Thirsty Dudes :: Country :: United States

Goya Tamarind Nectar

I am a fan of most of the Goya Nectar drinks. I usually get them in the larger bottles, but this flavor I've only ever seen in a can. I learned today that although the bottles use natural sweeteners, the ones in the cans all seem to be sweetened with High Fructose Corn Syrup. In my opinion that's already deducted points. The taste of the nectar reminded me of a mix of apple and grape juice, with a strange earthy undertone. It really did nothing for me.

Website: http://goya.com

Country: United States

Sweetener: High Fructose Corn Syrup

Categories: Juice

Rating: 1/5

Reviewed By: Jason Draper on 9/6/2010

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Buy Now: Goya Tamarind Nectar

Inko's White Tea Energy

After a day of hiking I stopped at a store to get a beverage. I normally wouldn't grab an energy drink under such circumstances, but the fact that it was in the natural section, and it said "Jitter Free" convinced me to take a chance. I was very pleased with my purchase. This beverage had none of the normal chemical flavors that you would normally find in energy drinks. It really just tasted like sweetened white tea with a slight ginger taste to it. I felt like I was just drinking a normal iced tea. I actually forgot it was an energy drink until my lady friend asked if it did anything as an energy drink. I did find myself feeling more alert, but not like a spazz like I normally would after an energy drink.

Website: http://healthywhitetea.com/

Country: United States

Sweetener: Crystalline Fructose

Categories: Energy Drink, Iced Tea

Rating: 3/5

Reviewed By: Jason Draper on 9/6/2010

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Buy Now: Inko's Energy Drink, 15.5-Ounce Cans (Pack of 24)

Sweet Leaf Citrus Green Tea

Sweet Leaf is by far my favorite iced tea on the market. I used to only be able to find it down south, but it has recently been making its way into stores up near us. The citrus green tea is one of the best flavors this company has. Not too sweet, with just the right amount of lemon/lime/orange. For those of you old enough to remember, it strangely reminds me of Ecto Cooler drink that Hi-C used to make. If you are a fan of flavored teas, I can do nothing but sing the praises of Sweet Leaf.

Website: http://www.sweetleaftea.com/

Country: United States

Sweetener: Organic Cane Sugar

Categories: Iced Tea

Rating: 4/5

Reviewed By: Jason Draper on 9/3/2010

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Buy Now: Sweet Leaf Tea, Citrus Green Tea, 15.5-Ounce Cans (Pack of 24)

Jones Naturals Limes with Orange

I've never been a huge fan of the Jones company. I do appreciate that they were early to the game in using cane sugar, but their sodas so sugary that they left a film on my teeth. This is my first tasting of one of their juices, and I have to say that I enjoy it much more than their sodas I've had in the past. It tastes like a thicker, but not syrupy, orange juice with a hint of lime. It may only be 10% juice, but it doesn't make you feel like crap like most other "juices" do.

Website: http://www.jonessoda.com

Country: United States

Sweetener: Inverted Cane Sugar

Categories: Juice

Rating: 2/5

Reviewed By: Jason Draper on 9/6/2010

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Hotlips Boysenberry

Boysenberry soda? Really? I was pretty shocked when I saw this, but also excited to try it. It's a local Portland soda made by the people who run the Hotlips Pizza chain. It has a strong berry smell, but luckily the taste isn't as strong. I was afraid this was going to taste like carbonated juice, but it definitely was not the case. The boysenberry is represented perfectly: not too sweet, not too watery.
The only major complaint I have is the price. At $2.50 a bottle, it's one of the most expensive specialty sodas I've seen in a while. I could see myself picking this up once in a while as a treat, but my wallet would never forgive me if it became a regular drink of mine. I am excited to try the other flavors Hotlips sells, especially the blackberry and pear flavors.

Edit: I wrote this review when i was half way through the bottle. I just finished it and was surprised by little chunks of boysenberry near the bottom. This might make some people happy, but when you're not expecting it, it's a little off-putting.

Website: http://hotlipssoda.com/

Country: United States

Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar

Categories: Soda Pop

Rating: 3/5

Reviewed By: Derek Neuland on 9/6/2010

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Columbia Gorge Lemonade

Warning: do not take a big sip of this the first time you try it. You will be in for a big surprise as the strong taste of lemon juice stings your tongue and singes your insides all the way down until it settles into your stomach. If you have ever drunk pure lemon juice, you know the feeling I'm talking about.
That being said, Columbia Gorge knows how to make good lemonade. If you like yours extra tart, then this one is for you. It's sweetened with agave syrup, which I've never seen before but I welcome the change. It really lets the lemon in the lemonade shine through when it's not loaded with sugar.

Website: http://www.columbiagorgeorganic.com/

Country: United States

Sweetener: Agave Syrup

Categories: Lemonade

Rating: 2/5

Reviewed By: Derek Neuland on 9/6/2010

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Natural Brew Vanilla Creme Soda

I have yet to meet a cream soda I have not liked. Luckily, Natural Brew's Vanilla Creme Soda does not break my streak. As the name states, it has a strong vanilla flavor that sits on the tongue very nicely. One really nice thing about Natural Brew is they use evaporated cane juice as a sweetener. Cane juice is processed much less than sugar, therefore it retains a lot more of the naturally occurring nutrients in the sugar cane.
Natural Brew is manufactured and distributed by Smucker's Quality Beverages (yes, the same Smucker's that makes jam). I'm holding out for a peanut butter and jelly soda.

Website: http://www.natural-brew.com/

Country: United States

Sweetener: Evaporated Cane Juice

Categories: Soda Pop

Rating: 3/5

Reviewed By: Derek Neuland on 9/6/2010

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Blue Sky Cola

On first sip, Blue Sky Cola is a lot lighter than most cola. It also lacks the sharp bitter taste that Coke and Pepsi have, which might please people who don't normally like cola for that reason. This may be due to the fact that Blue Sky uses real sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup, or possibly the lack of caffeine (which is uncommon among colas).
Blue Sky is owned by Hansen Natural Corporation (who also make Hansen Natural sodas). These two brands seem to be the most prominent canned natural sodas so it's interesting to see that the same company owns both.
Overall, this is one of the best colas I've had recently. The smooth taste and lack of high fructose corn syrup really puts it ahead of the rest. Though the lack of caffeine throws me off as I usually associated coffee and colas with caffeine.

Website: http://www.blueskysoda.com/

Country: United States

Sweetener: Real Sugar

Categories: Soda Pop

Rating: 4/5

Reviewed By: Derek Neuland on 9/6/2010

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Buy Now: Blue Sky Cola, 12-Ounce Cans (Pack of 24)

Arizona Black and White

Delicious. This is my favorite (so far) of Arizona's iced teas. Could be the lack of high fructose corn syrup, but I think that I genuinely like the taste more than my previous favorite of many, many years, the Green Tea with Honey. Now this is getting increasingly hard to find which makes my sad but I just found that they have another company in the works that does all cane sugar teas.

Website: http://drinkarizona.com

Country: United States

Sweetener: Evaporated Cane Juice

Categories: Iced Tea

Rating: 5/5

Reviewed By: Mike Literman on 9/3/2010

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Buy Now: Arizona Black & White Tea, 23.5000-Ounces (Pack Of 24)

Ito En Teas' Tea Mango Oolong

This is a straight forward iced tea. It tastes like someone brewed some oolong tea, very lightly sweetened it, and let it chill in the fridge. It's a nice refreshing drink for those times when you don't want something overly sweet. My only complaint is that it is obviously mildly flavored with something, but I'm hard pressed to describe it as tasting like mango.