Brand: Fentimans
Flavor: Lemonade
Sweetener: Sugar
Size: 9.3 ounce bottle
Purchased At: Liberty Heights Fresh
Similar To: Jelly Belly Lemon Drop

The thing that I’ve loved about other flavors of Fentimans that I’ve tried is that they always have a strong, bold flavor. The Victorian Lemonade variety is no different. The soda is flavored with real lemon juice and it helps make this one of the most authentically flavored lemon sodas I’ve ever had. The soda is sour and sweet and very lightly carbonated. It finishes off slightly bitter, similar to other flavors of Fentimans. After trying a lot of sodas that have wild flavors printed on the bottle and then being slightly disappointed at how bland they actually taste, Fentimans Victorian Lemonade is both refreshing and delicious. Like all other Fentimans flavors, this one comes in a 9.3-ounce distinctly shaped glass bottle. The yellow and blue color scheme looks nice and the soda’s creamy yellow color is exactly what you would expect from a lemonade. I wish the carbonation packed a little bit more of a punch here, but I think the light carbonation is deliberately done in order to help the natural flavors stand out more. This is definitely one I want to try again.

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Brand: Lester’s Fixins
Flavor: Buffalo Wing Soda
Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar
Size: 12 oz Bottle
Cost: $1.99
Purchased At: Rocket Fizz
Flavor Notes: Orange, Spicy
Similar To: Dinner

Lester’s Fixins Buffalo Wing Soda is an interesting venture into bottling the flavors of recognizable foods into a soda. Buffalo Wing Soda has a nice orange color that’s a mix of orange soda and the color of actual buffalo wing sauce. Open the bottle and take a whiff of this soda and you’ll be greeted with an orange soda scent. The taste? To be quite honest, the taste at first is subtle. It’s almost flavorless. I was expecting an over the top buffalo sauce flavor but that wasn’t the case (which is a good thing). The taste is a little orange-like with a subtle acidity. The finish is a little spicy. The acidity and spicy aftertaste give this soda the Buffalo Wing flavor. I have to admit, after just a few sips I had to stop and was not able to finish Lester’s Fixins Buffalo Wing Soda. Compared to its sister soda, Lester’s Fixins Bacon Soda, I think that Buffalo Wing is an easier flavor to drink over the bacon one. This is an interesting flavor and is worth a try if you’re into the weird or unique or and is worth a try if you’re into the weird or unique.

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Brand: Lester’s Fixins
Flavor: Bacon Soda
Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar
Size: 12 oz Bottle
Cost: $1.99
Purchased At: Rocket Fizz
Flavor Notes: Bacon, burnt bacon, salty, chocolate?
Similar To: Breakfast…

Lester’s Fixins Sodas are similar to Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans from the world of Harry Potter. Lester’s Fixins Bacon Soda is more about the experience and novelty and less about a soda that tastes good. I’ll be honest, I was a little worried about trying Lester’s Fixins Bacon Soda. I love food, soda and heck I even love bacon but that’s for breakfast or as part of a burger – I wasn’t sure how I would react to a bacon flavored soda. The first sip was not what I expected – I swear I tasted chocolate at first – but a fake chocolate, like a Yoohoo!. If you had a similar experience please comment so that I don’t feel I’m going crazy or losing my sense of taste. After the initial taste you do get some bacon flavor but it’s not identifiable at first – in fact, if the label didn’t tell me it was bacon flavored I probably wouldn’t have been able to identify the flavor. The finish is pretty bitter and I can best describe it as a “burnt” taste with a sort of fake saltiness. I think that combination is what constitutes the bacon flavoring of this soda. I was expecting to taste outright bacon or bacon bits but it doesn’t come across that way. I’m not sure why I get a chocolate taste – should probably just ignore that I think that, but once that initial taste passes the main flavor is a pseudo salty and burnt taste which stands for the bacon. The finish is a bit bitter, it lingers in your mouth and you find yourself moving your tongue in an attempt to rid your mouth of the aftertaste. All in all, this is a pretty gross soda, but I say that with a smile on my face because after all, this is BACON soda!! If you’re into Epic Mealtime or obsessed with bacon then you must try this soda! 2-Stars because as an enjoyable soda this is terrible, but as an idea, no rating scale can contain the potential that Lester’s Fixins Bacon Soda has.

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Brand: Coca-Cola
Flavor: Hecho en Mexico
Sweetener: Sugar
Size: 355 milliliter bottle
Purchased At: Smith’s
Similar To: Dublin Dr. Pepper

A few years ago, one of my friends told me about a magical brew of Coca-Cola that was produced in Mexico. Unlike Coke made in the United States, he said, this Coca-Cola was made with real sugar and was much better than the domestic product I was used to. I eventually was able to track some bottles down in a local gas station and decided to give it a shot. Now, a few years later, I’ve purchased some more Mexican Coke in order to review it. The reason that I finally decided to review Mexican Coke is due to a recent article I read where they did a blind taste test of Mexican Coke and regular Coke. As the taste test showed, most people actually preferred the flavor of regular Coke over Mexican Coke. Maybe we’re just used to it so that’s why we prefer it? Like my friend told me, Mexican Coke is made with real sugar rather than high-fructose corn syrup that has become the norm in the United States. Mexican Coke is very delicious, but I have to disagree with my friend in one way. While it’s a great soda, it really isn’t that much better than the regular Coke that I’m used to. It’s different, but not necessarily better. Mexican Coke doesn’t taste quite as syrupy as the regular variety which helps bring out the natural Coca-Cola flavor. Mexican Coke can be hard to track down, so if you have the opportunity, I definitely recommend picking some up. It’s different than regular Coke, but just as good. It’s hard to improve upon perfection, right?

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This review is of a novelty soda and although it will be ranked according to the usual 5-Star scale please know that regardless of rating this is one fun soda and definitely worth a try if you’re adventurous and enjoy novelty sodas! This review is real easy – Lester’s Fixins Sweet Corn Soda tastes like the milk after you’ve had a bowl of Corn Pops or Honeycomb cereal. It’s not a bad flavor by any means, but it is very unexpected flavor from a soda. Some sips seem fine and go down without a problem and with other sips you almost gag, just a little tiny bit; and it’s not because the flavor is unfamiliar, it’s that your mind reconciling a familiar flavor but with an unfamiliar medium. Blindfolded, you would assume you’re either eating a bowl of Corn Pops or Honeycomb cereal or that you’re eating actual corn. The soda has a pleasantly sweet flavor and aroma to it. The color is what you’d expect – a vibrant translucent yellow color. Lester’s Fixins Sweet Corn Soda probably won’t become your favorite soda or be one that you have the desire to drink often, but if you enjoy corn and are feeling adventurous then this soda is definitely worth a taste.

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We’re back and will be bringing you all-new vintage soda reviews and thoughts on modern glass bottle soda concoctions shortly.

Here’s a sneak peek at what’s coming up next –

“Lester’s Fixins” – Sweet Corn Soda
Iron Horse Cream Soda
Cock Cola
Margo’s Dark Root Beer

I’m quickly becoming a huge fan of Americana sodas. I enjoyed their Honey Cream and I also enjoyed their Cherry Cola. Nothing beats a freshly made cherry coke/cola from a restaurant. While I have yet to find a bottled or canned cherry cola match that same grenadine-heavy enjoyment that you can find hand-made in popular eateries, Americana Cherry Cola is nonetheless an enjoyable and very good cherry cola. This lightly carbonated cherry cola is sweetened with Pure Cane Sugar and has a smooth cherry taste. The cherry flavor is right on queue, it’s not too strong, not too subtle but it melds well with the cola flavor. The carbonation is not too strong – it’s finely carbonated like a Sprecher’s soda if you’ve had one. If you’re a fan of cherry cola’s then you should make an effort to try an Americana Cherry Cola.

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Brand: Zuberfizz
Flavor: Key lime cream
Sweetener: Pure cane sugar
Size: 12 ounce bottle
Purchased At: Old 52
Similar To: Stewart’s Key Lime Soda

Bottled in Durango, Colorado, Zuberfizz Key Lime Cream Soda is a “classic draft soda” that I couldn’t help but want to try. For starters, key lime and cream are two of my favorite flavors in soda and I had yet to try a combination of the two. The soda’s bottle is also quite charming and has a nice old-fashioned design and appealing color scheme. I opened this bottle and was at first surprised by the soda’s color. The bottle is a dark brown so I assumed the soda would be a light brownish color like a traditional cream soda. I was wrong, however, as this soda is colored bright green due to the key lime flavor. After my first taste, I could definitely distinguish both the cream and lime flavors. Both are present but are quite subdued and subtle. I wish they had been stronger and packed more of a punch. Also, the lime flavor here is just that: lime. It is not really key lime despite the bottle’s claims to the contrary. I have still only tasted one soda that had true key lime flavor and that was Stewart’s Key Lime (which is really delicious, by the way). Zuberfizz’s Key Lime Soda was also a little lacking in the fizz department, which was disappointing considering the “Feel the fizz!” wording on the label. For the most part, this flavor of Zuberfizz is tasty but fails to make a lasting impression.

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If you’ve ever had a Faygo Original Rock & Rye, or a Barq’s Red Creme Soda, you will understand how difficult it is to describe the flavor of this soda. It’s not like anything else. Faygo Rock & Rye has been described as a “cream finished cola”, however I have a hard time detecting cola as a main or even base flavor of this soda. This is a smooth and enjoyable soda. The flavor is somewhere in between a cola, cream soda, and just a hint of a cherry and vanilla. Beyond that it is an extremely hard soda flavor to describe without experiencing it for yourself. It is a great and unique tasting soda, fun to drink, refreshing and tastes great. I’m not sure why it carries the name “Rock & Rye”, but it describes this flavor just as good as any other name would. Definitely worth a try if you happen to cross paths with a Faygo Rock & Rye.

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Brand: Dr. Pepper
Flavor: Dublin Dr. Pepper
Sweetener: Imperial Cane Sugar
Size: 8 ounce bottle
Purchased At: Old 52
Similar To: None

A year or two ago, I remember walking down the soda aisle at a grocery store and spotting a few 20-ounce plastic bottles of something called Heritage Dr. Pepper. This Dr. Pepper was made with real sugar rather than high fructose corn syrup. My interest piqued, I bought a bottle to give it a shot. I remember it not tasting much different than the regular Dr. Pepper that I know and love. When I went back to the store a few days later in an attempt to do a side-by-side comparison of regular and Heritage Dr. Pepper, I was disappointed to see that they had none left in stock. I haven’t seen Heritage Dr. Pepper since. Here I am, a year or two later with a bottle of Dublin Dr. Pepper. I’m not sure if Dublin Dr. Pepper and Heritage Dr. Pepper are the same thing or if the sugar used to make each of them is slightly different. Dublin Dr. Pepper is sweetened with Imperial Pure Cane Sugar. It is named Dublin Dr. Pepper because it is made in Dublin, Texas using the original Dr. Pepper formula. Much like the Heritage Dr. Pepper I tried a little while ago, I couldn’t tell much of difference between the Dublin Dr. Pepper and regular Dr. Pepper. I should have probably tried them side-by-side. Having said that, I have long loved regular Dr. Pepper so I enjoyed the Dublin variety quite a bit. It was highly carbonated and very refreshing. If you aren’t very fond of Dr. Pepper, the Dublin variety probably won’t do much to change your mind, though. I’m hoping to track down another bottle so I can do a comparison. In any event, Dublin Dr. Pepper is highly recommended by me especially for anyone that loves regular Dr. Pepper.

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Brand: Hot Lips
Flavor: Apple
Sweetener: Cane sugar
Size: 12 ounce bottle
Purchased At: Liberty Heights Fresh
Similar To: Apple Beer

Originally founded as a pizza company in 1984, Hot Lips has also been making sodas since 2005. Their apple soda is the first one I’ve tried and I came away pretty satisfied. For starters, the soda is made with real apples from the Northwestern United States. When you tip the bottle over, you can see chunks of apple pulp drift slowly downward. I was surprised and impressed by how much apple pulp there was and by how large the apple chunks were–there is definitely real fruit in this soda. According to the Hot Lips website, their apple soda has the taste of fresh pressed cider. I found this to be quite accurate. The soda is very flavorful and goes down quite smoothly thanks to the light carbonation. For comparison’s sake, Apple Beer is a little more sour and tangy than this and much more heavily carbonated. The only downside to the Hot Lips Apple soda is that a 12-ounce bottle is fairly expensive–I think I paid around between $2.50 and $3 for a single bottle. I’ll have to hunt around and see if I can find it cheaper, since this soda is definitely worth returning to. I can’t wait to try the other Hot Lips varieties. They’re all made with real fruit from the Northwest!

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I don’t want to sound too harsh here but Squamscot Cola is a soda best left in history or on the shelf. This is the second Squamscot soda that I have had and I’ve been pretty disappointed with both. They’re just not very good. First, they have a funny name. Second, their flavors are not very good. I could not finish this cola. I can finish just about anything, but not this cola and I love cola sodas. When the flavor of a soda is bad, they can cheat their way through it by over sweetening it. This wasn’t even the case with Squamscot Cola. It had neither a good cola taste nor did it compensate for the bitter and poor flavor with sweetness. It is entirely possible that I just had a bad bottle, if you’ve had a Squamscot Cola and had a different experience please comment.

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Brand: Filbert’s
Flavor: Peach
Sweetener: Sugar
Size: 12 ounce bottle
Purchased At: Old 52
Similar To: Nesbitt’s Peach Soda

My first impression of Filbert’s Peach soda was not very good. The label on the bottle was crooked and the design on the label looked like it was made in Microsoft Paint by an 8th grader. Needless to say, I wasn’t impressed by the presentation. I was willing to give the Filbert’s Peach the benefit of the doubt, though, because I knew that the Filbert’s brand has been around for a long time (since 1926) and is considered by some to be one of the quintessential vintage soda brands. I figured that any brand that has been around for that long must taste at least pretty good, despite the poorly designed logo and label. After my first sip of the soda, I had to double check the label to make sure this wasn’t actually Filbert’s Orange since the taste reminded me of a melted orange popsicle. No, it actually was Filbert’s Peach that I was drinking. Where then was the peach flavor? After a couple more sips, I was finally able to detect a faint hint of peach flavor. It was pretty artificial tasting and was mostly overpowered by the sugary orange taste. After finishing the bottle, I concluded that the reason that Filbert’s has making soda since 1926 probably has nothing to do with this oddly flavored peach soda. I’m looking forward to trying other flavors of Filbert’s since they’re bound to be better than this.

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Brand: Fentimans
Flavor: Mandarin and Seville Orange
Sweetener: Sugar
Size: 9.3 ounce bottle
Purchased At: Old 52
Similar To: None

Mandarin and Seville Orange Jigger (quite a mouthful) is another one of of Fentimans’ botanically brewed sodas. The soda is a bright orange-yellow color and a quick look at the ingredients reveals why–it is made with real mandarin juice concentrate as well as seville orange extracts. Unlike most sodas, you actually need to shake this one a little bit before drinking because the natural fruit bits tend to settle on the bottom of the bottle. My first taste of the jigger (I’m not sure why it’s called jigger since a jigger is a unit of measurement) revealed that the taste stays very true to the look: this is essentially an orange juice soda. Like Fentimans Curiosity Cola, this drink contains ginger and other herbal extracts. Unlike the cola, however, those ingredients are barely noticeable here. What is noticeable, though, are the satisfying mandarin and orange flavors. The carbonation is pretty mellow but still adds a nice zing to the soda which finishes with a very slight bitterness that one would expect when eating a real orange. Fentimans has done it again and created a very distinctive soda that is different but still manages to taste good.

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I absolutely love Mason’s Root Beer. It’s such an easy-to-drink-and-enjoy root beer. Mason’s Root Beer should probably be a solid 3-star rated soda but because I love it so much I’m giving it 4-stars. The only thing keeping this root beer from being a 5-star soda is that it doesn’t do anything adventurous. You see, as much as I love this soda, Mason’s plays it safe with a predictable yet altogether good root beer and it’s always a pleasure to drink. I think that it takes a bit of risk for sodas to get that “best of category” 5-star rating. Mason’s takes a solid stand with a sweet, finely carbonated and smooth root beer. The root beer taste is not overbearing and never gets too natural. In one word I would describe Mason’s Root Beer as “uncomplicated”. It’s very straightforward, sweet and smooth which is what makes this soda so easy to drink. You’ll find that there’s something just a little different in Mason’s Root Beer than what you get with a comparable A&W or Dad’s Root Beer, maybe it’s the “Keg Brewed Flavor” that the label describes. Mason’s Root Beer dates back to 1947 and today is owned by Monarch Beverage Company in Atlanta, Georgia. If you’re a fan of simple, smooth and sweet root beers then Mason’s is one that you’ll want to try. Just be warned that you’re likely to come back to it time and time again if it’s available to you.

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A big announcement was revealed today for lovers of Cheerwine soda. Cheerwine announced, via their Facebook page, that Cheerwine is now available for purchase in all Crack Barrel locations across the United States. According to the post, the Cheerwine that will be sold there is the glass bottle version (that’s the version that’s made with real cane sugar). Cracker Barrel has locations in 42 states which means that Cheerwine is now available across almost the entire country.

The news is certainly exciting, especially considering how much I like Cheerwine. If it hasn’t been available in your area, I suggest finding the nearest Cracker Barrel location and picking up a bottle or two as soon as possible. You probably won’t regret it. Personally, I’ll be going to Cracker Barrel for the first time in my life this weekend to pick up some of the delicious Cheerwine. And who knows, maybe they’ll have some other vintage sodas for me to stock up on.

Brand: Jones
Flavor: Strawberry Lime
Sweetener: Inverted cane sugar
Size: 12 ounce bottle
Purchased At: Smith’s
Similar To: None

Fruit soda is always pretty hit-or-miss for me. On one hand, you can get a delicious fruit soda that’s flavored with real fruit and that tastes very refreshing. On the other hand, you can get a fruit soda that tastes so artificial that you wonder if someone slipped a weird concoction of chemicals into the soda bottle when you weren’t looking. Thankfully, Jones sodas have always had pretty authentic flavors and the Jones Strawberry Lime is no different. Strawberry and lime may not seem like a very complementary pairing for a soda, but they definitely work well together here. The strawberry provides a sweet, tart flavor and the lime finishes the soda up nicely, but could be stronger and tangier. It’s difficult to describe the flavor, since I can think of no other sodas that are similar to Jones Strawberry Lime. So if you haven’t tried it yet, you’re missing out on a unique and very tasty soda. Lucky for you, Jones is widely available in most areas so you shouldn’t have too much trouble hunting down a bottle or two.

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Let’s start with the good. Reading Draft does a great job with their logo/bottle design. There are several things to get excited about. However, that’s where it ends – there are subdtle promises that the bottle makes that the soda inside just doesn’t live up to. The flavor I chose to drink was Reading Draft Sarsaparilla. First, the logo states “Handcrafted Since 1921″ and “Premium Reserve Soda” – both of which are pretty good signs. Second, the first two ingredients on the list add some excitement – “Triple Filtered Carbonated Water, Pure Cane Sugar”. So, before even popping off the twist cap of this bottle you’ve built it up in your mind and mouth that this is going to be one tasty Sarsaparilla. And believe me – I wanted this one to be a great soda but it just wasn’t. The soda is lightly carbonated and has a mild Sarsaparilla flavor to start. The flavor delivery falls off quickly and the soda finishes on such a weak note. It almost ends on a bitter note – which at times is something that a root beer, Sarsaparilla, birch beer and similar ginger sodas will do. It just doesn’t work in this case. There is nothing memorable about his drink and in fact, it was one that I didn’t particularly care whether or not I finished it (I did eventually finish it by the way). I think there are so many other better choices in this crowded category of root beers/Sarsaparillas and birch beers that it’s hard to fall in love with this one. I wanted to though – I expected so much from that “Triple Filtered Water” and the “Premium Reserve Soda” but it just didn’t deliver. I’m giving Reading Draft Sarsaparilla 2-Stars for the enticing bottle setup but take my word on it – there isn’t much that stands out in this soda that makes it truly something to applaud and rave about.

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Brand: Leninade
Flavor: Lemonade
Sweetener: Cane sugar
Size: 12 ounce bottle
Purchased At: Old 52
Similar To: Jelly Belly Lemon Drop Soda

Seeing the bottle one time was enough to convince me that I had to try Leninade soda. I mean, the bottle is packed with enough Soviet-related maxims to make any communist proud. Phrases like “A party in every bottle” and “Surprisingly satisfying simple Soviet style soda” meant that this was a drink that I needed to try as soon as possible. The day has finally come and I have at last found out what Leninade is all about. Based on the wordplay in the soda’s name, I was guessing this was supposed to be a lemonade-flavored soda. The red coloring made me think it would possibly be some sort of berry lemonade. One bottle later and I can proclaim that Leninade is actually lightly carbonated water with a lemon wedge squeezed into it. Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating, but in spite of the soda’s self proclamations of “a taste worth standing in line for”, Leninade is ultimately too bland to be a really great soda. I really wanted to like it, too, but the flavor was just too weak. A lemonade soda should be much more tart and tangy than this. I think the creativity of the packaging alone keeps this soda from being below average, but I feel like there was a missed opportunity here to make something really special.

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Brand: Briar’s
Flavor: Lemon Cream
Sweetener: Could not determine
Size: 12 oz Bottle
Cost: $1.99
Purchased At: Rocket Fizz
Flavor Notes: Smooth lemon flavor, slight creaminess, ever-so-slightly bitter finish

When my gaze came across this Briar’s Lemon Cream Soda there wasn’t as much as a second thought as to whether or not I was going to buy this soda, how could I not? I love any soda with “cream” attached to the title or the flavor. When I think of the other “cream” soda flavors that we usually see I think of vanilla cream, orange cream, red cream and even blue cream. I had never been seen or heard of a lemon cream soda – this was one I had to try. First off, Briar’s Lemon Cream is a good soda. The color is a cloudy yellow, exactly what you’d expect from a lemon cream soda. The bottle is a 12 oz. long neck and the there is a nice Briar’s Lemon Cream logo but that’s it. There is no nutritional information, no information on Briar’s, no ingredients even. I found this strange and set off for the interwebs to track down ingredients. No luck though — what’s strange is that the Briar’s Soda website doesn’t acknowledge the existence of their lemon cream soda. Ingredient list aside, this soda has a smooth, creamy lemon flavor which allows just a little of the sour through. Just as it should, the creaminess subdues most of the punch and pucker that a lemon soda can pack and allows the flavor of lemon to break through with just a hint of the sour. However, while upon first taste you can really taste the creamy element of this drink, the lemon flavor peaks through and finally the soda finishes with just of bitterness towards the end. It’s as if the creaminess was fighting the naturally overpowering lemon flavor and does so valiantly right up until you swallow and then the lemon gets one little kick. The result isn’t bad. If you like lemon sodas then I would definitely recommend trying a Briar’s Lemon Cream. This soda is definitely unique and plenty good enough to enjoy while drinking it. I hesitate to give this soda a 4-start rating because I’m not convinced this is a flavor I would buy time and time again, but it is definitely unique and enjoyable enough to earn a solid 3-star rating.

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