Red Rock Merengue

In the past I have reviewed other sodas branded Red Rock, such as this Golden Ginger Ale. However, the name Red Rock has a mangled history. The original Red Rock bottlers that were known for ginger ale, root beer, and colas seemed to vanish mid-century, while a bottler in the Dominican Republic continued producing the beverage independently. To muddy things further, the Red Rock bottles with the label style seen here are labeled as being distributed by Good-O, whose website seems to be non-existent. On top of this, the Merengue flavor is a very Caribbean flavor profile. So despite being unable to find evidence online to confirm it, I believe this bottler in the Dominican Republic is still the producer of this particular range of Red Rock labeled sodas, but is being imported and distributed in the U.S. by Good-O. Its also possible that Clayton Distributing is producing both styles of Red Rock soda products with some sort of geographic separation. I can't be sure without speaking to folks at these businesses. In any case, lets get to the matter at hand and give this Red Rock Merengue soda a taste. 

The smell from this bottle seems almost exactly like that of Big Red. It's super sugary smelling but with a red cream soda vibe. The similarities with red cream end there however. This merengue flavor carries with it a cream soda profile, but there's also a mixed fruit flavoring that's hard to place. At times it seems peach-like, other times more mango, as well as some bubble-gum and cotton candy. I'm sure the high level of sweetness appeals to kids and I wonder why this flavor hasn't been more popular in the U.S. With this said, it's far too sweet for me to want to finish off an entire bottle but interesting to taste. 

Coca-Cola Vanilla

While I've discussed Coca-Cola many times on this blog, I haven't gotten around to reviewing their vanilla Coke before now despite the fact that Coca-Cola Vanilla was first released back in the Spring of 2002.

Over the years I've tasted this soda many times. When it first came on the market I thought it tasted quite good. While true soda jerks in pharmacies regularly mixed vanilla with Coca-Cola many decades ago, the fact that old-fashioned soda fountains don't really exist anymore meant I'd not had the pleasure until this product came about. It was new and exciting to me. It also marked the beginning of the many flavor varieties, including limited edition flavors, that Coca-Cola and Pepsi have continued to this day. But personally I felt like it became a bit trite over time and I just didn't enjoy it after a while. Could it even be possible that Coca-Cola changed the recipe? In any case, these days I find the vanilla too overpowering and sweet. I rarely drink Coca-Vanilla these days, usually only imbibing when it's the only option.