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: *