Sprite Winter Spiced Cranberry

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Sprite Winter Spiced Cranberry

In Houston the leaves are changing from green to brown, with no beautiful in between.  It now gets dark at 6pm and it’s currently 73 degrees outside. This is what Autumn looks like around these parts.  We all play along adorning our yards with gourds and scarecrows. Thanksgiving is on the horizon, putting a cornucopia of food ideas within my brain.  One of those foods is the humble cranberry. Sometimes fresh, sometimes in the shape of a can, it’s all cranberry to me. The cranberry I’ll be reviewing today is in the shape of a can… in the shape of a Sprite can that is.  H’yuk, H’yuk.

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MTN Dew VooDEW

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MTN Dew VooDEW

here needs to be more Halloween themed sodas.  This isn’t a particularly controversial stance, but more voices need to speak up about this.  Soda is liquid sugar. Halloween is the sugariest holiday. Why shouldn’t they be together forever? Thankfully, Mtn Dew has done their part over the years making Pitch Black and Pitch Black 2.  The latter of which had mixed reviews. Fortunately, this year they decided puns were scary and created VooDEW.

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Sakura Cola

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Sakura Cola

In front of me sits the only pink cola I’ve come in contact with. I’m not even sure it will actually taste like cola, but the word is on the bottle no less than three times. Sakura Cola, or Cherry Blossom Cola, is today’s beverage and I’m thrilled to try it. I’m a bit rusty with my time away, but I’m hoping that this is just the drink to bring me back to the front lines of the soda review game.

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Coca-Cola Orange Vanilla

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Coca-Cola Orange Vanilla

The first I heard of Coca-Cola Orange Vanilla I was skeptical. The cola/orange pairing didn’t seem like it would work. I thought it would be too messy for the vanilla to navigate around. Now that I have it in front of me I’m kind of excited. Coca-Cola is a huge company, and they don’t release new flavors like this often. I’m sure the market research and taste tests for this new flavor point to it being a success. Why would they make it otherwise?

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Fanta Green Apple

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Fanta Green Apple

I’m always looking for sodas to review, and as the years go by it becomes harder and harder to do.  When I started I had to search out Virgil’s, Izze, Jones, and the like. Now those sodas are common staples at the end of almost every grocer’s soda aisle.  It’s getting harder to find new things I haven’t tried, but I sometimes find things where I least expect. Today’s entry I found in a car dealership vending machine.  Vending machines are great because they often have at least one odd selection, and you don’t have to commit to buying a pack of soda.

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MTN DEW Game Fuel - Arctic Burst

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MTN DEW Game Fuel - Arctic Burst

In clearing out my backlog of sodas that I need to review I came across a variety of Mountain (stock symbol MTN) Dew (stock symbol DEW).  MTN DEW as many of you are aware is known for their somewhat experimental nature with sodas which is certainly something I applaud them for. Their army of soda flavors and penchant for change is a strength in the soda world in my opinion.  Not all of the flavors are a hit with me, but guess what, I’m not the only person in the world who drinks soda so that’s A-OK.

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MTN DEW.S.A.

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MTN DEW.S.A.

As we approach July 4th a swell of patriotism may begin to fill the chests of American’s.  MTN Dew has given us the opportunity to pair this patriotism with bubbly sugar water with not one, but three flavors.  MTN DEW.S.A. (GET IT?!) is what I hold in my hand thanks to one J. Dewitsky.  The three Dew flavors that have been combined to create this are Code Red, White Out, and Voltage.  The flavors, as you DEW Heads may have noticed, are red, white, and blue.  They are really hammering this theme here, so we might as well indulge in it ourselves.

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7UP

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I didn’t think I’d be writing a review of 7UP, but here we are. Back in 2011 I reviewed Retro 7UP, the cane sugar sweetened version of what I’m about to drink. Since 7UP, in it’s most common state, is filled with HFCS it felt needed to included on the site. Is this considered stat padding? Perhaps… but it’s different enough to count, just like you. There, don’t you feel motivated now?

The green tail of a plastic iguana wraps around a 7.5 ounce can of 7-UP.

Opening the can created a thunderous crack, much more so than any cans I can remember opening in recent memory. The scent that wafts out is a familiar one, more crisp lime than lemon but so bright a smell that it’s hard to not just call it citrus. Let’s drink, shall we?

A somewhat sticky lime/lemon taste immediately coats my mouth. Through no fault of it’s own I remember being sick. You see, 7UP was the “go to” cure all for an upset stomach in my house as a kid, often paired with a sleeve of Ritz crackers. So while 7UP is by far and away my favorite of the mainstream lemon/lime sodas, there is also the curtain of sick nostalgia that weighs it down.

The sips begin with a sharp burn on the back of my throat, and after three or four a burp is summoned burning just a little bit more skin off the ol’ uvula. The lemon and lime play nicely together, sharing my tastebuds equally. The aftertaste is sticky, but pleasant. It mirrors the initial flavor of the beverage instead of being some fun house mirror version of it. All in all I still enjoy the occasional 7UP and often keep it stocked in my fridge along side the Dr Pepper. Are they the fanciest sodas around? No, of course not, but they hold strong in my own personal culture.

~A


Dr Pepper

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How have we not reviewed Dr Pepper in the year of our lord two thousand seventeen? Perhaps I avoided it as I would avoid cutting myself as the lifeblood that flows throughout my veins is not so dissimilar to the nectar that is Dr Pepper. Often imitated never duplicated (though Dr B from HEB comes pretty close) Dr Pepper stands atop a mountain of others like Dr Thunder, Dr Dynamite, and the now vanquished Mr. Pibb who was so embarrassed that he changed his name to Pibb Xtra even though no one calls him that.

Cracking open a Dr Pepper gives way to a cherry scent, one of the 23 flavors it claims to have. Cherry is backed by plum in my humble opinion, but with 22 other flavors to choose from it’s just as likely a combination of them.

The taste is one of familiarity. With the exception of citrus, Dr Pepper is somewhat of an everything soda. Cola, root beer, cream soda, and fruit sodas are all represented within each sip. Dr Pepper is sweet, sweeter than most colas… even Pepsi. The smooth texture makes coming back to the can easier than ever, but there’s a slight burn in the back of the throat created by the carbonation. The carbonation in a Dr Pepper is sneaky, seemingly smooth, but will immediately remind you within a few sips that you have ingested quite a few bubbles.

Dr Pepper builds on itself a little with each sip, but eventually plateaus before it becomes overwhelmingly sweet. My teeth can definitely feel the syrupy goodness, so a glass of water is usually welcomed after I’ve finished a can or bottle. That said, it’s a delightful soda all around and one I keep in stock at all times.

~A

Ramune Lychee

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Ramune Lychee

I don’t know what lychee tastes like.  The more worldly fellow in front of me compares it to passionfruit… kind of.  Fortunately for me I have a bottle of Ramune Lychee with me today so I can at least expand that horizon.  I’ve already been told that this has a good carbonation by the aforementioned fellow, so it at least has that going for it.

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Sprite Tropical Mix

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Sprite Tropical Mix

I was asked years ago what “retired” sodas I would bring back if given the opportunity.  My answer was Surge, Crystal Pepsi, and Sprite Tropical Re-mix.  Apparently my answer was then run through a series of computers and control groups which found it to be profitable because all of these sodas from my past exist again.

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