United States - 4098 Reviews
Gatorade Low Calorie Perform 02 Grape
Woke up feeling 100%. Fed that kid I know, changed him, felt nauseous, half an hour later until now at almost three in the afternoon. Just spinning. I got enough sleep but feel like I could sleep for another five hours. Since I won't do that, I had to come up with another option. That option? Gatorade. I needed those harvested electrolytes wrangled up and put inside of my frail, crumbling frame.
Lucky for me, this wasn't some experimental flavor, but a simple, classic flavor. It tastes nothing like actual, real, physical grapes, but tastes like "faux" grapes, a taste I am more than familiar with. Look, grape pop plays a limited role in my mouth, but grape other things are more than welcome to play volleyball with my "hangy ball" any time they would like. This is an open invitation to most things grape. This was good and more importantly, safe. I will see how it works in my favor after the electrolytes, which plants do in fact crave, fight the dizzies in my head to regulate me back to where they should be. I will fully allow the fight to continue. It's a "greater good" scenario.
Lucky for me, this wasn't some experimental flavor, but a simple, classic flavor. It tastes nothing like actual, real, physical grapes, but tastes like "faux" grapes, a taste I am more than familiar with. Look, grape pop plays a limited role in my mouth, but grape other things are more than welcome to play volleyball with my "hangy ball" any time they would like. This is an open invitation to most things grape. This was good and more importantly, safe. I will see how it works in my favor after the electrolytes, which plants do in fact crave, fight the dizzies in my head to regulate me back to where they should be. I will fully allow the fight to continue. It's a "greater good" scenario.
- Rating
- Categories
- Sports/Dietary Supplement and Diet
- Country
- United States
- Sweetener
- Sucrose
- Author
- Mike Literman on 4/27/12, 3:21 PM
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Tradewinds Extra Sweet Tea
I really wish I had been the one to review the “regular” sweet tea that Tradewinds makes. I would have liked to compare it to this to see just how much sweeter this is. I will say that this is the closest tasting prepackaged tea that I have ever had to authentic sweet tea that I've drunk on trips down south. It's just brewed black tea leaves and sugar, glorious, glorious sugar. There is no mistaking that real sugar taste in here. It tastes like someone filled up a pitcher with water, put in a mess of tea bags, and an even bigger mess of sugar and let it sit in the sun for a few hours to warm it up and let it brew. It makes me want to sit in a rocking chair on a front porch with an old dusty dog. I don't think there's a bigger compliment for sweet tea. Oh yeah if you drink one of these a day for a month I'm pretty sure your teeth will rot out of your head. Make sure you brush properly. I don't want to play any part in your poor dental hygiene.
- Rating
- Categories
- Iced Tea
- Company
- Tradewinds — Website — @DrinkTradewinds
- Country
- United States
- Sweetener
- Sugar
- Author
- Jason Draper on 4/26/12, 10:57 PM
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Oogave Watermelon Cream
The sun is glaring down at you. It's what they like to call "a scorcher" and you don't like it. You're a cool guy, so you never wear shorts and you only wear jeans, a white undershirt, and a denim vest. You're a cool guy, like I said. It's hard to still be so cool when you are drenched in your own sweat. You wish that you could just, for one day, be like everyone else and wear madras shorts, flip flops, and some dumb beer shirt with the sleeves ripped, not cut, off. Then you see your ticket to true coolness.
You open the cooler and pick out an Oogave watermelon cream pop. You would be willing to pay well over the price tag because you just know that this is going to be out of this world. You open the cap on the curb of a sidewalk for two reasons; because you don't have a bottle opener and it's cooler to do that. You've got to keep up your image, after all. You take the first sip and there it is, the epitome of cool. It's a candied watermelon taste that you expected since no one has ever done "real" watermelon correctly. The watermelon flavor lasts a while thanks to the agave but it's a welcomed occurrence. That mixed with the smoothness of cream soda and you've got one killer drink.
Just then, your friends walk by wearing black hoodies, sweating like they have some sort of body disorder that makes you sweat uncontrollably. You tell them to hold on while you get them each a bottle of this pop that you've been enjoying. You hand the bottles over, they break them on sidewalks and lamp posts because it's cool and instantly feel refreshed. They told you that they were about to go to the J. Crew across the street to buy some madras until they got this pop. You told them you understand and won't mention to anyone.
You open the cooler and pick out an Oogave watermelon cream pop. You would be willing to pay well over the price tag because you just know that this is going to be out of this world. You open the cap on the curb of a sidewalk for two reasons; because you don't have a bottle opener and it's cooler to do that. You've got to keep up your image, after all. You take the first sip and there it is, the epitome of cool. It's a candied watermelon taste that you expected since no one has ever done "real" watermelon correctly. The watermelon flavor lasts a while thanks to the agave but it's a welcomed occurrence. That mixed with the smoothness of cream soda and you've got one killer drink.
Just then, your friends walk by wearing black hoodies, sweating like they have some sort of body disorder that makes you sweat uncontrollably. You tell them to hold on while you get them each a bottle of this pop that you've been enjoying. You hand the bottles over, they break them on sidewalks and lamp posts because it's cool and instantly feel refreshed. They told you that they were about to go to the J. Crew across the street to buy some madras until they got this pop. You told them you understand and won't mention to anyone.
- Rating
- Categories
- Soda Pop
- Country
- United States
- Sweetener
- Organic Agave Nectar
- Author
- Mike Literman on 4/25/12, 4:25 PM
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Nantucket Nectars Half and Half
The year was 2000. Y2K had come and gone without a sound, Bill Clinton was still president, and I had just graduated from high school. After graduation, I moved into a house in Buffalo just around the corner from the coffee shop Stimulance. This coffee shop would quickly become a place I went to a lot. From getting a bagel with cream cheese in the morning, to evenings drinking Snicker-chinos (a delicious coffee drink that tasted like a burnt Snickers bar). Lets not forget their classic weekly open mic nights. Oh memories...
So why am I talking about this coffee shop that has long since closed? Well it was the first place I ever bought a bottle of Nantucket Nectars from. It was a bottle of their lemonade and I was instantly hooked. This bottle is their half and half (half lemonade, half iced tea) and it's just as good as the solo lemonade flavor. A lot of companies get the ratio all wrong, but those folks in Nantucket know what they're doing.
So why am I talking about this coffee shop that has long since closed? Well it was the first place I ever bought a bottle of Nantucket Nectars from. It was a bottle of their lemonade and I was instantly hooked. This bottle is their half and half (half lemonade, half iced tea) and it's just as good as the solo lemonade flavor. A lot of companies get the ratio all wrong, but those folks in Nantucket know what they're doing.
- Rating
- Company
- Nantucket Nectars — Website
- Country
- United States
- Sweetener
- Sugar
- Author
- Derek Neuland on 4/25/12, 2:05 PM
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Oregon City Soda Company Root Beer
My friend and business partner Alex Wrekk bought this for me today at a Pizzeria in a section of North Portland called Kenton. The photo is the only label that was there, the actual bottle was a generic brown glass bottle with no markings on it.
I was hesitant to try a drink in an unmarked bottle, but I'm glad I did because this root beer is great! It has a great anise taste (and I love anise). It reminds me a little of Virgil's, but more complex and not as heavy. The only word that comes to mind when trying to describe the aftertaste is "earthy". I hope that doesn't make me sound like a hippie.
I was hesitant to try a drink in an unmarked bottle, but I'm glad I did because this root beer is great! It has a great anise taste (and I love anise). It reminds me a little of Virgil's, but more complex and not as heavy. The only word that comes to mind when trying to describe the aftertaste is "earthy". I hope that doesn't make me sound like a hippie.
- Rating
- Company
- Oregon City Soda Company — Website
- Country
- United States
- Sweetener
- Not Listed
- Author
- Derek Neuland on 4/24/12, 11:45 PM
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Red Jacket Strawberry Apple Juice
Dear Red Jacket,
I am now under the impression that there is no juice that you cannot master, well at least not one that is apple based. Everything I have tasted that you have produced is beyond great. You take fresh fruit and cold press them into perfection. This drink has no added ingredients, just apples and strawberries. It's the way juice should be and it tastes incredible. Each sip is like I'm picking a strawberry fresh from the patch and shoving it in my mouth, which is already overrun by delicious apples. That is something that I really feel I must do now. Does gluttony count if it's with fruit? Isn't that just healthy? Either way, keep doing what you're doing and I hope that some day you will expand your juices into the realms of other fruit.
I am now under the impression that there is no juice that you cannot master, well at least not one that is apple based. Everything I have tasted that you have produced is beyond great. You take fresh fruit and cold press them into perfection. This drink has no added ingredients, just apples and strawberries. It's the way juice should be and it tastes incredible. Each sip is like I'm picking a strawberry fresh from the patch and shoving it in my mouth, which is already overrun by delicious apples. That is something that I really feel I must do now. Does gluttony count if it's with fruit? Isn't that just healthy? Either way, keep doing what you're doing and I hope that some day you will expand your juices into the realms of other fruit.
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- Categories
- Juice
- Company
- Red Jacket — Website — @RedJacketJuice
- Country
- United States
- Sweetener
- No Sugar Added
- Author
- Jason Draper on 4/24/12, 1:28 PM
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Vita Lina Flaxseed Drink Guava
Everyone thought that Stephen Lina and his father were charlatans because they sold heath tonics out of a little cart. They were early wave traveling sales men, but unfortunately for them some men had come before them trying to make a quick buck by swindling people out of their money by offering them what were essentials vials of dyed sugar water. The Linas were not con artists like these others. They had similar selling tactics as their peers, but their product actually worked. You see Mr. Lina was a scientist and he had discovered the healing properties of flaxseed. He knew it could be used to help combat ailments that would in the future come be known as cholesterol, diabetes, cancer, constipation, menopause, heart disease and depression.
Mr. Lina could have easily made it public knowledge that flaxseeds could help cure so many ailments, but then his family would stay exactly where they were: in the poor house. He had promised a better wife for his family, so he made up a whole mess of flaxseed tonics, loaded up the family cart and went out to make his fortune with his son. It's just unfortunate that the time that they chose to go sell their wares was the same time that people across the country were getting fed up with scam artists ripping them off and not healing their problems. The Linas were chased out of every town they went to. They never once even sold a bottle of their flaxseed tonic. Broken and beaten the two men returned home with their tales between their legs to live out the rest of their life in poverty.
It wasn't until over a hundred years had passed that Stephen's great grandson David's interest was piqued when his grandmother told him tales of the traveling Linas. He found his great great grandfather's notebooks in an old trunk and used his fancy college science degree to make up a batch of “Vita Lina” as his ancestors had called it. It tasted okay, but it needed a little something. He just happened to have some iced tea and a can of guava juice on hand, for some unknown reason, so he added it to the mixture. That was exactly what was needed. What his grandfather had once called a tonic was now a tasty beverage that was most definitely marketable. The guava and iced tea masked most of the flavor of the flaxseed, but it was still slightly there. Nothing about the flavor was offensive at all. In fact if one were unaware of the flaxseed content, they would never be the wiser. The consistency was a bit off though. It was a little thick, our young scientist's girlfriend most than once announced that it felt like she was drinking body wash when she would take a sip. David didn't think it was that thick, but he gave it to her that it was thicker than most drinks in a strange way. David eventually teamed up with Simply Originals, to distribute his beverages, and finally his family started to see some money from their ancestor's ideas. It was a good day.
Mr. Lina could have easily made it public knowledge that flaxseeds could help cure so many ailments, but then his family would stay exactly where they were: in the poor house. He had promised a better wife for his family, so he made up a whole mess of flaxseed tonics, loaded up the family cart and went out to make his fortune with his son. It's just unfortunate that the time that they chose to go sell their wares was the same time that people across the country were getting fed up with scam artists ripping them off and not healing their problems. The Linas were chased out of every town they went to. They never once even sold a bottle of their flaxseed tonic. Broken and beaten the two men returned home with their tales between their legs to live out the rest of their life in poverty.
It wasn't until over a hundred years had passed that Stephen's great grandson David's interest was piqued when his grandmother told him tales of the traveling Linas. He found his great great grandfather's notebooks in an old trunk and used his fancy college science degree to make up a batch of “Vita Lina” as his ancestors had called it. It tasted okay, but it needed a little something. He just happened to have some iced tea and a can of guava juice on hand, for some unknown reason, so he added it to the mixture. That was exactly what was needed. What his grandfather had once called a tonic was now a tasty beverage that was most definitely marketable. The guava and iced tea masked most of the flavor of the flaxseed, but it was still slightly there. Nothing about the flavor was offensive at all. In fact if one were unaware of the flaxseed content, they would never be the wiser. The consistency was a bit off though. It was a little thick, our young scientist's girlfriend most than once announced that it felt like she was drinking body wash when she would take a sip. David didn't think it was that thick, but he gave it to her that it was thicker than most drinks in a strange way. David eventually teamed up with Simply Originals, to distribute his beverages, and finally his family started to see some money from their ancestor's ideas. It was a good day.
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- Categories
- Juice, Other/Weird and Iced Tea
- Company
- Vita Lina
- Country
- United States
- Sweetener
- Cane Sugar
- Author
- Jason Draper on 4/23/12, 9:18 PM
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Fave 100% Fruit & Vegetable Juice Orange Tangerine Pineapple
My ladyfriend recently watched a documentary about a man who went on a strict juice diet for some insane amount of time. He lost an insane amount of weight and improved his health immensely. I keep toying with the idea of trying it myself and see how far I can take it. I'm not exactly overweight or anything, it's just that winter is ending which means that I have been incredibly lazy and inactive for the past five months and I don't like the way it makes me feel. I have already started to get active again. I've broken out my bike and gone for a few rides, but a little help never hurts. Also, I like challenging myself.
So there I sat with the idea of this juice diet swimming around in my head and I saw this bottle of Fave juice sitting in my fridge. In the documentary the guy only drinks fresh juice, but I know I can't afford that so I figure anything that is 100% juice with no added sweeteners would work for me. I thought to myself “I'm going to start this right this very morning.” I grabbed the juice, poured myself a decent size glass, and began my journey. As soon as I took my first step of my journey the problems arose. This doesn't taste quite right. Let me rephrase that, this tastes like it should, but not the way I want it to. I wanted it to be a nice citrus juice that masked the flavor of the vegetables contained, but retained their nutrition. Instead what I got was a vegetable juice that had a citrus flavor to it. There are two distinct juices in this bottle and they are battling it out for the top flavor. Unfortunately for me the vegetable juice is winning out. I have no problem with vegetables. I love them. I eat them daily. My problem is that the fruit juice has sweetened the vegetable flavor and it just tastes strange. I'm sure there are loads of people out there that would love this juice, so I'm going to give it a three-bottle review. There is nothing intrinsically gross about it; it's just not really my thing. I've already begun rethinking this juice diet, and I'm pretty sure that by the time 4pm rolls around I will have eaten some bagels and hummus. I am a weak man.
So there I sat with the idea of this juice diet swimming around in my head and I saw this bottle of Fave juice sitting in my fridge. In the documentary the guy only drinks fresh juice, but I know I can't afford that so I figure anything that is 100% juice with no added sweeteners would work for me. I thought to myself “I'm going to start this right this very morning.” I grabbed the juice, poured myself a decent size glass, and began my journey. As soon as I took my first step of my journey the problems arose. This doesn't taste quite right. Let me rephrase that, this tastes like it should, but not the way I want it to. I wanted it to be a nice citrus juice that masked the flavor of the vegetables contained, but retained their nutrition. Instead what I got was a vegetable juice that had a citrus flavor to it. There are two distinct juices in this bottle and they are battling it out for the top flavor. Unfortunately for me the vegetable juice is winning out. I have no problem with vegetables. I love them. I eat them daily. My problem is that the fruit juice has sweetened the vegetable flavor and it just tastes strange. I'm sure there are loads of people out there that would love this juice, so I'm going to give it a three-bottle review. There is nothing intrinsically gross about it; it's just not really my thing. I've already begun rethinking this juice diet, and I'm pretty sure that by the time 4pm rolls around I will have eaten some bagels and hummus. I am a weak man.
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- Juice
- Company
- Fave — Website — @FaVeJuice
- Country
- United States
- Sweetener
- No Sugar Added
- Author
- Jason Draper on 4/23/12, 11:00 AM
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Frio Cappuccino Coffee
Dear employees at this fine company. I have an admission to make. Look folks, I should tell you that I am not the best as measuring. I have ruined every cake I've ever made. I have made a lot of money in this business and have bought a very nice oven and it works perfectly. I cannot blame the oven for my consistently burnt cookies and cupcakes. It's the fact that I get all messed up and backwards when it comes to teaspoons, tablespoons, cups, grams, yards, gallons, ounces, and the like. For that, I apologize in advance.
The reason I bring you in here is because I have once again failed the exam and messed up the mix. For this run of our Frio Cappuccino, I have calculated that we add more water than we're supposed to add. There are pros and cons to this. Pro: we get to make more and the cost per bottle is less. Con: we get a watered down cappuccino. Now I've tasted it and I've got to be honest, it's not terrible but it tastes like it should have more body to it. I might add less sugar, too, but that's not why I called you in here.
This isn't going to close the factory. We've done well for ourselves, but we might make a little less on this than we did on any of our previous endeavors. If someone could just review my math next time we prepare to put a drink out, that would be great. There is pizza in the break room for anyone interested. If you aren't interested, why aren't you interested? It's pizza.
The reason I bring you in here is because I have once again failed the exam and messed up the mix. For this run of our Frio Cappuccino, I have calculated that we add more water than we're supposed to add. There are pros and cons to this. Pro: we get to make more and the cost per bottle is less. Con: we get a watered down cappuccino. Now I've tasted it and I've got to be honest, it's not terrible but it tastes like it should have more body to it. I might add less sugar, too, but that's not why I called you in here.
This isn't going to close the factory. We've done well for ourselves, but we might make a little less on this than we did on any of our previous endeavors. If someone could just review my math next time we prepare to put a drink out, that would be great. There is pizza in the break room for anyone interested. If you aren't interested, why aren't you interested? It's pizza.
- Rating
- Categories
- Coffee
- Company
- Frio — Website — @TheDrinkTank
- Country
- United States
- Sweetener
- Sugar
- Author
- Mike Literman on 4/23/12, 10:57 AM
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Cascade Ice Blueberry Watermelon
Folks, let's just face the facts. The chances of anyone out there actually making a watermelon flavored drink that tastes like watermelons are slim to none. Most things that are supposed to be watermelon end up tasting like Jolly Ranchers. They only get the credit because there zero amount of research I will claim them as the first company to try and harness the essence of watermelon. It's not a bad flavor, but it certainly tastes absolutely nothing like the fruit. There is so much water in watermelon that it would probably take 50 full grown melons to get enough essence juice to make an 8oz beverage. It's just not cost effective, especially since I don't think there are any real health benefits to that specific fruit. Rant over.
While this doesn't actually taste like watermelon, it does have a decent blueberry flavor to it. It's also the strongest tasting Cascade Ice that I have tried. Sure it's sweetened with sucralose and is essentially flavored seltzer water (a losing combination in my book) it is still remotely enjoyable for me. I keep thinking “I'm really not into this,” but as soon as the flavor leaves my mouth I find myself taking another sip. I can only assume that those of you out there who are into diet drinks, and who are not grossed out by the taste of sucralose, would really enjoy this. With zero calories you could drink an entire case of this and not feel terrible about yourself, well except for the fact that you peed your pants.
While this doesn't actually taste like watermelon, it does have a decent blueberry flavor to it. It's also the strongest tasting Cascade Ice that I have tried. Sure it's sweetened with sucralose and is essentially flavored seltzer water (a losing combination in my book) it is still remotely enjoyable for me. I keep thinking “I'm really not into this,” but as soon as the flavor leaves my mouth I find myself taking another sip. I can only assume that those of you out there who are into diet drinks, and who are not grossed out by the taste of sucralose, would really enjoy this. With zero calories you could drink an entire case of this and not feel terrible about yourself, well except for the fact that you peed your pants.
- Rating
- Company
- Cascade Ice — Website — @CascadeIceWater
- Country
- United States
- Sweetener
- Sucralose
- Author
- Jason Draper on 4/22/12, 5:52 PM
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Sobe Smooth Strawberry Daiquiri
Marco and his family had money. Not only did they have money, but they were filthy, stinking rich. Where as normal families save all year to go on a weeklong vacation his family went to exotic locations every weekend. You would think that all of that travel time would be rough on a child of ten, but you'd be surprised at how much faster a Lear jet can get you places. Marco's favorite weekend trips were the ones they took to tropical locations. He liked the beaches and all the crazy birds, but his favorite part was all of the crazy exotic sounds drinks his parents would have, but never let him try. As he laid his head down on his pillow each night his mind was filled with visions of margaritas, mojitos, mai tais, and daiquiris. The names and colors were so intriguing, but since they were “adult drinks” not a drop ever passed his lips. For years he begged, but his parents were relentless.
One unlikely day whilst on a trip to NYC where he had tagged along with his dad, his life changed forever. His dad had stopped at a corner store for a pack of cigarettes, and told Marco to grab himself a drink. Being disgustingly rich, Marco was not used to shopping for himself. There were people who did that sort of thing for him. He was shocked at the selection of drinks set before him. Instantly a pink bottle caught his eye. He instantly knew he needed this drink in his mouth as soon as possible. This was all before he even saw what flavor the drink was. When he pulled it from the shelf he saw that it was a strawberry daiquiri. His brain was suddenly filled with the Gabrielle song “Dreams” (you know the one “Dreams can come true, look at me baby I'm with you.”). It took until the second verse until he realized that the song was actually just on the radio in the shop. As he held it in his hands his dad gave him an understanding smile and gave the shop keep some money.
He wasn't even out the door before he had opened the bottle and let the sweet, sweet liquid pour over his tongue. To tell you the truth, it wasn't as magical as he had expected. Maybe it was because he was in a dirty metropolitan and not in a tropical paradise, but the drink seemed off. It certainly tasted like strawberries, but more like a combination of real strawberries and strawberry flavored candy. It was also way milkier/thicker than he had expected it to be. This wasn't what he expected to be drinking when he turned 21 in Cabo. Okay this is stupid. This drink is okay, but it's nothing special.
One unlikely day whilst on a trip to NYC where he had tagged along with his dad, his life changed forever. His dad had stopped at a corner store for a pack of cigarettes, and told Marco to grab himself a drink. Being disgustingly rich, Marco was not used to shopping for himself. There were people who did that sort of thing for him. He was shocked at the selection of drinks set before him. Instantly a pink bottle caught his eye. He instantly knew he needed this drink in his mouth as soon as possible. This was all before he even saw what flavor the drink was. When he pulled it from the shelf he saw that it was a strawberry daiquiri. His brain was suddenly filled with the Gabrielle song “Dreams” (you know the one “Dreams can come true, look at me baby I'm with you.”). It took until the second verse until he realized that the song was actually just on the radio in the shop. As he held it in his hands his dad gave him an understanding smile and gave the shop keep some money.
He wasn't even out the door before he had opened the bottle and let the sweet, sweet liquid pour over his tongue. To tell you the truth, it wasn't as magical as he had expected. Maybe it was because he was in a dirty metropolitan and not in a tropical paradise, but the drink seemed off. It certainly tasted like strawberries, but more like a combination of real strawberries and strawberry flavored candy. It was also way milkier/thicker than he had expected it to be. This wasn't what he expected to be drinking when he turned 21 in Cabo. Okay this is stupid. This drink is okay, but it's nothing special.
- Rating
- Categories
- Juice
- Company
- Sobe — Website — @sobeworld
- Country
- United States
- Sweetener
- Reb A
- Author
- Jason Draper on 4/22/12, 12:48 PM
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Liquid Ice Energy Drink Sugar Free
Ice is everywhere. It is nice to chill your drinks, keep your food from spoiling and even preserving cavemen in ice until they can be unfrozen in California and turn out to be a way cool dude. The problem with ice is that it's not very portable. It requires large, bulky equipment to move it anywhere without it melting. Sure there is the dry ice option, but the number of people who just burn the hell out of themselves with it is astronomical. Scientists have been hard at work in the labs trying to invent “liquid ice.” If their plans come to fruition it would be less bulky and easier to cart around your frozen Neanderthals. Sure people mocked them saying that liquid ice is nothing but cold water, but that didn't stop them. They kept trucking on in their research. Many experiments were performed, but unfortunately they did not achieve their goal. Instead they invented an energy drink. You would think with all the chemicals they would use anything that was created should not be ingested, but these scientists thought outside of the box and tried non-toxic materials. Since their real research seemed to be going nowhere they ditched the actual liquid ice idea, kept the name and started marketing it. They ended up with a diet energy drink that had sucralose in it. It really just tasted like liquid Spree candy, if that candy was made from compressed sucralose instead of compressed sugar. It wasn't mind blowing, but they thought that since no other energy drink company had yet to call dibs on the Spree flavor that might as well. That is the story. I heard it from my cousin's nephew's third grade teacher, and she would never lie. Liars have to stand in the corner.
- Rating
- Categories
- Diet and Energy Drink
- Company
- Liquid Ice — Website — @Liquidiceenergy
- Country
- United States
- Sweetener
- Sucralose
- Author
- Jason Draper on 4/21/12, 5:48 PM
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Izze Sparkling Blueberry
If there was one thing that Izze was great at when she was young it was remedial art. Actually it was just the mixing of primary colors that she excelled at. She absolutely loved the concept that mixing two separate colors could result in a completely different color. If she mixed blue in with red, she got purple, blue and yellow got her green, and red and yellow brought her orange. It was simple, it was science and it was wonderful. She would spend her days mixing different proportions to see what shades she would achieve. She never tried mixing more than two colors though. That would just cause unimaginable chaos.
When Izze got older she found herself a part of the soda game. She was sick of the everyday sodas that that no redeeming values other than taste. She watched the world around her grow fat from ingesting far too much of it. She decided to take a stand and offer the world a soda that was mostly fruit juice. She added no sweeteners and let the fruit do its job. Things were going well, but then the bills for the fruit started to add up. She wanted to make some out of the ordinary flavors, but purchasing the fruit to make those juices was expensive. That is when the light bulb of genius lit above Izze's head. She would use her old knowledge of color mixture to simulate the flavors that were too expensive. She would start with the blueberry. After doing a little math in her head, she deduced that the blueberry flavor was simply nothing more than grape and apple juice mixed together. She whipped up a batch and threw in a little bit of actual blueberry juice in the mix, so that she wouldn't feel like so much of a liar to her customers. When she took a sip she instantly realized two things: Apple, grape and blueberry juice mixed together is pretty delicious and also that she was a complete moron for thinking that color theory had anything to do with the flavors of fruit juice. Apple and grape juice mixed together, while tasty, tastes nothing like blueberries. It tasted more like a light grape juice than anything. There was a hint of some sort of berry flavor hidden in it, but you really had to look for it. What Izze should have done at that moment was change the name of the flavor, because it was tasty and she was on to something, but it just wasn't blueberry. Unfortunately she had already ordered all of the bottles for the soda, and there was no way she was going to waste money on new ones. Screw her customers.
When Izze got older she found herself a part of the soda game. She was sick of the everyday sodas that that no redeeming values other than taste. She watched the world around her grow fat from ingesting far too much of it. She decided to take a stand and offer the world a soda that was mostly fruit juice. She added no sweeteners and let the fruit do its job. Things were going well, but then the bills for the fruit started to add up. She wanted to make some out of the ordinary flavors, but purchasing the fruit to make those juices was expensive. That is when the light bulb of genius lit above Izze's head. She would use her old knowledge of color mixture to simulate the flavors that were too expensive. She would start with the blueberry. After doing a little math in her head, she deduced that the blueberry flavor was simply nothing more than grape and apple juice mixed together. She whipped up a batch and threw in a little bit of actual blueberry juice in the mix, so that she wouldn't feel like so much of a liar to her customers. When she took a sip she instantly realized two things: Apple, grape and blueberry juice mixed together is pretty delicious and also that she was a complete moron for thinking that color theory had anything to do with the flavors of fruit juice. Apple and grape juice mixed together, while tasty, tastes nothing like blueberries. It tasted more like a light grape juice than anything. There was a hint of some sort of berry flavor hidden in it, but you really had to look for it. What Izze should have done at that moment was change the name of the flavor, because it was tasty and she was on to something, but it just wasn't blueberry. Unfortunately she had already ordered all of the bottles for the soda, and there was no way she was going to waste money on new ones. Screw her customers.
- Rating
- Country
- United States
- Sweetener
- No Sugar Added
- Author
- Jason Draper on 4/20/12, 10:56 PM
- Buy It Amazon.com — Galco’s Pop Stop
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Zevia Dr. Zevia
Would you call me a hater? Friends and fans, would you call me a hater? Now, granted, I don't exactly know what a hater is, but I wouldn't define myself as a hater. I dislike a lot of things but I would say that is because I'm terribly cynical and apathetic. That is a mixture that will destroy you from the inside out. It's exhausting. I enjoy Stevia and it's subsidiaries. I have not been happy with Zevia. I've got a diabetic friend with great Morrissey hair that loves the stuff but for me, it's bland. Yeah, that's the world. Bland. If you could water Dr. Pepper down with carbonated water and sweeten it with Stevia rather than sucralose or something, you would have this drink. You actually have to search for the flavor. Knowing this was supposed to be Dr. Pepper, I've got to say, this drink is 12% of what Dr. Pepper is. As described by Dan, a copywriter who loves soccer, Dr. Pepper is supposed to be dark. Zack, half of my boss entity who enjoys Dr. Pepper, said that it tastes like cherry Fresca, and that to me sounds like an insult.
Didn't hit the nail on the head with this one, Zevia. It's alright. You'll do better. Stop mocking other drinks though because people have preconceptions and you will not deliver.
Didn't hit the nail on the head with this one, Zevia. It's alright. You'll do better. Stop mocking other drinks though because people have preconceptions and you will not deliver.
- Rating
- Country
- United States
- Sweetener
- Erythritol
- Author
- Mike Literman on 4/20/12, 11:51 AM
- Buy It Amazon.com
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New York Home Style Iced Tea
Jay and I are friends. Every Thursday, we get together, get dinner, talk about how bad my music preference is, and usually buy drinks. Today's dinner was a delicious Jamaican restaurant called the Rasta-Rant. Cute, I know. Jay got a Grace Tropical Rhythm Pineapple Ginger and I got this. They had mango, but I decided that an aloe with noni would be better. Before we get to the drink, let's talk about the food. It was awesome. I got a veggie patty and a curry chicken Roti, which is like a Jamaican burrito. It was spicy in all the right ways and was so good. I will be returning. Now we turn to the drink.
A noni is some sort of fruit. I've never had it before. Aloe is something I am very familiar with, but not like this. It's a good black tea, lightly sweetened, but mostly flavored by the aloe. There are no chunks, which makes it different from what you would expect. I like the chunks, but this is a lot more drinkable. Still, a bit deceiving after all the chunky, delicious aloe drinks. Also, before I forget, for no reason in particular, there is a nice little list of factoids about Buffalo. I don't know why it's there but I have to love this drink that much more because of my city price.
So it's a good tea mixed with good flavors and has tidbits of information about the city I love. Win.
A noni is some sort of fruit. I've never had it before. Aloe is something I am very familiar with, but not like this. It's a good black tea, lightly sweetened, but mostly flavored by the aloe. There are no chunks, which makes it different from what you would expect. I like the chunks, but this is a lot more drinkable. Still, a bit deceiving after all the chunky, delicious aloe drinks. Also, before I forget, for no reason in particular, there is a nice little list of factoids about Buffalo. I don't know why it's there but I have to love this drink that much more because of my city price.
So it's a good tea mixed with good flavors and has tidbits of information about the city I love. Win.
- Rating
- Categories
- Iced Tea
- Country
- United States
- Sweetener
- Organic Brown Cane Sugar
- Author
- Mike Literman on 4/19/12, 9:45 PM
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R.W. Knudsen Spritzer Red Raspberry
If I were stuck in a forest, I would forage for berries. I was never a Boy Scout, although I enjoy their fundraising chocolate, caramel popcorn. I don't know what's poisonous and what is not. I would probably be dead in four days if I was stuck out in a forest. I like to think about it, though. I would eventually have to kill something to make a sweet but necessary jacket/sleeping blanket to keep warm. I wouldn't want to do it, and I have never killed anything before and don't ever want to but it's a necessary and I'm cold.
I think that I would know what raspberries look like enough that I could sustain off those. I haven't seen enough episodes of Man versus Wild enough to really learn the intricacies of "bug eating," so once I get to that protein-deprived state I'm probably eat any bug. Wrong, but I'll eat it.
I would eventually get very grizzled and start hallucinating. I'm grizzled now, but I would get worse. I think when you are in the forest, you grow beards faster and due to the immense amount of thorns and stuff, you rip your clothes very quickly. If I would somehow find a bottle of carbonated water, I could make this drink. I would find a nice, round stone, another round stone, and squish the berries on a leaf or something and pour the juice into the carbonated water. It would be a little bitter because it's natural but everything is natural in the forest, you dunce. That's all it would take to refresh myself. Seriously, though, the odds of me finding an unscathed bottle of anything, let alone carbonated water or something useful, is pretty slim. My luck I would find something like crab juice in a can and with that it would almost be essential to put raspberry juice in it to mask the, you know, crabbiness of it.
I think that I would know what raspberries look like enough that I could sustain off those. I haven't seen enough episodes of Man versus Wild enough to really learn the intricacies of "bug eating," so once I get to that protein-deprived state I'm probably eat any bug. Wrong, but I'll eat it.
I would eventually get very grizzled and start hallucinating. I'm grizzled now, but I would get worse. I think when you are in the forest, you grow beards faster and due to the immense amount of thorns and stuff, you rip your clothes very quickly. If I would somehow find a bottle of carbonated water, I could make this drink. I would find a nice, round stone, another round stone, and squish the berries on a leaf or something and pour the juice into the carbonated water. It would be a little bitter because it's natural but everything is natural in the forest, you dunce. That's all it would take to refresh myself. Seriously, though, the odds of me finding an unscathed bottle of anything, let alone carbonated water or something useful, is pretty slim. My luck I would find something like crab juice in a can and with that it would almost be essential to put raspberry juice in it to mask the, you know, crabbiness of it.
- Rating
- Company
- R.W. Knudsen — Website — @RWKnudsen
- Country
- United States
- Sweetener
- No Sugar Added
- Author
- Mike Literman on 4/19/12, 1:14 PM
- Buy It Amazon.com
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Tropical Fantasy South Sweet Tea
Yesterday, the highly anticipated Trials Evolution was released. I invited twenty-five people over, nine of which did. We ate pizza including one "hot dog stuffed crust" pizza that was not as good as it should have been. I blame it on the veggie dogs, but it's obvious that's what did it. Not the fact that it was a hot dog stuffed crust pizza. We drank pop that I always get when I have large gatherings. We played video games. Into the night we raced together, screaming at the TV and at each other. It was wonderful.
My brother brought this tea. I don't know where he got it as I always have my eyes open when I'm in stores and have never seen this line. He reluctantly let me have some as he brought it for himself, which doesn't apply in the walls of a Thirsty Dude house. If we haven't reviewed it, we get a sip. Let it be known. Everything has to be reviewed and everything will be reviewed, regardless of whom the drink is for.
This drink was a fraction better than I thought it would be. The problem with "sweet tea" is that when mass-produced, nine times out of ten it sucks. I'll say it. Corn syrup ruins sweet tea and if anything, you're just making sweetened tea. "Sweet Tea" is a term that should be reserved for true sweet tea. I can't hammer that home enough. This actually did have a legit black tea taste, although more syrupy than desired. It wouldn't make a Southern mom happy, but it would make a poor college kid happy. Based on sheer quantity, I think they might be on the right track.
My brother brought this tea. I don't know where he got it as I always have my eyes open when I'm in stores and have never seen this line. He reluctantly let me have some as he brought it for himself, which doesn't apply in the walls of a Thirsty Dude house. If we haven't reviewed it, we get a sip. Let it be known. Everything has to be reviewed and everything will be reviewed, regardless of whom the drink is for.
This drink was a fraction better than I thought it would be. The problem with "sweet tea" is that when mass-produced, nine times out of ten it sucks. I'll say it. Corn syrup ruins sweet tea and if anything, you're just making sweetened tea. "Sweet Tea" is a term that should be reserved for true sweet tea. I can't hammer that home enough. This actually did have a legit black tea taste, although more syrupy than desired. It wouldn't make a Southern mom happy, but it would make a poor college kid happy. Based on sheer quantity, I think they might be on the right track.
- Rating
- Categories
- Iced Tea
- Company
- Tropical Fantasy — Website
- Country
- United States
- Sweetener
- High Fructose Corn Syrup
- Author
- Mike Literman on 4/19/12, 11:14 AM
- Buy It Amazon.com
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Stumptown Cold Brew Coffee
Stumptown Coffee is what made me fall in love with coffee. I recently moved back to Portland, OR, the home of Stumptown Coffee. I would love to say it was because I missed it so much, but in reality it was to open a custom button/zine store with my friend Alex Wrekk called Portland Button Works.
We recently signed a lease on a storefront and have been slowly moving things into it this week. I felt it was fitting that the first drink I reviewed here was a drink I've been waiting to try for a long time. Stumptown came out with this lovely glass bottle of coffee just before I moved back to Buffalo for 10 months. I didn't get a chance to try it before I left, but now I finally found a nice cold bottle.
I don't know much about cold brewing coffee, besides that it tastes better than other methods of iced coffee. After opening this bottle, it smelled like I just walked into a coffee shop. It has that classic/awesome coffee aroma. I usually drink my coffee with soy/almond milk and a little sugar, but under certain circumstances I can tolerate black coffee. I wish all black coffee tasted like this, because it's incredible. It's really strong, but has so much flavor. I don't know blends of coffee well enough to wax on about the different subtleties in the beans. All I know is that this is delicious, and I would probably drink it every day if it weren't $3.50 a bottle.
We recently signed a lease on a storefront and have been slowly moving things into it this week. I felt it was fitting that the first drink I reviewed here was a drink I've been waiting to try for a long time. Stumptown came out with this lovely glass bottle of coffee just before I moved back to Buffalo for 10 months. I didn't get a chance to try it before I left, but now I finally found a nice cold bottle.
I don't know much about cold brewing coffee, besides that it tastes better than other methods of iced coffee. After opening this bottle, it smelled like I just walked into a coffee shop. It has that classic/awesome coffee aroma. I usually drink my coffee with soy/almond milk and a little sugar, but under certain circumstances I can tolerate black coffee. I wish all black coffee tasted like this, because it's incredible. It's really strong, but has so much flavor. I don't know blends of coffee well enough to wax on about the different subtleties in the beans. All I know is that this is delicious, and I would probably drink it every day if it weren't $3.50 a bottle.
- Rating
- Categories
- Coffee
- Company
- Stumptown — Website — @stumptowncoffee
- Country
- United States
- Sweetener
- No Sugar Added
- Author
- Derek Neuland on 4/19/12, 12:18 AM
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Third St. Organic Ginger Lemonade
This is the first concentrate that I am reviewing for Thirsty Dudes. Mike has done a couple, but I just want to come right out and say that I'm not a fan of concentrates. No matter what the instructions say I can never get the proportions correct. I've followed them to a T and measured everything out, and they just don't taste right. Then one of my friends will come along and mix it by eye and it will be delicious. The same thing goes with rice. I cannot make rice without either a mass amount of it to the bottom of the pot, or having it turn out soggy. I am just an idiot.
For further proof of myself being an idiot. I took this bottle down from a high up shelf to day to grab a drink that was behind it for a friend. When I placed it back on the shelf I accidentally did it so it sat there precariously for about 3 seconds before it tumbled to the floor and exploded everywhere. You would think a person's first response would be to start cleaning it up, but my instinct was to quickly grab what was left of the bottle and pour the remaining precious concentrate into a glass. Only after it was secured did I go about cleaning up the mess. Then I went back to work. When I was done I then cleaned up the mess again because even though I mopped the floor felt like that of a discount movie theatre. Not something you want in your home. Now that I am sure the floor has been thoroughly cleaned I am sitting here with what is left of the concentrate. After I mixed in the proper 3 parts water to one part concentrate I had maybe enough to half fill an 8oz glass. I took a few tiny sips and I have to say, it doesn't taste like something I mixed at home. It was strong, lemony and oh man did that ginger have a kick to it. I added just a little bit more water to calm it down a little and I think for once I got a mix right. It certainly doesn't taste like natural lemonade, but to be honest nothing is ever going to replicate that flavor properly unless it's just lemon juice sugar and water mixed together. The fact that it doesn't taste “real” doesn't detract from it at all though. This is a whole other beast altogether. It tastes like a lemon drink with a healthy dose of ginger in it. My ladyfriend couldn't handle the ginger, so if you're not a fan of the burn I would water this down a bunch more. Now I am a bit disgruntled that I had at most 6oz of this drink when I feel I could have had several gallons. I must learn to be more observant of my surroundings.
For further proof of myself being an idiot. I took this bottle down from a high up shelf to day to grab a drink that was behind it for a friend. When I placed it back on the shelf I accidentally did it so it sat there precariously for about 3 seconds before it tumbled to the floor and exploded everywhere. You would think a person's first response would be to start cleaning it up, but my instinct was to quickly grab what was left of the bottle and pour the remaining precious concentrate into a glass. Only after it was secured did I go about cleaning up the mess. Then I went back to work. When I was done I then cleaned up the mess again because even though I mopped the floor felt like that of a discount movie theatre. Not something you want in your home. Now that I am sure the floor has been thoroughly cleaned I am sitting here with what is left of the concentrate. After I mixed in the proper 3 parts water to one part concentrate I had maybe enough to half fill an 8oz glass. I took a few tiny sips and I have to say, it doesn't taste like something I mixed at home. It was strong, lemony and oh man did that ginger have a kick to it. I added just a little bit more water to calm it down a little and I think for once I got a mix right. It certainly doesn't taste like natural lemonade, but to be honest nothing is ever going to replicate that flavor properly unless it's just lemon juice sugar and water mixed together. The fact that it doesn't taste “real” doesn't detract from it at all though. This is a whole other beast altogether. It tastes like a lemon drink with a healthy dose of ginger in it. My ladyfriend couldn't handle the ginger, so if you're not a fan of the burn I would water this down a bunch more. Now I am a bit disgruntled that I had at most 6oz of this drink when I feel I could have had several gallons. I must learn to be more observant of my surroundings.
- Rating
- Categories
- Lemonade, Mix/Concentrate and Ginger
- Company
- Third St. — Website — @thirdstreetchai
- Country
- United States
- Sweetener
- Organic Evaporated Cane Juice
- Author
- Jason Draper on 4/18/12, 6:33 PM
- Buy It Amazon.com
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Karma Wellness Water Vitality Pineapple Coconut
Tyler loved basketball. Basketball was his favorite sport. He liked the way the players dribbled up and down the court. He saw them just sweating on the court, everyone wearing shorts, light jerseys, and still needing sweatbands. Sweat everywhere. They were drinking so it's not like they were dehydrated or dehydrating. Maybe they needed something better, something with flavor, something with vitamins, something with minerals, something fun, something low in calories. He searched high and low in markets and stores and found the perfect drink. Karma Wellness Water, namely the pineapple coconut flavor.
He bought a case of the stuff and went to Madison Square Gardens where the Knicks were playing the Chicago Bulls. He saw that Spike Lee was outside and was going in. He talked to him for a couple minutes and convinced him to let him sit next to him right next to the bench so he could give players the drinks. Throughout the game, players would be benched and Tyler would hand the players drinks. He loved to watch the players poke the flavor into the drink and smile. Every time without fail they would do that. Sometimes they would look back and give Tyler a thumbs up. That made his day. When the game was over he shook Spike Lee's hand and thanked him. He was walking out and someone called his name. He turned around and it was Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippin! He didn't know what to think. He didn't know what to do. They told him that they liked the drinks. They liked that it was tropical and they could taste both he coconut and pineapple. It wasn't too sweet and was very refreshing. Then Michael Jordan reached in his pocket and handed him a season pass to Knicks games. He thought it was strange but it's more important that he liked basketball than the Bulls. He lived in New York. What was he going to do with a season pass to Chicago living in New York. He thanked Scottie and Michael and walked away after having the best night of his life. All thanks to Karma.
He bought a case of the stuff and went to Madison Square Gardens where the Knicks were playing the Chicago Bulls. He saw that Spike Lee was outside and was going in. He talked to him for a couple minutes and convinced him to let him sit next to him right next to the bench so he could give players the drinks. Throughout the game, players would be benched and Tyler would hand the players drinks. He loved to watch the players poke the flavor into the drink and smile. Every time without fail they would do that. Sometimes they would look back and give Tyler a thumbs up. That made his day. When the game was over he shook Spike Lee's hand and thanked him. He was walking out and someone called his name. He turned around and it was Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippin! He didn't know what to think. He didn't know what to do. They told him that they liked the drinks. They liked that it was tropical and they could taste both he coconut and pineapple. It wasn't too sweet and was very refreshing. Then Michael Jordan reached in his pocket and handed him a season pass to Knicks games. He thought it was strange but it's more important that he liked basketball than the Bulls. He lived in New York. What was he going to do with a season pass to Chicago living in New York. He thanked Scottie and Michael and walked away after having the best night of his life. All thanks to Karma.
- Rating
- Categories
- Water and Sports/Dietary Supplement
- Company
- Karma Wellness Water — Website — @drinkkarma
- Country
- United States
- Sweetener
- Sugar
- Author
- Mike Literman on 4/18/12, 1:37 PM
- Buy It Amazon.com
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