Boylan's - 13 Reviews

When I see the word “cider” I have a very specific flavor in mind. It's a fall flavor that is created by juicing apples in a certain way, and a lot of the time it involves spices. It is not simply just any apple drink. It's a flavor that I am particularly protective over, because there is a cider mill in my home town and to be honest, it's one of the best beverages ever created.

This, this is not cider. It definitely tastes like apples, but nothing like apple cider. To me it tastes like all of those apple sodas that you can get in the UK. My ladyfriend tells me that it tastes like alcoholic cider, without the alcohol. It's sweet, it's appley, but it lacks the bold warmness that comes with real cider (even when served cold).

If this were not presented as cider, I would say that it is one of the better apple sodas, but as I said I'm a protective man, and cider this is not.

It's been quite some time since I've come across a new Boylan's flavor. Luckily I came across this one waiting at my front door for me. Gifts are always nice, especially when they are a limited release pop. I don't know what exactly makes a Shirley Temple a seasonal release. I mean you can go bowling any time of the year and while beer may be the official drink of most bowlers, those of us who do not drink alcohol know that there is no other choice on the lanes than a Shirley Temple.

I just looked it up and I was shocked to discover that the actress Shirley Temple is still alive. I had always assumed that she had passed on…€¦crazy. I also discovered that her birthday is April 23rd, so perhaps this soda will be seasonal in celebration of her birth. I can accept that.

The best part of this soda is that Boylan got it correct. They used the proper base of ginger ale and not lemon lime and some people who like to cheap out use. Everyone knows that ginger ale is a superior soda, and it is what belongs in a Shirley Temple. You take that superior soda and put a splash of grenadine in it and bam there you go, a tasty beverage. This tastes exactly like it should. The only thing more I could ask for is for there to be a cherry floating in the bottle. Now that would be true magic. Well, that and me bowling a 300 tonight.

Sometimes there are sodas that you take for granted simply because they are readily available. You forget that they are semi-regional and that not everyone is lucky enough to have them at local gas stations. Boylan's is one of those companies for me. I see it all the time, and never think twice. They actually make quality soda that is sweetened with cane sugar. I'm sure it's the same with people in North Carolina who have Cheerwine everywhere. People up here would kill for it, well if they knew what it was.

This is a great little ginger ale here. Unlike the ginger ale that most people are used to this actually is made with ginger and not chemicals and artificial garbage. It has a little lemon and lime thrown into the mix, which mellows it out a bit. I am a ginger fiend (pickled ginger goes on nearly everything I eat, and I absolutely love a good ginger beer) and I have to say you can really tell the difference when ginger is one of the ingredients. It makes the drink taste less like bubbly sugar water and more like an old fashioned tonic of some sort. It's still sweet, but it has layers of flavor and not just one straight taste the whole way through. It is also a fact that I have discovered that every single one of those flavor layers is delicious. I also just found out through our dear friend Wikipedia that "Pale" or "Dry" ginger ale means that it has less of a ginger kick, or burn. Well that makes sense. I approve and so should you.

At first, you think to yourself "Lemon pop? What's this all about?" and then you take a sip and realize, wait a second here, there is lime in this, too. It's good. Crisp. It's defiantly lemon and lime but different than Sprite and 7Up. It's a bit like the Pop Shoppe Sparkle Up pop we had a while back. It was nice. Not too sweet and not at all syrupy as it's made with cane sugar. This would make a great summertime pop.

This is a pretty standard orange cream soda. It tastes like a creamsicle. It doesn't have as strong of a vanilla flavoring as some other brands do. It's more of an orange pop with a little something extra thrown in, as opposed to a cream soda with a little orange in the mix. It's still a bit creamy, but just not overly vanilla.
The "orange" flavoring in this comes from mandarin and tangerine oils, so they got that going for them.
Don't get me wrong. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this drink. The problem is that after drinking the Virgil's Orange Creme Soda, I have a whole new level of expectations for this category.

This is the only Boylan's drink that I've had so far that I haven't been totally psyched about. It's not even close to being bad, but my expectations were sky high due to my history with the company. It's just a general cream soda. I was expecting a crazy authentic vanilla explosion that just never came. If you like a very light cream soda, this is probably what you're looking for.

Boylan!!! How do you do it? Every drink? Really? Every drink. This is the best black cherry pop I've ever had. The cane sugar keeps the flavor sharp and doesn't smooth it out like a corn syrup would. It's got a killer flavor, too.

As many of you know, I drink a lot at work. Before you get concerned about my blood sugar, I share with everyone in the office. Everyone gets a sip or two. We're like a big family here. A family that drinks together stays together. Everyone who drank it loved it. I get a pretty good varied response from the people who drink; some critical and some pretty lax, but all in all, I get varied results. This time? Unanimous.

Boylan is quickly becoming my favorite soda company. I've loved every flavor that I have tried thus far. Grape is no different. It falls somewhere between an actual grape and grape candy flavoring. Children everywhere love this drink. Their faces smeared with chocolate and candy, grasping the bottle of soda as if it were their only friend in the world, chugging away, with a small stream of sugary goodness running down their chin. Grab a bottle. Grab a kiddie pool. Enjoy.

How is it that root beer is so incredible when I'm not a fan of most of the ingredients? Anise? Licorice? No thanks! They taste like poison to me. You mix those in with some other ingredients and you have yourself one of the world's greatest drinks. Boylan's got their start making birch beer, but they have definitely transferred their magic into this root beer. It has the nice earthy flavor that is common in "fancier" root beers. It's somehow smooth and crisp at the same time. Just like a root beer should be.

It's got a bite, a really hard bite. And it feels good. Man, so good. Go to a root beer brewery and get birch beer and that is the only time you will get birch beer this good. This gets an undeniable 5 apples, cherries, starts, thumbs up, bottles, or whatever else your rating system goes up to. Boylan's, you do it right.

This is one hell of an orange soda. It's very crisp, and the orange flavor is from mandarin and tangerine oils. That means it actually tastes like some sort of fruit, and not the orange flavoring, that's in most orange soda. That stuff doesn't taste anything like an actual orange. I really wish I were out grilling in the sun while I was drinking this. As we all know orange soda is the official drink of BBQs.

Until I came across Boylan's, I had no idea that there were different types of birch beer. This is their "Creamy Red" version. It definitely has the creaminess of a cream soda, with the bite of a birch beer. The bite isn't as strong as other birch beers I have had, but it's nice to have the option. So far I have been a fan of all of the Boylan's drinks I have tried, so I will keep sampling all of their wares I come across.

This cola isn't really different than any other cola. Does that make it good? Possibly. I guess if you have a good thing, stick with it. For a company that has been around for over 100 years, I would say Boylans is a staple in the cola game. I might be disappointed if it did taste strange or different unless that's what they were known for.

"Strange tastes for over 100 years"

Who wants that tag line? How about something like:

"The taste you know and love, unchanged for over 100 years."

Probably better, right? This makes it hard to rate because although it's nothing different or special, it is the gold standard of cola tastes. I would go as far as saying that due to the age of this company, this would be the model of cola. Does that make it a 5? It certainly doesn't make it a 1. Is a 3 too harsh? I don't think they want me to expect anything more since it's such a classic.

I'm rating it a 4 because I give them full credit for keeping with what they believe in with the cane sugar and making a high quality cola. Glass bottles and a pry-off cap also a +1, even if I rarely have a bottle opener on me. It's classic. You could share this with your dad and grandpappy and they would say the same thing. That speaks to me, the consistency.