Soda Pop - 1421 Reviews

Baron Von Ginseng rides again! He has yet again narrowly escaped the Allied Forces to spread his dirt flavored health benefits another day. The Allies had him cornered in a soda complex somewhere in the south of Poland. They thought there was no escape for him, but when they searched the grounds he was nowhere to be found. The only vehicle that left was a truck full of cola. They searched the truck and decided that the Baron was not on board so they let it make its delivery. With him not being on the grounds anymore it is believed that he must have fused himself with the cola. A true trickster indeed. The Forces would like to make a statement to warn civilians that Baron Von Ginseng is heavily armed and should be considered dangerous. One would believe that you would notice him in your cola on first sip. One might ask "How would I not notice the flavor of a potted plant in my refreshing soda?" The truth is that he is a master of disguise and our top scientists believe that the cola may neutralize his naturally disgusting taste. It would still taste slightly earthy, but the cola flavor would reign supreme (to the chagrin of the Baron). Be aware that what you may be ingesting is a refreshing naturally earthy flavored cola that has the benefits of ginseng. It's a strange world out there and you should always be on the lookout.

As someone who used to fly semi-often I can tell you that when the flight attendant comes around and asks what kind of drink you want, the only correct answer is ginger ale. I don't know why but airplanes and ginger ale go hand in hand like hot dogs and corn relish. To be honest it's very rare that I partake in a ginger ale when I'm not flying. When I do I just feel like I'm missing out on part of the experience.

I may not be thousands of feet above the Earth right now, but I am still enjoying the heck out of this ginger ale. In fact I believe it may be the best I've ever had. It smells spicy, like a tame ginger beer, but when you take a sip it's all flavor and no burn. In my not so humble opinion it blows your Vernors and Schweppes clear out of the friendly skies. The secret is that it is made with natural gingers and not extracts or artificial flavors. Even though this line is marketed as a mixer for alcoholic drinks, it more than stands up on it's own.

Leave it to huckleberry to be the standout in a completely average line of sodas. Now don't get all upset, I didn't say they were bad. Every flavor I've had has been decent, but they just don't stand up and yell in my face that I need to drink them again or else they may kill my entire family with their awesomeness. I think it's also safe to say that if huckleberry was a more common flavor this would also seem mediocre, but as it stands I've only had two other companies version of this fruit pop. This may be my least favorite of the three, but I would still choose it over almost all other "every day" pops. The flavor falls somewhere between grenadine and grape. It's like a Shirley Temple with a splash of grape juice mixed in, except you know....better than it sounds.

As you may or may not know Sprecher has a team of various animals working for them that help gather the ingredients for their different sodas. They have foxes, cows, bears and even a penguin on the payroll. What many people don't know is that not only is the crow is not only employed, but he is actually the CEO of the company. The man in the suit in all of their commercials (that are on constantly during sporting events) is nothing more than a corporate puppet. The crow knows that America is not ready for a company run by a bird. I'm sorry for blowing up his spot, but the world needs to know and learn to accept that some species of birds have a more sophisticated taste palate. Learn and love America.

On a recent secret business trip to the UK Sprecher Crow stumbled across the Tango soda line. The orange flavor was in every gas station, but he found a single can of their apple soda and upon trying it he knew that he had to try and replicate it's flavor. Once he was back stateside he quickly got to work in "The Nest" to perfect it. When he was completed he realized that he hadn't quite got the flavor right, but what he did create was something that was fairly wonderful. Basically it tastes like a non-alcoholic British sweet apple cider. While it's in your mouth it has the classic Sprecher "fire brewed" taste. After you swallow the apple hits you fast and it hits you hard. It's definitely a red apple taste and not green, which I fully support. If you're an American it's closer to an apple juice than an American cider, but I certainly am not complaining. Perhaps Sprecher Crow should consider making this a staple flavor and not just available seasonally.

I don't like things I can't explain. I like new things because it's a new experience. This drink I simply can't put my finger on. When you burp, yes, it tastes like sarsaparilla, but when you drink it...question mark. I cannot place it. No matter how much I take a big sip, little sip, swish, and smell. On and on it goes and no answers. I might want to say that there is orange in it, but I can't be sure since one of the ingredients is listed as "natural and artificial flavors". Vague, nice.

This could also be the fastest dissipating drink I've ever drank. As soon as it's off your tongue, it's gone. No remnants, no remainder, no carry the one. Here then gone. Like a sports car that might be awesome but it drove past you on a residential street going around ninety and you couldn't tell if it was a Ferrari or what. All you know is it was fast. At least with a Ferrari, it would get your mind going about things like driving it, seeing it slower, touching it, sitting in it, wondering if Burt Reynolds was driving it. This drink just left you wondering why you wasted your time drinking something that didn't want to spend any time with you. This drink is a crappy girlfriend.

Eli was no captain at all. In fact he was nothing but a little punk kid with no friends save for his parrot, Perry. You may find yourself asking, "Where did Eli befriend a tropical bird such as Perry?" I'm going to let you in on some intel about our little Eli; he's a bit of a troublemaker and a thief. Last summer he hopped a train down to Boston and stole Perry from a zoo while it was closed. No one knows how Eli got back up to Maine, or how he got the bird to come with him but here he is rowing his stupid little thief boat out to sea. Just a bit earlier he and Perry filled their rowboat up with strawberries that they stole from the back of the local Co-Op. As they were rowing away the manager overheard Perry squawking about bubbly water (He is a stupid parrot, so he repeats everything Eli says. It's said that Eli only hangs out with the parrot because he is such a narcissist.). Cases of carbonated water were constantly going missing from the local Whole Foods. The manager had his suspicions of Eli, but to him the word of that mangy bird was all he needed.

You see the end of all Eli's crime is that he is passionate about soda pop. He hated the gross syrupy sodas that he stole from the gas stations, so he took matters into his own hands. He found a cave down on a secluded beach, stole some vats and bottles and started brewing his own pop to his own specifications and tastes. Hi newest batch would be a strawberry soda that tasted more like those little strawberry candies whose wrappers look like the fruit. He wanted that in bubbly liquid form, but not so sickly sweet. Sadly Perry went nuts and overturned the boat. No one has seen Eli since. He was a menace to the town, but for some reason they missed him, so they brewed up a batch of strawberry soda for his send off. Since he had stolen all the actual strawberries they had to use artificial flavors, but I think they achieved their goal.

Sometimes you go in expecting low quality jeans and you leave expecting diet pop to taste good. It's a crazy world where truth good denim is everywhere and diet drinks that don't taste as such are a diamond in the rough. A needle in a haystack. A boob in a PG movie. I think you can see where this is going and the direction is not towards things like bird's nests, birds, and bird houses.

Pomegranate is a distinct flavor and Jones captured it pretty well. They also got my hopes up by simply printing the word "hibiscus" on the bottle. You don't get hibiscus, but you do get diet and that is enough to make a grown man cry mostly because pomegranate and hibiscus together would be a match made in heaven. Instead, you get a decent pomegranate flavor, which is promptly ruined by a poor selection of artificial, diet sweeteners.

Dr. Jones, I like you. This is not your best work. I'm not going as far to say that it's a dead patient, but it could be something like leaving cotton swabs inside a surgery patient and then sewing that dude up like a bear you made in your seventh grade home and careers class.

So you've finally made it to the coastline. You've been out in California for the past four days and all you have to show for it are awkward meals and events with family that you don't really know. It has been a dumb trip that your parents talked you into. They finally convinced you by pointing out that it wouldn't be all family stuff; there would still be fun in the sun. Well four days later and this is the first moment you've had to yourself, and you're heading back to Oklahoma first thing in the morning. At least you finally made it out to the beach at the end of your last day. It's quite a sight to behold. The sun is shining at the waves are crashing onto the rocks. The only thing that could make this more perfect is the nice crisp root beer you have in your bag. You reach in and pull it out...what the!? You had packed a nice Virgils, but in your hand you know hold a bottle of Monterey Bay with a note from your aunt that reads "Thought you might like some local flavor." Well I guess that's nice of her. I mean it's still root beer, and it's a company you've never tried. You twist off the cap, lean back against a rock and take a sip. That sip is nearly "spit-taked" everywhere. There is definitely something amiss with this root beer. You take another hesitant sip. Yup, something is wrong. It tastes like someone started to brew a batch of nice old-fashioned cowboy root beer and then forgot to put in 80% of the ingredients. You can't quite place what exactly it is that it tastes like, but it definitely is an incomplete root beer. You try to make the best of it and work through the bottle, but it's just not happening. Your stupid family has gone and ruined the only good thing about your vacation by swapping out your time test root beer for this bottle of liquid garbage. It truly is the worst "root beer" you have ever tasted. Now you have no choice but to go back and start a small fire in their garbage can.

Every time I read Squamscot on one of these bottles I instantly start thinking about Sasquatch. Then my mind starts to wonder and I create a scenario where Squamscot is actually a close relative of Sasquatch that has moved down to New Hampshire. He decided he needed a change in his life so why not move to a coastal town on the east coast? Perhaps he hopped a train, or maybe he just walked across the United States. I doubt the latter because the mid-west is awful flat and I'm pretty sure someone who notices some variety of Bigfoot just trekking across the prairie. Who knows? Maybe he even shaved up his fur a bit and took a bus. Obviously planes aren't an option. I mean where is Squamscot going to get a government issued ID to board a plane? However he got there, he now resides in historic New Hampshire.

The townspeople know the stories and a group of them got together to create some soda to honor their guest from the Pacific North East. Unfortunately this cola doesn't have the same bite that I can only assume the Squamscot has. It's actually one of the smoothest colas I have ever had, and that isn't something I look for in this type of soda. It definitely has more of an old fashioned brewed taste, but it just doesn't quite reach the goals it was trying to achieve. If they had taken this recipe and added a bit of a bite to it I could see myself really loving it. As it stands let's just hope it doesn't upset the Squamscot creature. We don't want it going into a rampage and destroying the tourist area of town.

Dear Internet, Please fill me in on the health benefits, if any, that comes along with fermented juice. This can does not boast any health aspects of fermentation. It just states that it helps bring out flavors. The flavors that it normally brings out I am not a fan of. It always ends up tasting quasi alcoholic. Not far off from what I remember the base of beer tasting like (It's been over 17 years since I've tasted it). Normally it really turns me off. I mean it's a taste I also equate to spoiling foods. Everyone I know who doesn't drink who has a fermented juice things that is absolutely vile, and that it tastes like alcohol. Those that do drink always seem to enjoy it, and don't get the alcohol taste at all. Are their taste buds just acclimated with that flavor?

Those are all the reasons that I was skeptical to try this, and kept putting it off. The allure of jasmine and mango in any drink was just too strong for me though. The first sip was as I expected it to be. It had that "turning" fruit flavor to it with a hint of the tropics. The more I drank, and the less I thought about the fermentation, the more I enjoyed the drink. You can definitely taste a mixture of mango and apple juices with a little lime in there for some kick. I unfortunately did not taste any jasmine (it's also not listed in the ingredients). I would have like it to have a nice floral twist to it, but oh well. This ended up being better than I expected. I did not anticipate making through half the can, but here I sit with some empty aluminum and I don't want to throw up. It's still not anything that I would seek out, but I would expect those that do imbibe alcohol would really enjoy this, and I urge you to give it a try. On the back of the can it also recommends to try it with BBQ or Thai food. If I had another can I would totally take that challenge. I could see this pairing incredibly with some nice sloppy BBQ.

I've lived about an hour from the Pennsylvanian border for all my life. I can't even count the number of times I've down to the lady of the south (that's right, I just came up with a nickname for PA). In all the years that I've made that drive it wasn't until last fall that I realized that the thruway from about Fredonia, NY onward is basically all grape orchards. Is that what they are called? Do orchards imply trees, or can vines count? Either way it was a warm autumn afternoon and I was driving home from places south and the scent hit me like crazy. The strongest grape fragrance I have ever experienced was in the air for a good portion of the drive. It was so strong that I have no idea how I never noticed it before. I wish that stretch of road always smelled like that, because let's face it the I-90 is the most boring highway in the country and anything to spice it up is a blessing.

Upon opening this bottle I was greeted with a similar smell. I had expected this to be a standard grape pop, maybe with a little bit of fruit punch mixed in. In reality it's taste falls somewhere between actual red grape juice and the candy pop we're used to. It's not quite grape juice, but it's definitely closer than any other pop I've ever tasted that wasn't considered a sparkling grape juice that us non-drinkers down at celebrations. I can only hope that some if not all of that "natural flavor" listed on the ingredients is actually grapes harvested from that small stretch of the I-90.

Oh and the strange thing is I just noticed that the bottle says that it's non-carbonated, but I swear it fizzed when I opened it, and I really didn't even give it a thought of not being carbonated until I finished it and noticed that written on the label. Are they liars, or have I finally cracked?

I'm pretty sure that Bruce Cost is a television detective. No, I don't think he does sleuth work for or about television. That would be ridiculous, even for me. I simply meant that with a name like that he has to be a dark mysterious detective from some drama that aired in the late 80's or early 90's. He always gets his man in the end. The ladies fall for him every time, but like Short Round and Indy he simply has no time for love. He is a man with a clear view of his future and that is to solve crimes in 30-minute increments. That and to produce some of the finest ginger ale's this world has ever seen. What did you think he solely spent his life fighting crime? Everyone needs hobbies and his just happens to be crafting sodas. He's grown quite good at it as well.

While he was wrapping up the case of the Albuquerque Exsanguinater he dreamed up this little fella. The murderer always scouted out his victims at a fancy Chinese restaurant. It always smelled of jasmine tea in there and the smell haunted Cost. He knew he needed to fuse it with his beloved ginger ale. Sure he may have cut some corners on the case so he could get to his "soda lab" quickly, but he gets results and isn't that all that really matters when a killer is on the loose?

Mixing soda pop and teas is a tricky game that can easily turn to garbage. I'd say about 1/4 of the ones I've tried are actually decent. The rest, well they can rest on the trash heap for all I care. Cost went through an ridiculous amount of recipes before he hit pay dirt. He finally figured out the correct formula to make a jasmine ginger ale that comes through on every front. It has a distinct ginger taste, due to the tiny pieces of ginger that he realized just should not be filtered out. It also has a faint burn, but not nearly enough to consider it a ginger beer. Finally he had to get the proper flowery flavor without tasting too much like soap. Unlike in his cases he cut no corners with this soda. Everything it contains is a top notch ingredient and it shows in the flavor. My ladyfriend said it did taste like soap, but she only had a tiny sip. I could see where she was coming from at first, but after another sip that flavor was completely gone. The ginger had neutralized it. If you like a little kick of a treat at the end of your soda, make sure to drink the last sip that has the remaining remnants of ginger. It will give you a nice little parting gift of a burn, like the burn Bruce Cost feels in his heart when he knows their are crimes left unsolved and ginger ale left unbrewed.

I always find it strange when companies have zero presence on the internet. It really takes two seconds to set up something online to help promote your product. Perhaps the Pearson boys want to keep it local, after all we can only assume it's a family company. Hopefully this review won't cause one, or all, of them to take a leap off the bridge featured on their labels.

This is a pretty bad cream soda. I actually feel weird even calling it a cream soda because it tastes more like "caramel color" than anything. It tastes like they had started putting the ingredients together to make a cola and changed their mind halfway through. It tastes like it has everything that makes a cola a cola minus whatever it is that gives it a bite. Instead of said ingredient they put in the smallest amount of vanilla. Actually that's it. This tastes like a vanilla coke, minus some key ingredients. The closer to the bottom of the bottle I get the more vanilla I taste, but for the first 3/4 of it I had to think pretty hard to see if I actually tasted it.

Our fuzzy little friends the kiwis (no I'm not talking about the indigenous people) are always a nice little treat in their fruit form. I don't know anyone who would ever turn down a kiwi if offered. The problem is that when this little guy gets transformed into a soda it's flavor somehow gets transformed into something resembling green apple. It's not 100% green apple, but the similarities are definitely there, and it only vaguely resembles the great fruit it once was. It comes in waves. First a very brief kiwi taste, then the apple and then a milder kiwi flavor returns in the aftertaste. I don't understand the science behind it and I'm wearing a white lab coat and everything. My hypothesis would normally be that it has something to do with the hibiscus in it, but I've had a different kiwi soda recently that had a similar taste. I guess the answer was lost hundreds of years ago with the ancients. It's sad too because I really like kiwi, and I'm not a big fan of green apple flavored things so this was kind of ruined for me.

I belong to the 1%. No, not the 1% of high income/making all the decision. I am in the 1% of people in the world that prefer RC Cola to Coke or Pepsi. I respect the monarchy. I wouldn't go as far as to say that I bow before the king and queen of cola, but out of the three companies I would go with RC every time.

It has more of a "natural" cola taste then it's mainstream competitors. To me it's not as harsh and the cola taste sticks around instead of a general sugary taste. You know that quasi-earthy taste. I love it. It's a bummer that it's not available around Western New York any more.

Carl has worked on the railroad for the past 43 years of his life. He's loaded the trains, switched cars, and shoveled coal. He's done just about every job that there is to do on a train, with the exception of being the conductor. The little had just never suited him. He was known to say "If I wanted to look like a damn fool I'd have gotten a job with the opera." Carl is a strange man.

His fellow workers respect him as an old timer, but they also fear him, as he was prone to go off the handle for no good reason. When he got into one of these moods the only thing that could calm him down were jokes about the opera and this self same orange cream soda. Before you ask, yes it has to be Iron Horse soda. Someone once tried to slip him a Stewarts and that gentleman ended up with a hair do full of broken glass. There's just something about this particular brand that soothes the crotchety beast. Some say it's because it's not as creamsicle-esque as other brands. They say that it's more of a cream soda with orange flavoring added to it. Others say it's just because this is one of the smoothest sodas out. It's easy to find yourself through an entire bottle in the blink of an eye. What everyone can agree on is that whenever the trains run through MN they are sure to pick up a couple of cases to keep the old man happy. After all he dedicated his life to the rails, shouldn't he be rewarded in some way?

I've been holding onto this little gem for quite awhile now. Since it's something so unusual I wanted to drink it with a group of people, so that everyone could check it out. That never panned out so today seemed like as good a time as any (it's Thanksgiving).

Let me start off by stating that I ate way more of my fair share of corn today. I devoured the stuff, so I'm very familiar with the taste of corn. When I opened up the bottle, it smelled completely disgusting for 2 seconds. Then I took another sniff and it smelled exactly like a can of corn. I couldn't help but giggle. I love corn so much. I would put it into almost everything I cook if it was around. The Eden Corn Fest is one of the things my friends and I look forward to the most east year. An entire carnival type scenario based around corn harvest? Yes please!

Back to the pop. At first I thought this tastes like someone carbonated (and lightly sweetened) the juice left at the bottle of a can of corn, then I took another sip and I realized that no, that was not it. It tastes way more like actual corn than just the leftover corn water. It tastes so much like corn that it is kind of disturbing. I shouldn't want to add salt and pepper to my soda. As much as I love corn, I really couldn't make it more than a couple of sips into this drink. I still don't want to speak ill of it though. As it's a novelty soda and it does taste exactly like it promises to I will still give this a four-bottle review. I certainly wouldn't go out an order a case, but it is something that I think every fan of corn should try at least once.

You would think that a Jamaican ginger ale would just be called "ginger beer", right? Well that's why I make the big bucks and you are a dummy. You know that Jamaicans love spicy things like ginger beer, salsa, chicken wings, and spicy tuna sushi rolls. Yep, those are the Jamaicans we all know and love. Hey, do you think that every Jamaican teenager has a tapestry of Bob Marley? If so, I hope that it's cheaper since, you know, he's local. I hope that is the case. I would also hate to see that they had to pay full price for a Bob Marley record.

Because of these few prerequisites, I don't think that Jamaicans would like this ginger ale. I, an American, really liked it. It tastes like ginger, doesn't have bite, and is perfectly sweetened. It's better than most ginger ales that I've ever had and now I will not forget it next time I drink some garbage, Joe Lunchpail, ginger ale. I love ginger beer, and the hotter the better, but this is a separate drink all together.

Johnny was a masochist. He would go to S&M clubs many nights and would enjoy being hit by whips. It might not make sense to you, but you're not Johnny. He would come home battered and bruised three to four days a week. He would always wear collared, long sleeved shirts so no one was the wiser. He worked as an accountant in the big city and didn't want others to know what he did in his personal time.

On his way home from Whipped Into Shape, one of his frequent clubs, he was a bit parched and headed into a small corner store to get something to drink. He was going through a bit of a passionfruit kick so when he saw Kahe's passionfruit drink, he had to get it.

He went home, checked out his new gnarly bruises and welts, and then cracked open his new drink and had at it. It was like a free admittance to another S&M club because this drink was bad, but he kept going back for more. It was tart, didn't taste like passion fruit, and was poorly, artificially sweetened. Every time he took another sip, he would make a strange face of disgust, but for reasons beyond his knowledge, he kept drinking it.

Although he prefers the clubs, he now knows that anytime he can't make it, he can pick up a bottle of that sparkling fruit juice and have twelve ounces of sadomasochism.

Shirley Temples: The saviors of the non-drinking world at bars at bowling alleys across the world. Even though it has a cutesy name that makes it seem like a kid's drink, it is a tasty beverage that I have drank quite a lot in my life. The ingredients in this glorious drink are either ginger ale or lemon lime soda and grenadine syrup. Grenadine syrup is a thick, well syrup, which tastes like cherries.

As one would expect this tastes like a Shirley Temple, with the proportions reversed. It's more cherry syrup than it is lemon lime. It leaves something to be desired though. It tastes more like sugar and syrup than it does cherries. If you want something like this I suggest going into a bar and having one of your friends order you a Shirley Temple with their beer, as to not get a stupid look from the bartender when you ask for it yourself. Judgmental pricks.