Proper Soda Co. - 3 Reviews

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.

Blah blah blah. Thirsty Dudes don't drinks beers. Are we militant about it? No sirs and madams. We just keep to ourselves, talk about how smoking is gross, constantly refuse people giving us beers, answer the same question of "Why don't you drink." and promptly allude to it not being family related. We just don't and we don't need it.

This has hops in it. Beer has hops in it. I did not want this to be another Caveman Foods fiasco where I feel like I drank beer and feel a decade and a half of guilt. Turds. This does taste a little like beer. Let it be known. It does not taste alcoholic but it does have a hint of pilsner according to Dan, my resident bouncing wall of opinions. The hops just kind of liven it up a bit and it's pretty good. It's too sweet to let the hops taste alcoholic and, if anything, just tastes more floral and fresh that some dusty old beer.

You can continue to ask us if we want a drink. We will always turn it down. Maybe if you invite us to a party we will bring this and at least our taste buds will be closer than when we normally go to parties and bring some strange craft iced tea and people treat us like lepers. Happens every time.