Soda Pop - 1421 Reviews

These “Ten” sodas are a game changer for those watching their calorie intake without going overboard. They are a middle ground between diet and regular soda; meaning that there is a mixture of HFCS and sucralose used to sweeten them. This tastes like someone took a can of regular RC and a can of diet RC and mixed half of each together in a separate can. There are hints of a diet flavor, but it's not as overpowering as most diet sodas. I hate sucralose sweetened diet pop, but this is something that I did not mind at all. Sure it lost a bit of the bite of the regular cola, but tradeoffs must be made for the sake of lower calories.

Everyone knows that wolves howl at the moon. What we don't know is why they do it. Sure there's some magic with a full moon that transforms human into beast and inspires wonderful movies, such as Ginger Snaps, but what else is there. I submit is that while in the moonlight (were)wolves can get a clear view of their paws and are reminded that they simply do not have any ginger beer to drink and they howl out of frustration. I know I would do the same in that situation. The bottle also tells me of a legend that an elixir brewed with ginger and steeped for a fortnight can bring on the change from man to wolf. I don't know if ginger has the same effect as a full moon, but it is certainly delicious. Actually I'm going to say it doesn't work. I've drunk enough ginger brews in my life and have never changed form. Maybe the steeping time was off, but yeah I'm calling poppycock.

This ginger beer may not cause a change, but it does make my taste buds happy. It's made with natural ginger flavor and hot pepper extracts so it has a nice burn to it. It's not too out of control, but it's more than I had expected from a beverage made by Orca. Along with that burn is also a nice sweetened ginger flavor. This is actually what I look for in a ginger beer. It walks the line between burn and taste without falling off of the tightrope. I wonder is being part wolf helped with that balance.

Since I have not been presented with evidence to tell me otherwise I am forced to believe that bears are used to harvest the berries that are used to flavor this soda. From what I have seen, the animals are not harmed, or even caged. They roam free through the Rocky Mountains and just return to the bottling plant with their huge paws just full of blackberries. I have no idea how the folks at this company worked this deal out, but perhaps they have been in touch with the folks at Sprecher, who also employ several species of animals. Just imagine bears coming up to the back door of the factory, dropping their days gatherings and receiving a nice chin scratch in return…€¦adorable.

The bears gather only the ripest berries and the result is a soda that has a fantastic, light berry flavor that tastes nothing short of authentic. The use of beet sugar as a sweetener makes sure that it doesn't; taste overly sugary, but it also doesn't give it that generic soda flavor, since the berry taste isn't overpowering. It's one of the best berry sodas I have ever tasted, and that is a flavor that I am very particular about.

I will say that you folks are playing with fire though. Statistically there simply must be at least one mauling per year. I guess the math must just work out to make it cost effective. I guess I would also take my chances though because I totally want to just hang out with that bear, lounging around and eating excess berries.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I miss a time when soda brands all had their own individual nuances. Every cola had its own little quirk and that is what made them special. For the most part these days there is just a general cola flavor that a majority of the companies have adopted. Perhaps corn syrup is to blame. I'm not really sure, but it's a total bummer. With the resurgence of cane sugar and “throwback” Coke and Pepsi the differences seem to be more noticeable, but it's treated like a novelty. Foxon Park treats their sodas differently. They want them to be special and classic, which is exactly how this bottle of Kola tastes. Don't be thrown off by the switching of letters this most definitely is a cola, but it tastes the way sodas would back in the day. It has its own specifics even though it is part of a crowd. It doesn't taste like a Coke, a Pepsi, or even an RC. It tastes like Foxon and I am a fan. I hope to come across their other flavors in the near future.

Did you know that there is a war going on in Australia? It's not the type of thing you would imagine, but it gets pretty rough. The native animals of the continent flat out hate each other and they will just tear into each other if presented the chance. It's a hatred as old as time, but in recent years they have somehow directed their pride into the soda flavors that are created by their national treasure Bundaberg. The koalas hold the rights to the burgundee creaming soda, wallabies run for the passion fruit, wombats fight for peachee, dingoes fight for root beer, and of course kangaroos are running the show with the most sought after soda of all; ginger beer. They are straight up like soccer hooligans out there in the outback. They just gang up on each other, fighting to prove that their soda is the best.

An underdog in this fight is the platypus. They tend to not get involved. Most people say it's because they would be destroyed by the bigger animals in the fight, but their venomous spike on their back heels can do quite a bit of damage. The truth is that the platypus knows that their soda, blood orange, may not be the best as it has a few flaws, but they love it all the same and they don't need anyone else knowing how great it is. They want it all for themselves. Their soda is made with actual blood orange juice from concentrate and not some weird chemical equivalent. You can taste that level of commitment in the soda. Sure it has a yeast brewed quasi alcoholic taste to it, but once you become acclimated to that it's a wonderful ride. Other animals on the island have been trying to draw out the platypus by making unfounded claims that their soda is no different than any store brand orange soda. The weird creatures that are filled with venom just sit back and laugh at this. They know their blood orange soda is so much more; It's much darker and flavorful. They just stay out of it all sipping on their soda while the rest of the animal population of Australia destroys itself. They may indeed someday inherit the nation.

Although I have never watched it I will just assume that this soda was created as a companion piece for the television show Becker. All I know about it is that it starred Ted Danson and he was a doctor. For all I know it could have been a spin off from Cheers where Ted went into witness protection, changed his name and got a PhD. Let's pretend that's the case. Let's also pretend that Dr Becker also always has a hankering for off-brand Dr. Pepper. He loves the real thing, but no longer feels he can support them because they never sent him his “I'm a Pepper” shirt he ordered when he was a teenager. As a result there is a continuing sub-plot of the show where every episode he tries another brand, but they are never as good. In the series finale he finally finds a brand called Dr Becker and it's everything he dreamed of. It tastes like a classic Dr Pepper made with cane sugar, but with a splash of black cherry in it. It's not syrupy at all. It's the soda of Becker's dreams and as he takes his final sip, he looks at the can and gives a little smile as the credits roll. Now that's good TV.

Back in March I heard about this new limited edition Sprite flavor, but search as I might I could not find it around Buffalo at all. In fact, due to its limited nature I thought that I had missed my opportunity all together. So much time had gone by with no luck that I had given up. Next thing I know it's September and I somehow found myself in a liquor store in Lansing, MI looking through a cooler and you know who's soda catches my eye. I'll admit it, I squealed in public over a flavor of Sprite. I'm not proud of it, or the looks that a 36 year old man receives when making such a noise in a liquor store full of the downtrodden of all places, but I like to be open and honest you all of you. I don't get excited often, but when I do it's about the dumbest things.

I only know one thing about LaBron James, and that is that he is a basketball player. I don't know what position he plays. I don't know what team he plays for. He could walk up to me and punch me in my dumb face for taking so long to find and review his soda and I would have no idea who just socked me in the nose. I did learn something new about him today though; he knows how to take a boring soda like Sprite and make it interesting. I'm guessing he really had nothing to do with the development of the flavor, but it's still a step up from the original. Basically this is Sprite with cherry and orange mixed in. To me it tastes a bit like a Shirley Temple that you would get at a bowling alley (I don't know if they can legally serve them anywhere else). There is also part of it that tastes like what Mike calls the “Laser Tag Special” aka hitting all of the flavors on a fountain machine. It's sweet but it's tasty. I can't see myself drinking it very often, but I can see many other people downing it by the 2 liter.

I wonder if it's possible that Mr. James will Google his name, read this review and somehow learn more about me than I do about him. I'm certainly not going to look into his life, but he's welcome to take a glance at mine.

Ahh hibiscus, the most tropical of flowers. No really. There was a high stakes competition held in Germany where flower professionals, amateur gardeners, professional mechanics and hobby-level dishwashers got together to judge the competition. Thousands of flowers were placed on a table in an old gymnasium with countless tables and the doors were locked and chained until a winner had been chosen. No food, no water, ,no bathroom, plenty of coitus and a slightly lesser amount of judging and fourteen days later, a choice had been made and it was hibiscus.

This pop was made right after the judgement and was done quite well. It's floral and really sweet. Sure it could use more hibiscus but what couldn't? It still manages to cut through some of the sugar so that you can taste it. The real sugar they use helps the proper flavors push through. It's not too sweet and is a nice sipping pop.

Next month, they're picking the best color and the judges will be done by people who played doctors on television, taxi cab drivers, women between thirty and thirty and a half and grey dogs.

Do you long for the days when you could just sit at a restaurant all night with your friends, drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes? You would squeeze at a minimum eight people into a booth and everyone would order coffee and a single plate of fries to split between the table. I'm sure the waitress loved the change that was left behind as a tip for what would invariably be her table occupied for hours. Those were the days of my youth and I assume a decent amount of you out there had the same experience. I have no idea if kids still do such a thing, but the amount of 24 hour restaurants has plummeted and the anti-smoking laws probably took away some of the allure.

Why do I bring up such things? Well it's because with a heavy heart I have to report that this soda tastes like I was at one of those late night meet ups and someone played a practical joke on me and ashed into my mug. At first this has a strong coffee taste, but it quickly turns into something that I can only liken to the way that stale old half smoked cigarettes smell. It is a shame because Proper Soda Co obviously puts effort and care into their products. Their cans look fantastic and while a coffee soda isn't a new idea, it is still something that is fairly rare, and I appreciate them taking a risk with it. Unfortunately the arrow didn't hit the mark (the can looks like a design that would have an arrow on it). When I drank this straight from the fridge it was far more carbonated than I expected, or needed, and the flavor was very off-putting as I have stated. I was leaving on a road trip, and I knew I would need some caffeine so I put it in my cup holder, planning on forcing myself to work through it. I will say that after it warmed up a little and some of the carbonation dissipated it wasn't as bad, but it still had a ton of room for improvement. I'm sorry folks, I really wanted to love this, but it just didn't work out that way.

I often find myself wondering if this website is actually of any use to anyone. I'm fairly certain that no one reads it religiously, but anyone coming for actual input on drinks is either met with ridiculous fake story/reviews or they have to deal with our strange tastes. Let's take this bottle of Bedford's ginger beer for instance. A normal human would probably drink this and think that it has a strong burn to it. To me it's very weak. Sure there is some burn there, but it doesn't do what I want/need it to. I want there to be pain and discomfort when I drink a ginger beer. I want it to be hard to make it through an entire bottle. Could get through multiple bottles of this and I would only stop because of sweetness, not the burn. To me this tastes like the company took a great ginger beer and mixed 2/3 of it with 1/3 generic soda. It's just a tad too sweet for what it is, and it takes away from what I love about this type of soda. Others would probably find this just the way they like it. I rarely find anything just the way I like it.

Regular lake monsters can't make pop. Lake monsters with sunglasses can. It must be something with the glare. Monsters might have sensitive corneas or something because this pop, which is made by monsters, is actually pretty good. Sure it tastes like a slightly modified grape Freez-e-pop but it's still good. It might be more fruity and less...I don't know...chemical? This drink also benefits from the corn syrup because it's a decent fruit taste and it sticks to your lips and makes it seem like you're eating black raspberry flavored candy.

You would think that a lake monster wouldn't be able to operate heavy machinery with those claws but they are a surprising create, believe you me.

Craft beer has been all the rage for a few years now, and I am ever so pleased that the soda game is moving in that direction. The older I get, the harder it is for me to drink an entire can/bottle of regular soda. I blame the corn syrup, but it's really just the general sweetness. I've grown into an old man who prefers seltzer water over pop in most instances. It's a strange world I'm in and I don't think I like it. I actually don't like much these days. It just happens that this soda is one of the few things that has brought me enjoyment recently. I was on a trip to Canada and I stopped in a grocery store, not expecting to find much and came across a slew of Just Craft Soda flavors. I think each and every one caught my eyes, but there was no way that I could say no to an apple and ginger soda. It was 90+ degrees out and as soon as I walked out into that sweltering heat I popped the cap off of this bottle and melted into a puddle of delicious soda.

I'm shocked that ginger isn't listed in the ingredients list because from the taste I would have assumed it was one of the main ingredients. I can only assume it falls under the natural flavours (note the spelling). The only other things listed are fruit juice, carbonated water and cane sugar. It's a simple soda with a big taste. Whenever ginger and apple are mixed it makes me think of the Autumn, which is a great time of year, but saddens me because it's a reminder that summer is winding down. While I can do without this heat wave I have done a lot of summer activities this year and the thought of an approaching winter is enough to make someone want to give up and move to warmer climates. No matter what the season though I would be thoroughly enjoying this soda. This is like someone's parents cut up an apple for their lunch and sprinkled a little lemon juice on it to avoid browning and also decided to get fancy and grate a little ginger on it. Man this imaginary kid has the most thoughtful parents. All I got in my lunch was a peanut butter sandwich and some gummy fruits. They totally win, especially because I never got the white Shark Bite.

While climbing the Rocky Mountains, Jack heard about a legend of a mysterious cooler on the top of the tallest mountain. For as long as he was a kid, he always wanted to climb the mountain and find out what was in the cooler. Some people said it was a head of a mob boss that terrorized the city during the 1920's. Some said that it was a secret recipe for a really good pie. Jack needed to find out for sure.

He packed a bag and climbed a couple of the smaller mountains for years to prepare himself for the big climb. Then, one nice summer day, he took his first step up the mountain. Minute after minute, Hour after hour he diligently climbed until he finally made it and there it was, a cooler. A standard issue, blue, plastic insulated Coleman cooler with root beer in it. Not just any root beer but Rocky Mountain root beer.

Sure, it wasn't the finest root beer but it was special because it was made from the Rocky Mountain area. It's a nice, dark root beer that's not too sweet and is actually sweetened from beet sugar. Jack was psyched. He just took the one bottle and left the rest. There was a note on the top of the cooler that said, "Take one and tell no one. Safe travels." He obeyed the rules.

Why aren't ginger ales more popular in bars? I mean you occasionally come across some bottled root beers in watering holes, and the west coast drinkers seem to have a love for ginger beer, but I've never come across bottled ginger ale when I'm awkwardly in a bar because it's where my friends wanted to hang out. I would really like to, and that may be solely because it has the word “ale” in its name. truth be told I would take a root or ginger beer over a ginger ale any day of the week, but sometimes it's nice to have choices, and my brain tells me that it should be served.

Bedford's makes a ginger ale that would be perfect for such a scenario. It's much better than any ginger ale that has ever come from a dispenser gun, and anyone who says that bartenders “mix” ginger ale is really good, is a crazy person. This soda has a nice label that would fit in perfectly with those of real brews, and it really does taste great. It has a different sweetness than your Canada Dry or Schweppes. It tastes like it had the same general taste that those sodas do, but that they slowly swapped out ingredients one by one with those of a higher quality. The result is a very slightly new twist on an old favorite.

If you need me I'll be nursing a bottle of this against the wall, not talking to anyone and pretending that I am enjoying myself.

You know what, Stuart, I LIKE YOU. You're not like the other people, here, in the trailer park. Oh, don't go get me wrong. They're fine people, they're good Americans. But they're content to sit back, maybe
watch a little Mork and Mindy on channel 57, maybe kick back a cool, Coors 16-ouncer. They're good, fine people, Stuart. But they don't know ... Wait, this isn't a Dead Milkmen song. The titular character doesn't even spell his name the same as this soda company. They really have nothing to do with each other, and to be frank, I am a bit disappointed. I wanted to tie in some humorous music from my high school years into a review about a soda from Sarasota Springs, NY.

If I'm going to continue to be honest with you I have to admit that I think the song that is currently playing in my head is better than the soda. It has humor and wit (and a bit of homophobia, but it's from a character and not the author). The soda is only delivering me a very syrupy, bubbly vanilla flavor. It tastes like too much caramel got put into the mix and it made it even thicker than the corn syrup did on its own. It's a serviceable soda, but it's not something I would ever crave, or even purchase myself. I have a certain standard for cream soda and this simply does not reach it.

In other news remember in Stuart when he references the “Johnny Wurster boy?” Yeah, it's that John Wurster of Superchunk, Best Show, Bob Mould, and Mountain Goats fame. Life is strange sometimes.

Oh man. I forgot I've got an Unreal Tournament later and I ain't got m' Dew. I can't get headshots if I ain't got m' dew. No. I can't drink Sprite, man. I need Mountain Dew. Wait wuuuuutt? It's clear. It's not Dew. Dewshine? Hmm. I'm skeptical of that, buddy. I'll try it because I need my fix.

Hey. This is good. I don't want to say it's better than Dew but it is. It's not as sweet. Look. I'm forty. I can't be drinking Mountain Dew all day like I used to. This is more like a lemon-lime pop than Mountain Dew. Look, you know as well as I that Mountain Dew is awful for you. A guilty pleasure, sure but it's got to be eating me from the inside out.

This is good. You are right. And you know what? I'll cut back on Mountain Dew. I might drink more of this. It's not going to be an even switch. I know I've got to switch but like I said, I need m' Dew.

Straight-edge goth kids everywhere are salivating like Pavlov's dogs at the thought of this soda. I don't know what it is that is so alluring about absinthe to that subculture, something about it is just dark and mysterious. Actually maybe it's just because most of those involved really like to get messed up. Perhaps Poppy Z Brite is completely to blame. Whatever the reason absinthe has a place in the culture and it's something a lot of people have felt left out of. Oh what they wouldn't give to have a nice non-alcoholic/hallucinogenic version of the beverage while they are out at the club dancing to their favorite Christian Death or Asylum Party song. Oh wait, I've just received word that I am actually only one of three people on the planet involved in the goth scene that does not drink. Hmmm, I live an isolated life. Scratch that the isolation is lessened because I can now drink this soda and feel involved with everyone else staring at themselves in the mirrors while they dance.

Okay why did no one ever tell me that absinthe tasted like anise? I would have lost most of my interest in this beverage long ago had I known that. I mean I guess it makes sense, if you're beverage is going to be embraced by the goths, it might as well taste like one of the only black foods. Those dumb kids who hate black jelly beans/licorice are totally spot on, it's so gross. The thing is that this isn't as horrible as my hatred for anise is. I think my problem is more with it as a solid, where it can get stuck in my teeth and never go away for long periods of time. With this soda, you take a sip, it's there and it quickly fades. I kind of get the interest, it's not completely horrible, but I certainly could never finish a whole bottle. Looks like I'll be sticking with awkwardly drinking water out at club nights.

Oh, so you've invited me over to this family function that you have disguised as a barbeque and you had the audacity to have neither grape or orange soda to accompany the tower of hot dogs that I fear is going to topple over and smother the children playing in the sandbox. I am completely disgusted with your lack of etiquette. Serving homemade salsa and guacamole does not make up for it. Yes, I have seen the fresh squeezed juice station. Yes, I've heard that you have hired a French chef to prepare individual desserts specifically made with the tastes of each guest in mind. You know what, none of that matters if I do not have the proper soda to accompany my grilled items.

Why yes, I will happily take a soda from your private stash that you have been saving for a rainy day. Why didn't you say something about these sodas you've been looking forward to enjoying when you can finally relax? This is actually a pretty okay grape soda. It tastes like the generic stuff at every barbeque but something about it is different and it makes it stand out. Oh there's cane sugar in it? That makes sense. Martha sure does love that Mexi-Coke. It's certainly not the best grape soda I've ever had, but it's better than most. Actually it kind of tastes a little like grape jelly. You should totally have saved this and drank it with a nice peanut butter sandwich, instead of giving it to me you're dumb neighbor who is rude and everyone hates, and you only invited in because I was complaining about the noise. You certainly chose wrong in this aspect of your life.

Everyone is familiar with how the Wizard of Oz grants the travelers wishes at the end of the book/film. You know courage, heart, brain, and to go home. What never got discussed was what Toto wanted. If a lion, a sack of straw and a pile of metal get wishes, why wouldn't a pooch get one? At least he has a functioning respiratory system, that's more than you can say about some of the other guys. What do I know though? Perhaps off camera the Wizard gave him some Milkbones and it just didn't make for good entertainment. On the other hand maybe the dog had different designs. There is a chance that he wanted to stay in Oz because it was more exciting than a dumb farm in the dustbowl. Perhaps his wish was for that guy to hang himself in the background of a shot of the film. That is one dark dog. There is also a chance that El Barko wanted some cherry cola. Oddly that is the least likely of all of these scenarios, but if that's what he wanted and this bottle is what he was granted, he came out a winner in my book. This is neither the best cola nor the best cherry beverage I have ever drank, but together they work together very well. The cherry is actually stronger than the cola, which is something I don't know if I've come across before, but it works. It makes the whole thing taste bold and something of its own. The use of real cane sugar also helps to win me over. The whole thing just blends together in a way that is pleasant to my taste buds.

I doubt Toto really wanted cherry cola, or really wanted much at all, but I don't see what else The Wizard of Oz has to do with this soda. The label image is from an old children's record, so maybe it's just a play on nostalgia. Who knows? Who cares? It tastes great.

As far as wild cherry pop goes, this is pretty high on the list. As far as wild cherry pop goes, I never drink the stuff. This is very sweet and very fruity. It's the liquid equivalent of a wild cherry Jolly Rancher. It's good but it's eight times too much for sane human consumption.

The photo on the cover however...that really portrays a bloody nose. That photo shoot was one for the record book, I'm sure. They're probably using blood capsules or something but whatever they did even made me think for a split second that it was what I was drinking. I'm smarter than that but for some reason the photo and the gratuitous amount of blood pouring out of the person's nose made me think that's what it was.

Great job, Gross Gus. You've done it again.