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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

Gross Gus's Pimple Pop

Gross Gus is a series of different flavors of disgustingly named sodas produced by Indian Wells Brewing Company. Indian Wells creates craft beers in addition to sodas and is located in Inyokern, California, situated halfway between Bakersfield and Death Valley. The Indian Wells Brewing Company URL is failing a DNS lookup, but a search reveals a new URL for the company. Unfortunately, at the time of this post their website is not functioning, displaying a "maintenance" message. According to their Facebook page, they were still posting a couple of months ago, so must still be operating. While other searches state they have over 100 flavors of soda, it might appear that they sell a number of other novelty sodas rather than actually produce that many themselves. However, these Gross Gus flavors actually have the Indian Wells name on the label. 

The smell is reminiscent of coconut. It tastes sort of creamy, but not like a cream soda. It's very sugary tasting. I tried to place what the taste was in my mind and was avoiding searching the label for a hint. In the end, my eyes wandered and I located the words "marsmallow soda" printed up the side. I hope that spelling is intentional, but it really does taste like marshmallow. For a novelty flavored soda they've really nailed this flavor and yet it's not a sickening flavor like so many of the novelty sodas are. This one is actually drinkable, even if very sweet to the taste. 

Dr. Wells

Ludford Fruit Products, incorporated in 1928, in Los Angeles, created Dr. Wells in 1935 as an alternative 'pepper' brand soda, like so many Dr Pepper clones. As noted in many other posts, the 1960's and 70's saw a lot of consolidation of soda brands as larger companies swallowed up smaller operations. In 1970, the Rheingold Corporation purchased Grapette. Having introduced flavors other than grape, Rheingold decided to change the name from Grapette to Flavette. This seems like a poor attempt to work in the word 'Flavor' into the branding but comes off rather hacky sounding. Flavette then purchased Dr. Wells as well as Mason's Root Beer. According to FTC papers Flavette purchased something like 81 independent bottling companies during the 1970's. PepsiCo ended up buying Rheingold, triggering the Federal Trade Commission to force PepsiCo to release some of its brands to encourage market competition since PepsiCo and Coca-Cola combined for about 58% of the soft drink market at the time. The Monarch Beverage Company purchased the Dr. Wells brand in 1987 and later sold it along with some other notable soda brands to Hedinger Brands in 2007. Today, Dr. Wells is produced by Dad's Root Beer Company, based in Jasper, Indiana.

I think the scent of this bottle is slight, but I'm picking up faint notes of cherry. There's a noticeable kick of carbonation churning up to the top with each swig, sometimes nearly overflowing from the bottle. I've also spotted that they include cane sugar rather than high fructose corn syrup. It has a smoother flavor than Dr Pepper but the "spices" or "pepperiness" is too weak, closer to drinking a cherry cola. 

Australian Style Hot Ginger Ale

This soda isn't actually from Australia. Instead you'll find that it's created and bottled by Rocket Fizz in California. There's a fresh herbal smell to this bottle when opened. It does carry a ginger essence but in a conversely cool manner. There's plenty of carbonation too. When taking a swig you've got to give it a moment but then the heat begins to build in the back of the throat. Unlike some "spicy" ginger beers I've tried which tend to build heat more forward in the mouth, this heat concentrates in the back of my throat. It isn't an unbearable heat, but you definitely feel it there. But now that I've tasted it, my job is done. I'm not a fan of hot or spicy beverages, though I'm sure there are many who would enjoy this more than me. 

Perfy Tropical Citrus

Here's a drink I've not heard of before. Per usual, I often hunt for new drinks when on the road. Perfy has only existed for a short while and was born after the founder, Vasa Martinez's, health spiraled during a period of stress and tragedy. Her goal was to create a soft drink more friendly to those concerned with blood sugar issues. It contains no added sugar and no caffeine. This particular can is listed at 20 calories and just 4 grams of sugar for its 12 oz serving. Additionally, it contains Stevia, Tumeric, and L-Theanine. Tumeric is considered a natural inflammatory, commonly used in Indian foods, and may be used to give yellow coloring to some foods. L-Theanine is an amino acid found in tea, which is supposedly used to help treat stress and anxiety. While this flavor does not, some of their other flavors also include ashwagandha, a member of the nightshade family. This is often used as a dietary supplement for treating stress, though the scientific community finds little evidence to support this. 

My first whiff of this soda reminds me of pineapple. It's very fruity with an overall pineapple forward taste. The carbonation is weak and I think the addition of the dietary supplements mentioned earlier have a distinct effect on the flavor. While it doesn't taste like fruity tea, there's a leafy, tea-like quality lingering in the finish and I wonder if that is caused by the L-Theanine or just my imagination. Certainly, the tumeric is in play but it isn't overshadowing. While there are certainly better tasting "traditional" fruit blend sodas, the health trade offs of imbibing a drink like this with lower sugar, sodium, and overall calories would seem to offset that. And it's much better tasting than any of the pre- or pro-biotic sodas I've had to date. It should probably come in 12 packs at a more competitive price point though if they plan to challenge traditional sodas. Definitely worth a try if you find it in stock near you. 

Olipop Dr. Goodwin

The next Olipop up for tasting is this supposed knock-off of Dr Pepper. Everyone that tries to make a Pepper knock-off seems to stick to the "Dr" theme. In this case, they've used the name of one of the founders, Ben Goodwin. Unlike their cola offering this one at least smells a little like a Dr Pepper, if not a little more floral. And... as a gulp down a swig, it tastes floral too. It's like chewing on potpourri with a little cherry added in, but nothing like Dr Pepper. Also unlike their cola flavor this one at least grows on me a little with each sip starts to take on a taste of medicinal candy bottlecaps. This can has an extra gram of sugar over their cola and steps up to 45 calories per serving, but the taste a decent trade off over their cola. 

Olipop Vintage Cola

Olipop was founded in 2018 by Ben Goodwin and David Lester, who had sold their previous venture with an probiotic soda called Obi. Olipop is a prebiotic, so I guess they chose make a change with their new soda. The prebiotic ingredients used include cassava root fiber, chicory root inulin, Jerusalem artichoke inulin, nopal cactus, marshmallow root, calendula flower, and kudzu root. I'm always a bit skeptical about claims of "miracle health products" and maybe rightly so when I find that Gwyneth Paltrow was an early investor since I've heard of many of the bizarre claims made from her Goop brand. It seems there have been some recent lawsuits against multiple brands of these prebiotic sodas suggesting that the health benefits they promote can't be achieved with the small amount of inulin they include. However, if nothing else, I've taken note that a single serving (12oz. can) is listed at just 35 calories with a grand total of 16g of sugars and is low in sodium... all improvements over your standard, big name sodas. Jonathan Limehouse author of USA Today's recent article, provides a good summation of this...

"Dietitians agree that Poppi, Olipop, Culture Pop and other prebiotic sodas are healthier options compared to traditional soft drinks, but they are weary about how beneficial these brightly colored canned alternatives really are due to their lack of effect on gut health. Coke, Sprite and other common sodas have "tons of added sugar" and are "pretty calorically dense," which is the opposite of most prebiotic sodas on the market, Jessica Alfano, a clinical dietitian at Huntington Hospital in New York, told USA TODAY on Thursday during a phone interview."

But since I'm really more about seeing what sodas taste like, let me crack open a can of this cola flavored option from Olipop. Cracking open the can gives a light cola scent, but also a scent similar to some of the sodas I've has using tea as an ingredient and I wonder if a little of the chicory isn't in that smell as well. After taking a first swig, I'm super unimpressed. It has a taste that reminds me of making pumpkin pie or pumpkin bread... a mix of canned pumpkin, flour, and granulated sugar. I would not classify this flavor as cola. Even with the low sodium listed as I drink it there's a bit of a salty tasting finish. All in all, I'm not enjoying it and still have at least one other flavor waiting for me in the fridge. Regardless of the gut health claims, it's a healthier option than regular soda so if you can handle the taste, or maybe let it grow on you, then it seems a decent alternative.

Original New York Seltzer Root Beer

Now truth be told, I'm not big on seltzers. I've always found them to be quite bitter. But Original New York Seltzer has something of a cult following. Interestingly, the drink did not begin in New York, but in California, where father and son team Alan and Randy Miller started producing the drinks in 1981. In the 1980's producing any kind of soda, seltzer or otherwise without coloring, preservatives, or caffeine was something of an oddity. Nevertheless, the brand grew quickly and the father and son team had a penchant for a large and flamboyant lifestyle, complete with exotic animals. The Original New York Seltzer beverages were discontinued in 1994. However, in 2015, the brand staged a comeback with new leadership featuring the same fist-sized glass bottles as the original. 

Firstly, before I even get to tasting this, I really miss these little bottles. I can no longer find any brand of ginger ale made in the tiny green glass bottles anymore. I found the smooth metal screw off cap a little difficult to remove, it needs a little more texture for easier grip. This bottle certainly smells of root beer. Well now that is surprising to taste. It doesn't taste bitter like I often find sparkling flavored waters and seltzers to taste, but it does taste like regular root beer. With only 120 calories and 5mg of sodium per 10oz bottle it might sound like a healthier option, but be aware it also has 31g of sugar in it. Overall though, I give it a thumbs up for a smooth root beer flavor, albeit not a very "creamy" tasting one. 

Butter Soda

Continuing from yesterday's Sweet Corn, the State Fair theme goes on today with this Butter Soda from Rocket Fizz. Rocket Fizz has several candy and soda shops around the country and produces some of their own sodas for their shops. But I think you'll find that they mostly cater to lesser known brands and their own labels which are almost, but not all, novelty flavored. 

Firstly, there's very little scent coming from the bottle. It takes a good whiff before it smells something like butter. Oof. That is another flavor that just can't be stomached. It gives off a butter flavor in a very bold way and tastes quite "fatty." I prefer to not taste that again. 

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. 

Crooked Oak Root Beer

There's surprisingly little information out there about Crooked Oak Soda. Even their own website has a cryptic About page, which doesn't tell visitors anything about them and they have just three flavors. The bottle reads "Crafted by the fine people at Columbus Brands," a generic enough name that I can't find anything about it among search results out of Los Angeles. The label and language on it seem to try to impart some concept of small batch creation and product scarcity, but with nothing online to back that up it could all be hot air for all we know. The address on their website leads to a non-descript warehouse-like structure in L.A. with a sign for LA Bottleworks that probably just private labels dozens of sodas for many customers. Nevertheless, I picked it up to add the crown cap to the collection.

Nothing unique about the smell. A creamy root beer scent that should be expected. You know for "craft, small batch" beverage I'd sort of expected something a little more special. It's still an average root beer that isn't unpleasant at all to drink but the finish could feel fuller. It falls a bit flat at the end. 

Diabolo Tangerine Pomegranate

Diabolo is the name of a drink popular in France made with lemonade and simple syrup that comes in many flavors. The Diabolo brand began in 2010 after the founder moved from France to the U.S. and wanted to bring the drink too. 

I am not certain if the original mixes from France are carbonated, but Diabolo provides carbonated, caffeine free versions of the drink in several flavors. Sadly, cracking open this can I don't get a fruity scent from it. As far as the taste goes, it's light but bitter. The pomegranate flavor is too light, while the tangerine is lost to a more lemon-like flavor. Someone who likes seltzers and flavored sparkling waters may like it more than myself. Strangely, the can reads "Natural Flavors", but the ingredients say "Contains No Juice" and reads like a list from a chemistry lab. I'd expected much different both in flavor, but also feel like the packaging is made to dupe you into thinking its a more natural beverage.

Lester's Fixins Pumpkin Pie Soda

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

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

Pete's Pumpkin Patch Soda

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

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

Bruce Cost Passion Fruit Ginger Ale

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

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

Havana Banana

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

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