Good lord that sounds bad.

I try to leave the mass-market soda reviews to Steve Tanner over at www.bevreview.com -- he's a local, and he handles the interminable stream of Mountain Dew variants with a good attitude.

African Sunshine "Sudanese" Pineapple Orange soda


African Sunshine "Sudanese" Pineapple Orange: Surprisingly good. I picked this up at my local Jewel (roosevelt and ashland) a few months back and it's been hiding in the back of my fridge since then (along with a fruit punch and a straight pineapple soda). It's not as fake orange tasting as many orange sodas, and the pineapple aroma is a nice touch. It's not amazing, but it's a solid orange soda. B.

Can anyone suggest a place to purchase the Ramune Drink? A friend of mine mentioned it the other day (we know someone with the name), so I decided to ask here. I'm in Pilsen, so a place in the city is easier than the burbs.

It may be my first post, but I've been lurking for a while. I guess I needed a reason to register.

jblth wrote:Can anyone suggest a place to purchase the Ramune Drink? A friend of mine mentioned it the other day (we know someone with the name), so I decided to ask here. I'm in Pilsen, so a place in the city is easier than the burbs.

It may be my first post, but I've been lurking for a while. I guess I needed a reason to register.

H-Mart and Mitsuwa (both in the suburbs, sorry) are where I've gotten mine. Otherwise, you might be able to find it at Joong Boo Market (the old Chicago Food Corp), but I wouldn't get my hopes up.

I'm in Pilsen, too, so these places are a trek (especially America's Market -- usually an hour each way), but worth it for the selection.

JoelF wrote:OK, I took another one for the team:

Diet Mountain Dew Ultraviolet

It appears to be a diet-only flavor. It's pale purple, citrus and "flavored with natural and artificial mixed berry flavor." It can best be described as diet blue sno-cone. I should have checked the label -- I'm not fond of the flavor of Acesulfame. Kind of bubble-gum/berry in a nasty way.

I should have let you take the hit...but nooooo, I just had to try it out for myself. Your description is spot on. Awful, syrupy, oversweetened, chemically fruitiness. Just vile. The bottle (minus one gulp) didn't even make it from the CVS to the office...the end of the line was one of the trashcans at the corner of Canal & Monroe.

This coming from someone who doesn't mind a nice, cold Diet Mountain Dew Code Red once in a while

An outstanding interview with the owner of Galco's Soda Pop Stop in LA:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPbh6Ru7VVM

As much as I love America's Market, I don't think any store in the US or world comes close to what Galco's offers in terms of selection.

gleam wrote:An outstanding interview with the owner of Galco's Soda Pop Stop in LA:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPbh6Ru7VVM

As much as I love America's Market, I don't think any store in the US or world comes close to what Galco's offers in terms of selection.

Thanks, Ed. That was great. I am not a big soda drinker (I drink maybe 3 or 4 soft drinks a year), but feel strangely compelled to go to Galco's after watching that.

gleam wrote:An outstanding interview with the owner of Galco's Soda Pop Stop in LA:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPbh6Ru7VVM

As much as I love America's Market, I don't think any store in the US or world comes close to what Galco's offers in terms of selection.

John Nese of Galco's was interviewed for today's edition of The Story -- the interview starts about 60% of the way through the program (click download or Listen Now at the bottom of the post).

gleam wrote:Doctor Dublin: A knockoff of Dr. Pepper, as you can probably guess from the name. Made with cane sugar. It doesn't seem nearly as complex as the real thing, and it's refreshing, but I'd rather have the real thing made with corn syrup than this version with cane sugar... C.
...
Dr. Pepper, 12oz glass bottle, West Jefferson NC bottler: Cane sugar. I believe this is the bottler who also puts out the Peach Nehi I mentioned above. It is, as far as I can tell, the same as Dublin/Temple Dr. Pepper, except cheaper. A.

I'm a little confused. Is this what you're referring to as Doctor Dublin, or Dublin/Temple Dr. Pepper?

Doctor Dublin is a Dr. Pepper knockoff made with cane sugar. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture that I took, but here's one someone else took:




"Dublin Dr. Pepper" (canned+bottled in Temple, except for the 10oz returnable glass bottles, from syrup made in Dublin), is what the AP article is referring to.

West Jefferson Dr. Pepper is Dr. Pepper produced at the West Jefferson, NC plant, where they also still use sugar instead of corn syrup.

I don't really know why the AP suddenly picked up the cane sugar Dr. Pepper story, or why they didn't talk about West Jefferson. Probably because it's not as well known as Dublin. FWIW, I've bought West Jefferson and Dublin Dr. Pepper at America's Market in Wheeling, and I've seen West Jefferson Dr. Pepper at Dawali Mediterranean Kitchen near Lawrence & Kedzie in the city.

I've seen West Jefferson Dr. Pepper at Dawali Mediterranean Kitchen near Lawrence & Kedzie in the city.

This may be the most perfect LTHForum info-nugget of all time.

How and why, I wonder?

Mike G wrote:

I've seen West Jefferson Dr. Pepper at Dawali Mediterranean Kitchen near Lawrence & Kedzie in the city.

This may be the most perfect LTHForum info-nugget of all time.

How and why, I wonder?

Boy, I have no idea where they're getting it or why, but they do have a good selection of bottled non-alcoholic drinks, including a blackberry (and several other flavors) malt beverage named Brood:



They also had a few other West Jefferson drinks including (I think) Nehi Orange.

sweet olde fashioned birch beer


Bottled by Excel Bottling Company. Ingredients list: Water, cane sugar, sodium benzoate, citric acid, natural & artificial flavors.

Note that the ingredients list doesn't say "carbonated water", just "water". And, indeed, my bottle was completely flat. As for the flavor, it's 90% cream soda and 10% birch. No birch tang, too much sugar, and no bubbles makes this a very, very boring drink. Not bad, just odd. Oh, just discovered some large mass of fiber in my bottle. Wonder what that is. Ick. D

sea dog root beer


Sea Dog Root Beer -- water, cane sugar, coloring, natural and artificial flavors including wintergreen oil, anise, and vanilla, spices, herbs, citric acid, and sodium benzoate as a preservative.

Light head, dark color, flavor is mostly the wintergreen/anise/vanilla listed, but pretty mild in general. Not too sweet, not too strongly flavored, lightly carbonated. The whole thing just feels like it's been dialed down a couple notches, and I tend to like bolder flavors. If you like milder sodas, this might be a good choice.. for me, it's just a bit above average.. B-

werbelow's black cherry


Werbelow's black cherry. The version I got is a bit flat, but that might not be intentional.. these are old bottles, they were probably on shelves for a while, and then I left them sitting around for a few months. The black cherry flavor on this isn't too bad, but it's not as good as a real cherry soda (made with cherry juice) is, and the whole thing is a bit too sweet. It also has a weird, sort of unpleasant aftertaste. C

aj stephans sarsaparilla


I think I like everything AJ Stephans makes. This isn't my favorite of theirs, but it's still a solid sarsaparilla/amped up root beer. B+

3 dachshunds root beer


Meh. HFCS and/or sugar. Produced by the same company that produces Caruso's Legacy (although 3 dachshunds seems to be contract-brewed). If you want a local soda, this is from SE wisconsin.. but it's not on the same level as Sprecher's. B-.

henry weinhard's vanilla cream


I admit to not being much of a cream soda guy. It has no complexity, no bite, nothing but sweet vanilla. This might be great in an ice cream float of some sort, but on its own, it suffers the same fate as every other cream soda, just executed a little bit better. B-

saranac root beer


HFCS. Prominent flavor is sassafras, with a strong molasses aroma and background flavor. This is a fairly unusual blend compared to most of the root beers out there, and it's worth trying.. I think the molasses helps you not notice that it's an HFCS soda. B+

cabrito wrote:I'm wondering if you came upon Jones Soda's limited Halloween edition soda from last year called "Buried Pomegranate?" It was a half-size can and had an image of a vampire on it. I noted when I bought it that it was made with cane sugar instead of HFCS. [I didn't realize until I just looked at their website that all their sodas are made with cane sugar.]

I remember really enjoying the 4-pack. The soda was sweet, but not overly so, and had a nice caramelized taste to it. It wasn't the truest representation of pomegranate, since it wasn't very tart, but it was satisfying and refreshing. The website says they've had special Halloween editions in 2006 and 2008 in half cans. Does anyone know if they re-release them every year until new Halloween flavors come out?

I am pretty sure I saw Halloween half-cans at the Evanston Cost Plus Market yesterday (which does carry a small selection of interesting sodas, so it would surprise me if they weren't the Jones Soda) I often look for small cans of soda or juice boxes to hand out to the few trick-or-treaters who come to our house - while I'm sure this doesn't help the sugar shock (I've been known to offer bags of pretzels as well, though of course we have candy, their choice) it at least gives them a chance to get something to drink.

quench soda


lemon/grapefruit, cane sugar. This is the same bottler as Bubble Up, Dad's, Sioux City, Nesbitt's, and Moxie. It's not a particularly great soda, but it's not bad. It tastes more authentic than most citrus sodas, but it's still a little out of balance. B-

kutztown root beer


Cane sugar. Mint and sassafras dominate. Not very creamy, not too sweet, but not in great balance. A thoroughly average root beer. C

jackson hole soda co strawberry


Cane sugar. I tasted this sip-to-sip with Faygo Red Pop. Beth prefers the red pop, but she grew up with it. This isn't a particularly real strawberry flavor, but it's miles ahead of Red Pop. Also, not overly sweet like a lot of fruit sodas. Jackson Hole has a great batting average so far with fruit flavors. B+

Ed -- the Jackson Hole strawberry bottle looks like it says strawberry rhubarb. Is there actually any rhubarb in the soda? Is it a discernible taste?

Matt wrote:Ed -- the Jackson Hole strawberry bottle looks like it says strawberry rhubarb. Is there actually any rhubarb in the soda? Is it a discernible taste?

None I noticed, to be honest, but I didn't read the label and so wasn't looking for it. Interestingly, JH Soda doesn't list this flavor on their website -- just root beer, sarsaparilla, ginger ale, and the huckleberry I posted about upthread. I'd suggest calling America's Market and seeing if they have any of the strawberry rhubarb left if you want to give it a taste, and pick up a bottle of the huckleberry while you're at it.

ski soda


I really hated Cherry Ski back in June, but this stuff is outstanding. This is the only soda from Excel Bottling that I've actually enjoyed. Not too tart, not too sweet, with real citrus flavors. A fantastic citrus soda, and it gets an A- only because it's not quite as fruit-heavy as Orangina or Pellegrino Aranciata.

sun drop


Sun Drop feels like a knockoff of Ski, but it actually predates Ski by 7 years. But in all other respects, it's an also-ran. It's tasty enough, but it's got too much sugar and not enough citrus. An OK effort, but there's no reason to drink Sun Drop if you can get Ski. B-

jackson hole sarsaparilla


Cane sugar. Good stuff, mostly anise and mint rather than sassafras or sarsaparilla. Not too sweet, not too creamy, with a gentle sarsaparilla and cinnamon bite. Very well balanced. Jackson Hole Soda Co. is still batting 1.000. A

flathead lake monster black raspberry


flathead lake monster granny smith apple


HFCS. Both of these taste exactly like liquid Jolly Ranchers. Not my scene. C-

werbelow's half grapefruit, half lemon


They need better bottles or better bottling equipment, because all of these werbelow's drinks have been very, very flat. This one had good flavor, and was really nice and tart, but needed more carbonation. B-

sarsi


This is a filipino sarsaparilla, but it's apparently popular throughout southeast Asia. It's similar to a traditional sarsaparilla, but instead of vanilla, or mint, or sassafras, or sarsaparilla, the dominant flavor is black licorice or maybe anise. It's an odd drink, and I think a lot of people would absolutely hate it, but I kind of like it. It's certainly unique, and you should give it a shot if you see it on a shelf. B

werbelow's black cherry


I think I mentioned above that I have no idea who is producing this drink. The bottles seem to date from the 60s, and since I can't find any reference to the brand online, I think it's a very small operation using whatever bottles are available. Anyway, it's black cherry, and fairly artificial black cherry at that. It would be OK but for the sort of soapy aftertaste. C-

I was kind of hoping your mystery beverage from Shawano, WI would prove to be related to the alleged religious cult that is up there, but it looks more likely that this is the plant it comes from.

Mike G wrote:I was kind of hoping your mystery beverage from Shawano, WI would prove to be related to the alleged religious cult that is up there, but it looks more likely that this is the plant it comes from.

The weird thing is that my photos say I got Black Cherry, Cream Soda, and Lemon/Grapefruit. But above I've reviewed the cherry twice and the lemon/grapefruit once. No cream soda. It makes me wonder if the first one I drank was really the cream soda... but no, it definitely tasted like black cherry.

I guess what's more likely is that this:

werbelow's cream soda


Is really black cherry with a cream soda top, and I just mislabeled the photo. Dunno why the color is different, though... different batches, I guess.

All very odd. There seem to be a lot of very tiny soda bottlers in Wisconsin.. I wonder if any of them do tours.

Picked up a handful of british sodas at International Marketplace in Las Vegas last month.

ben shaws cloudy lemonade


Ben Shaws Cloudy Lemonade. sugar and 2% lemon juice. So uh.. it tastes like carbonated lemonade. Pretty tart (probably from added citric acid), and a genuine lemon flavor, but it still just tastes like carbonated lemonade. It's good, but not remarkable. B-

lilt


Lilt. Aspartame, acesulfame potassium, pineapple juice and grapefruit juice. I'm breaking my normal "no diet sodas" rule with this one, since it still has about 65 calories from the fruit juices. Very little pineapple flavor, and overall, it reminds me mostly of Canfield's 50/50 (not a bad thing). All of the fruit juice really helps mask the ace-k and aspartame, though, and as low-calorie sodas go, it's excellent. B+

tizer


Tizer! From the makers of Irn Bru. Sugar, 4% lemon juice, 4% orange juice, 2% blackcurrant/cassis juice. I'm not convinced the blackcurrant adds any real flavor. Think a mixture of San Pellegrino aranciata and limonata, but not as good. Or do what I did as a kid and make your own mixture of seltzer and orange/lemon/lime juices. Anyway, it has a nice orange-lemon aroma and a cute pink color from the blackcurrant juice, and it's miles ahead of 7Up or Sprite in terms of authenticity of flavor and sweet-sour balance. If you pay 39p or less for it, go for it. B

tango apple


Tango Apple. 5% apple juice, sugar, ace-k, aspartame. I'm just not that excited about this drink. It has the same kind of unpleasant flavor that I get from shelf-stable apple juice and other apple sodas like Sidral Mundet. I also don't get why they're using three different types of sweetener, plus apple juice. I guess to cut down on the calories, but I don't see the point. I have no desire to drink it ever again. C-

vimto


Vimto. HFCS. Flavor is grape with a little bit of raspberry and blackcurrant, and I think some vanilla and a few other spices. Pretty widely available in Chicago, and I think it has a bit of a cult following. I don't get it, but it's at least a unique flavor, and not unpleasant. C+

gleam wrote:This is a filipino sarsaparilla, but it's apparently popular throughout southeast Asia. It's similar to a traditional sarsaparilla, but instead of vanilla, or mint, or sassafras, or sarsaparilla, the dominant flavor is black licorice or maybe anise. It's an odd drink, and I think a lot of people would absolutely hate it, but I kind of like it. It's certainly unique, and you should give it a shot if you see it on a shelf. B

I just picked up a can of this ($1.29 for 330ml, available in glass bottles too) at Assi Plaza in Niles (along with a couple others I'll report on as I drink them).

Yes, it has a strong licorice/anise flavor, but it's also got a deep vanilla too, and I think maybe a little wintergreen -- my first impression was that it was a root beer. I like this one... and I shouldn't. I don't like licorice, and I hated Pepsi Natural and Red Bull cola, which also have strong licorice notes. For me it's more a B, just barely above a B-.
Probably won't buy it again, but I'd drink it if it were sitting around chilled.

Yeah, it's a very tough drink to grade, just because it only bears a passing resemblance to other root beers or sarsaparillas.

Looking forward to hearing about the other sodas you picked up. The only things left in my fridge are a Jones "fufu berry", a bottle of Thums Up, a bottle of Cherry Moxie, and a can of "GOD" iced cappuccino. I'm a little scared of them all.

The other two I picked up are:
Coco Rico Coconut Soda, from Puerto Rico (ingredients carbonated water, hfcs, natural coconut flavor, sodium benzoate)

Royal tru-orange with B Vitamins, product of the Philippines (carbonated water, cane sugar, concentrated orange juice (10% juice by weight) natural orange flavor, citric acid, carboxymethylcellulose, sodium benzoate, sucrose, fatty acid esters, FD&C Yellow #6)

Sarsi is also a product of the Philippines, (Carbonated water, sugar, caramel color, sodium benzoate, natural and artificial flavors, aspartame and citric acid)

Very surprised to see aspartame in the Sarsi, but it does have 124 calories compared to 162 of the Royal tru-orange or 160 of the Coco Rico. Both the Sarsi and the Royal are "A Quality Product of The Coca-Cola Company"