Erik M. wrote:Perhaps one of these brands will be a suitable (locally available) substitute for my beloved Gazōz™ soda.

Erik,
I found a soda today that may be very close to your "beloved Gazōz™". It is a lemon/tarragon soda made in the Republic of Georgia. I believe beloved Gazōz™ is Turkish, correct?

It comes in a green glass bottle. The neckband has a picture of Ararat with Armenian writing.

Here is a closeup of the label.


I purchased it for $1.29 at Farmer's Best Market in Niles on the northeast side of Milwaukee and Golf (yet another great international market in Niles). There was also a pear flavored version.

Farmers Best Produce
8526 W Golf Rd
Niles, IL 60714
(847) 965-0260

d4v3 wrote:I believe beloved Gazōz™ is Turkish, correct?

Armenian.

Thanks so much for the lead. It certainly seems very similar.

Now, I just need to track down Baktat™ Şalgam Suyu:


lunch at Sahag's Market in Los Angeles, CA

This is a spicy, salty turnip drink from Turkey, and the best hangover cure that I have ever encountered.

E.M.

Erik M. wrote:This is a spicy, salty turnip drink from Turkey, and the best hangover cure that I have ever encountered.
E.M.

Now that is an important find!

Baktat seems to be the Turkish equivalent of Kraft, with their corporate hands into everything from turnip soda to Turkish tortellni...

http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?p=53567#53567


Antonius

I like San Pellegrino's Limonata, but find it a bit too concentrated, not to mention pricey, to consume in large quantities on hot days. So I mix it with the lemon-favored La Croix sparkliing water, which I buy in 12-can packs.

I am looking for information on how to find Gini, which is a citrus soft drink I had in France. Does anyone know if it is possible to purchase anywhere in the USA?

Thanks in advance.

gleam wrote:They also have "aranciata rossa" (sometimes la rossa). Or had. I haven't seen it lately, and the aranciata rossa now available at Bari, Caputo Cheese, etc is San Benedetto brand, and is not anywhere near as good. I have only ever seen the blood orange san pellegrino in plastic 1.5L bottles, never in cans or in the small glass bottles.

It's wonderful stuff, and it's a shame it's become harder to find recently.

Update: Caputo Cheese is now carrying the San Pellegrino aranciata rossa. It's $12.89 for 6 1.5L bottles, or something in the $2.50-$3.00 range for a single bottle.

I think the formula has changed since I first had it. It seems a bit sweeter with a bit less orange pulp/flavor.

I picked up 250 ml bottles of the Macedonian Schweppes Bitter Lemon at Andy's Fruit Ranch the other day.



Andy's Fruit Ranch
4733 N Kedzie Ave
Chicago, IL 60625

Hi,

How much was it?

Regards,

You know, I don't remember exactly. I'm pretty sure it was a little over a buck per bottle. I'll try to swing by tonight and take another look. (And stock up with more. This stuff is addictive!)

d4v3 wrote:It is a lemon/tarragon soda made in the Republic of Georgia.

We bought some of this recently at Harvest Fresh in Arlington Heights. We'd also previously tried a 2-liter bottle of bright green Russian soda with a name that transliterates as something like Tarchoun, which also appears to be made from tarragon.

Sampling this stuff I was at first puzzled why it tasted so little like tarragon, and then it hit me -- they probably mean Russian tarragon (Artemesia dracunculoides), which is the plant that herb books tell you to be sure not to get! (It tastes like hay, compared with French tarragon, A. dracunculus.)

Harvest Fresh International Farmers Market
847/368-0138
100 E. Rand Road
Arlington Heights

I have also tried a few different types of Tarhun, since I posted the above picture. Of them all, I did find the Georgian brand to be the least tarragon flavored. It has a more lemony taste. That is why I labeled it a lemon/tarragon soda (giving lemon top billing). In fact, the only English word on the bottle is "Lemonade". I also found this version to be more sugary than the others.

The most strongly tarragon flavored brand I have found is actually made in New Jersey by a company called AMROS The Second inc. It is of the bright green variety and comes in a 2 liter bottle. It has a very definite tarragon flavor. I think it is my favorite.

You may be right. Russian tarragon is a much milder flavored plant that is used in salads (I don't know about comparing it to hay). The US made version of Tarhun may be made from the french type of Tarragon.

d4v3 wrote:You may be right, and they are made with completely different types of tarragon, but the plant pictured on the Georgian bottle sure looks like the herb I know as tarragon.

Russian tarragon and French tarragon are near relatives and pretty much look alike. The differences are in flavor and propagation.

LAZ wrote:

d4v3 wrote:You may be right, and they are made with completely different types of tarragon, but the plant pictured on the Georgian bottle sure looks like the herb I know as tarragon.

Russian tarragon and French tarragon are near relatives and pretty much look alike. The differences are in flavor and propagation.

Yeah, I did look up pictures of them both and edited my post, but you beat me to it. Like I said, I think the New Jersey made version of Tarhun really has a distinct Anise-like flavor, more than either the Russian or Georgian made versions I have tried.

Cathy,

The Schweppes Bitter Lemon at Andy's Fruit Ranch is $1.09 per bottle.

Mark,

Thanks! I almost went to Andy's yesterday but started driving on autopilot, which means I was halfway home before I remembered.

Regards,

Over the past several months, I have become intrigued with Russian and other Eastern European soda pop, which comes in a variety of unusual flavors. The problem is that I am very sensitive to sugar. Although most foreign pop tends to have much less sugar than its American cousins, it still packs enough of a glucose wallop to send me reeling. So I was extremely pleased to find a line of Russian Sodas sweetened with aspartame (Nutrasweet ™).

Here is a list of ingredients. The second ingredient is aspartame (enclosed in << >>)


One of my favorite Russian pop discoveries is Tarhun, a Tarragon flavored beverage, which is covered earlier in this thread. As was noted above, some brands of Tarhun have a more pronounced flavor than others. The Sugar-Free Tarhun has a very nice "licorice" like tarragon flavor.

Here is the Sugar-Free Tarhun label.


Another flavor I tried was called "Baikal". It is sort of akin to sassafrass, with a somewhat "barky" flavor, but not the bite of root beer. I am not sure what the leaves are that are pictured on the label (they look like basil).


These pops come in 1.5 liter plastic bottles from one of my favorite markets.

Farmers Best Produce
8526 W Golf Rd
Niles, IL 60714
(847) 965-0260

Origin: Armenia
Taste: like an exceptionally floral cream soda stirred with a holly bough swizzle stick


Origin: Georgia
Taste: like English-style lemon squash made from polluted Kura River water


Origin: Armenia
Taste: like English-style sparkling lemonade with just the faintest hint of 93 octane petrol

All Purchases:

Shirak Market
5235 Hollywood Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA
323.462.8407

E.M.

Galvanina, from Italy, is the best lemon soda I've ever tasted.

I found it at Shop & Save. Unfortunately, the last time it was $7.99 for a four-pack of 12-ounce bottles.

Shop & Save also had a great sour-cherry pop from Greece, called Loux, but I only found it there once.

Has anyone else seen either of these anywhere?

LAZ wrote:Shop & Save also had a great sour-cherry pop from Greece, called Loux, but I only found it there once.

I have bought Loux at Farmer's Best in Niles. However, I don't recall seeing the Cherry flavor (just lemon and orange). The beverage selection there seems to change a lot. I may have also seen it at Sun View.

Has anyone seen this product anywhere in Chicagoland, or for purchase online:

http://trinituner.com/angostura/llb/

I had it on a vacation to Trinidad and Tobago in March, and it was ultra-refreshing and quite complex. I can make a poor man's version with Angostura Bitters that I brought back (and can resupply at Binny's) plus Squirt, which has the closest soda flavor, but it's not the same as this pre-bottled product. Let me know if you have any specialty beverage suppliers in mind, or your own favorite foreign sodas / pops!

We tried Fentiman's Curiosity Cola, a British product, recently. Its curious combination of botanicals tasted medicinal to me. Too much gentian?

Himself liked it, but he also enjoys Cynar, Jeppson's Malort and Beverly, an Italian Coca-Cola product best known in this country for making little kids gag at Walt Disney World.

Curiosity Cola will not be replacing The Real Thing in our household anytime soon.

Hi,

LAZ and I recently split a four-bottle take-away pack of Bitter Lemon, "All natural cocktail soda with natural lemon essence and "Champagne" bubbles." Continued on the back label, "The result is a cleaner, crisper, lighter and brighter soda that makes cocktails taste better." This product made by Stirrings, established 1997 in Nantucket.

While the label states there is sugar, then it must be a trace amount. I tasted no sweetness, the bitter was really bitter and there was a chemical taste I couldn't quite grasp. I actually added sugar to the soda hoping to get a bitter lemonade affect. Surprisingly the added sugar seemed to highlight this unidentifiable chemical taste. Just thinking about it now and maybe 10 days after my consumption, the only thought that comes to mind is the smell of Lemon Pledge now made into a flavoring.

Perhaps bitter lemon mixed into an alcohol-based beverage might add some sparkle. Drunk straight or with added sugar, it was no treat. At almost or just over $5 for four 6.3 ounce bottles it is highway robbery.

Regards,

I, too, found it quite unpleasant. It didn't taste lemony to me at all -- not even like Lemon Pledge (which, as everyone knows, tastes like Limca ). It was more like carbonated perfume, and not in a good way.

The Glenview Costco had cases of Galvanina organic blood orange soda recently for about $13 (six 1-liter glass bottles). It's wonderful stuff.

LAZ wrote:The Glenview Costco had cases of Galvanina organic blood orange soda recently for about $13 (six 1-liter glass bottles). It's wonderful stuff.

I noticed that the other day, and was curious. Thanks for posting about it!

LAZ wrote:The Glenview Costco had cases of Galvanina organic blood orange soda recently for about $13 (six 1-liter glass bottles). It's wonderful stuff.

I was at the Glenview Costco where the dreaded asterisk was in the corner and the price now $11.99. It is about to be discontinued. I bought two cases.

Regards,

We are always on the look out for the elusive BitterLemon. Binnys had it -sporadically- for around 5 bucks for a six pack of small bottles. Sometimes a very large Jewel located in a diverse ethnic area (the Skokie/Morton grove Jewel on Waukegan) would have it in the Schweppes section of the pop isle. Bitter Lemon has no pulp and is tangy. Limonata-another fine drink-has pulp and is sweeter. Both are not shelf stable as we would stock up and then forget about it. Limonata turns a tan color and Bitter Lemon a beige color. Both tasted funky.

Here is a drink concoted by the lovely Fifille the other night which cured my bitter lemon desire almost completely:

Canfield's Lime seltzer water 3 parts

MinuteMaid Limeaid 1 part


Soo good.

I bought a 6-pack of 10 oz. bottles of Bitter Lemon at City Fresh Market last night. The price was $6, which works out to a dime per ounce. Pretty expensive, but worth it. I guzzled down 3 bottles in a row. I forgot how refreshing it is.

I agree that Italian chinotto is awesome like it a lot! try if you have not yet!