Sprite + Tea

A few weeks ago on my usual trip to the grocery store I encountered a stack of 12-packs with this bizarre new flavor from Sprite. Of course I'm not fond of buying an entire 12-pack to try a new flavor I may not like, particularly at today's prices. However, I knew if I waited a bit I'd probably see it in single bottles. Sure enough, on a recent pop into a convenience store I found it. My assumption is that this may be an attempt at something akin to an Arnold Palmer, a drink which is half iced tea and half lemonade. The difference here being that this is carbonated lemon-lime soda. I haven't heard good things about this new drink but I'm going to keep an open mind going into it, especially since I enjoy an Arnold Palmer from time to time.

The ingredients still list high fructose corn syrup and less than 2% natural flavors. Nothing specific about tea in the list of ingredients on the label, but just like regular Sprite it is caffeine free. A slight carbonation release comes from uncapping it and it has a faint hint of an iced tea aroma mixed with a little lemon. The taste is quite strong. I'm not really a tea drinker to discern the subtleties of the range of tea flavors but this seems very heavy handed in a green tea sense. When holding on the front of the tongue I get little to no flavor but the intense tea flavor come on suddenly at the back of the tongue when drinking. The miniscule lemon flavor means this is more like carbonated iced tea than anything else. I'm not a fan of this, but perhaps if you're really into sweetened iced tea you could enjoy it.

Slice Grapefruit Spritz

Slice was originally launched back in 1984 by PepsiCo as a lemon-lime soda. This was meant to replace the aging Teem label discontinued the same year as well as to try to gain market share against competitor's lemon-lime offerings. In time Slice offered a range of fruit flavored sodas, including orange and strawberry. Slice had a narrow share of the soda market in the U.S. and by the 1990's the boast of containing 10% fruit juice was moot since they removed most of the fruit juice from the recipe. The brand would undergo continued evolution in package design, various flavors and even a diet version, but Pepsi would discontinue Slice in the 2000's, most likely in an effort to consolidate some of their labels since Sierra Mist, another Pepsi-owned lemon-lime soda has been released in 1999 and was widely sold by the mid-2000's. New Slice Ventures LLC apparently bought the rights to the Slice brand sometime around 2018 for a relaunch in the U.S. and Canada with fruit-juice sweetened, lower calorie versions of grapefruit, raspberry, cranberry, blackberry, mango, and pineapple. They would launch more traditional Slice flavors in 2022 in orange, cherry, and lemon-lime. Suja Life then enters the picture and buys the rights to Slice and overhauls the recipes to jump on the "gut healthy" soda trend. Unlike the other "gut healthy" sodas I've encountered, these are listed as including "pre-, pro-, and post-biotic" ingredients. 

This can has a citrusy scent, not unlike a mainstream grapefruit soda or Fresca. It also has a very light pink color. I find the flavor a bit funny. While still somewhat citrus, it also has a sort of dull staleness about it. I'm sure the stevia, salt, and fibrous bacteria play into this. Fortunately, its still far from being the worst tasting healthy soda flavors I've tried. I could finish this can but I think the flavor would make it slow going, just taking a nip every 5-10 minutes. Not exactly my kind of taste.

Canada Dry Blackberry Ginger Ale

Canada Dry is a lifelong favorite of mine. In the past several years they've joined the bandwagon of releasing various flavor varieties, both permanent and seasonal. I couldn't find this flavor in anything other than a 2 liter bottle so I grabbed this bottle while I could. Unfortunately, the picture doesn't quite do the color justice. The soda is a transparent, light lilac color which doesn't come through in this image. I think its a good flavor. You'll still get a mostly classic Canada Dry ginger ale flavor, but it comes with a tinge of berry flavor that gives it a nice highlight. The berry taste is strongest in the aftertaste that lingers in the mouth. I think they should have made this flavor more highly available in individual sizes though. 

Bawls Cherry

It's been many years since I reviewed a beverage from Bawls. About the only place I know of that regularly stocks Bawls are the Micro Center stores selling PCs and tech gear. Bawls tends to market itself towards gamers who gravitate towards highly caffeinated sodas for marathon gaming sessions. A sugary cherry smell comes off this bottle. The guarana I think affects the flavor in a negative way. Its obviously a cherry flavor but just doesn't taste all that nice to me. I'll leave this one for the gamers. Bawls has better flavors to choose from. 

Saranac 1888 Shirley Temple

While primarily a beer brewery, Saranac crafts several flavors of sodas as well. Saranac 1888 is owned and operated by the Matt Brewing Company, purportedly the fourth-oldest family-owned brewing company in the U.S. Francis Xavier Matt was a German immigrant to the U.S. in 1880. Having worked at the Rothaus Brewery in Baden, Germany, his skills were applied as a brewmaster for breweries in Utica, New York. He created The West End Brewing Company out of the remnants of the Charles Bierbauer Brewery. Like many breweries in the U.S. during the prohibition era they relied on brewing soft drinks to keep the lights on. Utica Club sodas made by the brewery offered non-alcoholic malt drinks and ginger ale. Post-prohibition, Utica Club became a label for a primary line of beer. The brewery eventually changed names again to the Matt Brewing Company producing beer under the labels Utica Club and Saranac. In 2000, the Saranac label began bottling soft drinks again. 

This soda has a very sugary cherry-pomegranate smell. The flavor is truer to a pomegranate taste, which is much more true to the use of real grenadine used in a true old-fashioned shirley temple. It has a little zing at the end of a swig as well. Decent effort overall.

Sparky's Fresh Draft Root Beer

This root beer comes from Knox Brewing in Pacific Grove, California. Interestingly, among the cane sugar on the label, honey is also listed among the ingredients. There's a crisp, slightly wintergreen scent in this bottle. I find this particular bottle to be a little flat in terms of carbonation but I cannot find a date printed on it. While sweet, this root beer also comes across as a bit medicinal in nature. Nonetheless, it's a decent small batch root beer and at least better than some smaller brand root beers I've had. 

State Fair Kettle Corn

This bottle is from Blue Sun Bottling's lineup of State Fair themed sodas. This is in the same lineage as the State Fair Mini Doughnut soda reviewed in my earlier post. While the Mini Doughnut flavor was a delight, many strange novelty flavors can go awry. Hopefully this one is on the good side, but I get nervous before sipping on some of these inventive selections. 

The drink itself has the amber color of a ginger ale. A whiff from the top of the bottle knocks me back a bit. The aroma from this is very strong. It felt like I'd just stuck my face into an industrial sized popcorn popper. The scent is strongly wired in my brain to summon the images of walking through the halls at the Indiana State Fairgrounds as a kid. I was rarely there for the State Fair itself but there were many other events there year round and the food stands always had plenty of popcorn and hotdogs filling the expo halls with smells. This has a tad different smell though likely because our own fairgrounds didn't make kettle corn at their food counters, but you could get some from food trucks at the State Fair proper. Tasting it, it's just incredible how they can capture such flavors into a soda. It really does taste like a bucket of kettle corn. There's a slightly butteriness, but not sickening like a soda I reviewed once that shall not be spoken of again. There's also a sweet, caramel taste that is very pleasant. I've really got to try to visit these folks on my next trip to Minnesota. Definitely give this a try if you find a bottle. 

Maine Root Ginger Man

A follow up to my first post about Maine Root, found here, this "ginger man" soda is also made with fair trade cane sugar. This should be interesting because the artwork makes me want to think this will be flavored like gingerbread or a ginger snap cookie. But it could end up being more like a ginger beer. A pop of the top quickly reveals the wonderful holiday aroma of gingerbread. I also pick up a faint hint of something along the lines of a molasses or maple syrup. Sadly the taste doesn't quite match the hype of the olfactory sense for me. The taste of gingerbread is present but I find it to be a tad thin and watery. I would have liked for a stronger punch of that gingerbread man flavor which I think could probably still be accomplished with natural flavorings. I hope to continue to find some of Maine Root's drinks to try in the future though. 

Hosmer Mountain Black Cherry

I first introduced readers to Hosmer Mountain Beverages in this previous post where I reviewed their Sarsaparilla. I've come across a bottle of their black cherry soda this time around and I'm always jazzed to taste black cherry sodas. This 12 oz bottle comes in at 180 calories and uses cane sugar. The scent is not very heavy but definitely a black cherry aroma. I like the carbonation level. I think the taste of this is biased a little more toward a traditional cherry soda rather than a black cherry. The flavor is just okay, not as deep and rich as I'd prefer and I find that the finish comes across syrupy like that of a cough syrup. This is pretty disappointing as black cherry sodas go but still good enough to drink without hesitation. 

Mountain Dew Baja Cabo Citrus Zero

This new flavor from Mountain Dew is available in both regular and zero sugar versions. I was only able to secure this bottle of the zero sugar version yesterday. Despite having zero sugar, the bottle still lists 5 calories per serving and still contains caffeine. It has a sort of orange red color reminiscent of gummy worms. When I opened the bottle there was a nice crack of released air and it actually smelled like candy gummy worms. It has a standard amount of carbonation for a Mountain Dew soda. The taste comes across as orange-citrus at first then a taste I would describe as Live Wire blended with cough syrup. Finally, there's a lime flavored finish. I think the non-sugar sweetener affects the flavor too much and would probably be better with the full sugar version. It's not undrinkable but isn't great either. 

Melba's Fixins Coffee Cake

I've been looking forward to tasting this since I came across this bottle a week ago and stuck it in the fridge. This is another interesting flavor out of the Melba's Fixins lineup produced by Rocket Fizz in California. The aroma from this is beguiling... it's a bit nutty and smoky. Perhaps like smoked almonds with a hint of vanilla? The more I inhale it the closer it reminds me to the smell of coffee in a breakfast diner. It has a taste more akin to that of coffee grounds than the sugar and cinnamon coffee cakes I'm accustomed to. I feel like I should be drinking this out of one of those old, stained, white ceramic mugs with the brown pinstripe around the top of the cup that you see in old diners... few of which still seem to exist. It instantly brings me back to those breakfast joints in the 1980's filled early on weekend mornings with the smell of cigarettes and coffee in the air and the occasional whiff of pancakes and maple syrup. I'm going to insist again that the Melba's Fixins flavors are superior to the gross flavors of the Lester's Fixins group. 

O-So Butterscotch Root Beer

Among the many retro soda labels revived and continuing to be produced by Orca Beverage, whose name has come up several times in past posts, is the O-So label. O-So soda began in Chicago, Illinois in 1946 gaining popularity based on their grape flavored soda. The traction they gained grew their network of bottlers as well as the variety of fruit flavors they offered. From what I can surmise, they shuttered production in the early 1990's before the label was picked up by Orca, which operates out of Washington state.

This bottle comes in at 170 calories and is made with cane sugar. Unlike the last butterscotch root beer I had, this one is more root beer scented, but their butterscotch flavoring must be what gives it a slight smokiness. It isn't heavily carbonated but the cap was extremely difficult to twist off and seems to have left some sort of coarse residue around the bottle opening which isn't ideal. While the scent leans more towards a root beer, the taste leans more towards that of butterscotch. I'm not really getting much in the way of the root beer until the aftertaste of a swig. The butterscotch flavoring is adequate but not all that smooth.

Black Bear Orange Soda

Black Bear dates back to 1920 when founder Louis Patmont began bottling spring water in St. Francis, Wisconsin, south of Milwaukee. In 1931 the company was sold to Lucas Unger, who began bottling sodas. Black Bear passed hands again in 1961 which it was bought by the Caruso family, the same family that was known for their Italian-style sodas that later fell under the WBC Sodas of Chicago. The Black Bear bottling facility in Oak Creek, WI closed in 2017 after falling into receivership. Sprecher Brewery of Wisconsin now owns the label and continues to produce Black Bear along with other labels, including their own.

This soda is not made with cane sugar, but glucose syrup and has a very bright orange color. Sadly, the cap on this bottle is a blank. They could have done something cool with a bear silhouette or something. It provides a very traditional orange soda scent. This soda is also frustratingly flat. There's very little carbonation in it despite having just been purchased about a week ago. I'd had higher hopes for this bottle but it did not rise to the occasion. This is a low to middle orange soda so I'd recommend grabbing something else if the option is there. 

Betty Buzz Tonic Water

Actress Blake Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, have a diverse mix of entrepreneurial interests. Ryan is co-owner of Aviation Gin. Blake, for her part, founded Betty Buzz in 2021. Betty Buzz makes a variety of drink mixers, among several flavors are ginger beer, lemon-lime, and a meyer lemon club soda, as well as the tonic water featured here, which probably pairs decently Ryan's gin. Of course Betty Buzz also has an aviation theme to the brand. Now people don't typically drink tonic water straight, it's usually mixed with something. As I'm more interested in reviewing what comes directly out of the bottles and cans on this blog I'll be trying it without mixing so it probably won't be very enjoyable. Tonic water is a carbonated water with quinine in it and was used by soldiers in tropical climates to prevent malaria. It has a bitter taste so is often sweetened or mixed to be more palatable. Tonic water also has another peculiar property in that it will fluoresce under ultraviolet light. 

I quite like the old-fashioned, hand-sized bottles. There is little to no scent from this bottle. Drunk straight, it is very bitter so I can only imagine what it tasted like in Victorian times when it was made in stronger quantities and without sweeteners. This bottle comes sweetened with agave syrup and is still very bitter. Used as a proper mixer this small 9 oz bottle would be able to extend to make two to four cocktails, yet the entire 9 oz is just 50 calories. Not much more to add here other than I recommend blending it with just about anything sweet to cut that harsh bitter taste. 

Sprite Vanilla Frost

Here we have a limited edition flavor from Sprite that was released this past winter. I had picked up a bottle in February but forgot about it in the fridge for a little while, though its still perfectly good. Of course this is a mass produced brand so it uses high fructose corn syrup and weighs in with a 20 oz bottle rather than the 12 oz bottles that are more typical of smaller producers. Opening it releases a powerful vanilla scent. There's no traditional taste of Sprite's lemon-lime blended in here, this tastes like an entirely different drink. It's quite vanilla forward, though not heavy handed or too candy-like. With "frost" in the name, I'd expected something more like that "frost" or "ice" flavoring used in some of the gatorade flavors. Overall, it's nothing to write home about, just sort of "meh". 

Spring Grove Rhu-berry

Another flavor from the Spring Grove lineup... this one a blend of strawberry and rhubarb. This soda is made with cane sugar and is caffeine free. The aroma from this bottle evokes memories of mixing strawberry Kool-aid powder on a hot summer day. There's a healthy amount of carbonation to heighten the taste on the tongue. It tastes strongly of rhubarb, which isn't entirely unlike strawberry. The strawberry taste arises a bit more in the aftertaste. I enjoy the nice little bit of tartness in the finish.

Norka Cherry-Strawberry

As someone who collects some vintage soda advertising, I've been aware of Norka for ages despite never coming across the soda itself to drink. I'd also always sort of overlooked some of their vintage materials when finding them because the style and font in were rather bland and it sounded quite Russian. In fact, there is a place in Russia named Norka, as well as a Russian-Ukranian fairy tale called "The Norka". However, it turns out that Norka Beverages is based in Akron, Ohio and Norka is just Akron spelled backwards... amusingly, something I'd never connected. The Norka Beverage company began in 1924 when Jacob Paquin setup shop. The original Norka soda ceased production in 1962. Michael Considine brought the label back to life in 2015, having previous experience in the beverage industry with Bawls Guarana. 

This bottle comes in at 170 calories, is caffeine free, and sweetened with cane sugar. The aroma is that of a cherry flavored hard candy. The flavor is not what I was expecting. I find that there is a muddled mix of cherry and strawberry flavors at first. This is followed by a short strawberry, but the finish is strongly on the cherry side. Interestingly there's a tart quality about it as well. I find this interesting because so many sodas go the other way and are sickeningly sugary. This has a decent sweetness but brings in a touch of sour that makes the mouth water just a little bit more. 

Jack Black's Blood Red Cola

It has been sometime since I last reviewed a soda from the Jack Black's line up. This brand is made by the Real Soda group, which produces many soda labels. This bottle smells like a number of craft soda maker's colas and the color of the liquid isn't actually blood red either but a very normal amber cola color. I have to say there's nothing remarkable about the flavor. It's a very average cola though I thought the "blood red" aspect in the name might have meant it had a twist to the flavor or they'd at least dyed it red. Its really just a marketing thing and there are better colas that provide more pep than this one. But hey, the cap is kinda cool. 

Flying Cauldron Butterscotch Beer

The folks at Reed's have created this Harry Potter themed butterscotch and cream soda concoction that I guess is supposed to approximate the butter beer popularized by the Harry Potter stories. Both this bottle and the butter beer mentioned are non-alcoholic drinks.

This has a very rich butterscotch scent to it. The scent is much stronger than that from butterscotch root beer's I've tasted. It really reminds me of the butterscotch pudding from my youth. The carbonation is a touch on the lower side, but I find the taste intriguing. It's smooth and buttery. The finish is definitely bringing forth the vanilla cream soda aspect. I'm not sure it would be as rounded without that creaminess so I think it makes for a good combination. The richness and smooth taste make this an excellent choice for an after dinner dessert beverage. 

Jones Soda S'mores

I found this Special Release flavor from Jones Soda on another recent trip. Many flavors from Jones Soda have appeared here before. If you're reading this from a country where S'mores aren't a common thing, a S'more is a dessert usually made when camping while sitting around the campfire but so many people now have fire pits on their patios that its easier to make them at home again. You'll need Graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate. Spear a marshmallow and hold it over the flames to roast it to a golden brown. Place some chocolate on a Graham cracker, followed by the marshmallow, and sandwich on top with another cracker to make a sandwich and pull out the twig or metal spear from the marshmallow. Then enjoy your gooey treat. 

I'm picking up a very strong scent of powdered vanilla from this bottle but not much else. I'm also not seeing, hearing, or tasting much in the way of carbonation. A bit of bubble action appears when taking a swig and that is about all. This soda has a strange flavor, but I wouldn't say it tastes like S'mores. A fresh draw from the bottle gives a not-vanilla, not-chocolate, not-marshmallow taste. It's sweet but almost like a very muted orange at times. I don't even know how to properly classify it. It's like an amalgam of many different flavors that just don't come near the taste of a fireside s'mores treat. 

Saint Arnold Old Fashioned Root Beer

Back when craft beer brewing was still sort of a new thing, Brock Wagner and Kevin Bartol started Saint Arnold Brewing Company making craft beer in Houston, Texas and started shipping with their first keg in 1994. There are two Saint Arnold's of the catholic church, both associated with beer; beer being immensely important through early human history. Arnold of Soissons is the patron saint of hop-pickers and Belgian beer brewers. Arnold of Metz is a patron saint of brewers in general and is attributed with the Legend of the Beer Mug. The story says that his parishioners were returning his body to Metz during a hot summer. Exhausted, they prayed for sustenance and a small amount of beer multiplied many times over to quench the thirst of the entire group. This brewery is named after Saint Arnold of Metz. As is common of many smaller beer breweries they also brew some non-alcoholic beverages including this root beer. 

I appreciate the use of the same bottles used for their beer as they provide a more stout appearance. A frosty, almost minty scent arises when opened. I also appreciate the true old-fashioned taste of this root beer. It's got that hint of creaminess and a crisp bite in the finish you want from such a drink. I would rate this root beer up against many of the big names in root beers.  

Warheads Sour Lemon

I haven't yet reviewed a Warheads branded soda yet. I was curious if they even still produced them since I encountered this previously reviewed sour Jones Soda made with Warheads. Warheads are of course known for their very sour candies. I find there's very little scent from this particular can. While no crack of carbonation released was heard or felt when opening, you can hear the carbonation bubbles popping away inside. I took a big gulp and I think I was expecting a much stronger sourness. I've certainly had some that packed more of a pucker inducing punch than this. That being said, it's got a decently lemony flavor and isn't sickeningly sweet. The sourness comes in towards the finish and you'll get more of it if you let it reach the taste buds to the side of your tongue. As I'm sure I've mentioned before, kids tend to enjoy these sour treats more than adults. If you like lemon, citrus, or just sour flavors you may like this one too.

Twig's Caramel Apple

I managed to come across another bottle from Twig's, who I've covered in this previous post. The folks a Twig's make some pretty sharp looking bottles. A decent carbonation release comes out when opened and I can really sense both caramel and apple from this bottle. This soda would go great in the fall and the rich green color even evokes old school movie witches or mad scientist concoctions, so would be good in a haunted house. A healthy swig is sugary at first but not necessarily like caramel. This is followed shortly by a rush of apple and the apple flavor then gives way to a mellow caramel finish and aftertaste. I didn't really think I would like this flavor that much, mostly because many soda producers create flavors that are too candy-like and overpowered with artificial flavorings. This is a well done soda with just the right mix and with a flavor you can't just find from any bottler. definitely give this one a try if you see it. 

Los Pollos Hermanos Churro Soda

Rocket Fizz has released a couple of soda flavors inspired by the Breaking Bad series, including horchata flavored soda and this churro flavored soda. Viewers of Breaking Bad or Better Call Saul will recognize the name Los Pollos Hermanos as the fictitious fast food chicken chain run by Gus Fring. The bottle has a sugary sweet aroma that reminds me of maple syrup. The taste is a bit donut flavored, but I think they've lost some of that cinnamon sugar flavor I expected in an effort to capture a taste more like fried dough. Personally I've only ever experienced chocolate sauces for dipping churros in, but the strong sense of maple syrup makes me wonder if some vendors offer syrup instead of chocolate. I image that would be tasty and make a better option for breakfast churros than a dessert churro. In any case, the carbonation is just sort of average. I think the taste is closer to being a waffles and syrup soda than churro for me personally. 

Levo Cosmic Punch

Levo is yet another prebiotic soda brand joining the mission of many soda producers to launch healthier replacements for traditional sodas. While Levo's sodas don't offer caffeine they claim 5g of fiber per serving/can. This can also contains 5g of cane sugar and just 30 calories. Launched in 2024, Levo is operated by Clear Cut Brands out of Louisville, KY.

A fruity aroma is immediately sensed when opening. The smell is very much like that of Hawaiian Punch. This is another surprising one. It's quite sugary tasting even if it contains less sugar and overall calories than most sodas. The punch flavors come on strong at the front, and while decent tasting don't linger long on the taste buds. The finish could leave something to be desired though. The immediate sense after a swig is a little more like tasting a mix of jello and kool-aid powder mix. Thank fully that doesn't last long either and I'm left with the aftertaste of pretty much any other fruit punch. Some of these gut-healthy sodas are starting to get the taste right, unfortunately they are the harder to find brands with little to no major market advertising. This is another brand, much like yesterday's post, I'll be looking out for so I can taste some of their other flavors. 

Popwell Cream Soda

I encountered another prebiotic "gut-healthy" soda on a recent journey. This one comes from Popwell, a brand only launched in February of this year. Popwell is made by Talking Rain Beverage Company. Talking Rain was founded by John Stevens and Pete Hiskin in Bellevue, Washington and just a few short months later was purchased by a group of investors. The company relocated its offices to Preston, WA in 1992, the same year they began producing Sparkling Ice flavored, carbonated water. The Popwell brand offers a range of flavors with each can boasting 1g of sugar, 6g of dietary fiber, and antioxidants. The entire can is listed at just 35 calories. Some options, such as this cream soda, also contain caffeine like many traditional sodas. 

Cracking the can open sounds rather flat compared to some. There was no crisp sound of gasses releasing. However, you can hear the carbonation popping from the can, which is still a good sign. I can also pick up a vanilla scent, not unlike a gift candle. The carbonation is very active on the tongue. My mouth is flooded with a strong vanilla flavor right off the bat. The taste mellows a bit after swallowing, but I find an aftertaste of vanilla then rises back to the mouth. I haven't yet tasted other flavors from Popwell but I'm already impressed because I find so many of the other pro- and prebiotic sodas on the market intolerable. But this one it pretty good. The vanilla flavor may be a bit too artificial and a tad heavy handed... but it doesn't put me off it. I could easily drink all of this and probably enjoy it as a regular soda replacement if it were available. I'll look forward to tasting some of their other flavors as I come across them. 

Mountain Dew Kickstart Recharge Blood Orange

I recently reviewed another flavor from Mountain Dew's Kickstart lineup. This blood orange flavor, labeled "Kickstart Recharge", has now been discontinued. As far as I can discern the "recharge" aspect is maybe because this one features several antioxidants, like vitamin C, E, B6, and Niacin, not listed on the other can. There's only an inkling of citrus scent that arises from the can. For a soda, and with only 5% actual juice, it's oddly very close to the taste of orange juice. With the additional vitamins, if you were unable to have actual orange juice for some reason this would be a pretty good match for your breakfast on the go and with some caffeine to give you a bit of morning pick up. The carbonation seems decent enough. The taste is quite orange and I'm not getting much of a sense of Mountain Dew's traditional flavor blended in. Overall I'm happily surprised with the taste of this drink.

Pepsi Nitro Vanilla Draft Cola

Following on the heels of today's earlier post on Pepsi's Nitro Draft Cola, is this second Nitro option with the addition of vanilla. Just as mentioned previously, these sodas are aerated using nitrogen rather than traditional carbon-dioxide. As expected, there's a vanilla scent emanating from this can that the other one didn't. Similar to the regular draft cola version the extremely tiny bubbles made by the nitrogen provide a very smooth experience. The vanilla isn't too heavy handed but artificial tasting, not like a dollop of vanilla ice cream or anything. Its good but my personal choice would be to prefer the regular draft cola offering out of the two of them. As a side note, I do like the metallic, copper lettering with the choice of navy blue and cream colors of the can. 

Pepsi Nitro Draft Cola

I'm glad I grabbed these when I did as it turns out that Pepsi has recently discontinued their Nitro beverages. Available in both draft cola as well as vanilla draft cola flavors, these cans contain a "widget" which infuses the drink with nitrogen when opened. This is similar to the widget pioneered by Guinness for their stout beers. The idea seems to be that the nitrogen creates a smoother texture to the drink, probably owing to smaller bubbles than those made by carbon-dioxide. 

I happen to be traveling at the moment so I don't have any glassware available, but I've just noticed that the can advises to "pour hard" the chilled soda into a glass after opening. Since I've no glassware on hand, I'm going to be drinking these straight from the can. Cracking the top startled me with the sound from the widget. I thought the can was going to fizz out and spill all over the place, before realizing it was just the sound from the widget. There's a definite frothy head to it, very similar in texture and color to the head of a properly poured draft of Guinness. Wow, I would not have thought simply changing from traditional carbon-dioxide to nitrogen would have such a remarkable difference. The drink does taste creamier and silky in texture. It's a mellow, creamy cola flavor, but not in a vanilla or ice cream float sense. I wish I'd tried this sooner so I could have enjoyed it more before Pepsi discontinued. Hope they'll reconsider someday and bring them back. Maybe we should try aerating sodas with other inert gases too!

Spindrift Ginger Ale

This can of Spindrift ginger ale is a bit of a conundrum. Firstly, its another one where the can artwork, shelf placement, and single can sales made me believe it was a store's private label. Secondly, the can says 'Soda' right on it. While investigating their website, near the top of their FAQ page they mention that they've phased out their sodas in favor of sparkling water. Further down the page they still have a section dedicated to sodas, explaining that they removed the cane sugar previously used when they began back in 2010, now preferring to use squeezed fruit juice with no added sweeteners. So I think its very confusing messaging. I believe they are trying to use the term 'soda' as part of a brand name, while also discontinuing the production of soda??? I don't know. I think their marketing team should have thought this through better. The can has an expiration date of 2026, so is what I'm about to taste soda or a soda branded sparkling water? Very strange indeed. Of note is that they list a whopping 20% fruit juice content, which is very high for a soda these days, particularly in North America. The entire can is just 32 calories as well. 

A fresh crack and the hiss of carbonation greets me when opening the can which is always nice. The scent is a bit of ginger but also a tad bit lemony. Its flavor is very ginger heavy. You could even say this straddles that fine line between a ginger ale and a ginger beer. After a few swigs and sitting with the finish a bit I think I'd classify this more on the ginger beer end of the scale with a bit of a ginger kick in the back of the throat with each tipple. 

Culture Pop Black Cherry

The second flavor from Culture Pop to be featured is this black cherry selection. As a reminder, refer to this earlier post for information on probiotic sodas like this one. This can weighs in at just 45 calories and includes most of the same ingredients as their other flavors, including the probiotic bacillus subtilis. The scent is sweet. Despite having just purchased this can a couple of days ago the drink is flat. The taste is both sweet and sour. I get a touch of sweetness at first, but it then changes to a bitterness, particularly on the sides of the tongue. It sometimes even tastes a tad salty. I'd rate this flavor below their strawberry and rhubarb option.

Jones Soda Nuka Cola Victory

A recent special release from Jones Soda is this real-life variety of the fictional Nuka Cola. Fallout is a post-apocalyptic game that takes place on Earth in the future. The gaming aesthetic is described as "atompunk" or "retrofuturistic", often resembling pop-culture references from the 1950's, including the comic-style "vault boy" character. Within the game there are several different flavors of soda made by the fictitious company Nuka Cola, which may be traded as currency within the game world.

Although Nuka Cola exists in the video game and this bottle is labeled with the word cola, the color and smell belie this. It's light red in color and the aroma is a mixture of strawberry and peach. Within the game Nuka Cola comes in Classic Nuka Cola, Nuka Cola Orange, Nuka Cola Grape, Nuka Cola Victory, Nuka Cola Wild, and more. This bottle has a high level of carbonation but the flavor is weak. There is a slight hint of peach and melon flavors but its faint and then leaves the tongue rather quickly. All in all, a bit disappointing.

Jones Soda Zero Cola

I've reviewed a number of flavors from Jones Soda over the years but recently came across a "special release" from them in the form of this zero calorie cola. Rather than the traditional cane sugar used in many of their beverages, this is sweetened with sucralose. The cola scent is slight from this bottle. I find it has plenty of carbonation and does taste more like the kind of everyday cola you might expect. It might be a tad sharper than normal despite sucralose supposedly being many times sweeter than sugar. In terms of the diet and "zero" soft drinks on the market though, this can still hold its head up because I think in a group taste test against Diet Coke this one would fair pretty well. 

Nixie Classic Cola

You'll have to forgive me for seeing this can on the shelves of a grocery store in Texas as I perused the aisles looking for unknown treasures and thinking it was a store brand. Being both unknown, available in single cans, and having a somewhat generic label it was easy to be confused. It doesn't look entirely different from a can of Big K in Kroger particularly with everyone releasing zero sugar versions these days. But I quickly found out that this was not the case. Nixie was founded in 2019 by Nicole Bernard Dawes. Nicole's parents worked in two very different industries, one in natural foods and the other in junk foods. In 2003 Nicole founded Late July Snacks, which produces organic, non-GMO snack foods, mostly a variety of corn chips and salsa. Nixie began in 2019 as a socially conscious drink company with the aim of removing sugar and single-use plastics from its products. It would then make sense that "Nixie" owes its name to the term to "nix" something, or cancel something out. They make many flavors of sodas in classic and slightly off beat flavor combinations. This 12oz can is certified organic, has zero calories and includes ingredients such as stevia extract, Himalayan pink salt, and organic caffeine from tea leaves. 

The can pops open as any can of cola would, but the scent is not that of classic cola. In fact I find the aroma rather sterile. The soda is also of a more orange color than I'm used to seeing in a cola. I can say after tasting this as well as several other sodas using stevia that it imparts a somewhat odd and bitter flavor to every drink that uses it. Some of them even end up making me feel more thirsty after tasting them. Despite often being used in organic drinks it ends up tasting more chemical than the everyday sodas we're used to. Unfortunately, I can't really taste a cola flavoring from this either. It's not the worst cola I've had, but it falls short of being a healthier daily replacement for those who enjoy colas. If, however, you simply want a healthier, more socially responsible option for a decent price it is a valid option. I'll have to find some of their other flavors to weigh in comparison and see if they can provide more of the intended flavor than this one did. 

Jackson Hole Soda High Mountain Huckleberry

There's not much to find online regarding the history of Jackson Hole Soda. The light aroma of dark berries barely escapes the bottle. The flavor is very nice. It's been some time since I've tasted a huckleberry soda and I've still yet to experience an actual huckleberry as they aren't normally found in grocery stores or even farmers markets near me. It's something of a mixed berry flavor, particularly close to blackberries. It also has a touch of tang to it. Overall, it's a decent little soda. 

Polly's Pop Glazed Donut

I discussed Polly's Pop in previous posts. I've been looking forward to tasting this soda. The last donut flavored soda I reviewed was delicious. The bottle has a crisp crack when opening and provides the aroma of freshly fried dough. Upon actually tasting it, there is an upfront flavor of a fried cake donut. I find no taste of a glaze or other icing within it though. On top of that, the taste of donut quickly fades away and tastes closer to a cola nut. I'm sad that this one didn't live up to my expectations, but these are the kind of experimental flavors I can get behind. 

United Sodas of America Orange Nectarine

This flavor from United Sodas of America has even fewer calories and sugar than the previous ones. A 12oz can has 30 calories and 6 grams of sugar. It contains cane sugar as well as erythritol. A sharp citrus nectarine aroma rises from the soda. It has a bitter flavor, but sadly tastes quite thin and watery. 

United Sodas of America Pear Elderflower

My next can from United Sodas of America is this can of pear elderflower flavored soda. Just like the last one, this can is also sweetened with cane sugar and stevia, coming in at 35 calories for the 12oz can. Something I noticed on this can is that the labeling isn't printed on the can. In fact, each can has a plastic wrap and small print states it must be removed prior to recycling. I would tend to think of companies attempting to make healthier foods for people would be more concerned about creating unnecessary waste or at least not making it so difficult for consumers to dispose of waste but it seems I'm wrong about that. 

Opening the can carries a refreshing scent. It doesn't smell like any pear I've eaten, however after a while of searching my scent memories it does evoke scent of a white pear scented hand soap I've used. The taste is extremely floral. The finish evokes a bit of pear for a short flash before returning to more flowery essence. It feels like I'm munching on cucumbers and flower petals. Personally, I'd prefer if it were more pear forward in flavor and much less of a flower bouquet. 

United Sodas of America Extra Peach

Marisa Zupan founded United Sodas of America in 2020. Based in Brooklyn, New York, the company was focused on selling direct to consumers for a while due to the pandemic. As lockdowns lifted they were able to shift to add retail distribution to the mix as well. During this time they also faced a growing number of competitors in the "health" soda market. Similar to Marisa, many startups have been attempting to launch soda brands for more health-conscious drinkers. Not all of them are in the pre- and pro-biotic space either. Many of the flavors are twists on classic offerings.

This particular can is listed at just 35 calories, with 8g of sugars. This soda is sweetened with both cane sugar and stevia while using carrot juice for coloring. It doesn't smell as peachy as many of the peach flavored sodas I've tasted, but there is a slight peach scent. It also doesn't taste as peachy as many other peach sodas. Almost certainly the pursuit of less sugar and overall calories has meant compromises in flavor. It tastes a bit too vegetably for a fruit flavored drink. At least it has a high level of carbonation. I've picked up a couple of other flavors from United Sodas of America so I'll be hoping for some improvements. 

Coca-Cola Energy

Similar to the yesterday's post, this was soda was a foray by Coca-Cola into the energy drink space. However, Coca-Cola Energy ceased production in North America but is available from other parts of the world. This particular can is original cola flavored in a zero sugar variety. A regular sugar version and cherry version were also available. Among its ingredients are vitamins that regulate electrolytes as well as guarana which is a fruit bearing plant from South America that is commonly used in energy drinks in combination with caffeine. Although it has zero calories, this can contains more than three times the amount of caffeine of a similar size (12oz) can of normal Coca-Cola. 

The drink smells very much like normal Coke. There's a faint difference in the aroma which could be from the guarana, but it is very slight. It still tastes of cola but it is a much different taste than regular Coca-Cola. The guarana, used in many energy drinks, provides a fruitiness and even bit of herbs to the taste. It does indeed taste like someone spilled a touch of Red Bull into a Coke. It tastes fine, but as mentioned, it isn't going to taste like normal Coke. 

Mountain Dew Kickstart Black Cherry

I try to avoid so-called "energy drinks", but sometimes there's a cross over from some of these soda brands that kind of sit on the fence. Kickstart is a line of drinks from Mountain Dew to wade themselves into the energy drink market but in many places resides among the sodas rather than on the shelves with the Red Bull's and Monster drinks. Their website lists "Dew®. Juice. Caffeine." but it only contains 5% juice. While that may be more than typical sodas, 5% isn't something I'd be crowing from the rooftops about. Are there buyers who think that means it healthy? These cans are 16oz. and the nutrition label says there are two servings per can. I can't help but wonder if they realize putting it aside to consume the second serving later means the carbonation will be gone. As far as the sugar content goes, it actually has just 19g for the entire 16oz can, which is better than original Mountain Dew at 46g for only a 12oz can. I think perhaps they are leaning on the added electrolytes and differentiated marketing as their primary separations from traditional Mountain Dew soda.

Cracking open the can I find it has very little smell, but what is there seems a bit citrus-like rather than cherry. I was not expecting this to taste anything like the citrus-forward Mountain Dew, and yet the first thing I get from it is just that. The black cherry flavoring arrives later, in the finish and aftertaste. I'd say it's almost 50/50.... more like traditional Mountain Dew until finished swallowing, then my mouth is overcome with the taste of black cherry you'd expect to be the focus. I find it to be a decent drink in terms of its flavor. While it isn't a health drink or sports drink by any means, it is healthier than regular Mountain Dew, with both fewer calories and less sugar.  

Lester's Fixins Peanut Butter & Jelly

The majority of these novelty sodas from Lester's Fixins, produced by Rocket Fizz, are so gross that I've been putting off tasting this one but the time has come. I was hoping that the aroma might be one of the more pleasing things about it, but it smells a bit like cardboard. It's not a good flavor. I get a bit of the peanut butter flavor but not really much in the way of jelly. This reminds me of Smucker's Goober Grape... that stuff I only remember seeing at friends houses during my childhood that combined peanut butter and jelly in the same jar... and it wasn't good either. But this is somehow worse than Goober Grape; more stale tasting I'd say. This is a bottle you can skip but your kids will probably beg you to buy if they see it at a road stop.

Capt'n Eli's Root Beer

Capt'n Eli's was based on a family tradition of brewing homemade root beer. Fred Forsley launched this into the commercially bottled Capt'n Eli's soda brand in 1996. While they make a few traditional soda flavors, a root beer seemed like a classic choice to grab for a first review of the brand.

The bottle carries a slight minty aroma mixed with something of a cream. It's hard to place, but I'm getting something like a twinge of something vegetable about the flavor. Other than that I think it's sort of average root beer. I wish it had more bite and some added cream to evoke that root beer float flavor. 

Skeleteens Love Potion No. 69

This bottle of soda from Skeleteens has a pink hue and I get something of a mixed berry scent from it. I'm finding it a tad chemical tasting but I think it's sort of a mix of berry and passionfruit in terms of the flavor profile. Unfortunately, I don't find it that enjoyable and it's possible this bottle is quite old since it seems Skeleteens may no longer exist and it has very little carbonation left. A shame because Skeleteens had some interesting stuff in the day. There's no date printed on the bottle for me to confirm that though. 

Spade Yuzu Lime

I only had the opportunity to take a couple of the flavors from Spade with me on a recent trip, this being the second one I chose since it isn't a common option among soda flavors. Again, I think the Stevia does funny things with flavors in sodas. It seems to be a common thread, not just among the sodas from Spade but other sodas I've had that used Stevia extract in them. It isn't as sharp as high fructose corn syrup, but its not as soft and rounded as cane sugar. The lime and acidity of the yuzu in this soda bring an acerbic quality to this drink. It's not an unpleasant flavor but if you don't like the bite from strong citrus flavors you probably won't like this option.

Spade Dr. Spade

Spade is yet another company aiming to fill a niche for "healthy" sodas. Spade was founded by a small group of friends in 2022 and is based in San Diego. Of the supposed "healthy" soda market space, this might be the first one claiming to be healthy and not a pre- or pro-biotic. Sweetened with Stevia each can has zero sugar and zero calories. They have also added magnesium and potassium for an electrolyte boost. With a name like Dr. Spade, I think its safe to assume this is their entry into the flavor space of Dr Pepper and it's clones. 

The can opens with a hint of a cherry-like aroma, but it isn't very strong on the nose. There's a very peculiar taste about this. It does give a slight cherry tang but I think it may be the Stevia sweetener that gives it a tiny herbal skew followed by what might be described as saltiness. That saltiness is replaced by a sweetness after around 5 seconds. Another unusual thing about this drink is that most competitors to Dr Pepper are dark brown in color, whereas this drink is clear. I would not put this up against a Dr Pepper or Mr. Pibb in terms of their flavoring, however there is something to be said about the unusual taste of this drink. 

Dublin Fru Fru Berry

I'm going to guess this soda might be a strawberry blend of some sort based on the color because "Fru Fru" doesn't really give it away. Inhaling from the top of the bottle it gives blueberry and blackberry notes. The plentiful carbonation helps lift those scents up to the nose. It's not actually a strawberry but a real blend of berry flavors. I do pick up hints of blueberry, maybe a touch of grape, just the slightest hint of strawberry, and a sweetness like that of bubblegum flavored cotton candy. I guess we now know what flavor "fru fru" is. Its too sweet for me to be much more than a momentary distraction.

Boylan Sparkling Lemonade

I've reviewed several flavors from Boylan in the past and come across this sparkling lemonade to try. There's a nice lemon juice smell from this one. It's tart enough to make the backs of my cheeks suddenly seize and water my mouth. This would be great on a hot summer day as its basically a carbonated lemonade. If you like tart or sour flavors this would be for you. Two thumbs up. 

Sprite Lymonade Legacy

I'd previously reviewed a bottle of Sprite Lymonade in this earlier post. While I don't want to review the same soda twice, I wasn't really sure if this can was expected to be different from the previous one or not. The can is a different color and they've added "Legacy" to the label, so I had to pick up a can to find out. It has a good deal of carbonation judging by the sound of fizzing coming form the can as well as a slight lime scent. It certainly is a different flavor from the previous Sprite Lymonade. There's a splash of strawberry in this, which goes with the pink hued can. And while I try to remain surprised most of the time I just realized the label does say "lemon-lime strawberry & lemonade" in small text near the bottom. It's a tasty mixture which harkens to the fresh strawberry lemonades common at many restaurants in the summer even if it doesn't have actual strawberries in the bottom. 

Refresco Goya Guaraná

Guaraná is a climbing plant native to the Amazon that produces a fruit, often reddish in color. The seeds of the plant are often used as a stimulant, which is more potent than the caffeine found in a similar quantity of coffee beans. For this reason it is commonly used in energy drinks today. Despite having tasted many energy drinks, I don't know specifically what guaraná is supposed to taste like. After opening the bottle however, I can tell you that this drink smells a little like feet after being released from a sweaty sock. The soda itself tastes very medicinal, and not like a sweetened cough syrup. There are notes that remind me of beer though not heavily. It's a distinct musky flavor that I can't say I enjoy. It must be a very acquired taste or something you have to grow up with to enjoy.