12 - 2 Reviews

After I wrote my review of the Original Noon to Midnight, I had an email chat with Steve from 12. He let me know that they would be releasing the Rouge version of it, and asked me to give it a try. I told him I would because anytime a company takes the time to write us a nice thought out email, I will always give their product another try.
My girlfriend found it at our local grocery store, and we decided to drink it tonight with our gourmet meal of pierogis and stuffing (We made it once when those were the only two foodstuffs left in the house. It ended up being surprisingly good). I definitely enjoyed the Rouge way more than the Original 12, mainly because it lacked in fennel. I just couldn't get over the taste of it in the Original.
It is a very light, dry drink. It's a mixture of a bunch of different teas, fruit juices, spices and carbonated water. If this had sugar added to it, I bet it wouldn't taste too different from a mid level soda pop. I'm glad there's not though. It makes 12 stand out, and it's not terrible for you. It isn't very refreshing, but it's not supposed to be. It's the kind of drink that you sip with a meal, not something you would gulp down while watching a sporting event.
I was going to give this a rating of 3, but after some thought, it's getting a 4. It may not be something that I would normally grab, but for what it is, it's very good.

This bottled beverage taunted me for months from the shelf of my local grocery store. The bottle made it look so fancy and tasty. I thought of it as the grail of beverages. The $8 price tag on it always deterred me. I would look up at it weekly and say "Some day. Some day." Finally I got to the point where I couldn't stand it any longer and bought it to have with dinner that night. This drink had been built up in my head to such a level that I cannot describe my disappointment as it splashed on my tongue. It tasted like the blandest fruit juice I had ever tasted. It tasted the way every health food was described in 80's movies. It also had a strong fennel aftertaste, even though it's not listed in the ingredients. I had a handful of other people taste it, wondering if it had magically powers that made it taste so disgusting to those who weren't worthy of it's glory. After one sip everyone thought it was completely terrible, and half a bottle of it was sadly poured down the drain.