Pepsi Bringing Out Limited Time "Pepsi Fire"

In a move that's sure to please the cinnamon lovers out there, PepsiCo announced the addition of Pepsi Fire to its summer lineup. It's a cinnamon infused version of their namesake Cola.

Today, Pepsi is encouraging fans to "Get It While It's Hot™" with the launch of its newest limited-edition beverage, Pepsi Fire. Beginning May 22, Pepsi Fire – the refreshing cola with a cinnamon flavored twist – will be available in stores nationwide for an eight-week period.

So, if you're a cinnamon lover you have 8 weeks to indulge yourself. This is one I'll probably skip, as I'm not a hot cinnamon kind of guy.
PepsiCo is also running a Social Media based contest for the release. They are offering some pretty cool prizes.

A Look At Orca Beverages.

Here's a look at a nice article on Orca Beverages, the maker of many fine retro Sodas and Root Beers. This Mukilteo, Washington enterprise is turning out many classic beverages using classic formulae, real Cane Sugar and a love for the product. I've had quite a few of their products and they've all been pretty darned good. Nice to see them getting some press time. Drop by for a look at Orca's website and, if you can't find their products near you, you can order direct from the manufacturer.

Video Gaming And Soda Cross The Streams

Here's a cool new Soda hitting the shelves. For those who may be fans of the Fallout video game series, Bethesda games has teamed up with Jones Soda to make a version of Nuka Cola Quantum, the ubiquitous Soda found in many places across the nuclear blasted landscape of the Fallout world. Obviously a celebration and tie in to the very soon to be released Fallout 4. No-one's sure of the flavour yet, but it is a nifty glowing blue colour. I'll definitely have to grab a couple of bottles of this one. One or two to collect and a couple to taste. As a Fallout fan this is doubly amusing and fascinating for me. They will be exclusive to Target stores, so at least they will be available in most areas.

Ikea's Festive Soda

On a recent foray to Cincinnati my wife stopped by the local Ikea store. We didn't need any flat pack furniture or linens and the like, but my wife did come away with some jams and a Soda. Ikea carries two seasonal Sodas and I got the Spring Dryck Påskmust, or Festive Drink. It comes in a plastic bottle, but it is a Sugar sweetened beverage. I am intrigued by it for the ingredients, some of which are more familiar to beer lovers than Soda aficionados.  This one has piqued my interest. Now comes the time to dive in a give it a try.
    The aroma, on opening the twist off cap, is reminiscent of cough syrup, but that aroma doesn't last past the pouring into a glass. It is nicely carbonated, but produces no head and the carbonation fizz subsides quickly.
   There is a noticeable hops flavour to it and an astringency that lasts. There is also a bitter quality to it, no doubt from the hops. The Dryck Påskmust has no carbonation bite to speak of. And the citric acid adds little to the party. The barley malt that it is made from doesn't really come through in the flavour profile. The sweetness is actually subdued and rather well balanced. All in all, if you like your drinks to have a bitterness to them you'd like this Soda. I'm not overly fond of it, myself. This was an interesting experiment in Scandinavian Sodas, but it's not a drink I'm likely to pick up again. I might be convinced to try their Christmas version, if the formula is significantly different.

Ingredients:

Water
Sugar Syrup
Caramel (Color)
Hops Flavor
Malt Flavor (From Barley)
Citric Acid
Flavors
Sodium Benzoate (Preservative)
Carbon Dioxide

Dryck Påskmust, from Ikea, gets a 4.5 out of 10.
   

The Big Red One

Big Red In A Bottle

One of my local BBQ joints (City BBQ) is in the very good habit of carrying glass bottled, premium Soda's. This is a good thing, in my mind as these Soda's are complimentary to good BBQ. One of the few that they carry and that I decided to pick up a visit or two ago, was this Big Red. This is a Soda with a back story and is a Texas favourite, but this is the first time I had run across a premium version of it, so I knew I had better give it a try. Just looking at the bottle you'd almost think it had to be a cherry flavoured Soda, as red as it is, but that is certainly not the case.
   The first thing that hits you is the aroma. Initially it's a hit of Sugar, followed up by a Bubble Gum-like aroma. Altogether a pleasant sign of what is to come.
   The Soda is very effervescent. It bubbles up quickly and subsides just as fast. The initial taste is still one of Bubble Gum, (it reminds me a bit of Super Bubble Bubble Gum) and Cream Soda, with a very slight woody undertone to it. Not unpleasant, at all. It's a very sweet beverage and would pair well with some vinegary BBQ. I can also see why this is a kids favourite. It is very sweet and the sweetness lingers on your tongue. Altogether a decent Soda, if a bit too sweet. I couldn't see being a regular drinker of Big Red, but I can see where some folks might really like it, if they're in to super sweet Soda's and Bubble Gum.

Ingredients:

Carbonated Water
Sugar
Natural and Artificial Flavor
Red 40
Citric Acid
Caffeine

Caffeine Content: 38mg/12 fl.oz.

Big Red gets a 5.5 out 10

A New Dew

Well, it looks like the folks at Mountain Dew are going to gift the Soda drinking public with a new, Sugar based, premium Soda. It's called Dew Shine and should be available later this month. I'll be keeping my eyes open for this one and will certainly give it a try. I, like the authors of the article, wonder whether it will be caffeinated. I do like that added kick to my citrus Soda's.

Here's the article from the good folks at The Consumerist.

A Look At Soda Mecca

While I have perused their online presence, I have never had the absolute pleasure of visiting Galco's. One of these days I hope I get to make the trip and see it with my own eyes and come out with a gross of new sodas. Until then, I'll make do with this wonderful short movie.

Sierra Mist Getting A Makeover

Here's some good news on the Soda front. Sierra Mist is getting a complete makeover and they're going to ditch HFCS entirely. Sugar will now be their go to sweetener in the Lemon-Lime Soda. Sweet! I happen to like a Sierra Mist every now and again and can't imagine that this will be anything but a significant improvement. Way to go PepsiCo!

PepsiCo is eliminating Sierra Mist in favor of Sierra Mist Natural, which is sweetened with sugar instead of high-fructose corn syrup. The move, which has been in the works for about 18 months, is two-fold. Research showed that brand loyalty in the lemon-lime category is lower than it is in the cola category. And the natural food and beverage category is exploding.

Can't wait to see this hit the shelves. Now, if they'd just put it in glass bottles....

Cokes Latest Hi Tech Gadget

Coca~Cola is planning on introducing a new type of soda fountain,, the Coca Cola Freestyle. It will host around 100 flavours of Coke branded Soda's and Barq's Root Beer. This is ingenuity at its best and I certainly am looking forward to the day one comes to a spot near me. I'll be a frequent guest!



We can look forward to a rollout in 2010. I can't wait. Peach Sprite sounds pretty tasty.


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Coke, Coca~Cola, Fountain Drinks

Yet Another Soda Tax

First it was the governor of New York, wanting to raise more money for his dwindling coffers. Now it's the current regime and Obama who want to impose yet another tax on people and their carbonated beverages in order to help him fund his socialised medicine scheme.

Senate leaders are considering new federal taxes on soda and other sugary drinks to help pay for an overhaul of the nation's health-care system.

The taxes would pay for only a fraction of the cost to expand health-insurance coverage to all Americans and would face strong opposition from the beverage industry. They also could spark a backlash from consumers who would have to pay several cents more for a soft drink.

On Tuesday, the Senate Finance Committee is set to hear proposals from about a dozen experts about how to pay for the comprehensive health-care overhaul that President Barack Obama wants to enact this year. Early estimates put the cost of the plan at around $1.2 trillion. The administration has so far only earmarked funds for about half of that amount.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington-based watchdog group that pressures food companies to make healthier products, plans to propose a federal excise tax on soda, certain fruit drinks, energy drinks, sports drinks and ready-to-drink teas. It would not include most diet beverages. Excise taxes are levied on goods and manufacturers typically pass them on to consumers.

Senior staff members for some Democratic senators at the center of the effort to craft health-care legislation are weighing the idea behind closed doors, Senate aides said.

The Congressional Budget Office, which is providing lawmakers with cost estimates for each potential change in the health overhaul, included the option in a broad report on health-system financing in December. The office estimated that adding a tax of three cents per 12-ounce serving to these types of sweetened drinks would generate $24 billion over the next four years. So far, lawmakers have not indicated how big a tax they are considering.

Mr. Obama and his bureaucratic cohorts are willing to add a "sin tax" on people who just want a few joyous moments with a frosty non-alcoholic beverage. This is just the opening salvo in his tax and spend health rationing plans. No doubt other onerous taxes lay in wait in the wings to fund this debacle. Fat taxes, fast food taxes, non-organic food taxes, organic food taxes and more are likely to rear their ugly heads, just to fund Obama's "health care" plans.

If they pass this one without resistance we can rest assured that they will see this as a sign of weakness and will rush to impose even more taxation measures. That's just the way these people work. Give them an inch and they want a mile. It's only a few cents, right? It's always a few cents here and there, and then pretty soon it's a whole dollar. Every soda you buy today already has embedded taxes in it that the companies have to pass along to the consumer. Fuel taxes, local, state and federal taxes, payroll taxes and a wide variety of incremental taxes that range from local to the federal levels. The politicians are counting on us not caring about " a few cents more". Well, I care.

You should, too. This taxation will be used to fund government controlled medicine. It doesn't work anywhere else in the world, why would we think that a Chicago politician would be able to do any better than anyone else? I certainly don't want the government controlling and rationing health care. They do a lousy job of it already and are more than partially responsible for most of the problems that we do see in our current system. No thanks. Keep your hands of my health care and my little pleasures in life.

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Taxation, Obama, Root Beer, Soda, Libertarian

Pepsi and Mt. Dew To Go Retro

Coming in April Pepsi Bottling Ventures will introduce two new items, Pepsi Throwback and Mountain Dew Throwback. Both of these will be formulated using Sugar instead of HFCS. About time they did something like this. Now if others would only follow suit. Kudos to PBV!

This year also brings some new introductions, graphics and packaging innovations from PepsiCo, for which the company has high expectations. In CSD flavors, PBV will add Mountain Dew Voltage, which was the winning flavor in the brand’s Dewmocracy campaign. In the middle of April, PBV also will begin distributing Pepsi Throwback and Mountain Dew Throwback, which features those brands formulated with sugar. For the flagship PepsiCo brands, Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Mountain Dew and Sierra Mist, PBV also is beginning to distribute the brands featuring their new redesigned graphics and packaging, which is part of a holistic campaign aimed at drawing in younger consumers. PepsiCo also is launching a new advertising campaign with the release.

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Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Sugar, Soda, News

Soda, Pop Or Coke

When I was growing up in the South it was not odd to have an aunt or a friend or someone utter the words, "Let's go get a Coke". It didn't mean that I had to end up with a Coca~Cola product, either. In fact it was more likely that I'd end up with a Barq's, Nehi or other yummy bubbly beverage. My aunts would almost inevitably get an RC or Dr. Pepper. The fact that it was also pronounced "Cocola" made no difference, either. It was just what all soda water based drinks were (and likely still are) called in the South.

Well, the folks at The Pop vs. Soda Page have popped back up onto the radar again with their excellent map on the subject of what our favourite beverages are called by region. I was surprised to see that in my current region the Southern "Coke" is more common than Soda or Pop. Must have been an influx of Southerners into the region at some point in the past. Interesting.

Of course, where I grew up, if you wanted a Root Beer you asked for a Barq's. Just because it was the best on the market.

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Soda, Pop, Coke, Root Beer

A Fine Trio

Well, the good folks at Shipyard have done it again. This time they've come out with a trio of new Sodas that really set the bar higher for everyone else. Capt'n Eli's Sodas have been expanded with three new flavours, Strawberry Pop, Lemon Lime Pop and Orange Pop. These three new offerings really shine in the flavour category, too. Each of these Sodas brings a unique new twist on an old standard and they do it with style.

First up is Capt'n Eli's Strawberry Pop. It has a delightful strawberry candy scent that is delivered with a fine effervescence that serves to punch up the flavours with a nice bite. The taste is not like any other strawberry Soda which I've had. It is reminiscent of Jello, but with a much better taste. The flavour is altogether nice and is enhanced by the cane sugar sweetness. This Soda is well balanced in the sweet and tart area, but I almost found myself wishing for just a hint more tartness in it.

There's a nice artificial Strawberry and sugar aftertaste that doesn't detract from the experience. It is highly drinkable and I really wanted another one after I was finished. It's just that good.

Ingredients:
Water
Cane Sugar
Natural and Artificial Strawberry Flavors
Red 40
Citric Acid
Sodium Benzoate

Capt'n Eli's Strawberry Pop gets an 8/10!

Next we have Capt'n Eli's Lemon Lime Pop. This Soda starts off with a nice scent of Lemon and Lime, (leaning more to the Lime side). There's a nice, crisp carbonation that adds to the experience. The Lemon/Lime flavour is a great combo that is well balanced all around. The Cane Sugar carries itself well and enhances the overall experience. Neither citrus flavour dominates or is too sharp and you are left with a nice sugary clean aftertaste. It's a well done Lemon Lime Soda, but I was left wanting some more flavour, something a bit more "in your face". Despite that Capt'n Eli's is much better than most of the mass produced Lemon Lime offerings on the market. I especially like the short list of ingredients...that's refreshing!

Ingredients:
Water
Cane Sugar
Natural Lemon and Lime Flavors
Sodium Benzoate

Capt'n Eli's Lemon Lime Pop gets a 7/10!

Last, but most certainly not the least we have Capt'n Eli's Orange Pop. The flavour here is unique and unlike most orange Sodas on the market. It reminds me of a glass bottled orange Soda which was available in Beijing in the late 70's that I was very fond of. All natural and filled with citrus goodness. The scent of this Soda is a nice mixture of orange and tangerine oil like scent. The Soda has a nice colour, too. A nice yellow orange hue that bespeaks its origins, unlike most faux orange Sodas on the market.

The Soda tastes of orange oil and has a slight bitterness to it that combines well with the Cane Sugar. Some might find that bitterness too much, but I rather liked it. It's different in a good way. The carbonation adds a nice little bite to this offering.

Ingredients:
Water
Cane Sugar
Natural Tangerine Flavor
Natural Orange Flavor
Natural Lemon Flavor
Sodium Benzoate

Capt'n Eli's Orange Pop gets a 7.5/10!

All in all these three new Sodas...err...Pops....are a finestkind addition to the Capt'n Eli's line of premium, handcrafted Sodas. You will not go wrong with any of these, nor will you regret spending the money to buy one...or 6.

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Shipyard, Capt'n Eli's, Soda

Crushing

From the same West Jefferson, North Carolina folks who brought you Golden Girl and Sundrop comes yet another classic ,which they have done in the old fashioned premium way. These good folks have produced their version of the venerable old orange Crush. This is not the average, everyday mass produced HFCS version of Crush that we see in the groceries and big box marts. Nope, this is Crush the way it used to be made; with beautiful sugar enhanced flavour and refreshing quality.

This one has pretty much everything you'd look for in an refreshing, orange Soda and it even has a "secret" taste enhancing ingredient which I have not seen listed on any other Soda. The Crush experience starts the moment you open the bottle and encounter the easily identifiable orange Soda scent. There's just nothing else that smells quite like it. The soft carbonation is a nice change. It doesn't add a hard bite, just a refreshing effervescence. The orange Soda flavour is light and not "in your face", in the least. This version of Crush does not rely on a citric acid bite to get its point across either. Instead, it relies on the perfectly sugar flavour and the "secret" ingredient to carry things over. What's the "secret" ingredient? Plain, old fashioned salt. Something you just don't see used in most Soda these days.

This is what Crush is supposed to taste like. Not that mass produced HFCS laden swill that is so prevalent in stores around the country. It has a nice citrus and sugar aftertaste with one of the sweetly, cloying qualities one finds in the usual version of this Soda. It is refreshing and easy to drink. Everything about it is well balanced. If you're in North Carolina and can find this version, buy it. It's just a darned good Soda!

Ingredients:
Carbonated Water
Sugar
Citric Acid
Sodium Benzoate
Gum Acacia
Natural Flavors
Glycerol Ester of Wood Rosin
Yellow 6
Salt
Brominated Vegetable Oil
Red 40

This Orange Crush gets an 8/10!


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Crush, Soda