Jason Draper - 2709 Reviews

When we first got a package of these, I was a little turned off by the plastic bottle. In my mind things that come in plastic bottles are generally cheap tasting. After looking over the bottle I got over it. The company made the effort to use pure cane sugar, so I gave it the benefit of the doubt.
After a sip, I was skeptical again. After half the bottle I was convinced that my original thoughts were correct. This tastes like a cheap soda. Not like Shasta cheap, but it just doesn't taste like a fancy pop. The cream soda taste didn't come out and punch me in the uvula like I wanted it to. It's subtler than I like my cream sodas. The "red" flavor is decent. If they had added that to a better cream soda base, I think I would be all over this. Unfortunately they did not. I drank the whole bottle, so it wasn't terrible. If someone offered me some I wouldn't turn it down. I just wouldn't purchase it myself.

Pomegranate and blueberry; the ultimate antioxidant team. This is the time of year people need to be drinking this the most. It's snowing and everyone is indoors more. Everyone's sick and sneezing and the germs are flying everywhere. Since the windows stay shut, the germs just bounce around the house until everyone is sick. Everyone that is that doesn't drink a butt load of antioxidant-laden beverages.
This has a nice blend of the two fruits (and a few others) that leaves you with the distinct taste of both of them, without either being too harsh. There are other vitamins thrown in as well to keep your health up. I'm going to start mainlining the stuff. I don't want to spend another winter with a constant cold.

We have gotten a bunch of recommendations to check out the Sprecher sodas. We've been keeping an eye out for them, and found a bunch today at the Village Beer Merchant in Buffalo. If they are all like this one we're in for a treat with the four flavors we bought.
This tastes like no cola I've ever had before. It has a base favor as a high-end "normal" cola, but there are a bunch of other flavors thrown into the mix, vanilla, cinnamon and honey to name a few. Those added to the kola extract take you to a whole new world of taste.
The bottle says that it's "fire-brewed in our unique gas-fired kettle." They took some care to make this soda. What I do find odd is that they took all that time to come up with this great recipe, and then sweetened it with corn sweetener instead of real sugar. Maybe that's part of their secret though. I'm no sugarologist.
Finally look at that bottle. The puma looks like it was ripped from some 80's cartoon. It looks incredible. It's also got some cinnamon sticks under its paw. He's protecting the secret of this cola's greatness.

It's official I've regressed back to ten year old me. It's Saturday night, and I decided to stay at home so that I could play Zelda. I'm totally not a video game guy at all. Ask Mike. I can't even drive straight in racing games. This game played on my nostalgia, and I'm hooked. I should probably get to the root beer.
This came in an awesome 22 oz bottle. In those 22 oz is some great root beer. They didn't go too crazy with the ingredients when they were thinking up this recipe, and they didn't have to. They got a simple root beer just the way it should be. It's smooth and flavorful. It's "kettle brewed" so I'm assuming that's a lot of their secret. Things tend to be better when they aren't made in industrial sized vats. Sometimes you're in the mood for a nice gourmet root beer and other times you want something more classic. When you're in the mood for the classic variety get yourself some Sparky's. You can thank me later. Now I need to go save the princess.

Samurai Defender. Is there a greater name for a antioxidant type tea? It's perfect fit, and it certainly got me interested in the tea.
It's a real nice oolong tea with a touch of mandarin oranges and a ginger aftertaste. There's no burn at all with the ginger, just a small dose of the flavor to remind you it's performing its "herbal defense."

For someone who hates coffee so much, I sure have been drinking a decent amount of mocha lately. I keep telling myself that it's not coffee and that it's just hot chocolate (or cold hot chocolate) with just a splash of coffee in it. When in reality it's the other way around. Whatever deal with it. It's tastes good. Regular coffee is still gross.
I'm amused that the word "organic" is used five times in the ingredients list for this. This is what you would expect from mocha. It's coffee, chocolate and milk all mixed together. It's a bit creamier than other ones I've had, but I'm perfectly fine with that.
The packaging is nice as well. I've never had a personal sized beverage in a package like this (just some large juices for multiple servings). You're more than likely supposed to pour it into a glass, but I like drinking things out of the container. Who needs extra dishes to wash? Not me. What do I look like I'm rich and have a maid, or one of those newfangled dish washer machines?

Perhaps you are someone's grandmother who makes some hot tea. Perhaps you also, like most grandmothers, save your tea bags and reuse them. They lived through the Depression you know, and they will never trust the banks or the tea industry again! On the fourth or fifth use of the tea bag you would probably brew a tea that is as strong as this.
It tastes like what it says it is, tea water. You could also call it watered down tea, but I think that might cause some problems for the marketing department.
All joking aside, it's really not terrible. It's more of a tea flavored water than anything. The mandarin orange flavor is present in a strong aftertaste. I could see a lot of people enjoying this on a regular basis. It's too weak for my tastes.

Another great soda from the Hanks company. A high quality creamsicle flavored beverage. My friend Kevyn hates creamsicles. Show of hands, how many people feel sorry for him? Not only does he not enjoy an amazing summer treat, but he also won't give this great soda a chance. It's a shame I tell you.

This is a root beer that I've been very excited to try. The story of it is that it was a seven-year-old's science project that he got help with his parents. They thought it turned out so well that they decided to market it and name it after their fostered dog, Margo. The best part is that all of the profits they make are donated to help shelter and rescue dogs. Now that's a story I can get behind.
You know what else I can get behind? Root beers that aren't afraid to take chances. It's been well documented that I really prefer root beers that are made out of natural ingredients over those made with root beer extract and such things. Margo's adds a few things into the mix, that I don't believe I've experienced. Cloves for one, so good. You don't really taste it in every sip, but when you do it's pretty fantastic. If it were in every sip, it may be too overbearing. One of the best I've had so far.

Blue Sky and Hansen's are both made by the some company. I don't really know why they have two different lines of pop, but they do.
This is a pretty standard root beer. It tastes like what I remember root beer to be like when I was a kid. I have to say that if I drank this back-to-back with the root beers I drank as a kid now, this would be worlds better. It doesn't have any added spices or roots extracts, just a general root beer flavor. When something like that is done right, like this is, it's nothing to scoff at.

Imagine this. You've been on tour for a long time. You're completely beat and down in Austin, TX to play a festival. It has been pouring all weekend, and it's an outdoor festival. You go back stage and it seems like the only non-alcoholic beverage for the bands is Red Bull (why is that always the case?). Suddenly you see a barrel with a different logo on it. What's this you say? Sweet Leaf? Never heard of it. You grab a bottle and on first sip you realize this is a force to be reckoned with. Then you drink about 20 of them over the coarse of the weekend and watch Mission of Burma, Gorilla Biscuits and Danzig all in a row. That was my first experience with Sweet Leaf. Somehow the tea left a bigger impression on me than seeing nonstop amazing bands.
I can't believe it took me so long to review this. It's by far my favorite Sweet Leaf flavor. Unfortunately, I also believe it's the only one not available in Buffalo.
Even though the ingredients are water, tea, cane sugar and lemon juice, this tastes like it has some light spices in it. It's just incredible. It's the perfect blend. Neither the tea nor lemonade is overpowering.
If you are in any way a fan of "Arnold Palmer" grab a case or eight of these and never look back.

You know how you sometimes buy a two-liter of soda pop and it sits in your fridge too long, because you're not a glutton who needs that much cruddy soda in your life? It's been in there so long that it has lost a lot of its carbonation and it's on the verge of becoming flat. It has just the most minuscule amount of fizz. Okay remember how that feels in your mouth. Now think about a grape little Huggie. You know the drinks for kids that come in those tiny translucent plastic bottles. Now think of a melted grape freezie pop. Now in your mind mix all three and don't forget to shake vigorously to get rid of a little more of that carbonation. Now you have Sippin Syrup.
I didn't experience any relaxation from this at all. I was a bit tired before I drank it, and if anything it woke me up a little bit more. It has the same stuff in it as other relaxation drinks I've had. It must just not be in as high quantities.

Mike had their dry cola, and he wasn't really into it at all. Understandably I was hesitant to pick this up, but I thought what the heck and here we are now.
This is the kind of soda that would be nice to drink with a meal. It's nothing too fancy. No not like hutdogs and handburgers, but a sit down meal. I would probably drink it with some tofu, rice and vegetables. Of course that is a staple in my diet, so I drink a lot of things with that.
It's a dry soda. The flavor doesn't leave much of an aftertaste, which is nice. Mike also hates black currants. I love them. We had a bush in my backyard when I was growing up. Actually that's a lie. They were red currants. Either way, I loved the tartness of them. Mixed with the grapes, it reminds me of a high end sparkling grape juice. You know the ones that would be like $5 a bottle. Oh so expensive.

In my opinion, this is what kids need. I know there are tons of juices out there that are healthy and 100% juice, but kids are kids and they want fruit punch, not apple and orange juice. Fruit punch is something to get excited about. It's what juice box dreams are made of. Honest has made a great fruit punch. It's tastes delicious, and it has "1/2 the sugar of most kid's drinks," or so the bottle tells me.
Most fruit punch just tastes like a hodgepodge of random fruits all mixed into one general flavor. In this you can taste the individual flavors. You know what one of those flavors is? It's watermelon. How sweet is that? I've never had a drink that actually tasted like watermelon before, and not like a watermelon Jolly Rancher (which are revolting).
If you have kids and you want to get them excited about juice, give this a shot. I may not technically be a child, but it still worked for me.

Here I am on a seven-hour drive home from doing stuff with my new band in New Jersey. I have a sack of drinks in the back seat. I obviously have a problem. I needed a little pick me up, so I went with a yerba mate. I love the bitter aftertaste it has. The caffeine content is also nice. This flavor tastes like a nice natural berry heavy fruit punch was dumped into the vat of tea.
Now onwards to Buffalo. My roommate just texted me that my cat is emotionally disturbed. I can't wait to see what she's doing now.

This is a nice little bottle of juice that boasts to give you 100% of the recommended daily value of ten vitamins. Well that was nice of them to take care of that for me. It's a blend of a bunch of different fruit juices. It has a general fruity taste when it first hits your tongue. The aftertaste tastes exactly like dried mango strips, which is a slightly different taste than regular mango. Get one. Drink your vitamins. Enjoy your day.

I have yet again fallen victim to thinking that everything that comes in a tiny can being carbonated. It ends up that this is a bunch of juice concentrates mixed together with some vitamins and minerals. It tastes like a very light orange juice. It's as if they made watered down orange juice taste good.
I may have been fooled by the non-carbonation, but I understand hey packaged it in this way to give kids the appearance that they are partaking in a big boy drink. Anything that gets kids to drink more juice I'm okay with.

It's like there was a peach party arranged, but too many people showed up. As a result they had to cut the peach supply (you know like the do with cocaine in the moving pictures). Now there is enough for everyone, but what they get is a peachy beverage, but it doesn't get them as high in flavor town as the pure version would.

This is Pure Organics' take on a post exercise drink, such as Gatorade. It is worlds better than other brands I've had. It actually contains 25% juice, yet still has all of the Electrolytes and such to restore your body after a work out.
It is certainly is the most flavorful thing I've ever drank in this line of beverages. All three flavors are distinctly there, and they come to you in waves.
So far this company can do no wrong in my book.

Wawa is a member of the prestige grouping of my top three gas stations/mini marts. I believe they only have them in PA and NJ. I'm currently visiting NJ to work on some stuff with my new band. On the way to practice we stopped at a Wawa. There are three very important things go get at these stores, "Built to Order" hoagies, soft pretzels and their store brand iced tea.
Most store brand teas that come in big jugs are basically brown sugar water. This is actual tea made with real sugar, and even though there is a notice on the bottle that says, "Contains no raspberry juice," it somehow actually tastes like the fruit.
This is probably the #1 drink in the ghetto tea category. Now someone pass me the mustard for my pretzel.