Sundrop On My Shoulders Makes Me Happy!

Yet another of my OBX acquisitions were 2 bottles of Sundrop. One was the regular Sundrop soda and the other was a bottle of Golden Girl Cola, The Original Citrus Soda. Both were bottled by the good folks at Dr Pepper Bottling of West Jefferson, North Carolina...let me take a minute here to give a great big Thank You! to these good folks for helping me out with my questions about sweetening and the labeling when I called them, (yes, I called them). Both versions of this use the same formulation and neither contain High Fructose Corn Syrup, despite the labeling on the Golden Girl bottle, these two Sodas contain granulated Cane Sugar. That's straight from the mouth of Rob, their head bottler, so take it to the bank!

Now, let's talk about these Citrus Soda's, shall we? Since these are the same formulation you can rest assured that my review of each, (I tasted them about two days apart just to clear my mind on them) was pretty much the same. I noticed only minor differences in taste and those were easily attributable to me, rather than the Soda's.

What hits you first is a decidedly strong citrus Soda scent. Almost a grapefruit like scent. On pouring you're greeted with nice, big bubbled carbonation that ends up adding a nice kick to the citric acid bite. Also, don't get thrown by the bits and pieces of citrus that float in these bottles, it's a natural result of using the Orange Juice Concentrate to craft this drink. It has a bright yellow/greenish hue that is a trademark of citrus Sodas, (anyone know why?) and they use Yellow 5 to get that colour, I can only wonder what the natural colour is.

Sundrop has a nice tart taste and is beautifully tangy, just what I like to see in a citrus based Soda. It's fruity. Both have a sweet and citrus aftertaste that is far from unpleasant. The taste of orange juice concentrate is readily noticeable while drinking and in the aftertaste. As citrus Soda goes Sundrop/Golden Girl both lead the pack in their category. For quality and taste they are unbeatable. This is yet another Cadbury/Schweppes licensed product that is leading the way in the revitalisation of Premium Sodas. Now, if we could just get them to use the same Dr Pepper formula worldwide as they do in Dublin, Texas......

Ingredients:
Carbonated Water
Sugar
Natural Flavors
Orange Juice Concentrate
Sodium Benzoate
Caffeine
Acacia Gum
Yellow 5
Glycerol Ester of Wood Rosin
Brominated Vegetable Oil

Golden Girl Soda/Sundrop get a 9/10!



Technorati Tags:
Sundrop, Golden Girl Soda, Soda, Sugar, High Fructose Corn Syrup
Cadbury Schweppes

"I am not a Frenchie, I'm a BELGIE!"

That is something that should be extremely obvious with my latest entry. It is Belgian and, like all other things Belgian (like chocolate and pommes frite) it is really too good. During my last foray to Jungle Jim's (on the way back from our Outer Banks vacation) one of the things which I acquired was a Coca~Cola from Belgium, imported by Empire International of Ontario, California. Let me state for the record, if any Coke execs are reading this...Belgian Coke should be the rule for formulation of Coca~Cola. This small bottle of elixir vitae should be the silver standard for all Cokes (not gold, because there just might be a better one out there somewhere). The ingredients are simple. Carbonated water, sugar, caramel colour, phosphoric acid, Coke syrup and caffeine. Even their website is better than the American one. Sheesh!

None of that nasty, unfulfilling HFCS in this 0.2L bottle and I can live with that. While the small size is a personal drawback for me I could get over that if the people in Atlanta would get rid of the HFCS that makes Coca~Cola such a lifeless beverage in comparison to premium beverages on the market, Coke is not a premium beverage and they are missing out on this market niche.

The Belgian variant of Coca~Cola is great. This small bottle needed an opener to get at the contents and it was worth the miniscule extra effort. A beautiful cola scent wafted up out of the bottle letting me know what was in store for me, something missing from US Cokes nowadays. Upon pouring this I was greeted with an effervescent and lively head that let me know that there was a nicely carbonated beverage in the glass. It was crisp and clean.

This product tastes like Coke used to taste before the advent of HFCS into every nook and cranny of the line. Not overly sweet or syrupy, Belgian Coke is actually refreshing, which is something missing from its US made counterpart. The taste is crisp and clean with only a Cola aftertaste, not the often cloying sweet aftertaste of the American product. I really liked this version of Coca-Cola better than the over marketed US brands.

Now for the pitch. If any Coke Execs ever read this I have a pitch for you. Produce a "Coca~Cola Premium". One which uses Cane Sugar and all natural ingredients, organic even. Set a slightly higher price for it than your everyday Coke and we, the fans will come. We will buy a Coca~Cola that tastes like it SHOULD taste. Please, steal my idea! I'm giving it to ya! Produce Belgian Coke in the USA. If you craft it they will come!

Ingredients:
Carbonated Water
Sugar
Caramel Colour
Phosphoric Acid
Vegetable Extracts
Caffeine

Coca~Cola Belgian gets an 8.5/10!

Note: The printed ingredients label from Empire International is inacurate as to the ingredients. There is no citric acid or anti-oxidant in this beverage.

Technorati Tags:
Coke, Coca Cola, Belgium, Soda

Good Time Cheerwine!

Let me preface this by saying that I do not care for cherry flavoured Soda's, in general. I do like the REAL Dr. Pepper made in Plano, Texas but I dislike Cherry Cokes of any stripe. Such is not the case with Cheerwine, tho! This is a really nice Soda and it makes your tastebuds happy to have gone along for the ride! Cheerwine comes in cans, PET bottles and my favourite...glass. The glass bottles sport the Real Sugar logo and that alone makes it a special treat. It's not mass produced swill relying on HFCS for sweetness.

I picked this one up in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, which figures since the company that produces it is a North Carolinian Company, the Carolina Beverage Company. I'm sure glad I found this bottle of Cheerwine, too. All I had run across until I arrived in Avon, NC and stopped at the BP there, was the Diet version of the drink and I do not do Diet in any form.

The first thing that hits you when you open the bottle is the cherry scent, it's a nice scent reminiscent of maraschino with just the slightest hint of vanilla. The carbonation is nice and bubbly and not a distraction from the Soda. Cheerwine has a nice reddish colour which they term as burgundy on t heir website. I won't disagree too much. It's a nice, pleasant colour and complements the well balanced flavour and sweetness. Cheerwine strikes a good balance between flavour and sweetness, not relying greatly on either to carry the day. It has a light cherry flavour and vanilla tones that make this a pleasure to drink. It makes your tastebuds happy!

The aftertaste is one of sweet cherry with just a hint of what tastes like vanilla. This is vastly superior to other cherry flavoured sodas I have tasted, especially the Cherry Cokes. The bottle even adds to the experience, it is well designed and complements the beverage inside. If you run across one of these do yourself a favour and get one, you won't be disappointed!

Ingredients:
Carbonated Water
Sugar
Caramel Color
Phosphoric Acid
Sodium Benzoate
Caffeine
Citric Acid
Natural and Artificial Flavors
FD&C Red 40

Cheerwine get a whopping 9/10!

Technorati Tags:
Cheerwine, Soda, Outer Banks, North Carolina
Avon