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. 

1776 Beverage Co. White Peach Ginger Ale

This soda was produced by Heartbreaking Dawns, which as far as I can tell, only produces hot sauces these days. Nevertheless, I'm encouraged to try a white peach ginger ale soda. It has quite the peachy aroma. I wish the ginger ale was more prominently figured in the taste. It's largely coming across as just a white peach flavor. This white peach is lighter and more flowery tasting than the typical peach sodas I've tasted. It's decent enough, but as I mentioned I wish there were more ginger ale blended with it. 

Northern Soda Cola

I previously discussed the history of the Northern Soda Company on this earlier post. This time around I've got a can of their cola flavor. A nice sounding crack when opening a can is always a good start. The aroma isn't strong but you can't mistake it for something other than cola. It's a solid tasting cola. It's only slightly more expensive than your main stream soda brands that use high fructose corn syrup, which I'd say is a good trade off for a small batch, cane sugar sweetened, independent brand cola. 

AJ Stephan's Lemon & Lime

Its been a while since I've reviewed a soda from AJ Stephan's line up. The color of this soda is what I'd call "toxic waste green". When open it smells distinctly like lime. After a few swigs I'd say it also taste much more like a lime soda than a lemon and lime. That being said, I've had better lime sodas. I'll continue to keep an eye out for more from AJ Stephan's so I can try some of their other flavors. 

Oak Creek Blonde Root Beer

Oak Creek sodas are produced by Sprecher Brewing in Wisconsin. Multiple Sprecher sodas have appeared in previous posts. The Oak Creek brand is focused only on root beers and makes a standard brown root beer as well as this light colored blonde root beer, both of which are barrel aged for a year. It smells of vanilla and has a color that is clear but tinted slightly yellow like a white wine. I can't say I recall ever tasting a "blonde" root beer before. The carbonation is okay. The bubbles seem to grow taller at the top of the bottle with each tip. I don't sense much of a root beer flavor from this bottle, much more like a vanilla cream. 

Melba's Fixins Carrot Cake Soda

In the same vein as the Lester's Fixins novelty sodas from Rocket Fizz, also exists Melba's Fixins. This is a carrot cake soda. Carrot cake is nowhere near the top of my list when it comes to picking cakes. There's just something wrong about making a desert from a vegetable. Most recipes also contain raisins, which are fine in an oatmeal cookie but not my cup of tea in cake. So here we go, fingers crossed this isn't too gross. 

It's got a strong smell of pumpkin and nutmeg which is not what I was expecting. The flavor is very much like pumpkin pie. Strong notes of cinnamon and nutmeg. Did they accidentally fill this bottle with pumpkin pie soda? It's actually quite drinkable if you're into such fall flavors. No notes of vanilla cream frosting, but I'm surprised by how enjoyable it actually is. 

Sprecher Cherry Cola

This selection from Sprecher is not in their typical glass bottles but in an attractive can that stood out to me on the shelf. I'm not certain what "fire-brewed" is supposed to add to the flavor here. Is there a char that affects the soda's flavor like it's a piece of sirloin steak? Sprecher is of course a Wisconsin company, but I've noted that ingredients of this cherry cola list cherries sourced from Door County as well as raw Wisconsin Honey. I would have thought honey as an ingredient may have been used as a sweetener but they also list glucose syrup. 

A cherry scent is present, as expected, though it isn't very strong. I think it has a very unique flavor profile for a cherry cola. I do taste the cola hiding in the back because the cherry takes center stage. I'm also picking up a soft and pleasant sweetness that tastes like it could very well be from the honey. Wirth each sip I'm mentally trying to isolate this and it does remind me of honey. In my opinion, this is a pleasingly unique cherry cola and the sort of craft soda you could splurge on from time to time as a nice treat and not tire of it. 

Maine Root Blueberry Soda

Maine Root produces sodas using certified Fair Trade produced cane sugar from Brazil. The company is based in Portland, Maine and began producing root beer in 2000. The blueberry scent from the top of this bottle is very strong. It's as if someone bought a container of fresh blueberries at the market then crushed them and stuck it in my face. The taste is equally strong. The odd blueberry with some other fresh fruits, with pancakes, or baked into a muffin is great but this is very powerful. I feel like this should be served with a muffin for breakfast. It's not quite my cup of tea, but I'm sure some folks will enjoy it. 

Jolt Cherry Bomb

Several years ago I discussed the Jolt Cola brand when reviewing Jolt Red Eye. This time I've found found a bottle of Jolt Cherry Bomb. I fear this is an old bottle because they've rebranded and gotten rid of their flavor line up to revert to cola. However, I'm hopeful it may still be alright. I've yet to post about glass versus plastic bottles and cans, which I will get to at some point, but a properly sealed glass bottle can remain good for a long time. There isn't much of a cherry aroma or any much of any other scent for me to sense from this. It tastes a bit funky. I'm not sure if that's due to the age of the bottle, or their particular recipe. I don't find it particularly likeable though, so I'm going to simply assume its bad and dump it. 

Fusion Select Mango Ramune

Since I cannot read the brand of this mango ramune from Japan, I did some googling and I believe the company is called Fusion Select. I've been unable to find a specific website or information about this brand. The scent is sort of earthy, about what I imagine a bunch of mango pulp tossed in a compost bin might smell like. The initial taste is quite clean and watery. The finish is where the fruitiness comes out and like most ramune this seems pretty close to capturing a good mango flavor. There's a sensation as well, not really a umami, but just a hint of savory that makes this flavor interesting. 

Jelly Belly Lemon Drop

The folks that make the famous gourmet jelly beans have a few flavors of soda as well. Something key to Jelly Belly's success is how they can seemingly encapsulate about any flavor into a jelly bean. And, yes, they do make soda flavored jelly beans, including A&W Root Beer and Dr Pepper. 

Gustav Goelitz was a German immigrant in who started a candy business in Belleville, Illinois in 1869. The Goelitz Confectionary Company was successful enough to open factories in Cincinnati and Chicago by 1904. In 1913, the company moved from Belleville, just east of St. Louis, to Chicago. Gustav's son, Herman, opened his own candy business, the Herman Goelitz Candy Company, in California. It was in the 1960's that they began producing jelly beans. In 1976, Herman Rowland, who was Herman Goelitz's grandson, worked with David Klein to create naturally flavored jelly beans. The Jelly Belly was born and named in tribute to blues musician Lead Belly. So while there is a long history of the companies behind Jelly Belly jelly beans, the first actual sale of Jelly Belly beans wasn't until 1976. Herman Goelitz Candy Company remained the company behind the Jelly Belly until 2001 when they renamed to form the Jelly Belly Candy Company. Since 2023 Jelly Belly has been owned by the Ferrara Candy Company. Ferrara brands include Lemonheads, Chuckles, Pixy Stix, Spree, Fun Dip, and Nerds. 

The soda itself smells lemony like a can of lemon Pledge furniture polish. The taste isn't anything great in my opinion. It's basically a lemon sour with a puckering tartness but not overly tart. They've opted for cane sugar which is a surprise to me since I always picture jelly beans as being made in a chemistry lab with corn syrup. 

Pepsi Wild Cherry & Cream

I've covered many varieties of Pepsi cola in the past, including their Wild Cherry. But they recently released this Wild Cherry & Cream variety. I actually waited a little bit after first spotting it in the wild because it was only available in 12-packs, but sure enough the single bottles eventually followed. Always difficult to justify buying a 12-pack of a new flavor you don't know you'll even like. This bottle released a strong vanilla aroma when opened and carries an expected level of carbonation for a Pepsi. A few sips in I'm still letting it linger on my tongue to gather what I think about it. Personally, I find that there isn't enough cherry flavor while at the same time an over abundance of vanilla cream flavor. It just seems skewed to me. I would have liked a heavier cherry taste with an iota of creaminess to just give it a slight separation from a cherry cola. Additionally, I think it's a bit to artificial in a way that leaves a tad of a chemical aftertaste. Sadly, this flavor isn't quite up to par for me. 

MacFuddy Pepper Elixir

This selection comes from Orca Beverages, who I've mentioned before. The drink has a dark reddish brown tint and smells a bit like cherry soda. Now I had expected some sort of Dr Pepper knock off, but it actually does have a sort of lingering black pepper tingle in the back of the throat. It's cold and refreshing up front, but then a sort of tingle develops in the back, right beneath my sinuses. I'm not sure what to make of that. It's interesting but doesn't make it the sort of thing I'd enjoy sipping on at the end of a hot summer day, or even a cold winter one for that matter.

Culture Pop Strawberry & Rhubarb

I haven't seen Culture Pop on the shelves around where I live, but I discovered them on a recent trip through the South. Culture Pop is another brand of probiotic sodas made in the recent trend of companies attempting to make healthier soft drinks. They claim to use organic fruit juices and organic spices to create their flavors. Their website states that they use natural fruit juices as their sweeteners rather than artificial sweeteners or real sugar. The probiotic ingredient is listed as DE111 Bacillus Subtilis.

This can of strawberry and rhubarb lists just 45 calories and includes ingredients like white grape juice, strawberry, rhubarb, and orange juices as well as sea salt, and cardamom. It smells quite nice, very strawberry scented, similar in smell to much more sugary strawberry sodas. I find it has a very mixed flavor changing rapidly while sipping. The flavor(s) disappear so rapidly I didn't even have time to place them, though I noted it was bitter when first hitting the tongue. On the next sip I held in my mouth longer to try to pick up some of the flavoring. Still bitter tasting, but without any sort of added sweeteners that should be expected. I can also pick up citric acidity followed by a quick flash of unsweetened rhubarb. Most of these prebiotic and probiotic sodas are undrinkable. While this one is bitter, because the flavor is so short lived its much kinder to the taste buds than other "gut healthy" sodas so makes for a nice option in the realm of "healthy" soft drinks.