Simpson Spring White Birch Soda

Something my Aunt discovered for me, it's nice to find some of these "historical" sodas. And Simpson Spring seems to have quite the history. Hailing from South Easton, Massachusetts, which  lies South of Boston these sodas come from spring water that has been in use since precolonial times. In the late 1800's Frederick Howard began bottling and selling water from the springs. Like many spring water bottlers, they eventually began marketing several sodas as well. It isn't a huge leap to sodas when you already have a naturally bubbling water source and all the bottling equipment needed.

There is a very wintergreen aroma arising from this bottle. It has a very nice effervescence. I was expecting a much lower carbonation from a natural spring. Perhaps additional gases are added before bottling. Unlike previous birch sodas I've tasted, that tend to taste much closer to a root beer, this is very much like drinking a certs breath mint. It's crisp and refreshing and I'd highly recommend this as a summertime cooler or after dinner drink.

Boom Chugga Lugga True Cherry Cola

Out of Traverse City, Michigan comes a line of sodas called Boom Chugga Lugga, all of which include some cherry flavor combination. This wouldn't be that surprising to locals, but that area of Michigan grows more tart cherries than anywhere else in the U.S. Aside from cherry crops there are a large number of vineyards in that area. No word on when they began producing this roster of cherry beverages.

I had expected a pungent cherry scent from opening this bottle, however there is almost no scent cherry or cola and the carbonation is quite light. Even with a low level of bubblage, it tastes quite good. I can't be certain whether the cherry offsets the kola nut flavoring or there just isn't much kola in it. But the flavor is very smooth and like a mild cherry with a hint of cinnamon. I haven't tasted a plain tart cherry, but I would have thought it more bitter in taste than a bing cherry, but as I said this is mild and smooth. I give this a high recommendation.

Malta India

This is the second "malta" drink I've tried out. The first being Vitamalt, here. The genre of malta drinks sits on the fine line between beers and sodas. They often called "children's beer" or "young beer" and yet they generally considered sodas. Though they are brewed like a old-fashioned soda or beer, the primary difference is that maltas are not fermented so they are naturally free of alcohol.

Malta India comes from the Compania Cervecera de Puerto Rico brewery. Founded in 1937 by the Valdez brothers, they began selling Malta India in 1939. These malta beverages are popular in the Caribbean where they are often served over ice or with evaporated milk mixed in. 

Personally, I find the aroma very unappealing. It's something like a molasses and alfalfa soup smell with the lingering hint of a box of dry Grape Nuts cereal. For those with any belief that this would taste like beer, you'd be sorely mistaken. It's dark colored and tastes repulsively like cold gerbil food pellets. I cannot fathom how people might enjoy drinking this other than knowing that it contains vitamins beneficial to health. I have to recommend steering clear of this.

Shirakiku Ramune Grape

I thought I had seen all the flavors of ramune from Shirakiku but then happened upon this little bottle of grape. If this is the first time you've seen such a bottle, check out this earlier post which explains a little about the history of the bottle.

This soda has a sweet sugary smell like a grape twin-stick Popsicle. The flavor is nice and light. But unlike the very natural taste of other ramune from this brand the grape falls short of that "real fruit" flavor and is more like an American grape flavored soda. The light, fresh feeling you get from these make them a no brainer in the summer, which is when they are most popular back in Japan. No matter what the taste, these bottles always make a drink a little more whimsical.

Faygo Root Beer

Here's yet another Faygo product. My history on Faygo can be found on an earlier post, here.

Root beer sodas are the comfort food of the soda world. They can be a little on the filling side as sodas. So many soda makers make a root beer yet a good one seems to be difficult to master since I've had so many bad root beers with bitter flavors or bad aftertaste. Luckily, Faygo makes a good root beer at an economical price. Their root beer is smooth an creamy to the point of tasting quite a bit like the run off of a float. And while I haven't had a root beer float since I was a kid, thank you dairy products, I can still appreciate that wholesome flavor. Seriously, if you want to save money and enjoy good root beer you can't go wrong with this one.

Faygo Creme Soda

Well, after another long hiatus, I bring you another variation of Faygo, this time Creme Soda. Find out more about Faygo on my earlier post here. 

Whether it's called Cream Soda or Creme Soda, there's a fine line to walk between a nice smooth flavor and a repulsive chemical concoction. A word of note, I do try to find glass bottled sodas whenever possible but some drinks are either very hard to find bottled or just aren't packaged in glass. I plan to eventually discuss the breadth of packaging in another post someday.

I'll start by pointing out that this is a clear liquid. While food dyes and colorants may not affect taste, I personally find there's a psychological effect at play. Clear cream sodas start off with a one run deficit with me before I've even opened the bottle. It's that psychosomatic action I always felt had a part in the demise of Crystal Pepsi back in the 1990's. The creamy scent is very similar to Big Red. 

As far as the taste goes, I'd rate Faygo's Creme Soda right in the middle of the spectrum of cream sodas. It's not bad enough to be sharp to the tongue or have a chemical aftertaste. But I wouldn't say it's smooth and creamy enough to compete with the higher end. Mind you, in the past I've found that even "hand-crafted" batches of cream soda at expensive price points don't always mean a better tasting soda. At the end of the day, this is a good "everyday" option if you like cream soda and Faygo has a low price point to boot.

Taylor's Tonic Candy Cane Shake

The final bottle of the holiday themed four pack from Taylor's Tonic Botanical Brewery is this bottle of liquid candy cane. 

Brewed with organic peppermint and vanilla it certainly smells like a candy cane. The liquid even has the sort opalescence you see in the glossy candy cane coating. The peppermint has a cooling effect on the tongue. Although quite sweet and sugary, something in the recipe gives it a touch of tartness as well. While it isn't the most pleasing soda it is the best tasting of this themed bunch. I'd say the best part of it would be the lingering coolness the peppermint leaves in the mouth. All in all you can save your money and pass up this pack and head for tastier waters.

Taylor's Tonics Gingerbread House

Moving onto the dessert portion of Taylor's Tonics holiday themed pack, I have this bottle. As someone who enjoys both ginger ale soda and gingerbread cookies I have high hopes for this one. 

It has the beautiful aroma of cloves. A peek at the ingredients shows it also includes organic ginger, cinnamon and molasses. But that smell of cloves really is reminiscent of gingerbread. Oooh, but the taste is a doozy. It gave quite a kick. Think of sour brown sugar molasses. For some odd reason I almost feel like a need to chew even though it has the same watery thinness of any soda. High hopes are quickly dashed as I can only imagine drinking this thinned down with vodka to both weaken the bottled flavor as well as make my taste buds forget it.

Taylor's Tonics Cranberry Dream

Another bottle from Taylor's Tonics here is Cranberry Dream. 

I'd have to say this is the first beverage of any kind I've had made with balsam fir needles as an ingredient, among some spices, herbs and juices. But it has the smell of vanilla like a cream soda. Wow, the flavors are a bit wacky. The first thing I sense is not like a cranberry juice, but rather like chewing on a christmas tree twig. Yes there's a twinkle of tart cranberry flavor that hits, but it's very slight. This taste of fir trees is so strong I get the feeling a flock of birds would do better off drinking this than me. My advice, try it because it's strange, then put it down.

Taylor's Tonics Eggnog Fizz

After a a long hiatus due to relocating and other things I'm bringing you all a holiday themed post tonight. I've found a four pack from Taylor's Tonics Botanical Brewery out of California called the Holiday Fizz collection and Christmas day is probably the most opportune time to taste it. 

Taylor's Tonics is sort of a fusion brewer. By that I mean that they take old fashioned brewing techniques and collections of herbs and spices in their drinks. According to them, they also aim to include at least one thing with a health benefit to each of their concoctions.

Here I've got a bottle of Eggnog Fizz made with organic Vanilla, Nutmeg, Ginger and Allspice as well as some sort of rum flavoring. While eggnog is okay, I've never been someone who drank it with aplomb just because it's the holidays. It's aroma is strong with the scent of allspice and nutmeg. Though I'm no chef, my love of pumpkin pie and pumpkin bread has made me acutely aware of those smells. It also carries a hint of cream soda. 

At first sip I find it rather drab. The scent of the spices is not backed up in the flavor... it's only a moment after hitting the palate that you taste a wisp of the spices. I was expecting more of a creamier feel but that isn't so. The egginess you get with a homemade batch of eggnog only rears its head in the aftertaste left in your mouth. Let's face it... these theme packs are more of a novelty, and that's okay. However I do expect more, so this is a bottle you can skip.