Thumbs Down To Thums Up
I am always willing to try something new and that's exactly what I did with Thums Up, a product of Coca-Cola India. First off, let me state for the record that Thums Up is apparently hugely popular in India...good for them! Now, let me state, again for the record, that this drink will never catch on in the US. It is...well...I guess it is an "acquired" taste and I will never manage to like this Soda. I should have known I was in trouble when there were no ingredients listed on the bottle. I figured it was from the Coke Company so how bad could it be, right?"Sweetened Carbonated Beverage. Contains Permitted Natural Colour & Added Flavours. Contains No Fruit. Contains Caffeine. Quantity Of Sugar Added 9.9g/100g"
Well, when you open the nice, heavy glass bottle...you do need a church key...you are graced with a nice carbonation hiss. The aroma...well, the aroma is not at all what you would expect from a Soda. I had to rummage around in my spice cabinet and I still couldn't find anything that smelled exactly like it. I guess I would have to say it smelled of cardamom, fenugreek or sandalwood. It tastes just like it smells. Wikipedia says that it is "reminiscent of betel nut", I cannot say, tho as I have never to my knowledge tasted betel nut and my email to the folks at Coca-Cola India, requesting clarification has gone unanswered. All I can say is that Thums Up is bad. It sucks. It puts the "uck" in suck, (apologies to all you Thums fans out there).
I like a wide variety of drinks. Some sweet, some savory, some bitter, some sour and so on, but Thums Up is never, ever going to be on my list of likeable drinks. Not to offend the good folks of the Sub-Continent in any way but this is just not my cuppa Soda and I don't care what the Bollywood endorsers contend, this Soda is just not good. It doesn't matter that they use real sugar in it if I cannot get past the lingering taste and aftertaste of this...product. Thank goodness the world is like 7-Eleven and there's "Freedom of Choice".
Thums Up get a Thumbs Down and a 1/10
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Thums Up, Coca Cola, India
posted by Michael Jarrell @ 2:22 PM
42 Comments:
There are some sodas that are bad. A great example would be any number of diet sodas. Then there are some sodas that are good. An excellent example would be Coca-Cola classic or Pepsi. And there are some sodas that are truly excellent- and only few, such as Thums Up- reach this mark. I must respectfully (or disrespectfully) disagree with this assessment- Thums Up gets two thums up from this consumer, and a 10 out of 10.
Why the anonymity if it's so great? While I agree that diet Soda's are indeed vile, Thums definitely puts the uck in suck. I could only imagine a worse Soda than Thums and so far I have not come across one half so bad. Fortunately, as I said the world is big and there's room in it for really bad Soda's and their fans...
i recently tried some thums up, and i agree with the first comment. it immediately became one of my favorite drinks ever.
the taste isn't that unusual really, it's just cola with a certain added bitterness. if you like bitter things, you can't go wrong.
well its not a matter of the drink being good or bad.it's an acquired taste...it is like Dr Pepper...I think Dr Pepper sucks big time but there would loads of ppl who I think love it..I am also signing this note as anonymous cos firstly,I don't like to leave my name on sites and secondly even if I put my name you wouldn't still know who I am:)
I am Indian. I love Thums Up. I'm not saying this out of nationalistic pride. There are a lot of other Indian beverages that I don't really like, but Thums Up is just great!
I like the taste and the fizzy sensation it creates inside your stomach. It's great with spicy food or heavy meals, and I've noticed it helps with indigestion or if you feel like throwing up but can't seem to get it out. It'll either suppress that pukey feeling altogether or make you throw up and get it out of your system.
Thums up soda! good for the bowels and the vicera, wonderful with foods with make you weep in joy and pain. Thums up soda. Adoared by indians and the odd american. As the owner of a small deli who sells it to me says "EETS GUD SHTUFF"
It is an acquired taste. I grew up in America, born and raised, and I prefer Thums up to regular soda sold here in the states.
One thing I do know is soda's these days use high fructose corn syrup as opposed to cane sugar...
if you've tasted soda with cane sugar vs. hfcs, you'll notice a huge difference in taste. Which is exactly why I prefer bottled sodas with no HFCS (Thums Up)Plus, it (Thums up) Has a certain kick to it .
Thums-Up--- taste THE thUnder!!!
Yea I dont know what is wrong with you, but this soda is GREAT!!!!
I jusgt tried the soda for the first time. I can say as an avid soda drinker, I thought it was enjoyable. To me it tasted more like a tart pepsi than anything else. I wouldn't knock it as it contains a flavor all its own.
I am a long time lover of soda and Indian food and I have to say that this is the best soda that I have ever drank. The floral smell of it made it even better. This does get 2 thumbs up.
Who knows where to download XRumer 5.0 Palladium?
Help, please. All recommend this program to effectively advertise on the Internet, this is the best program!
Yes, Thump up is my all time favourite... I am having this drink since I am 5. No side effects and no obesity when compared to other sodas which have HFCS.
Thums Up has just cane sugar....
Cheers
We loved it so much we are taking a case home to our friends Mark and Mike.
Yeah Thumbs up is awesome! Tried it last week for the first time. WIsh it wasnt so hard to get in the states.
If you got to taste thums up in india, then it wouldnt smell/ taste like it came out of your spice pantry! it tastes that way because it was imported from india along with all the spices etc. I loved thums up when i was in india, and by far the best mixer cola for my scotch. i bought one here(australia) in a spice store, and it surely tasted of the multitude of spices it shared its journey with!!
Heard when Coca cola re-entered india and bought the rights to thums up, they tried to end the product, but the sales figures showed otherwise overtaking coke sales..guess it was a no brainer to still keep it in the market!
Thums up is my favorite soda. the way it tastes is matched by no other soda whatsoever. the only problem that I do have with it is its high fructose corn syrup. But man, I cannot imagine
why you don't like it ( since you don't seem to mind slightly bitter sodas.)
I just love this drink. Wish it were available in Australia.
I tried Thums Up a few days ago and loved it! Then again, I also like a lot of international food flavors.
Just tried Thums Up. It reminded me of a cleaning product. Being the weirdo that I am, I still enjoyed it.
Just tried this soda. Thought it was excellent. I kind of disagree with the comment that it won't catch on in America. I think that Americans for the most part would enjoy it. It is very good; much better than Coca Cola which burns the heck out of your mouth. The carbonation in Thums Up is so perfect, and the flavor is pure deliciousness.
I like thums up. I never noticed a weird taste. If you want to try a weird soda, try RIM ZIM. my friend and I couldn't even finish it, together.
Honestly, coke's carp.
When I was in India Thums up was all I'd drink. So refreshing and delicious. if it wasn't I wouldn't be trying to track it down in the states to purchase.
I love Thums up !When I was in India, I could not imagine life without "Thums up" !
I came to Montreal 6 months ago and is very difficult here without Thums up.
But few weeks ago I could finally find a "Thums up" bottle, But I felt dissapointed as the test was not like we get in India, It was very light and dull, it was not strong at all ! :(
You must not like sodas that actually have a real taste to them, I've lived long enough to have had REAL US coke with sugar and now from the 80's on the HFCS version, Sugar kicks the crap out any HFCS soda. I love the sugar versions much better. Recently (4/30/2011) I found an importer of Thumb's up here in the US. They also had Limca (Leem Kah). Products coke purchased from a competitor. Limca not so good as I remembered, Thumb's UP is awesome. To me it is a better version of Pepsi, Thumbs Up would be just FINE in the US as long as it came in the original sugar version it would slam pepsi here. I am not sure what you claim to drink for sodas. If you can't pick one you didnt like I can name a few: Crystal Pepsi, Coke Black, OK Soda, Coke 2 are just a few of the nasty ones that have come and gone.
Thumbs up is the best cola I have come across. The tingling sensation that it leaves in your mouth is unique. I absolutely love Thumbs up and have gotten totally addicted to it. It think there is something very wrong about this blogger's taste buds!
ThumsUp is Manly drink and very strong. No wonder it has specific fan-group.
Thums up ROCKS
poor Americans. convoluted view of the world. complete narrow pride in their isolated world. wasting time on things they do not like.
thums up is an indian drink. developed by an indian entrepreneur. the only way coca cola could thrive in India was by buying up Thums Up which they did, and then by taking it off the market. Which they did.
But such was Thums Up popularity that they had to bring it back to support their sales.
So if you do not like it, go and focus on what you like. Stop berating other things
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1/18/14. Had my first Thums Up tonight. Had to have a second one. Blows Coke and Pepsi out the door. Yes it has a distinct taste but definitely a cola and much tastier than HF Coke. I would venture to say the hint of herbal is coriander and will add to my next home brew.
Thums-Up with OLD Monk Rum !! Beat That !!
I was introduced to this pop when I was in India last year, and I fell in love with it. Managed to smuggle four 600mL bottles home (plastic bottles too) in my luggage, but they didn't last long when I got home. The taste actually reminds of Coke with gingerale in it.
Black rum with cola is a very popular drink here in India.
It so happens, that "THE BEST" cola that goes with black rum is thums up with all its spicy, beetle nutty flavour.
I love my hercules rum with thums up, no other cola will do.
but then, if I were to drink a cola by itself, then I'd probably prefer coca cola.
well, aquired tastes for certain colas or whatever, the popularity of thums up in India is probably because of our love for rum.
just my 2cents...... being a long term rum drinker.
I prefer Cocacola to treat mild headache or with fish n rice. Otherwise plain Soda or a mango drink.
It's like a more aromatic rc cola. Delicious!
It's like a more aromatic rc cola. Delicious!
It's like a more aromatic rc cola. Delicious!
Hahaha. Like one of the commenters above said it does taste a little like cleaning products but it doesnt taste so bad as the author of the article wrote. I just tried it out of curiousity after reading this article. It tastes like like any cola sodas with lowerer sugar content. I am not certain whether they used sugar or high fructose corn syrup though. Maybe the author was unfortunate to try a bottle of thums up that was past it's expiry date. Or the one he tried it had different ingredients to the one i tried.(i tried it in Kolkata.)
I live in Riverside, CA. I grew up in San Diego, CA. I left San Diego to become an attorney with health benefits. I should have stayed in San Diego. I digress. Riverside has an abundance of Indian sweet shops and let me tell you, I can get a cold Thums Up 3 minutes from my house.
I don't mean to say that you wouldn't know a good cola if it kicked you, but you wouldn't know a good cola if it kicked you. You have to remember that Thums Up was created for the Indian flavor profile, not yours. Also, I think it's a fine cola with a distinctly "Indian" finish that's not overly sweet or cloying. You need to lighten up a bit...
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