Sparkling (220 reviews)
San Pellegrino Blood Orange
I don't often think about quitting Thirsty Dudes. It's fun and it's a hobby. Sure, I would like it to explode to the point where the hardest thing I have to think about is which Lamborghini Countach I am going to go to Jay's to get tacos, but that's in the future. The only thing that makes me want to not do Thirsty Dudes anymore is really good drinks. When we drink something stellar, we often never get to drink it again because of where it came from or the fact that at any given time, we all have at least twenty other drinks in queue that cannot be ignored. I have broken that streak a little bit by buying cases of really good drinks but it takes me forever to drink them because, as previously mentioned, there isn't enough time in the day.
This drink made me think about it for a second, though. It's really good. It's rightfully bitter, like a blood orange should be. It does the fruit justice. Just a little bit of sugar to cut it and make it so you keep coming back. Blood oranges everywhere should consider this the apex of compliments to be in this drink. You might be saying that they're just fruits but come on, if you were a lemon, would you rather be in a lemon Brisk or a San Pellegrino Limonata? It makes a difference. Don't think that it doesn't.
- Website
- http://www.sanpellegrino.com
- Country
- United States
- Sweetener
- Sugar
- Categories
- Sparkling
- Rating
- Reviewed By
- Mike Literman on 12/28/2012
- Comments
- View and Leave A Comment
Martinelli's Sparkling Apple-Cranberry
Another New Years Eve has come and gone, which means that so has another bottle of sparkling juice. As you may or may not know non-drinkers like myself celebrate the obligatory times in much the same way that children do. I think I get the same enjoyment out of it as well. This year I decided to get a little fancier than my typical sparkling grape juice so I went with cranberry juice…cran-apple. I hear that it is just about impossible to get out of sheets from Santa Fe, so I took care not to spill in on any of the fancy gowns that surrounded me, and by that I mean t-shirts and jeans. I don’t hang with an upscale crowd much.
First thing to note about this is that it is not a twist cap. I had to pry off the cap on the side of the stage of the club I was DJing at like a savage, because unlike a Boy Scout I am rarely prepared. The effort to open it was worth it though, as this is one delectable celebratory beverage. It’s just apple and cranberry juice mixed together with some bubbles added. The apple juice sweetened it enough to take away the bitterness of the cranberries, but their flavor was still present. It’s basically a higher quality carbonated version of Ocean Spray. I will definitely have to pick up more of this for my next soirée. Oh yeah, remember: Nothing changes on New Years Day…remember when U2 was a great band? I certainly do.
- Website
- http://www.martinellis.com/
- Country
- United States
- Sweetener
- No Sugar Added
- Rating
- Reviewed By
- Jason Draper on 1/1/2013
- Comments
- View and Leave A Comment
Rubicon Sparkling Passion
Look at Rubicon stepping up their line and their image. They have given the contents of their juice boxes with some carbonation and packaged them in these fancy little cans. Seriously it’s the same juice, just carbonated and it’s glorious. For those of us with dreams of passionfruit, mango and guava sodas that actually taste like juice and not some weird bastardization of it, the dream has become a reality. Sure this is pretty sweet, but so is the actual fruit, and it’s pop now, so it’s supposed to be sweet. Don’t complain, just be grateful that they actually did things right and it tastes like you’re eating fruit, and not like fake flavoring or seltzer.
- Website
- http://www.rubiconexotic.com/
- Country
- India
- Sweetener
- Sugar
- Rating
- Reviewed By
- Jason Draper on 1/11/2013
- Comments
- View and Leave A Comment
Bibbs Sparkling Blackberry
This is one of those beverages that walks the line between a soda pop and sparkling juice. I really don’t even know how I make the differentiation any more. I guess if there is no sweeteners added it is just sparkling juice by default. It could also be said that if it is sweetened with HFCS, or has an overabundance of sugar in it, it is classified as a soda. This has sugar added to it, but it’s evaporated cane juice, and it falls under juice on the ingredients list. I’m just going to proclaim that it is both, as in the larger scheme of life it does not matter at all. What does matter is that it is delicious. Just this morning my girlfriend pulled out a container of blackberries that she had been hiding from me in the fridge. I can’t blame her, when they are put in front of me I can’t stop myself and I just keep eating them until they are gone. Case in point I think she ate 2 or 3 today and I ate the rest of them. I would say I was a glutton, but it’s fruit, so does that even count as gluttonous? The important thing is I have the memory of the actual fruit fresh in my mind, and this drink is not far from it. The berries they used taste like they weren’t completely ripe, but I know that is actually how a lot of people prefer their blackberries. It’s just a little more tart than one would expect from a berry soda. That is helped by the low amount of sugar that is added to it. There are only 13g of sugar in this bottle and in the world of non-diet sodas that is like nothing. This is a beverage that tastes great that you don’t have to feel guilty about drinking.
- Website
- http://www.drinkbibbs.com/
- Country
- United States
- Sweetener
- Evaporated Cane Juice
- Rating
- Reviewed By
- Jason Draper on 1/13/2013
- Comments
- View and Leave A Comment
Oishi Chakuza Sparkling Green Tea Beverage
I would have to not be human to pass up this drink. When I was in a seafood/Vietnamese restaurant yesterday getting my bahn mi fix I saw this in a cooler and it was a no brainer. I didn’t even know what type of beverage it was. All I knew is that it had a picture of an anime dude wielding a bat like a sword with a chain wallet on. It’s absolutely ridiculous looking. It wasn’t until I was waiting at the register that I discovered it was a sparkling green tea; an awesome can just became an awesome drink. The moment I fell in love didn’t occur until I was back at my table and I took a sip to discover that it was actually a sparkling jasmine green tea. The stars aligned and new worlds were open to me. It’s a drink I’ve never had before, had never even thought of existing before, but now that I’ve had it I feel stupid for not longing for it’s existence.
I was told that it tastes like fancy soap smells. Not like fancy soap actually tastes, but how you imagine it would taste. I can’t argue with that, but like my friend I also don’t think it’s a bad thing. Who among us hasn’t bitten into a piece of soap hoping beyond hope that it will actually taste as good as it smells? Oh, just me? Well it’s no secret that I am an idiot. If you dare to dream as I do, then this drink could be the secret to unlocking those self same dreams.
On a side note I wanted to know what Chakuka meant so I did a little internet search. The only thing I could find was that it is the name of an Austrian rapper. I hope that this drink is a result of him branding himself in other countries. That would be amazingly hysterical.
- Website
- http://www.oishidrink.com
- Country
- Thailand
- Sweetener
- Couldn't Read Ingredients
- Rating
- Reviewed By
- Jason Draper on 1/18/2013
- Comments
- View and Leave A Comment
Sonoma Sparkler Natural Pear
Every time I looked at this drink I saw snakes. Confused? Let me explain. Remember in Pee Wee’s Big Adventure when the pet store is burning and Pee Wee keeps going in to save the pets, but each time he shivers as he passes the aquarium of snakes, because he knows that eventually he’s going to have to reach in and save those snakes? Well this drink is like the contents of that aquarium.
Pears and I are not on the best of terms. When I was growing up the old lady who lived next door had two pear trees in her backyard that she never took care of. Come fall her backyard would be full of the stench of rotting pears that littered the lawn, which brought a bunch of bees and other bugs along with it. This eventually over spilled into my backyard. Bees and decay are not a fun combination. Ever since then I have this thing about pears that I can’t shake. Even though we have absolutely loved every other flavor of the Sonoma Sparkler line it has taken me five months to finally drink this soda because of the cursed pear.
I was a fool. This sparkling juice is better than anyone could have ever expected. Yes, this would surprise even pear enthusiasts. The way the pears mix in with the apples is spectacular. They become a Ying and Yang of fruit juices. Neither overpowers the other. They just live in harmony. With no sweeteners added this is nothing but carbonation and juice, which makes it an unbeatable healthy force.
I have faced my fears. I came out with an armful of snakes and I didn’t scream and pass out like that baby Pee Wee. In fact, I’m ready to head back in to save some more.
- Website
- http://www.sonomasparkler.com
- Country
- United States
- Sweetener
- No Sugar Added
- Rating
- Reviewed By
- Jason Draper on 1/30/2013
- Comments
- View and Leave A Comment
Nativa Organics Graepfruit Flavoured Drink
Color me jealous that this is a Canadian drug stores’ house brand. Why can’t Walgreens, CVS or Rite Aid have products this good? I live right near a couple of stores and I would walk to them more often for a drink such as this. It’s simply carbonated mineral water and juice. It’s a mixture of grapefruit, grape, lemon and apple juices, but it really just tastes like someone juiced a grapefruit into some sparkling water. I’m assuming the apple juice is there to sweeten it up a tad, as while it is fairly bitter, it’s not over the top face making bitter. It’s great regardless, and I wish it were available in the States. Looks like I will be stocking up the next time I head up to Canada.
- Website
- http://www1.shoppersdrugmart.ca/en/food-and-home/brands/nativa-organics/collections/nativa-snacks.as
- Country
- Canada
- Sweetener
- No Sugar Added
- Rating
- Reviewed By
- Jason Draper on 2/3/2013
- Comments
- View and Leave A Comment
Manhattan Special Espresso
To put the capstone on my trip to New York, I wanted to do it right. I wanted to give a big "thank you" to Brooklyn for its hospitality so I found the highly regarded Manhattan Special. After that Arizona that was the same thing, on paper, this didn't have a high bar to jump over.
There was a bit of time before we went to dinner and I knew I had to catch a flight early in the morning so I needed to drink it now or never. I popped the top on it, took a sip, and loved Brooklyn all over again.
The sweetened, canned coffee drinks that I love have now been carbonated. It's got a great coffee taste and is justly sweetened. It never at any point made me feel like I was going to lose a tooth. The carbonation was just a nice touch. I feel like carbonating it was just a nice touch, something to push it over the edge of greatness.
Brooklyn, I will miss you as I sit in this terminal awaiting my flight that is miraculously on time. Manhattan Special was a nice way to go out.
- Website
- http://www.manhattanspecial.com/
- Country
- United States
- Sweetener
- Sugar
- Rating
- Reviewed By
- Mike Literman on 2/10/2013
- Comments
- View and Leave A Comment
Musette Sparkling Limonade Blood Orange
American’s will be in for a shock if they ever go to Europe and order lemonade, as more often than not they are carbonated. I don’t understand why that is, but it’s life. I was certainly surprised the first time it happened to me, but it was a good surprise. It doesn’t end up being a standard soda. It’s more like an Italian Soda aka carbonated juice. Instead of adding whatever other garbage is in your every day pop, it’s like they took a glass of lemonade and just added bubbles. It’s interesting, and a nice change of pace.
Now I knew this was carbonated, as it says so fairly large on the label. What tricked me this time is that I thought it was going to be lemon and lime with some blood orange mixed in. I mean what would you expect when you see the word “limonade?” In reality there is no lime contained, or lemon for that matter. I guess limonade is just a word that means any sort of ade made from a juice.
This has a nice blood orange flavor, that doesn’t taste overly sweetened. The use of beet sugar was a nice choice. Now I want to go to the store, buy a bunch of blood oranges and make blood orange-ade. I bet it would be incredible and I could put the kids down the street’s lemonade stand out of business. That will teach them to throw snowballs at my car.
- Country
- France
- Sweetener
- Beet Sugar
- Rating
- Reviewed By
- Jason Draper on 2/12/2013
- Comments
- View and Leave A Comment
Rubicon Sparkling Mango
Good things come in small cans. That sounds like some tagline for drink company X that ended up on the editing floor. I imagine Bob thought of the tagline on the way to work after days of emails that yielded no good ideas. He was probably so excited and couldn't wait to get to work for the first time in 20 years. He gave hints to his co-workers before the 9:30 meeting that he had a great idea.
The problem was he built it up so much that when they heard the mediocre tagline, they passed on it. He was devastated and always told the story over drinks with friends.
I almost forgot that I hadn't reviewed this drink yet. It's delicious is what I was trying to get at. It's really light and crisp and full of mango flavor. If it weren’t so full of sugar I would drink these all the time.
- Website
- http://www.rubiconexotic.com/
- Country
- Malaysia
- Sweetener
- Sugar
- Rating
- Reviewed By
- Derek Neuland on 2/12/2013
- Comments
- View and Leave A Comment