7 Up Pink Lemonade Zero

This flavor variety from 7 Up has the healthy carbonation level you'd expect from 7 Up. As flavors go it stays pretty true to a standard pink lemonade, but with carbonation. If it wanted to taste more accurate to a homemade pink lemonade they could give it a tarter finish. 

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. 

Diabolo Mint Lemonade French Soda

It seems to me that even though multiple flavors of Diabolo sodas are still sold online and in stores, but the URL on the can seems like it may no longer be in use, so I'm not sure what the story is there. Diabolo is a term for a type of non-alcoholic mixed drink made with flavored syrup and soda water in France, but in this case is used here as a brand name.

It boasts no caffeine and has just 60 calories for a 16oz can, with 14g of sugar and 4g of something called erythritol. I was unfamiliar with erythritol but found that is a sugar alcohol used as a sugar substitute. It is made from corn using fermentation and enzymes to create a chemical similar to sugar with fewer calories. However, the FDA, advises caution regarding the intake of erythritol over concerns that it may cause nausea and digestive issues in some people and increased risk of cardiovascular issues or strokes. 

The drink carries a strong minty scent. The carbonation isn't strong here and I feel like the mint taste is far too strong for the beverage. This is more like a cold mint tea because it really masks almost any sense of lemon. All in all, this drink isn't my particular cup of tea but clearly someone out there feels differently. 

Dublin Tart -N- Sweet Lemonade

Another bottle from Dublin Bottling Works. This bottle has a nice sour scent to it, the kind of sour lemon that's expected, not bad. It's puckeringly lemon-like with each sip, yet sugary. It isn't heavily carbonated. This is basically a lemon-ice in a bottle. I do like this a lot, but I get the feeling this will leave me more thirsty by the end than I was before I opened it. It reminds me of a ginger-ale and lemonade drink that was addicting enough to want to keep drinking more, but just made you thirstier and thirstier. I do like it though. 

Cawston Press Elderflower Lemonade

Cawston Press is located in the UK and opened shop in 1986 with an apple orchard. This particular can is labeled as being made in the Netherlands, but I believe they have some other facilities in Europe as well. While listed as sparkling juice, I basically consider any beverage that is carbonated and non-alcoholic a soda. By definition, it's a soft drink, but I use the term soda. In any case, Cawston Press has several flavors of both regular juice as well as sparkling juices, such as this one. All of which are made by pressing real fruit and no added sugar or sweeteners. 

There is a fresh lemony scent upon opening. A sip comes across a bit sour, but that is owing to the fact that most beverages are so sugary that tasting naturally sweet flavors are duller in comparison. I taste the lemon quite strongly. I think the pressed apple juice in the ingredients does come through in the background. The sourness reminds me quite a bit of a hoppy beer. I can't really pick up the elderflower. Maybe its being masked by the lemon. All in all, it's a decent, naturally made sparkling lemonade. Since I had to purchase this in a pack, it will make a nice drink in the summer heat to mix things up every now and then. 

Canada Dry Ginger Ale and Lemonade

I'm a bit amazed I'm reviewing another flavor variation of Canada Dry already without having posted about the original, plain Canada Dry Ginger Ale. I'll have to rectify that soon. But since I have this Ginger Ale and Lemonade, let's give it a review here. 

There isn't much in the way of an aroma from this can but a bit of light ginger ale. In all openness I've had this flavor many times before. Aside from the ginger ale flavor there's this sourness from the lemonade that mixes really well with ginger ale. I recall the first time I saw this at the store and thought it sounded like a bizarre mixture and was surprised by how well it worked. I actually find the sourness of the lemonade makes this particular soda almost addictive. I find I often feel thirsty even after quickly finishing a can. But it is a tasty drink and I'd recommend it for anyone that also enjoys ginger ale. 

Mountain Dew Spark

 

Another one of many Mountain Dew derivatives, Spark is described on the bottle as a raspberry lemonade. 

It does have a fruity lemonade scent. Drinking it, I can say that there isn't very much raspberry in the flavor, just a very tiny hint. It tastes like a spiked Mountain Dew at the front. Once it washes to the back of the tongue I pick up that sort of sour lemonade flavor you expect from fresh squeezed. Overall, it isn't terrible, perhaps a bit too sweet like many of the flavors Mountain Dew has tried. I wish it had a bit more carbonation though.

R. White's Premium Lemonade

It took me quite a while to find R. White's Lemonade after I first heard of it. It's a UK beverage, but can be found in specialty stores in rare locations. R. White's Lemonade dates back to 1845 when Robert and Matthew White started making their lemonade in Camberwell. Camberwell is a small area of greater London just south of the City of London. R.White & Sons became incorporated in 1894, but has been under the Britvic corporation since the late 1980's. In the 1970's they made other flavors which don't exist anymore. However, they still have a Raspberry Lemonade and a Pear & Elderflower Lemonade.

In the 1970's they used the slogan, "Secret Lemonade Drinker". The advertising featured a song by Ross McManus and his son, Declan McManus. Declan would later become known as Elvis Costello.

This doesn't have the overly sugary flavor you'd expect from a lemon soda or lemonade beverage in the U.S. They use lemon concentrate in making this drink and although it has sweeteners in it, you might think it was closer to lemon juice used in baking than the soda's people in North America might expect. They used to make their lemonade with sugar, but now include aspartame alone with sugar in the drink. I'd go so far as to call it a bit bitter. Drinking it alone is probably not as good as if you were to pair it with something salty which I think would make it taste sweeter.

Fentimans Rose Lemonade

Rounding out this spate of lemonades, I'll be tasting this rose lemonade. Fentimans began back in 1905. I enjoy finding their sodas because they do a great service to the classic era of sodas when the Victorian Age pushed their creation through quack health marketing in pharmacies. In addition, Fentimans actually brew's their sodas rather than just mixing chemicals with sugar. 

This lemonade is made with lemon juice, fermented ginger and rose oil. As I usually do when I open a bottle, I place my nose over it and inhale deeply. Smell is deeply associated with taste. When I smell this bottle I immediately feel like I've opened a 150 year old armoire in an antique shop. It has hints of cedar, ginger. The color is a very light pink as well. It has an usual taste as well, tart and pine-like. Like some of their other flavors, the fermentation process lends it a tiny kick as though it was alcoholic, but it is not. I've not tasted anything with rose oil before so am not sure what to make of it but it does not taste like any standard lemonade you'd expect. I welcome you to try it out.

Fentimans Victorian Lemonade

Continuing in a recent series of lemonades, we move on to another of Fentimans sodas. Regular visitors will have seen several flavors from Fentimans over the years I've been writing this blog. 

While not heavily carbonated, this doesn't smell like lemon. It has a sweet citrus scent but more reminiscent of pineapple. This lemonade is made from fermented lemon with some ginger and herbal extracts. It certainly taste fermented. It is very sour and tastes as if it were spiked with vodka. My mouth is watering from the tartness it delivers. It isn't unpleasing, though I doubt kids would like it unless you notice they have a real penchant for sour candies. I'm not going to pass judgement on this one and just say that it's worth a try to see if it's for you.

World Market Limoncellino

Sweet and aromatic... this bottle smells like the freshest lemonade. It's very tart and as you'd expect just like Italian limoncello liqueur. It is rich and somehow very sweet and very sour at the same time. The carbonation is smooth, with slight, tiny bubbles. The effervescence is more like an addition to the flavor than to the texture. While not something I'd consider an everyday drink, I highly recommend it as a breakfast or dessert beverage. 

Nesbitt's Honey Lemonade

Nesbitt's has a colorful origin. You can read about that here, at my first post for Nesbitt's.

At first whiff, this soda smells no different than any other high fructose corn syrup filled lemonade and the bottle doesn't appear to have much carbonation. The flavor is light compared to most lemonades. It isn't heavy, overly sugary or even very tart. There's no taste of honey, if anything I sense a pear-like flavor when hitting the taste buds on the sides of my tongue. This is a pleasant drink. It's refreshing and not the kind of drink that sickens you from sugar. I give it a thumbs up.

Lemmy

There is very little out there about the history of Lemmy. I feel it may take some involved digging at the library, but I can tell you that trademark records do confirm the date on the bottle. The Lemmy trademark dates to 1939 and was based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Many vintage soda brands that died off or were bought up by larger companies and later culled during the 70's and 80's and Lemmy was no different. But many of these brands/flavors have been recreated and distributed by Orca Beverages in Washington. 

It has a nice fizz with an tasty tartness. I think the tartness covers the normally smooth texture afforded by using cane sugar, which Lemmy uses. This drink is refreshing and I like it enough to say I'd drink it often if it weren't only available in niche stores or online. Would definitely be welcome on a sunny patio.

Leninade

What was once hard to get, slowly spread around and now you can find Leninade at numerous places that stock large selections of sodas. This soda is another Real Soda creation. Real Soda isn't an old company but they carved out a niche for themselves recreating old soda brands that had previously been discontinued. In addition they have created many of their own labels, Leninade being one of them. While the title is an obvious play on words, they went a bit over board with pun-filled slogans on the bottle. It's as if they came up with so many ideas for slogans that they just decided to use them all, but maybe that's part of their appeal. Maybe someday their website won't still look as though it was created in 1993.

I enjoy the nice pink lemonade aroma it has. The carbonation is light, but it should be for a lemonade variant of any kind. The flavor is that of a pink lemonade with a hint of grapefruit, however the flavor is a bit weak. I was expecting something stronger when a bottle says, "Get hammered & sickled," but I guess it's just another pun. It's not a spectacular drink, but more of an "it'll do" that's covered with little chuckles.