United States - 4098 Reviews

It's exciting when Village Beer Merchant updates their tap list and posts it to Facebook. Every time, I click "read more" and scroll down to the bottom to see if they have a new soda. Last week, it read "Apple Cinnamon Soda". It makes sense. It's a very winter-esque soda. I feel like it may be a little more appropriate during the fall, but I'm not picky.

It took a little bit of time but I finally made it over there today to get my growler filled with this delicious sounding soda. I have never had an apple cinnamon soda, and as far as I know neither has Mike or Jay. So this first sip was an adventure. I was expecting this to taste like apple cider with carbonation.

Was I right? Nope. It tastes like apple pie filling with extra cinnamon. Not classic mom made apple pie, more so the sugar filled ones you can get at any gas station for 99 cents. While it's not what I was expecting, I really like it. The cinnamon has a nice kick to it and is similar (but not as intense) as a good ginger burn. Village Beer Merchant/Flying Bison did it again, good job!

I went over to my Mom's house a couple months ago and she was drinking this green algae like drink. I was puzzled because the only things I ever see her drinking is iced coffee or diet soda. When I inquired about it, she started going on about how it's this amazing Matcha drink and it's better than coffee. I tried it and it tasted good, so she sent me home with a few packets.

I finally got around to trying it out myself. The green powder doesn't really mix with water very well. It felt like I was stirring it for a good 3 minutes and I am still finding little chunks in it as I'm drinking. The taste though, just as I remembered, is incredible. It's a lot like the green smoothie drinks that Bolthouse and Naked sells, but not as thick and more fruit flavors in it. I can't pinpoint any, but the website for this says it's made with pomegranates and blueberries mixed with the matcha (which is a type of green tea).

Before I started drinking this I was feeling a bit sleepy, but I'm halfway through the glass and I'm already feeling more awake. I'm glad my mom gave me a few packets so it will hold me over until I have a chance to buy some more.

Another New Years Eve has come and gone, which means that so has another bottle of sparkling juice. As you may or may not know non-drinkers like myself celebrate the obligatory times in much the same way that children do. I think I get the same enjoyment out of it as well. This year I decided to get a little fancier than my typical sparkling grape juice so I went with cranberry juice…€¦cran-apple. I hear that it is just about impossible to get out of sheets from Santa Fe, so I took care not to spill in on any of the fancy gowns that surrounded me, and by that I mean t-shirts and jeans. I don't hang with an upscale crowd much.

First thing to note about this is that it is not a twist cap. I had to pry off the cap on the side of the stage of the club I was DJing at like a savage, because unlike a Boy Scout I am rarely prepared. The effort to open it was worth it though, as this is one delectable celebratory beverage. It's just apple and cranberry juice mixed together with some bubbles added. The apple juice sweetened it enough to take away the bitterness of the cranberries, but their flavor was still present. It's basically a higher quality carbonated version of Ocean Spray. I will definitely have to pick up more of this for my next soirèe. Oh yeah, remember: Nothing changes on New Years Day…€¦remember when U2 was a great band? I certainly do.

The Mighty Morpin Power Rangers were just after my time. My brother who is 3 years younger than me was into them, but I had no interest in the show/toys. I'm assuming I was "too old" for it, even though I knew of at least one friend of mine in my grade that watched the show and bought the action figures.

I haven't heard about the Power Rangers in a long time, a decade or so probably. I attribute this to not watching TV, not frequenting Toys 'R' Us, and not paying attention to the toys my younger cousins play with. I found this juice box at Big Lots, the store where drinks go to die. I just assumed it was 5 years old and would probably make me puke. Like a true Thirsty Dude, I obviously bought it.

I totally forgot I bought it until December 25th when I saw my cousin opening a new Power Rangers toy. It was puzzling to me, and reminded me of the juice boxes I had purchased. So I did a little research and found out Power Rangers have continually been on the air in one form or another since it first aired in 1993. Power Rangers Samurai, which is what series this juice box is from, is the 18th season. Eighteen! That is ridiculous. Seinfeld only had 9 seasons, so Power Rangers has been on twice as long.

Anyways, this juice box taste like every other "berry" juice box I've ever had. I don't know how I enjoyed these things when I was a kid. It's bland and has a bitter/sour aftertaste. No thank you.

If pomegranates were my kryptonite this drink would surely be my doom. While I hate that I just made a Superman reference (a cheater if I ever saw one) I could think of no metaphor that would be more fitting. There are tons of “weird” ingredients in here, but the pomegranate sneaks up and just punches you square in the nose. Oh good now I have blood all over my shirt. Oh wait, that's just pomegranate juice, because I dribble when I drink like a baby. Either way that's never coming out…€¦great.

This is strong, tart and functional. It has a lot of what you need to get through the day in a healthy manner. Sure I could do without the stevia, but the pomegranate is so strong that it buries it a bit. You know I could actually see myself drinking this for pleasure, which is not a common thing with these types of drinks. It really just tastes like a strong juice with a little something extra that doesn't bother me all that much. Huh. Who'd have thought?

Can Nature promise me that all of this dumb snow will be gone by the next time I look out the window. I know I live in Buffalo and I should be used to it. I am, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. I could move out of Buffalo, but that's where I keep all my stuff. What would I do with all my stuff? STUFF!!!???

Now that I've worked myself up into a tizzy I should probably drink this tea, as it has chamomile in it and it will help calm down my winter rage. First and foremost this tea has a strong oolong taste to it. Like yerba mate, oolong has a very distinct taste. It also looks dumb written out, as no words should start with two Os. So there you have it. This is a very strong, natural tasting tea. It has some lemon in it, but not in the cleaning spray way. It just helps the tea flavor shine instead of trying to run the show. That is the way lemon should behave. Know your place lemons! If children should be seen and not heard then lemons should be noticed, but not overbearing. Actually nothing in the world should be overbearing…€¦well except bears. They can do whatever they want.

Santa Claus is a large man and these are difficult times for the obese. He should not be surprised as he spends a couple days eating nothing but cookies. He works long hours, isn't known for being wealthy, and is also never seen as a man who is "in shape." The misses has taken notice of this and has done something about it. She took the sleigh to Polar, contracted them to make one of Santa's favorite flavors, and had them put it out for all to enjoy around Christmastime. Santa drinks a lot of hot chocolate but when Mrs. Claus brought him the first bottle, he knew that it was for the best.

He took a sip and was moderately pleased. Moderately because he is a man who loves his sweets and this is neither sweet nor up t the caliber of "caneness" that he desires. It's not bad, but it's about as seltzer as you can get with a little bit of mintiness.

For the next year Santa is going to lose some weight by drinking this. His breath will be better and his waistline slimmer. Mrs. Claus wanted to also mention that instead of having standard issue chocolate chip cookies that you supply a small, Caesar salad either dry or with a balsamic vinaigrette. We have to work together to slim the big man down.

I don't know anything about Rush Limbaugh except he's wildly Republican. My grandpa used to love him. Every time I went to my grandparent's house he would be sitting on the same chair with headphones on listening to "Rush." "Don't bother him, he's listening to his "Rush." grandma would say. He would be fine once those headphones were off but when they were on, don't bother him.

Now my grandpa can't drink this with me today unfortunately but I think that he would like to drink a bottle of unsweetened tea with a young Rush Limbaugh's fat face on it. Not to mention the tea is in a wonderfully decorated bottle with foil and full color print. I don't normally point those things out, but it has to be mentioned. The tea? A standard black tea. That's good though because so many people screw it up. He/They did it right. Good job, guys.

If you've got a grandpa, buy this tea and drink it with him while you still have time. Tell him something like, "Grandpa, I know I wear shirts with swear words on it, have a bad haircut, pierced ears, and a tattoo that says something in a language that you fought against in WWII, but let's share a beverage you and I.”

There are a bunch of fruits on the label of this drink, and even more are listed in the ingredients. There are in fact eight different fruit juices contained in this bottle. With all of that fruit in here why does it only taste like a lightly flavored orange juice? It tastes like really good orange juice, and I enjoy it, but I expected a bit of variety in the world of flavor it contains. The oranges have gentrified this juice. It moved into the neighborhoods where all of these other fruits were living and took it over as if it were it's own. Shame on you oranges…€¦shame.

On the other hand it does have 1500% of the daily value of vitamin C. That will kill the sickness in you. For some reason Odwalla added evaporated can juice to this as well. I don't know why, and I don't approve. It's unnecessary and unwanted in my world. Get rid of it. It's not helping to keep people healthy. Isn't that the point of juices like this?

Vegans, you're getting luckier by the day. Your hatred of animals and animal by-products is getting easier stronger and more beneficial. You are no longer segregated to the underground seed and nut parlors of old but now you are welcomed into the sunlight and above ground stores and restaurants. You are treated special without questions asked. Your influence is growing. Soon, no one will look at a cow the same way. Soon, Morrissey will have one less thing to be sad about.

This totally animal free drink is pretty great. Almond milk is thicker than soymilk so it's more "milkshakey" which means "better" in layman terms. I don't get a lot of dark chocolate but I might get "slightly shadier chocolate." I wouldn't give it the credit that it asks for since I am allowed to be critical on my own soapbox. That being said, it's still good.

Vegetarians and vegans, you may dance until the sun comes out for this drink passes the test of a carnivore. I have spoken and it has been said. I hereby sanction this drink as acceptable to all parties.

I don't often think about quitting Thirsty Dudes. It's fun and it's a hobby. Sure, I would like it to explode to the point where the hardest thing I have to think about is which Lamborghini Countach I am going to go to Jay's to get tacos, but that's in the future. The only thing that makes me want to not do Thirsty Dudes anymore is really good drinks. When we drink something stellar, we often never get to drink it again because of where it came from or the fact that at any given time, we all have at least twenty other drinks in queue that cannot be ignored. I have broken that streak a little bit by buying cases of really good drinks but it takes me forever to drink them because, as previously mentioned, there isn't enough time in the day.

This drink made me think about it for a second, though. It's really good. It's rightfully bitter, like a blood orange should be. It does the fruit justice. Just a little bit of sugar to cut it and make it so you keep coming back. Blood oranges everywhere should consider this the apex of compliments to be in this drink. You might be saying that they're just fruits but come on, if you were a lemon, would you rather be in a lemon Brisk or a San Pellegrino Limonata? It makes a difference. Don't think that it doesn't.

Down in North Carolina natural streams careen down from the peaks of the Appalachian Mountains. Arcadia Farms uses that fresh water to make their personal take on southern sweet tea. It's too bad that they use the water directly from the streams and don't take any measures to “clean it up.” There is just a pump that sucks the water directly from the stream out back on the Arcadia land into the vat that they make their tea in. Don't they know that squirrels, coyotes and various other fauna do their business in that water? Maybe I can't prove that they actual do that, but I think I might believe someone if they told me that after having tasted this tea. It doesn't really taste like tea at all. It tastes more like extremely heavily sugared dirty water. I can get by the insane sugar taste since it is sweet tea after all. I cannot get past the fact that it doesn't taste like tea; you know the main ingredient in “tea.” The strange thing is that the ingredients list …€˜brewed tea,” which generally means that you're in for a good beverage. Somehow the Farm got it all wrong.

Generally when pop is blue you are in for one of two things: a cream soda based beverage, or something that is so overly sweetened that you can't believe it's still a liquid. When I took a sip of this and I didn't feel like my teeth were going to fall out from liquid candy, I awaited the cream aftertaste. It never came. I have to admit that I waited longer than I should have. I even took another sip and concentrated on trying to taste it. I got nothing. Capone has succeeded in beating the odds. They have created a blue soda that just tastes fruity. Well, it doesn't actually taste like raspberries. It actually kind of tastes like a Bahama Mamma Slush Puppie (aka my favorite). It tastes tropical in a berry sort of way. It's not something that I would want all the time, but this would be great on a hot summer day, too bad we're having our first snow storm of the year.

What I have in my hand is perhaps one of the most uniquely flavored drinks I have ever tasted. Let's start with the base of aloe shall we? Aloe the plant that is used to sooth burns is absolutely disgusting in its raw form. Seriously, just take it from me save yourself the taste of poison in your mouth. Just use it on burns caused by the sun or other. Processed aloe, or whatever they do to it to make it into a beverage is one of my favorite tasting drinks ever. So we have this vat of delicious aloe juice, what should we put in it? Oh how about the most refreshing of flavors of all time: the cucumber. Cucumber flavored drinks sounds ridiculous, that is until you try it and then you want it constantly. Every cucumber beverage I have tried tastes exactly like the vegetable, and as I said it's the peak of refreshment; move over lemonade. So we have some cucumber aloe juice now. Truth be told we could stop right here, but why not see how far we can take it? Why don't you throw some mint into the mix? Not enough to give it that toothpaste taste, but just enough to make it crisp. You know, so you don't really realize it's there until the aftertaste. To top it all off, why not pump some CO2 into it and give it some bubbles? Bam! Done! Perfect! It's crisp, it's refreshing and it ends on a nice cool note. It's a combination I have never tasted before. Why this company is not huge I have no idea. This is a base that other beverages should be modeled after.

Today, on National Chocolate Day I have chosen to drink this delectable drink. I don't normally blow the review in the first sentence but why waste my time? This is wonderful. It's dark and naturally bitter and has a strong but inoffensive mint kick to it. It's properly thick and vegan so all can enjoy it. Note that this is expensive as far as drinks go clocking in at $2.50 but honestly, as a sweet treat, it's worth it. It tastes like hot chocolate cooled down and put in an adult juice box. Oh, what I wouldn't give to relive my childhood with rich parents who put this juice box in my lunch every day. Look, my parent's are great but we're admittedly "middle class" and to have this little buddy in my bag every day would cost $12.50 per week, $50 per month, or $500 per school year. That's too much to spend on a kid's dumb lunch bag. Added reason not to give this for lunch is that this is the top of the ladder when it comes to "trades," so you, a hard working parent, are having your luxury traded for another turkey sandwich and some gummy worms. I wasn't a big trader but some kids were. Pudding for this, Jell-O for that. This trumps all. You would be crowned king or queen of the lunchroom and your fame would get to your head, your grades would suffer and people would start doing your homework for you in order to get a taste of your drink, the teacher would find out you were cheating and you would get failed right out of fourth grade. You would be the oldest kid and people would call you a dummy all because of your drink. Parents don't let this happen to your kids. Give them juice like all the other parents. Save this for home when they get good grades on a math test or something. No one kid should have the power this drink would instantly grant them.

Question: If this is supposed to be flavored water then why are there any sweeteners in here at all? There is both agave nectar and rebiana. That is two unnecessary sweeteners for “water with a twist.” This could have just been lime juice in water and it would have tasted fairly comparable. I certainly would have enjoyed it more. It's not sweet enough for the rebiana flavor to be justified. It takes away from the flavor of the limes. Those aren't just any limes either. They are West Indies limes. Those little bits of citrus traveled a long way to make it into this bottle and that dumb natural zero calorie sweetener is ruining it for them. There should have been a red carpet rolled out for them and teams of reporters. Instead they are walking over the old tattered rug into a by the hour motel that they are now sharing with a complete stranger. The glamour of the exotic is long gone my friends.

Guayaki is a company that knows what they are doing, and what they are doing is making yerba mate based beverages that are nothing if not delicious. This is the 9th product of theirs that we have reviewed and so far they have all received either 4 or 5 out of 5 bottles. That is a rare thing indeed in the world of these Thirsty Dudes.

For those of you not familiar with it, yerba mate is essentially a tea. Does tea have to be made from a specific plant, or is it just any plant that is steeped in hot water? I think I'm safe referring to this as a tea. I've heard others do it, so I'm going to follow suit. As with all teas it has its own distinct taste, that is hard to describe, but once you've had it, you'll always be able to place the flavor. It's been compared to green tea, but I don't really see it at all. Both are a tad on the bitter side, but yerba mate has an earthier flavor to me.

Guayaki has been making this tea for years and recently has started producing a sparkling line. I for one love it. Tea based sodas are always hit or miss, but this is an inner circle bulls eye. The yerba mate flavor is right in the center and it's softened up a bit by some sweetener and a mixture of cranberry and pomegranate juice. What we have here are three bitter flavors, which could easily take all of the moisture out of your mouth, but instead blend together in a perfect way. Both of the juices are easily recognizable in the taste, but they are living in harmony together instead of fighting to see who will solo in the spotlight. I suppose that is because they both know that they will only ever be supporting characters in this drink; yerba mate is taking them all the way to Broadway.

Here's a not so subtle hint to America: A good majority of you are overweight. Okay, that wasn't so much of a hint as it was a flat out statement. Regardless, it's true. I'm not saying that I think people should be emaciated and the skinniest things ever. I am saying that in the days of our country when people had to work on farms and such, everyone was in much better shape. Think of how we could run everything if we were all in that same shape with today's modern medicine. We would be unstoppable.

The first step to getting there is to stop eating so much damn fast food. Sure it's delicious but it does nothing but hurt this cause. Secondly, and possibly most importantly, cut out drinking so much pop. I have way to many friends who tell me that one of their parents drink a two-liter or more of soda a day. That is ridiculous. I run a drink review website, and the thought of that makes even me sick. Do you even know how much sugar and other garbage you're putting into your bodies? How do you expect to hand plow the fields for ten hours a day while doing that? You won't, that I promise you. Hey, I understand the love of bubbly drinks. I'm just saying there are other options out there to get your fix in a way healthier way. One option is Hint Fizz. It's just sparkling water with a little bit of peach flavoring in it. There is no sugar, no fat, no sodium, no nothing. You essentially could be drinking a glass of water and it would be 98% the same health wise.

Sure when you first start drinking seltzers the taste is a bit weird, but the more you drink the quicker you become acclimated to it and then it doesn't taste bad at all, it tastes normal. Even though there is no juice in here, this does leave the memory of having just eaten a peach in your mouth. I urge you to make the switch from your soda pop to this sparkling water. The fate of our empire depends upon it.

What better time to drink lemonade than the tail end of December where it's snowing and cold and wet? You've endured summer. You've conquered fall. Now you've got the cold slapping you if the face like you fell asleep in church and the priest comes over and wakes you up. How do they get away with that? If I had a kid and sent him to a Catholic school, an action I would never do, and a nun hit him, I might push her up against a wall like one of those tough guys in movies where they shove nerds or geeks up against a locker, make a loud noise, and take lunch money. Don't touch my kid, nuns, you jerks.

I'm reviewing lemonade and talking about abusing nuns. Fantastic. Happy holidays. Nun, I'm not sorry that I pushed you up against a locker and made all the kids stop in their tracks, but who do you think you are? Have a lemonade, you old coot. It's good because it's not made with any artificial ingredients and tastes like the lemonade you make at home, not like the lemonade that you make your slave kids sell to not buy new bibles and invest in getting Father Whatshisface a new Lexus RX330, which, by the way, is a woman's car. It's not too sweet, something I already know you can relate to, and not undersweetened which you are.

If nuns are teachers from God? Then are public school teachers "teachers from Satan?" If so, you can expect to see my son bowing down along with Anton LaVey all the while not taking religion class and, in exchange, taking legitimate science classes. I say good day to you, nun.

Remember when Andy Kaufman went up on stage and awkwardly acted out the Mighty Mouse song, well just the “Here I come to save the day!” part. That was hysterical. If the man were still alive, hurting for money and forced to do product endorsement, I would hope that he would back Naked Juice. I mean if you gotta sell yourself for the man, you might as well back a product that is actually great, and not hurting anyone. Hell, even with him dead his estate could sell his rights to them. I don't think Naked actually makes commercials, but I can see it now. It could be the original footage of the Mighty Mouse bit, except instead of taking a drink of water they could edit in a bottle of Naked and at the end the screen would say, “Naked's Mighty Mango: It's here to save the day.” Marketing genius right here.

Nothing in that ad would be a lie either. Whenever I feel myself getting the old scratch in my throat that is a telltale sign that sickness is on it's way, I get myself a large bottle of this stuff and just pound it. More likely than not the sickness will pass and I will be just fine in a day. It's essentially a mango puree with a bit of orange flavor to it. Sure there is also apple and banana juice in here, but you can't taste them at all. There is so much vitamin C in here that it could fight off an army on oncoming illness, just like a little mouse…€¦wearing a cape.