Thums up, cool waaaay before facebook

Name: Thums Up

Purchased From: Global Foods Market, Kirkwood, MO

Color: Dark Brown

Taste: Welcome back to the blog. Today's entry is Thums Up!, a very popular cola in India. It has a pretty intense history that includes a lot of fights and eventual selling out to, and then back up against the major soda brands, Pepsi and Coke. Its appeal is geared towards being more bold than the major cola brands and I couldn't agree more. When I popped the cap it went carbonation crazy, much like a coke. I poured it into a fresh glass as this bottles was RBNR and I didn't want to take any chances. The nose was much like a flat coke. Thums up won me over with my first sip. It smells great going in and I get very intense caramel and some flavor I can't quite put my finger on but am very much enjoying. Thumb up is said to have an intense betel nut flavor, so I'd assume it's that. Regardless it's great and I will definitely be grabbing another one if I see it. Although its pretty bold, Thums Up is still not very unique in the cola crowd.

Uniqueness: **

Taste: ****

Shiakiku Ramune Drink

Name: Shiakiku Carbonated Ramune Drink Melon Flavor

Purchased From: World Market, Brentwood, MO

Color: Predator Blood Green

Taste: I was jonesing for something sweet when I scoured my fridge and found this lost beauty buried in the back. It's a very odd shaped bottle and when I went to open it, I

noticed there is a whole process involved:

After earning my degree in Ramunology, I popped the little marble down into the bottle, hearing a surprisingly satisfying "clink", then the carbonated fizz. The bottle has a nipple like spout at the top and the marble actually helps to regulate how much soda comes out as it can stop the flow after a couple of sips. This could be both helpful an annoying: helpful in that I don't just down the entire 200ml of HFC and carbonated water immediately and annoying when you want a gulp and can't get it.

I found myself feeling genuinely happy everytime I took a drink and set the bottle down and heard the "clank" of the marble rattling around the fairly thick glass bottle. Too bad this could not be

attributed to the flavor of the concoction itself as I found the bitterness of the carbonated water was stronger than the very subtle flavor of the "melon". I can understand that in a cultural perspective a lot of Japanese food stuffs go for subtlety, forcing you to really process what is on your pallet and appreciate the different hints at flavoring. Fuck that. When I want a soda I want cavities, not subtleties and this just ain't bringing home the bacon in the flavor department. I get a little of that citrus and sweet, but not enough for me to rush out and get another bottle. In fact, the only reason I'd try a different flavor is because this bottle really is cool. According to the

infalable wikipedia, children greatly enjoy the "alien eyes" present in the bottle's profile when the marble is dropped. Looks more like an owl to me. Irregaurdless, the fine people at Shiakiku are on to something with this very fun bottle as they can make a sub par soda and still make me want to try another flavor.

Uniqueness: ****

Taste: **

Back to "work"

Name: Trader Joe's Vintage Orange Cream Soda

Purchased From: Gift from May and Barron (much obliged)

Color: Orange, duh

Taste: After unscrewing the cap this thing fizzed big time at me, readying my experience. After the first sip I was surprised that I wasn't really hit with a strong flavor of...well, anything. There are hints of orange, but only at the very tip of the palette and at the finish. Maybe it's a hippy concoction with just not enough sugar or orange flavoring. After reviewing the label I see no HFC's , a whopping 42 grams of sugar, and natural flavors along with "extracts of essential orange oils".

I am actually an orange soda fan, probably consuming more orange soda than anything else in a given year. I am also generally pretty wary of what I ingest, but when drinking a soda (or beer) I want good, not healthy or wholesome. Mr. Joe went too far in making sure there were no glutens, artificial flavors, persevatives (all boldly marked on the label) that he forgot soda is a comfort drink. If I was looking to eliminate all that stuff I'd drink tea. When drinking soda, I want my teeth to hurt, my eyes to pop, I want jitters. This was a letdown. That said, it was drank fairly quickly, so maybe it was preconceived expectations that ruined this experience. Now a walk to QT to get the good stuff.

Uniqueness: *

Taste: *

Limca. It's veri veri Lime & Lemoni

Name: Limca

Purchased From: Global Foods Market, Kirkwood, MO

Color: White, think Gatorade Ice

Taste: After opening the reused, not recyled (henceforth RNR) bottle of Limca I noitced a ring of brown liquid around the rim. After a wipe from my sleeve (was told it helps), a ring of nasty was left behind (below).

I decided drinking it straight from the bottle may not be advisable so I poured it in a mug, fizzed up just like any citrus soda you've had. The difference, is I remember residual bubbles in most other citrus drinks, where Limca only had a couple bubble throughout.

The aroma is very tough to explain, definitely some lemony citrus, and something else I can't pin down. This other odor doesn't finish very pleasantly and it's the last sense you get before tasting the product, not a good start. It basically tastes like someone put sugar into lemon Perier. Everytime I would go back for another sip I'd get a whiff of that off-putting aroma and wince before drinking. I would have to compare the flavor with a Sprite that's hissing in the back of my JIB restaurant, begging for a syrup change but I'm tired of being the only one lugging that heavy shit all over the place. End result: tastes like crap, first soda to be finished off by my drain; but if well marketed, I'm sure it'd sell.

Uniqueness: *

Taste: *

It's a Drink, It's a Bomb

Name: Sarsi

Purchased From: Global Foods Market, Brentwood, MO

Color: Dark Brown

Taste: This was very intriguing. Due to the color of both the label and soda, I automatically assumed a cola. The furthest down on the ingredients I got to was that there was no HFCS. Needless to say, I was surprised by the sharp aroma of sarsaparilla. I took the plunge and was very pleased. I don't really drink too much root beer these days (had a homebrew from a wedding recently that was pretty good), but sarsaparillas are a different animal. Instead of bite, you get a unique twist for a finish.

In the beginning there is tons of carbonation creating a lot of head, but by the last few drinks it's pretty fizzed out. Also, it came in one of those sanitized, reused (not recycled) bottles. I was told in my travels in Central America to wipe the top with your sleeve to "sanitize" the bottle before you drink - I'm sure my Cardinals hoody is lacking in antibacterial strength, but food for thought.

One interesting fact about Sarsi: in Hong Kong they made a movie about a Sarsi can turned into a bomb that activated when the pull tab was removed. I can't see myself rushing back to the store to buy another one of these, but it was still worth checking out for this quest. Overall, "yea, that's a good one."

Uniqueness: **

Taste: **

The late comedian Mitch Headberg once quipped, "They say Diet Dr. Pepper tastes like regular Dr. Pepper...Well then they f*#ked up." To improve that scathing review, the good folks at Dr. Pepper have come out with a new variation on the original, Dr. Pepper Ten.

The label proudly boasts ten bold calories (per serving of course!), but can that statement really live up to the taste, and more importantly the flavor? For those who like diet drinks, Diet Dr. Pepper is certainly one of the more easy drinking, true to the sugar version, than most other sodas. So, what Dr. Pepper has done, is add sugar, HFCS sadly, to the diet version Ten.

What's been produced is actually better than anticipated. First sip, I was wincing just a little for the nasty, and immediate, aftertaste diet drinks have. Once the gulp made it down, I was happy to find no bitter, tinny taste left. The cherry flavor of Dr. Pepper really shines through, and a good balance of sweetness and fizz.

Where this drink falls flat is lingering aftertaste. While there is no bitter aftertaste, the soda lingers in the mouth like a coating. And in the coating, you can taste the artificial sweetener used to make this drink Ten bold calories (per serving).

There is truly nothing particularly bold with this drink. Coca Cola came out many years ago with C2, a regular/diet mix. Unlike that, which was very watery and dull, Dr.Pepper Ten stands out as a good low calorie soft drink.

Uniqueness: *

Taste: ***

Overall: 2.5

Apple Sidra-Apple Soda, All natural Ingredients

This soda was a find at the local Asian grocery store. The can is a basic 12 ounce, with yellow and red highlights. Yet it really is masking a very tart, highly carbonated, tasty apple soda.

Cracking open the top, the drink gets first breath of air since being canned in Taiwan. The aroma of apples hits like a freight train in the night. That's because smack in the middle of the ingredients list is "Apple Conc," which I can only surmise is apple concentrate. However, "caramel" is also listed, but none of that sugary goopyness is hiding in here.

First sip and already you can tell this beverage is a winner. Easy drinking, a tad more carbonated than a typical US soft drink. What really stands out is the tart, green apple taste which lingers long after the first sip.

I don't know if this is a typical Asian Grocery store staple, but don't let the can fool you, this is worth the price!

Uniqueness: ***

Taste: ****

Overall: 4.5

Here we go

Name: Zuberfizz Key Lime Cream Soda

Purchased From: World Market, Brentwood

Color: Shrek's piss (neon green)

Taste: I was very intrigued when I saw this one on the shelf. I am a fan of key lime and liked that I saw nothing but natural ingredients on the label from this tasty soda out of Durango, CO. It has a nice, clean feeling all the way through. That keylime citrus really hits its notes towards the back of your palette and you're left with sweetness all through the front. Very odd looking in color, but makes it fun to drink. Brings me back to my ecto cooler days. I found it to have medium carbonation, really lets the flavor do the talking. Definitely harks back to a different era.

Uniqueness: ***

Taste: ****

Overall: 3.5 *