Reed's Cherry Ginger Brew

AAANNNNDDD NOWWW!!! The most anticipated match of the year!! Reed's Cherry Ginger Brew, cousin of the late great, Reed's Original Ginger Ale, versus Mattncheese!!!

Mattncheese is currently 6-1 against sodas. The loss, of course, being to tonight's opponent's cousin!!

Will the cherry flavor be enough for him to muster through this soda? Or, will the now 22 grams of fresh ginger overcome Mattncheese yet again?

The match..begins.

With a deep breath I anticipate the punch in the face that may be this drink. Then I exhale and decide to type this.

A sly smirk comes across my face. (I should type that too)

They actually did the label right this time, it's not all wrinkled and what not.

DRINK, I MUST DRINK.

Okay...okay...I musn't accidentally catch a wiff of the drink as I bring it to my mouth..

Okay..

Wowzaa.

There is cherry in here?

I must continue on!

I have now drunk everything that was in the neck of the bottle..

It just burns my throat. My stomach, I can feel it.

The cherry is non-existent.

On the bright side, the drink is a nice deep ruby red.

..it will look wonderful when it is circling my sink's drain..

The label is mainly red. The scene in the front is of a river valley with a small branch of cherries in the foreground. Funny, when I look at this drink all I see is fire and large ginger roots laughing at me..

Cherry Ginger Brew, I stand defeated. Moreso than your cousin defeated me. I happily take my second loss. But know this! With every loss I gain more determination. Mostly though the ability of saying, "This soda is alright..I've had MUCH worse."

Cooper's Cave Chocolate Soda

Yes, that is right. Chocolate soda.Avast, another pop off. Fortunately, I am prepared today! No forks shall be bent because of you Cooper's Cave bottle!

Oh yes, it smells chocolaty.

It is an unusual blend. Initially I did not get much of a chocolate taste, but now, I am getting many different components. I get a smooth milk chocolate taste. Occasionally I get the bitterness of pure chocolate.

Like the Sarsaparilla from the same company, the carbonation is done just right.

The label, this time is themed in red and brown. The picture on the front depicts a large black of chocolate. The corner of this block has been shaved and chipped down. It look much like a rocky cliff side, except chocolate. Carved out of the top of the block of chocolate are three C's and an A. The middle C is raised above the others and its bottom crosses the A. This stands for the company's full name, Cooper's Cave Ale Company.

This soda reminds me of one of my favorite amusement parks. Of course I am talking about Hershey Park. I am kind of surprised I haven't seen a chocolate soda there. Hershey would probably do it better, only because Hershey's chocolate is amazing.

The sad thing about this soda is that the bitterness of chocolate sticks with me longer than any of the other flavors. Taking another sip does not immediately eliminate this flavor. I don't know how to describe the flavors as the soda first hits the tongue. This drink is all about aftertaste.

Overall, I'd rate it as an OK soda. I give them credit for being experimental and making chocolate into a carbonated beverage. However, chocolate is just not a flavor one expects out of a soda. Perhaps if they took out some of the bitterness this could be a top quality soda, but as for now it ranks among the average.

Friday, I go back into the trenches. It is me against Cherry Ginger Ale. Will I be defeated again like its cousin defeated me? Or will the cherry be enough to counteract the overpowering ginger?

Stewart's Cream Soda

This soda should be delightful.

This is the first Stewart's soda of the adventure. Let's keep in mind that Stewart's Orange Cream soda is what started this journey so I have high hopes for this one!

Twist off, thank you.

Oh man the scent of cream soda is just wonderful. It's like liquid candy aroma.

The first sip is alright. The creamyness is a little too harsh if I want to be picky (if you've ever seen me eat, you know I am just a tad picky ((does sarcasm come off well in writing?))) Harsh and creamy sound like an oxymoron to me but that's what came to mind.

The aftertaste is...nommy. A smooth lingering vanilla taste.

Actually, having the aftertaste in your mouth as you take another sip is what makes this soda shine. The "harshness" combined with the mellow aftertaste is a wonderful compliment. The vanilla is a prominent figure in this soda and it is done right.

The bottle is what I would consider the average design. "Stewart'S" pops out in raised lettering on the shoulder of the glass (below the neck and above the body, it's a technical term.). The logo is nothing out of the ordinary, but not boring. One of my favorite things about Stewart's is that on the label they will put something that is colored by the soda. In this case there is a cup of soda, colored amber by the soda. As you finish the bottle, the cup appears to empty.

This soda got off on the wrong foot. It really needs that aftertaste to show its true potential. Of the cream sodas I have tasted, this may be the best. But there are still plenty more to come. The next cream soda is about two weeks from now.

I don't want to give away Wednesday's soda, but imagine this face.

Courtesy of Mr. Squarepants Nickelodeon.

Cooper's Cave Centennial Sarsaparilla

I honestly have no idea what Sarsaparilla is supposed to taste like.

The plain yellow cap is not a twist off..uh oh.

Okay, a good 13 minutes later and a slightly bent fork, the bottle is finally open. This better be worth it.

Oh, it's root beer, thank goodness. This version has a less prominent taste of root beer. It doesn't have too much of a creamy after taste like the Boylan root beer. Actually, its after taste is..a little strange. I don't know how to describe it. It's not bad; it doesn't make me want to stop drinking.

The carbonation is right near perfect for me. It is not too fizzy, which I like. Perhaps it is because it is a little warmer from all the hands that tried to open the bottle, perhaps not.

The bottle design is a simple brown long neck. Not unlike the Boylan design. The very top of the neck comes out in a triangular type way for a grip. The label has a yellow and black color scheme. The focal point of the label is a city hall, Glens Falls to be specific. In the middle of the city hall picture is a banner saying, "Glens Falls 100 Years 1908-2008". Do they not realize it is 2011? Am I drinking 3 year old soda!?

The soda in the bottle has a little head of fizz on top. I'm surprised because it doesn't seem fizzy to me at all. But it gives the drink a nice appeal.

Overall, this is an average root beer. A little too watered down for me. But of course, this isn't root beer, this is Sarsaparilla, maybe it is supposed to be a little watery. A quick wiki search yields a plant by the name of Smilax Regelii, sometimes known as Sarsaparilla. First popular in Europe for the treatment of Syphilis. Oh goodie! It is a primary ingredient in root beer. That explains why it tastes like root beer minus some oomph! For me, if I'm gonna get something that tastes like root beer, I'm going to go all the way.

Boylan Root Beer

Nothing like a classic after yesterday's debacle.

I've heard good things about Boylan, so I'm pretty excited to try out their Root Beer.

First off, I opened it without using my shirt...HOWAH

Smells very Root Beer like. Smells just like a root beer dum-dum lollipop.

First taste is quite satisfying. Initially you get the root beer taste, nothing out of the ordinary there. But what I like about this is the nice, mellow, creamy aftertaste. I would come back for that after taste.

Upon sip-age, there is a little too much fizz for my palate. I don't like it to get all gassy in my mouth, I want a liquid with a little bit of sparkle to it. After taking a sip, I can hear the remaining liquid fizzing in the bottle. Upon examination of the bottle, I should have expected the fizz seeing how to the bottom left of the logo it says, "best" and to the bottom right it says, "head".

The bottle itself is tall and narrow. It is made from a dark brown glass. Near the mouth of the bottle is a little round bulge. I can only assume it is to enhance one's grip on the bottle. Good idea Boylan. In raised lettering the bottle says, "BOYLAN vintage soda pop" on one side and, "BTTLG CO family run since 1891" on the other. The G and the O in BTTLG CO are smaller but are upper justified with the rest of the letters. The entire bottle gives me an old american urban 1920's feel. I like it.

I am not good enough to distinguish between pure cane sugar and regular sugar, but apparently this drink has the former.

Overall a very pleasing beverage. The fizz is my only complaint about the drink. However, I would say that the nostalgic bottle makes up for that fact.

What's better than Root Beer? Birch Beer. I get to experience that quite a few Mondays from now.

Reed's Original Ginger Brew

All natural Jamaican Style Ginger Ale! Oh yeah mon.

First Wiff: Holy crap, they threw some spices in here.

First Taste: WOW, that is strong. This is probably going to be a tough one..

I admit I was a little skeptical when I read "STRONG GINGER BITE". Written in near fine print on the bottle. But, oh man, that warning is not powerful enough.

The taste is mostly certainly ginger. I can taste a few other spices but I'm not experienced enough to discern them.

They say ginger is supposed to calm your stomach. I'm sure there is some science behind it but unfortunately, I do not know what.

Just burped, it burns a little.

While I sip this drink down let me tell you a little about my new schedule. I have discovered that the Yumm Shop is closed on the weekends, which will get in the way of my once every three days schedule. So, I decided to make it a Monday, Wednesday, Friday adventure. Yesterday, being Labor day, Yum Shop was again unopened. That is why This Jamaican brew is being consumed on Tuesday.

I honestly do not know if I will be able to finish this. It is crazy strong.

The bottle is the standard shape with green glass. The labels are sub-par. The top label is too big for the neck leading to a large wrinkle. All the labels are made out of paper with sticky stuff on the back. It did not fare too well in the rainy walk back to my dorm.

No preservatives whatsoever in this bottle. It is made from water, sweetened with fructose, pineapple juice and honey, fresh ginger root, lemon and lime juices and last but not least (actually that's a lie the last one on the ingredient is certainly the least) spices. 25% fruit juice. 17 grams of fresh ginger per bottle.

Gad. Zooks.

Okay, I think I'm going to have to break that rule that I wanted to stick to. I can't finish this. I got about 1/3 of the way threw though. I put up a valiant effort.

A week from Friday I go neck to neck (get it) with this brew's cousin, the Cherry Ginger Brew Ginger Ale. Also, the second to last Wednesday I will meet up with the Seltzer. Both of these, I can guarantee I will not be finishing. But I will taste them and drink as much as I can.

Reed's Original Ginger Brew, I'm sure you are right for some, but I am not one of those. On the bright side, you are the first to be put on the bottom of my list! Your cousin will probably meet you there in a little more than a week.

Frostie Cherry Limeade Soda

Day 2 of this project features a wonderfully colorful soda. Red liquid accented with lime green on the label and bottle cap. A Jack Frost type character adorns the snowy scene on the label.

First sip: I definitely taste the cherry. The limeade part seems a little hidden. I haven't had much experience with limeade so I'm not entirely sure what flavor I'm looking for. The aftertaste does seem limeade-esque.

This soda is certainly more fizzy than the last one. Twisting the cap off gave way to more bubbles than the Pop Shoppe Cream Soda. Taking a swig gives me that fizz one expects from a carbonated beverage.

Strangely, I get a Coca-cola taste in the top back of my mouth. My guess is that it is the cherry.

The bottle is a simple design, what one would probably think of if asked to picture a glass bottle. The name "Frostie" pops out of the glass on a diagonal 4 times around the upper middle section of the bottle. The bottle is nothing special but the label is cheery in a holiday sense.

The flavor is quite good. It's ones like these that aren't exactly a normal flavor that get me excited to do this project. Predominately cherry, with a light lime taste in the background. It seems more like a summer soda to me, despite its label. A slight tang really makes this soda pop. Each sip the soda says "Here I am!"

I wish I could give these sodas number ratings but I don't have enough to compare to. So what may be an 8.5 now could become a 7.5 as I taste more.