Jason Draper - 2709 Reviews

When I'm at the store and I'm picking out an iced tea, peach is my go to flavor. When I saw that the stores around here started carrying peach Sweet Leaf, I knew it was going to be a good day. They actually use "natural peach flavoring," so it actually tastes like peaches and not some horrific peach flavored candy. I do feel like it is a tad sweeter than the rest of the Sweet Leaf line, and to be honest, the peach does overpower the tea a bit. Nonetheless it is an excellent beverage that I urge you to try.

The picture on the label led me to believe this was iced tea. I'm an idiot, and didn't bother reading anything other than the flavor, so I was surprised when I took a sip. It's actually all juice from concentrate, but it tastes more like some exotic flavor of Vitamin Water. This is my third tasting of yumberry. I have to say I'm not a huge fan. The lime also reminds me of cleaning product the way that a lot of lemon flavored drinks do.

Inko's has worked some magic on this drink. You know how some people soak fruit in vodka in order to make crazy adult fruit salad? Well this lightly sweetened white tea tastes like what was left over after someone soaked 20 honeydews in a vat of white tea. It surpassed all expectations I had. Remember like Moe says, "Honeydew, that's your money melon."

I've seen these drinks around a few times, but the $4-$5 price range always deterred me from trying it. When I saw it on sale for $2, I realized it was time to give it a chance. I've had dried mangosteen in the past, and it was pretty decent, so I was looking forward to this. When I opened it, there was brown gunk on the inside of the cap, I checked the expiration date, and it hadn't passed, so I chalked it up to "health food sludge." The smell is pretty terrible, like a fruit that is past ripeness. First swig it wasn't so bad, but it was kind of hard for me to finish the bottle. It reminded me of cider when it's just on the verge of becoming alcoholic. This is definitely not the beverage for me.

I'm glad that there are a handful of companies popping up who are using mate in their iced teas. It has a very unique flavor, and it is a source of more caffeine then other teas. This is the first time I've tried Mate Fusion, and they have made themselves a great little beverage. The blueberry slightly overpowers the mate in the flavor department. It's very refreshing, and I can see myself enjoying it again on a hot summer day.

First off this bottle seems way to cheap to be holding "Brazilian Superfruits." It's made out of that thick translucent plastic that just screams elementary school lunch to me. It's doesn't have the thickness that one associates with a smoothie. Maybe I'm wrong here, but isn't it the thickness that denotes a drink a smoothie? In my categorizing, this would just be considered a juice. I do have to say that the drink doesn't smell nearly as bad as I expected it to. It looks like the water that would be left over in a sink after doing dishes that had been sitting there for over a month. All of those complaints aside it is pretty tasty. I've never had Cupuacu or Graviola before, but the bottle tells me they are "powerfully nutritious." There is nothing I can really compare the taste to that I have tried before. I would definitely grab one of these again though.

Mike and I both got bottles of Prometheus Springs on a dare. With flavors like "Lychee Wasabi" and "Pomegranate and Black Pepper" they just had such a high expectation for failure. I wussed out and went for what I thought to be the safer choice, "Lemon Ginger." I will admit it was the most intense beverage I have ever tried, but it also wasn't all that bad. Not only did it have an intense ginger burn, but also the capsaicin added made it even more insane. I drank about a third of the bottle, and had to put it away for a while. No one else who tried it got passed one sip. When I decided it was too much on its own I mixed it with some juice, and the results were pretty great. It dulled the burn a bit, but it still made for a nice kick. If you really love ginger or spicy foods, this may be the drink for you.

***********************UPDATE******************************

Yesterday was one of my best friend's bachelor party. Mike and I put together a basket (box) of strange drinks for the raffle. I picked up a bottle of this to put is said basket. At the last minute I pulled this bottle from the basket, because I figured that anyone who won it would take one sip and probably throw it out. I also really wanted to give it another chance. After about six months of doing this site and drinking more out of the ordinary beverages I had a very different outlook on it this time. Maybe it was because I knew what I was getting into, but I really enjoyed it. It's not something you can pop open and drink with dinner, but it's something nice to take a pull off of every so often during a long hang out. The burn that turned me off in the past was something that I now looked forward to. I really loved this drink this time around. I think I have officially become a drink snob.

Adina has really stepped up the game in juice/elixirs. They know how to perfectly flavor their beverages with just the right amount of sugar. This is the flavor I always wanted out of pomegranate. It's also not thick and syrupy like a lot of these drinks can be. Let's just hope the herbs and antioxidants help nurse me back to health.

There is something very particular about the way the sugar tastes in southern sweet tea, and Swiss has hit the bulls-eye. It's overly sweet, but without the terrible sickly sweet aftertaste. A lot of companies have been trying to replicate this taste, and this is one of the better versions I have had. I for one am glad that Swiss has come out with a Premium line.

Whenever I start to feel like I'm getting sick, I make a run to the store and pick up a Bolthouse. My go to flavors are Green Goodness and C-Boost. Today when I was feeling a little under the weather, I did the usual, but I saw that they had a new flavor. It's pretty great. This one is a juice and not a smoothie, but it seems to be doing its job. Passion fruit and guava are two of my favorite fruits, and they both overpower the orange juice. I for one am very pleased. It also amazes me how sweet juice can be without any added sugars. I just finished the bottle, and I'm starting to feel better already.

Why are beverages in tiny cans so appealing? I always expect them to be bursting with intense flavor. Izze does not disappoint. This has a strong blackberry flavor that is lightly carbonated. It does have the faintest hint of seltzer water, but not enough to ruin it for me. This is definitely a drink that I will be revisiting in the near future.

A couple of years ago I was out in Portland, OR and I discovered Fizzy Lizzy. They make a delicious sparkling juice that has pulp in it. Have I ever mentioned that I love pulp and chunks in drinks? We discovered a little market here carries it, but unfortunately it's only one flavor. If you don't like pink grapefruit, I wouldn't suggest you try it. It's very strong and sour. I personally loved it. That bottle also announces "Shake my hips before placing bottle to your lips." How can you turn down a proposition like that?

I always get really excited to try products made by local companies. Johnnie Ryan is produced in Niagara Falls, about 20 minutes from my house. A bunch of restaurants in the area carry it now, which is great because it is sweetened with cane sugar. I'm definitely a huge fan of the company, and I'm surprised it's taken me so long to try the root beer. I have to say, it's not what I want from a root beer. It just tastes like a sugary soda, and doesn't have any of the earthiness that I have come to expect in nicer varieties. It actually reminds me a lot of A&W or Dads. I'll stick with my "fancier" root beers.

This is the first flavor of Switch that I have not been a huge fan of. It's also the only one that doesn't taste exactly like the fruits that are pictured on the can. Remember the Strawberry Shortcake dolls that all the little girls carried around in the 80's? Remember how their breath smelled when you squeezed them. That smell is exactly how this beverage tastes. I didn't think that was a real flavor.

This is our local grocery store's line of plain iced teas. There is no sugar added, and sometimes that is exactly what you want. I mean who wants their teeth all filmy with insane amounts of sugar when you are trying to enjoy a delicious burrito? I do suggest you drink it chilled, as it's not nearly as refreshing warm.

Finally, a grocery store near my house has started carrying Switch. It's going to be hard not make myself not buy obscene amounts of it whenever I'm in there. This is a 100% sparkling juice drink. It tastes way more like tangerine than it does orange juice. The can says "100% of what you want. 0% of what you don't." Nothing could be truer. If you ever see this in your travels I cannot recommend enough that you pick some up.

Steaz has done it again! This is one of the best iced teas I've had in quite awhile. It's a green tea with the perfect amount of sweetness. You don't feel like you're going to get a cavity drinking it, and it's also not bitter. It's also incredibly flavorful. The combination of fruits accents the green tea perfectly. This is going to become a regular in my drinking rotation.

When I saw this drink in a store near my house, I thought it was a store brand. For some reason I picked it up and I saw that it was not, but that it was a new semi-local product for us. Chadwick Bay is based out of Dunkirk, NY, which is about 45 minutes away from Buffalo. It's a decent basic flavored tea. It reminds me a lot of the raspberry Arizona tea, but without the syrupyness. It's definitely super, super sweet, so if you have some cavities that are bothering you, I would stay away.

Archer Farms is Target's store brand. Their products always seem to be on the higher end of quality. This drink does not disappoint. It's a very fruity flavorful Italian Soda. Orange is definitely the front running flavor, but the others are present as well. It also has a strange flavor that reminds me of banana Runts. When I first drank it I swore there was some banana in it. I actually wouldn't shut up about it. I later checked the ingredients and discovered I was wrong. Strange. Even with the phantom banana flavor, it's still better than 90% of the Italian sodas out there. Even those that are made in fancy coffee shops.

I have always thought of Swiss as being the bargain iced tea that you would find at convenience stores for $1 a gallon. I had no idea they had launched a "Premium" line until a few days ago. This line is pretty much the same recipe as the regular tea, except they have replaced the high fructose corn syrup with regular sugar. It's still extremely sweet. It reminds me of the "ghetto tea" we used to drink during breaks while skateboarding when I was a kid. I think it's that nostalgia that lets me still enjoy this so much. Also, this is supposed to be an "Arnold Palmer," but it really just tasted like lemon iced tea. The lemon flavor is not as prevalent as I have come to expect in iced tea - lemonade combos.