Red Ribbon - 5 Reviews

I tried to drink a chocolate soda that completed disgusted me, so I decided to settle for an only slightly better vanilla one. When cream soda is done right, it can be one of the best pops out there. It can be so incredibly smooth and flavorful. Unfortunately Red Ribbon missed their mark with this one. It tastes a little too sweet than it should, and the vanilla tastes more like vanilla extract that it also should. It's a unique tasting soda, but it's not unique in a way that I like. I really just wanted to sit back and relax with a nice soda this evening, unfortunately the two that I opened both left me unsatisfied, and were left unfinished. Sorry guys, I'll drink your almond cream soda all day long, but I'll leave the vanilla cream on the shelf.

Pennsylvania and Transylvania could not be further apart. Sure, their names seem similar and to someone geographically inclined, they may not know the difference. If Pennsylvania is a state, why isn't Transylvania? Although not part of the United States, Transylvanians are more than welcome to it whenever they please as long as they have the proper documentation.

One difference between the two is that Pennsylvania contains cherries, which they use to product Red Ribbon cherry pop. This pop is exquisite in it's taste and comes second to "not many" when talking about non black cherry pops. It's quite sweet but the fruity taste is a nice counter balance. Transylvania being part of Romania leads it to be more of a mineral exporting country, although they do produce wine and other fruits but not cherries.

Having been to Pennsylvania and having seen pictures of Transylvania I can say that it gets very cold in the winter months so if you plan on splitting your winter vacation in both places, make sure to bring a warm jacket and gloves otherwise your vacation will not be enjoyed to its fullest extent. Enjoy all that both places have to offer and it will certainly be a vacation you will not soon forget.

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?

Stop your complaining Mark. You drew the short straw so you have to go to the store for snacks. You're not going to be able to go to the corner store either. We have some needs and they must be filled. You're going to have to go to the Co-Op for this. I need 20lbs of raw almonds. Don't get that roasted garbage. I need them raw. Also pick up a few things of cane sugar. Yes by things I mean canes. "Canes of cane sugar" just sounds dumb. Okay fine. Canes of sugar. There, are you happy? Oh yeah and get a couple of bottles of seltzer water. I'm going to make you guys the best almond soda you've ever had. What's that Mark it's going to cost over $100 for all of that stuff? I thought you were a master thief? Can't you just lift it for us? Oh you got caught last week at Coldstone Creamery? What were you stealing there, wait, I don't want to know. Fine be a party pooper, just pick us up a sixer of Red Ribbon's Almond Cream. It probably tastes better than what I was going to make anyways. Their soda tastes extremely almondy, but without tasting like almond extract. That should be like $5. Oh and you can pay for it too. Deal with it.

Dear Red Ribbon,
Where do you come off? Your name might as well have a self appointed crown on top of it. Also, on your label it says "The Taste Test Winner". What taste test? THE taste test? Were there any other entries in this taste test? I demand a recount! Don't get me wrong; your root beer is good. It has a great smell to it, but the taste isn't anything special. It is definitely nothing to write home about, let alone deserve to win a taste testing. The only taste test I can see this possibly winning is "The Annual Newbridge Mediocre Root Beer Competition".

Sincerely,
Derek


**********************EDIT**********************
We got an email from Vito who has recently taken over the Natrona Bottling Company which makes this soda. When he took over he revamped the companies labels and agreed that the taste test winner claim was well...dumb. I changed the picture to the new label. He also asked if we would have another go with the root beer. Here I am doing just that, and unfortunately I'm not too impressed. It's not bad by any means, but it doesn't stick out. Like Derek said, it has a nice strong smell, but the flavor isn't quite there. It reminds me of store brand root beer, except it's made with real sugar, so it's a bit better.
-Jason