Dr Pepper Cream Soda

I do enjoy the occasional Dr Pepper, so I'm excited to have found this variety. When I open it, I find it smells like regular Dr Pepper. I don't pick up any scent like that of a straight plain soda. However, the flavor comes across as much more of a cream soda. The cream soda flavor is forward with the taste of Dr Pepper as a background finish. I would have perhaps chosen to make Dr Pepper the hero flavor with a more slight cream soda to round it out. It's still good, but could be improved. 

Capone Family Secret Root Beer

Well, this company doesn't appear to exist any longer, yet here I have a bottle of Capone Family Secret Root Beer. Did they have other flavors? Based on an unmaintained Facebook page, that hasn't been updated since 2013, they had a few standard flavor options. I have no idea where I picked up this bottle but it must have been around a while. The print on the side of the bottle isn't legible to read any date. Oh well, glass bottled sodas can last for ages when they are well sealed since glass is not gas permeable, which sounds like a topic to address in a future post. 

I don't know if it's just past its prime or it wasn't a good root beer to begin with. It tastes old and stale but with a slight metallic taste. Oh well, it made the post, but I'm dumping the rest of it. If the label is any indication, it was probably a pretty generic tasting root beer even at its best. 

Coca-Cola California Raspberry

Following up on yesterday's post is another interesting choice from Coca-Cola, this time we have California Raspberry. Again, hard to find but seemingly still available online from Coca-Cola. 

A strong raspberry aroma comes from this bottle and it has ample carbonation, just like yesterday's peach variety. It's funny, I've come to expect to taste the crunch of little raspberry seeds when I taste anything raspberry. I find raspberry flavor to be quite true, but it overshadows any cola flavor by far. In short, it's worth trying, though raspberry isn't the sort of fruit flavor I want everyday. 

Coca-Cola Georgia Peach

I'm not certain if this is a limited release flavor or not, but it appears Coca-Cola is still selling these. They aren't that easy to find in stores, but they are available online. Growing up I was not a fan of peach anything. These days I do find some peachy things to enjoy, like making a PB&J with peach jam. But there is a range of different sensations in terms of peach flavor. 

I think Coca-Cola did a nice job getting the right blend here where you can still taste the cola flavor even with a healthy punch of peach. In some of my reviews on these sort of blended flavors, particularly when mixing with cola the fruit flavor often over powers the cola. I think they hit this mix pretty well. The bottle has great carbonation and I feel a tiny bit of peach with a dose of cola. The finish brings a strong tart peach flavor. I would say this leans more towards that sweet and sour sensation you get from the outer skin of a peach slice rather than the inner fleshy fruit. Selling this in a glass bottle instead of plastic or a can makes it that much better. Glass bottles are just always more preferable to me and the cold glass seems to enhance the flavors. If you can get a bottle I recommend tasting this one. 

Sinalco Bitter Orange

This bottle was something of a mystery when I found it. Located in a nearby market for middle eastern foods, it has arabic labeling on the cap and on one side, but said it was bottled in Germany. I had to turn to the internet and their own website claims they are a popular global brand and the oldest soft drink in Europe, yet I had never heard of them before. 

The story goes that Friedrich Eduard Bilz, who had an interest in natural healing methods, opened a sanitarium in 1895. In 1902, Bilz created a drink called Bilz-Brause to serve to his sanitarium patients. The drink consisted of mineral water and citrus juice. Brause translating as "lemonade" or "fizz." It sounds as if he and John Harvey Kellogg, creator of corn flakes, would have been buddies had they lived closer to each other. In 1905, Bilz and Franz Hartmann joined together and renamed the drink to Sinalco. This name is a mash up of the Latin for "without alcohol." As the oldest soft drink company in Europe, they've released other flavors of Sinalco, and grown to include a stable of drink brands, much like a PepsiCo or Coca-Cola Company.

I find there's very little scent from the bottle. It takes a very deep whiff to get a hint of something more akin to the smell of grapefruit. There's a good level of carbonation from the bottle and even though it's a single use bottle it has the feel of the old reusable, returnable bottles. I do like this and think the citrus nature of it makes it a nice choice for a morning soda. It finishes clean with no aftertaste and is refreshing. 

Sipp Sparkling Mojo Berry

This is the second flavor I've come across from Sipp, that specialize in organic sodas. The last one I reviewed can be found here. This 12oz bottle is sweetened with agave and boasts just 40 calories per bottle. 

I'm expecting something a little interesting here since they've combined blackberry, mint, lime, and agave syrup. Both the scent and color actually remind me of cranberry cocktail. It has a light carbonation level, but having just 40 calories may not be worth it after tasting. It's acerbic like wine and tastes like someone let a cup full of ice melt into some berry flavored Crystal Light. A swing and a miss to me personally, but I can imagine there's a contingent of calorie light beverages and wine day drinkers that may like it. 

Sprecher Citrus Splash

A newly found variety from the folks at Sprecher graces the blog today. This bottle screams "caffeinated" right on the bottle, but I do not recall the previous sodas from Sprecher that I've tried being caffeine free. I'll have to try to remember to look for that on other bottles from them in the future to see. The label states this 16oz bottle has 93mg of caffeine. For comparison, 16oz of Pepsi has 51mg of caffeine. A light lime scent emanates from the top of the bottle and it carries a lemony yellow color. Unfortunately, I find this bottle quite lacking in carbonation. Its certainly there, but I think it could use more. Sprecher offers some rich flavor options, but honestly, I don't think this is one of their better flavors. It's a very non-specific "citrus" flavor in that I don't really taste a specific sort of citrus fruit. Instead I'd say it's trying to be a little more like Mountain Dew and it falls short of that. The "citrus-iness" is weak. In the end I think its just okay but I recommend passing this bottle up for something else.

Jones Soda Root Beer

Truthfully I've had Jones Soda's root beer before. But it's been eons. Jones Sodas are not daily drinkers for me but I will pick up the odd flavor when I see one or if I'm grabbing a bite where they're sold and want something a little different. But since I hadn't had one of their root beers in ages and haven't posted it here I thought this would be as good a time as any. Similar to the Jones Soda I reviewed a short while ago, the bottle mentions its a product of Canada, so I'm wondering whether or not they moved bottling operations? 

This bottle has a sarsaparilla-like aroma. The cane sugar provides a smooth flavor and it has a decent level of carbonation. I'd say its a decent root beer, but I find the carbonation bubbles to be small. I'm used to great big carbonation bubbles in root beers, but that alone doesn't make it a bad root beer. the flavor doesn't linger long on the tongue after a swig. Additionally, I like a bit more creaminess in a root beer.

Fitz's Cardinal Cream

A flavor of Fitz's I've not encountered before, this is the second appearance from Fitz's on the blog. Cardinal Cream doesn't say a lot about what it is, so I'm guessing it may be a red cream? Since Fitz's is from St. Louis, my gut says this is either a tribute to or in partnership with the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team. 

Based on the scent, I'd say my guess was dead on. It smells like a red cream soda, think Big Red if you don't know about red cream sodas. Unlike Big Red, I'd say this particular soda is creamier. There's still a bubblegum-like quality to it, but with a creamier finish than other red creams I've had. While I'm not that big of a fan of red cream sodas, this one is okay... in small amounts as far as I'm concerned. 

Stubborn Black Cherry

As it turns out that the Stubborn Soda brand is actually a subsidiary of PepsiCo. This must be either one of those excuses to test experimental flavors or one of many attempts by giant corporations to fly under the radar as a craft/niche product. Interestingly, it appears they are using stevia as a sweetener and the ingredients list purple carrot juice concentrate for coloring. 

Not sure what to make of a soda that list tarragon in its flavor profile, but technically this is black cherry with tarragon. I've no real meter to judge what tarragon tastes like though. A web search seems to describe tarragon as bittersweet and somewhat comparable to anise. It seems to have plenty of carbonation since it fizzes up well each time I tip up the bottle. The color is not as dark as you usually get from black cherry sodas. You'll definitely pick up a black cherry flavor, though not one with a lot of depth. It has a tartness to it though that I think is owed to that tarragon. All in all, I find it a bit of a miss as it's too tart for me to enjoy. I prefer a sweeter black cherry with rich berry flavor. 

Jones Soda Extreme Sour Black Cherry

I'm a bit gun shy after the last flavor from Jones I tried, but time to jump back on the horse and try another bizarre flavor offering from the folks at Jones Soda. This "extreme sour" version of black cherry looks to have been created in partnership with Warheads, a classic American mouth puckering candy.

Well the aroma is nice. It has a rich, deep cherry smell to it and the dark cherry color of it looks nice as well. It has lots of carbonation, evident when taking a swig. I'm immediately struck by the black cherry taste. It takes a moment to start to feel anything resembling "sourness." I'm not typically a fan of sour anything, though occasionally I like Sour Patch Kid candies. This is less sour than that. It's not terrible, and I wouldn't even venture to say it ruins the black cherry taste. I find it just provides a little pucker inducing sensation at the end of a gulp. It sort of hits that spot in the back of your cheeks that makes your mouth water. I think kids that enjoy sour candies would like it. 

Green Cola

While they've been around since 2011, I only recently came across this cola beverage from the Green Cola Company. They state their goal is creating healthier refreshments. The can lists it as having no calories, no sugar (they use stevia as a sweetener, no aspartame, no preservatives, no phosphoric acid, and apparently natural caffeine from green coffee beans??? I think coffee bean use in a soda is probably a first for me. A 12oz can of regular Mountain Dew has 54mg of caffeine, while this can of Green Cola has just 37mg. The amount of sodium is on par with other sodas at 40mg per can. While Green Cola appears to be their flagship, they do apparently have other flavors. 

I don't readily smell much when cracking open a can of this stuff. Well it certainly tastes different. If you can adapt to the change in taste from the giant mass market of sodas this seems like it would make a healthier alternative, but to be clear... it does taste different. It has a cola flavor, but its light handed and that flavor quickly dissipates from the tongue. But I think the stevia and other flavorings they use make the biggest difference. Its not quite as smooth as you might wish for it to be. There's an almost tea-like quality to it. The flavor itself has a bit of "grittiness" to it, not the liquid. I think that might be the best way to describe it. To be fair it can be a challenge to describe flavors that are created with out of the norm ingredients. I am delighted to say however, that it's totally drinkable. Just typing the first paragraph above about it made me cringe to think what it might actually taste like. As I've said it's not the normal cola flavor, but why should it be? With a few minutes you quickly get used it and its not bad at all but you will pay a little more for this than your Coke or Pepsi. It gets my thumbs up enough to encourage you to try it if you should find it. 

Okc Soda Blueberry Acai

It's been a long time since I passed through Oklahoma City, but on my most recent visit to Kansas City I found this can from Okc Soda Co. Founded in late 2019 by three guys from the beer brewing business, Michael Crowder, Mike Noonan, and Pat Krencicki, had a desire to create sodas with more whimsical flavors. You'll note on the labeling that these have no high fructose corn syrup (they use cane sugar), no caffeine, and reverse osmosis filtered water. They have some flavors you might expect, such as root beer, lemon-lime, and orange cream... but what interests me is some of their more unique options, like strawberry shortcake and this can of blueberry acai. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find other flavors at the shop where I found this, which I note for some transparency because I've not found blueberry sodas to be very good in the past. Maybe this one will surprise me, but I do hope to hunt down some of their other flavors in the near future on some of my trips. 

There isn't a massive release of carbonation when opening the can, but there is a strong blueberry aroma that reminds me of fresh blueberries in my cereal. Pouring out a little to get a sense of the carbonation and color, it has more of a slight blue tint instead of a disturbing dark color. I can't recall actually ever eating acai berries, but I enjoy blueberries fresh, in waffles, yogurt, etc. I can say that the taste is very true to the flavor of blueberries. It isn't overly sweetened like some brands that end up tasting like candy, which probably is partially owed to the use of cane sugar over HFCs. As I've mentioned before I find that using cane sugar gives a softer sweetness. So I am pleasantly surprised that to have found a delightful blueberry soda. 

Northern Soda Minnesota Apple

A couple of teachers left their day jobs in 2018 to found the Northern Soda Company, producing craft sodas in small batches. They do only appear to be released in cans rather than bottles. Their range of flavors includes many common classics, but they also feature several more interesting flavors, such as cherry citrus and blue raspberry. The next time I find myself up in the twin cities region for a family visit I may need to try to negotiate a visit. 

The label on this particular can gives me Christmas vibes from green, red, and white combined with a slightly whimsical retro font. This particular can is marked as gluten free, caffeine free, and made with cane sugar rather than high fructose corn syrup. The apple scent is not strong, but that could also owe a little to being canned. I often find that canning doesn't always give you as good as a scent as from glass bottles, perhaps because of the aluminum can or perhaps due to the shape of the opening. The flavor is sweet and much like an apple pie without cinnamon. Think of fresh made apple cider that's been carbonated. I do like this flavor and would recommend grabbing some in the autumn. 

Dr Pepper Strawberries & Cream

Just the other week a new bottle appeared at the grocery store, this Stawberries & Cream variant of Dr Pepper. More on the history of Dr Pepper can be found on my previous post, here. I really dislike the shape of the plastic Dr Pepper bottles these days. The upper dome at the top pushes your hand up and like many other brands these days the caps are too round and smooth making them harder to open. I don't know why they do this. 

The aroma from the bottle reminds me of the strawberry gel filling in Little Debbie's Stawberry Shortcake Rolls. I healthy sized swig does in fact taste a lot like those Little Debbie snacks... with the taste of washing it down with a bit of Dr Pepper. I like the level of carbonation, its very on par with regular Dr Pepper. I find the flavor dissipates quickly after swallowing, but then a moment later a delayed kick of strong strawberry aftertaste washes over my taste buds. It's a tasty drink, a sipper to drink over time in my opinion because it is sugary and a full bottle may be sickening by the end. Sipping it over time would be my suggestion as long as it stays cold. Overall it's a pleasant soda. 

Coca-Cola Ultimate +XP

This bottle is a limited edition from Coca-Cola that brings to mind the difficulty in sometimes knowing what to call some of these drinks. I find that sometimes marketers will reuse labeling with special release flavors or create packaging design that makes it difficult to discern if you're looking at a limited edition label, flavor, or that has confusing naming. 

Take this bottle as an example. When I came across it in the store I wasn't sure what to make of it right away. The coloring reminded me of the Coca-Cola coffee flavor that I'm not even sure exists anymore. While I saw the label read "Ultimate Limited Edition" in white above the Coca-Cola name what did this mean? There have been some limited edition packaging and bottles from some brands in the past, was that what this was and the drink was just regular Coca-Cola? I had to look closely to find, in tiny gold lettering on a black background, "+XP Flavored."

Now obviously from the packaging this was a limited edition release of some sort in a promotion in which they've paired with League of Legends from Riot Games. League of Legends is something I know almost nothing about since I'm not a gamer. But I know it's an online multiplayer battle style game. And I know that cosplayers love to dress up as one of the leading characters, named Jinx. I have no idea what the game and Coca-Cola have to do with each other besides this bottle. Or what flavor +XP is supposed to be. For the uninitiated "XP" means experience points and the "+" means it adds to your game character's experience which usually helps you level up. So overall I'd say the marketing department kind of blew it on this one because the whole thing is quite confusing. Though, I have to say at least Coca-Cola is being consistent with their series of abstractly named limited release flavors, like "Space" and "Move." 🙄

When I open the bottle and take a big whiff it smells like something flowery, almost like lavender and cedar? I'm having trouble placing it. Think of potpourri that used to be inside an old antique wood cabinet but was taken out a long time ago and the wood absorbed some of the scent and is still holding onto it. 

While the scent is slight, the taste is much stronger. Again, it's quite flowery in nature but also seems a lot like cucumber water mixed with cola. Yes, I think that's the best way I can describe the taste. It's not bad. It's definitely more befitting a summer drinks so I'm glad this wasn't another soda that tastes better on a hot day but is released in the autumn. The strange thing to me is how light and flowery the taste is for a beverage meant to be marketed to battle competing online gamers. It's not a daily drinker by the very fact that its a limited edition but it's just strange enough that even if it weren't I doubt many would just sit around drinking it with lunch. Nevertheless, it's an interesting combination of flavors worth a try if you can find it before its gone. 

Fanta Banana

Here we are with another Fanta flavor. I found this can on one of my recent travels. Banana is a dicey flavor for anything. It's the kind of flavor that is very hit or miss. Based on the can's labeling, this flavor is available in the Caribbean. I've noted that instead of listing high fructose corn syrup within the ingredients, they list sugar. One might assume that means cane sugar, but when that's the case most brands proudly slap "pure cane sugar" somewhere on the packaging. So maybe it's just plain white sugar??? 

The scent is very much like banana candy in that it smells overtly sugary and ultra "banana-y". I find the taste unexpected. Based on the overpowering aroma I thought this would be a punch in the gob. Instead it's got a softer fruit flavoring. It reminds me of tasting the slices of banana out of a fruit salad/ambrosia when it's covered in the juices from other fruit. I taste a hint of citrus and something like the tiniest iota of strawberry or pear. Sipping it seems best. A big swig or washing it over the back sides of the tongue reveal a bit stronger punch of that candy banana. 

Jones Soda Hatch Chile & Lime

Here we are with another special release from the Jones Soda Company. This one is very interesting. With all honesty I'm expecting to hate this flavor, but I couldn't pass it up. In an interesting twist the bottle says "Product of Canada," which I've not seen on a bottle from Jones before and they are known as being based in Washington State. But let's give it a go...

Wow... I opened this bottle a full two feet away from my nose and yet the instant I heard the carbonation release I could smell peppers. It absolutely smells like I was cutting green peppers in my kitchen. I don't smell any hint of lime. Oof... I don't like the taste of this bottle at all. A swig from it tastes like rotten vegetables, or a bowl of very cheap salsa left out in the sun. Look, it's not for me, but by all means if you like chile peppers and come across a bottle, feel free to give it a try.