocket Fizz. 

Opening this bottle is like heaven. I love pumpkin pie and all the beautiful spices that go in it. Taking a nice whiff off this bottle it smells like I'm inhaling lines of pure nutmeg grounds. It's oddly missing much flavor. I was expecting a bright flash of flavor across my tongue but there really isn't any. The spot on the tongue you want to wash it over to get any sense of flavor is on the sides of the back of your tongue. It dos have a nice amount of carbonation. All in all, it's a lot lighter than I expected but a nice fall drink.

Bruce Cost Passion Fruit Ginger Ale

In 1984 Bruce Cost issued a cookbook of recipes using ginger, called "Ginger: East to West". Beginning in 1989 he started using his own ginger ale at his restaurants in California. Operations then moved to Chicago and later to New York. 

Unfiltered is listed flat out on the label, but it should be evident by the large amount of pulp in the bottle. I'm a fan of ginger ale so quite curious about a passion fruit ginger ale. This soda is made with cane sugar, ginger, passion fruit, and turmeric. There's a unique scent from this bottle. It has a smell like that of opening a drawer in a centuries old desk found in the back of an antique shop. Turmeric is related to ginger and both have been used for medicinal purposes for thousands of years in Asia. This bottle has a great deal of carbonation, releasing a hiss with each sip from the bottle. The flavor is a bit medicinal. I don't really get much of the passion fruit flavor. Instead it has much more of the ginger and turmeric flavor. The drink straddles a bit of a line between main stream ginger ale like a Canada Dry or Schweppes, and the stronger, sometimes hot ginger beer. I like the nostalgic, apothecary-like aura this brings, but it isn't something I'd be drinking every day. It would probably make a very cook cooking ingredient or act as a good mixer for some drinks, especially a Moscow Mule.

Buddy's Orange Soda

Buddy's comes to us from Arneson Distributing in Sleepy Eye, Minnsota. Although their website makes specific mention to the rise of soda during the prohibition era when beer makers turned to sodas, it actually appears Buddy's was born in the 1970's. In '72 the Arnesons bought an existing beer distribution company but grew into producing their own root beer, 1919 Classic Draft Root Beer. This later led to additional flavors. I'd suspect it was because of their existing beer distribution they were able to gain a foothold in bars and restaurants. 

It gives an aroma like orange sherbet. The carbonation is middling, not to much or too little. This is a pretty decent orange soda. It isn't as sugary as many on the market which may become sickening after a third of a bottle. Instead it straddles a nice zone of sweetness and the acidity of orange juice. If you sometimes drink a soda with brunch, like I sometimes do, this would do nicely.

Private Selection Bourbon Barrel Cola

Private Selection is a Kroger store brand so this and other soda flavors under than label can be found at Kroger grocery stores. 

This soda smells like a cola is expected to. If your nose is sensitive enough you may just pick up the tiniest hint of whisky hidden in the tail end of a big sniff. There's very little carbonation in this soda. The flavor of the beverage is quite the opposite from the smell. It's more like that of a non-alcoholic beverage than a cola. The primary taste to me is that of the bourbon with little room left for the cola flavor. Since I'm not a big fan of the whiskey family, which includes bourbon, this doesn't win any points from me.

Polly's Pop Pineapple

Here's another bottle from Polly's Pop. Find more about the history of Polly's Pop on my previous post, here. 

This bottle has very little carbonation. I find that both the pineapple scent as well as the taste are quite cheap. The smell is entirely artificial and the flavor is a bit off. It tastes a bit too chemically made. I've had many pineapple sodas but this one falls short.

Private Selection Huckleberry Hibiscus Cream Soda

Private Selection is a Kroger store brand so this and other soda flavors under than label can be found at Kroger grocery stores. 

This soda smells like a rich cream mixed with an almost pomegranate scent. It's a very sugary cream aroma. It has adequate carbonation with large bubble size. The flavor has a mix of cream flavor at the forefront followed by a strong floral flavor. Hibiscus is a strange flavor. I find that it is alien and familiar at the same time. You pick up hints of flowers but also berries, sometimes even a bit grape. I wouldn't expect something so original from a grocery brand but this is one I would recommend just for the experience of the flavors mixing together. It's relatively rich so something I recommend sipping in the evening.

Dry Malali Watermelon

I can't say I've ever had a watermelon flavored soda in my life. The sodas from Dry seem to be in a perpetual re-branding since the labels seem to change so often. You can see my first post on Dry Juniper soda here, and my second on Dry Blood Orange here. 

Their watermelon smells exactly like cutting into a ripe watermelon. This bottle has ample carbonation. Like the other flavors of Dry, their flavor profiles are light. Its almost remiss to call it a soda as its closer to a seltzer water. However, there's a touch of aftertaste to this which reminds me of tonic water. Tonic water is a bit bitter due to quinine. It isn't a bad soda, but true to the original intent of Dry it seems better suited as mixer or use as a cooking ingredient.

Havana Banana

Havana Banana is one of the flavors from a lineup of dictator/political foe themed sodas created by Rocket Fizz. Rocket Fizz is a niche candy and soda shop with franchise locations around the country. They have a range of current, vintage and off the wall sodas. 

This soda has a pungent banana extract scent. The smell immediately reminded me of the banana in the Runts fruit flavored hard candies. It has a very strong flavor too. It's almost like banana chips and artificial banana flavor together. There's very little carbonation. But, let's face it, this isn't made for taste. This is a member of a special line up created for novelty purposes.