Sparkling - 501 Reviews

What we have here is a miracle of science. No it's not a cure all or some sort of tonic or elixir. What we have here is a watermelon flavored drink that doesn't taste like candy. Specifically it does not taste like watermelon Jolly Ranchers, which has been the standard for watermelon flavor for the past two decades, even though it tastes absolutely nothing like a fruit.

Somewhere in an underground laboratory a group of rouge scientists gathered to tackle this problem for once and for all. They did so in fear of losing their scientific titles, as the Grand Science Authority has strictly prohibited research in this field (Jolly Rancher donates obscene amounts of money to their organization in return for them not working on the "watermelon problem." These brave men and women worked against the grain and achieved something great. It turns out that all they needed to do was use watermelon juice concentrate.

Martinelli's used this new technology to create this sparkling lemonade. It tastes pretty much as is to be expected. A carbonated lemonade with a hint of watermelon to it. I'm personally not a huge fan of carbonated lemonades. Something about the bubbles and the bitterness doesn't quite sit well with me. If it's something you are into you should stand up and salute the brave scientists who risked it all to bring this new and exciting drink to your lips.

M.A.S.H. was there ever a television show that was more boring, with a more depressing television show. When I was young it would bum me out so much when I'd be watching cartoons or Three's Company (one of the best shows ever) and they would end and that stupid song would start. Bummer City, Vietnam should have been the name of the show. Now that I'm older maybe I would enjoy the show a bit, but I think my past prejudices would hold up.

Maybe the actors would liven up more if the US Army would have packed their provisions with MASH drink. I didn't know what to expect with this when I bought it. I certainly did not expect it to be carbonated. It says on the bottle "A water drink," but just by seeing it I was calling their bluff. My best guess would have been an extremely intense Vitamin Water type drink. It turns out it was a lot like an Italian soda. It was sharply carbonated and tasted exactly like a mix of mango and blood orange. It was one of the best surprises I've had in awhile in the beverage world. I drank it while I was walking around Columbus, OH and I stumbled across a creepy tunnel that I circumnavigated. (Can you do that if it's not a globe?) I took sips periodically, and by the time I finished it the carbonation was gone and it was flat. Even flat it was still good. At that point it tasted like I originally expected it to; Vitamin Water.

The moral of this story is that instead of watching stupid reruns of M.A.S.H. you should go outside and explore creepy tunnels where you will find nice cats and then stumble upon a hobo encampment.

I remember seeing this drink over in the UK. At the time I was on a pretty strict budget or basically no money, so I passed on trying it. This was also in the pre-Thirsty Dudes days, so I didn't feel the obligation to drink everything I saw. I didn't expect to run across it again in a small store in Lansing, MI. If you are also a scientist you will have come to the same conclusion I have; there is a warp point to the United Kingdom somewhere in central Michigan. I know your first thought is that we need to call immigration and get some border guards out here to tighten up security on this warp zone, but I'm pretty sure the terrorists don't know about it yet, so let's use it to our advantage. Think of all of the Jaffa cakes and Irn Bru we could bring over. On second thought those things are gross, let's tighten those borders!

Now that we're essentially closed off the point of entry let us sit back and sip on this bottle of Shloer. The way I've been pronouncing it, it sounds like a degrading term for women. Is that the way you're supposed to say it? If so what were you thinking UK? Enough of pronunciations. On to what's important, flavor. I expected this to be an overly sweet sparkling grape juice. While it is a sparkling grape juice, as is stated on the bottle, my scientific skills were not needed for that, it's not very sweet. It has a nice bitter grape taste to it. It was a nice surprise. I've been nursing the bottle for the better part of the day and I'm not sick of it yet. I kind of regret calling immigration on that warp point. Hopefully another one will open and I can score some more of these.

Dear Europe, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your "soda pops." I know a lot of Americans probably wouldn't like them, but to me that are what I want most of the time when I am hankering for a soda. While the American version of soda is thick, syrupy and overly sweet, you take things ta-other way. Yours are light and nice and bubbly. You understand that drinks don't need to drenched in sweetener to be enjoyable. Most of the time your sodas are closer to sparkling juice than American soda.

This is the lightest orange soda I've ever tasted. It also has actual orange juice in it, which is a major plus. It's not insanely orange juice tasting like Orangina, but it's in that vein. In a blind taste test I could tell you this was a European soda. It tastes somehow fresh. This has been the worst explanation of a soda ever, but that's what you get. Oggu has done it right, yet again.

What can I get you sir? A Dr. Pepper? Wise choice. Let me just go over here to the fountain, press this medium, responsible sized cup to the lever and...hmm. That's odd. Let's do it again because anyone who has worked a fountain drink machine knows that the drinks are lighter coming out of the spout than they are in the cups that we drink them out of. Round two, here we go. Nope, clear. Sir? Pardon me, sir? How are you feeling today? Daring? You are?! Sir, I like you. Let's do something here. What have I got? I've got this soda water. Check. I've got limes. Limes are good, right? You're not allergic to limes, are you, sir? Good. The only other thing I have is this spearmint gum. I'll put it in this separate plastic cup of water, mush it up, and pour it into your drink. Deal? Wicked. Let's do this right now.

What do you think? It's cold, right? You can't taste the lime? Eh, can't win 'em all. You can taste the mint, though? Yes. Good. It's a bit bitter because it's just soda water and there is no sugar or anything because, as we discussed, there is almost nothing behind this counter. On a scale from one to five, what would you give it? A three. You've got it sir. Also, because you're so adventurous, that drink is on the house.

If I am not mistaken this drink is all about me. Finally a drink for the egotistical and self centered geniuses of the world. I think it takes on a different flavor to suit whoever is drinking its taste buds. I have to say they had it dead on for me. Tangerine and pineapple are a way to my heart. They were on the road to perfection but then the creators got sidetracked and added erythritol as a third sweetener. Ugh. They have instantly turned my brain and me as a whole off. Had they left out that one tiny ingredient, that doesn't seem to play much of a role other than being gross, this would have been great. A buy and buy again beverage. As it stands it can sit dusty on the shelves.

You know, this is a good cola. It's good because I've spent the last twenty years drinking "common" colas. The Netherlands have stepped it up a notch and have released this 100% organic cola and although other companies have done it, this tastes different. Coloring is done by organic caramel and there is natural citrus for bonus flavoring. Who doesn't want anything bonus in life? I know who does and thinks you do; the Dutch. Them and their wooden shoes, which according to a recent episode of Globetrekkers, they still make and wear. No, not everyone, but some. The citrus adds a nice touch and you can tell in every sip that it's there. It's welcome, too.

One thing is that they have gone to the nines with greenness and organics and have used about as little plastic on the bottle as possible, leaving in your hand, a dangerous and almost inevitable spilling container if you're not careful. It really likes to give, like those new water bottles, which, in itself, even the best water bottle is terrible for the environment since you can get water everywhere. So, if you want a great, natural tasting cola that, for some reason, they call "sparkling cola" when it is just pop, and you enjoy change in your classics, and have great control of your hands, this is the drink for you.

Although this drink may be an acquired taste, who would want to go for a second one when it tastes like this? I don't hate the San Pellegrino Chinotto and I understand that it is an Italian staple, but this is something else.

Someone recommended this to me not too long after we started the site and I never found one that wasn't in an eight pack. If it was something that wasn't questionable, I might have gotten it, but since it was called a bitter, I didn't want to splurge and get an eight pack and have seven other ones lying around never going to be drank. Drinking this makes me appreciate my decision.

This drink tastes medicinal. The flavor seems like it might want to be cherry, and if you sip the smallest sip, you might taste it, but anything larger than that you get an onslaught of a medicine you were not prescribed. Oh, it's bitter, there is no doubt about that, but what is that good for? "Oh, I love a nice, bitter drink that doesn't have a taste as much as a tongue reaction when I drink it." Who is saying that? Who wants anything overly bitter? It's like asking for something too sweet or too salty. Does this accompany anything? I'm just so confused as to the purpose of this. I'm glad it was cheap, I'm glad it came in an awesome bottle, I'm glad I'm not obligated to drink the whole thing.

Every time I read Oggu I instantly think of the commercials for Boku juice from the 90's with Richard Lewis in them. Those commercials were ridiculous and terrible. He seriously says Boku eight thousand times in each commercial and it's a ridiculous word to be said once, let alone more than twenty times in a minute. Now that I think about it he really didn't do much other than those commercials and terrible stand up. Oh the 90's when the bar was set so low for comedians.

This is a soda, not a juice like Boku. It is also not sub par like Richard Lewis. It is one of the better lemon & lime sodas I've had. It has actual juice in it and it's also not nearly as sweet as most of it's counterparts. That is a great thing about European sodas; they don't feel the need to over-sweeten them. Which I definitely appreciate. This drink is actually good enough that it doesn't need a stand up comic, humorous or not, to sell it. It's flavor sells itself.

Now I just have to remember what show made fun of those commercials. I think it may have been Wayne's World. I'm actually pretty sure of it. If you can confirm that, please do.

This tastes like you took a perfectly good natural peach mango soda and watered it down with soda water. The peach and mango flavors are still there, but they're not as prevalent as you would like it to be. On the brighter side of things you're not consuming as much sugar as you would have been. If I had a choice I would have chosen more flavor and dealt with the extra sugar. I understand what Wegmans is doing here, but after tasting their 100% sparkling juices this just leaves me wanting more.

The other flavor of Sipp I had was absolutely incredible. It was one of the best beverages that I have come across in my time here at Thirsty Dudes. With this one they missed the mark a bit.

I love cherries and cherry flavored things. I am not a huge fan of black cherry beverages. I also love berries, all kinds including blackberries, which happen to be my favorite. This drink doesn't taste so much like blackberries as it does a black cherry version of a berry. I don't mean it tastes like black cherry, but whatever the difference is between a regular cherry and a black cherry is what is happening to this berry. I wonder if it's the mint interfering with the blackberry. At first I didn't think I could taste mint, but when I think about it there is a flavor that very well might be the mint. The lime? The lime is fine. It's right where it should be.

I'd like to try this without the mint. I think I would really like it then. Now it's just kind of there. It's not good or bad like uncooked celery.

Awhile back Derek and I went to DC to be judges in the Glass Packaging Institute's yearly awards. It was ridiculously fun, and it made us seem like professionals and not the idiotic storytellers that we truly are. A smaller 8oz bottle of Q Ginger was in the running, and I loved the design. It was simple, yet striking. It had an embossed Q in the glass on the bottom of the bottle, and that is amazing. Above all of that I wanted desperately to try it, but we couldn't open the bottles. I had seem regular Q around, but this was the first time I had hear of Q Ginger. Disappointed that I couldn't drink it I continued on with my judging.

I recently found this huge bottle of it at a local health food store. Even though it was slightly expensive, I had to pick it up. I mean I do have a responsibility to the site, don't I?

The bottle touts that the bubbly fluid contained within is "A Superior Ginger Ale." That is quite a claim, but I was up for the taste challenge. Last night I had some friends over and I figured what better time to drink a fancy bottle of ginger ale then during a rousing game of Trivial Pursuit. As soon as I started pouring glasses, a strong ginger scent greeted my nostrils. I couldn't wait until I got back out to the "gaming area" so I tasted it right there away from prying eyes. This is indeed a superior ginger ale. First off it's made with actual ginger extract. That already gives it an edge that most companies don't have. It also gives it a little kick and burn, but not as strong as a heavy ginger beer. It's just enough to let you know that you're drinking the real deal. Now any company can use real ginger. What separates Q from the rest is that they use agave as a sweetener. I love agave, and I wished more companies used it. It makes drinks just sweet enough. A lot of times when you drink things that use it, you forget that they are even sweetened, because you're not in fear of losing your teeth.

The combination of the ginger and agave are what make this one of, if not the, best ginger ales I've ever had. It's very crisp and clean, the way I like my non-brown sodas. It's worth the extra money to purchase a beverage of such a high quality.

Isabelle! Isabelle! Come here! I made something that you have to like. I've been here in the basement for like seven hours mixing fruits and stuff into this one glass until I got it just right. Yeah, I rinsed it out in the basement sink. Yeah, Isabelle, the sink is dirty but the water that comes out is clean...I think. Irregardless, I made something. I mixed some blueberry juice and some limejuice that we had in the fridge that has never been used and made something. As soon as you drink this, you're going to say, "Colin, this is the best thing I've ever drank." Oh, and I also put some seltzer water in there to spice it up a little bit. I'm poured you a glass and it's over there on the washing machine. I think that it's the perfect mix and I don't think that I could do any better. Go take a sip.

Alright, you've taken a sip. What do you think? Oh, I hope that you like it. Wait...you...you don't like it? But...what's not to like. It's blueberries, which you love, and lime. What do you mean the mix is off? Isabelle, don't tell me my mix is off. My mix is perfect. Too much lime? Too sour? What?! Strange aftertaste? Is there something wrong with your mouth? You have been eating a lot of black jellybeans lately. Did you burn out your taste buds? This is perfect! I don't care what you say. Take another sip. Yes. Take another sip. Where are you going? Don't up upstairs. Turn the lights back on. It's dark down here. Don't leave me! Isabelle!

Real fruit juice? Check.
No sugar added? Check.
Fortified with vitamins? Check.

There's really not much to say about this drink other than it's great. It doesn't promise much, but it delivers everything it says it does. If Izze is one thing it is that they are truth tellers. Liars need not apply at their company. I appreciate that and I appreciate this drink. It tastes like clementines mixed in with a handful of white grapes. It's also crazy how sweet this is without any added sugar. Further proof that most companies are dumb, or don't use real fruit juice.

The first time I ever heard of Ikea was in the following context: "And I wasn't the only slave to my nesting instinct. The people I know who used to sit in the bathroom with pornography, now they sit in the bathroom with their IKEA furniture catalog." That's right, Fight Club introduced me to Ikea. Those two sentences left me with no interest whatsoever to look into this company further. I thought it was some yuppy upscale mail order Sky Mall type scenario. Cut to several years later and I'm helping a friend move to Brooklyn. We get her minimal possessions loaded into her new apartment and then we drive to New Jersey so she can buy some stuff from Ikea. The quote from Fight Club suddenly made perfect sense. It's like a giant toy/candy store for adults. There was some neat stuff, but I had no need for it. Now cut to nearly a decade later and here I am with an apartment full of Swedish bookshelves. I gave in. They make some decent furniture and it's affordable. I'm not getting off over a catalog, but I know some people that would.

Is there a point to this? Not really, I just wanted to tie in Fight Club with this, because it's still my first thought whenever someone mentions the store. I went to Canada last weekend to get some shelving units and picked up a couple of their drinks. This one is sparkling apple juice. It tastes like a slightly lighter version of the sparkling apple juice that us non-drinkers buy for New Years Eve. It's a very specific taste that normal apple juice and cider doesn't have. I like it. It's sweeter and slightly fermented tasting. A carbonated version of what my grandpa would slip me a sip of when I was a kid.

Is there a juice shortage in the world? If not, does Wegmans think that there is? The last one of these I had was "100% Sparkling Fruit Juice." Now we're down to 50%. Is this going to be a continual decrease? In a few months will there be 12% juice? It will be like a selling point. "Now containing .5% actual fruit juice." People will think it's a good thing and eat it up.

Seriously though, why is this only 50%? Do they think these particular juices would be too strong if sold at maximum capacity? Are they trying to cut down on the sugar? Either way it's still pretty good. The flavor is strong. It tastes like a slightly watered down blend of the two juices it represents. If it were a little bit stronger I would absolutely love it. Maybe 75% is the way to go. I'm talking to you Danny!

Surprise, John! It's a celebration! You made it through initiation. I know this last month has been tough and we've been tough on you but you made it. Remember when Tim, the mailman, put an entire box of thumbtacks on your chair and then you sat on it? That was classic. Oh, do you remember when Carol, from accounting, put that eel in your sandwich and watched you eat it? I can't believe it. Then when she told you it was an electric eel and you started screaming; priceless. Ha ha, I just remembered when Bob, the night watchman, pulled his gun out on you when you were walking to your car. That dude, man, parts of me thought that you were going to cry, seriously, I thought you were going to cry.

So, in celebration of you making it through the hazing, we bought you this four-pack of Steaz grape sparkling green tea. It's pretty good. It tastes like light non-alcoholic champagne and since old man Dalrymple won't let us drink at work, this is the best we can do. It's good, though. It tastes like real concord grapes and although I don't get a lot of green tea taste, it's just the right amount of everything else to be awesome.

So you don't have to worry about us always eating your yogurt, putting Vasoline on your door handles, breaking your pencils, telling your wife you are at a "pay by the hour" motel when she calls, or any of that stuff. Welcome to First National Bank!

It's no secret that hip-hop artists drink Cristal when they are partying to show off their riches. I may have just completely dated myself there. Is that still a thing, or did it die off in the late 90's? Either way, it's a little known fact that those who are fans of flavor country, but don't drink alcohol down bottles of Kristall in the same situations.

This is my second flavor of this fine product and both have completely blown my socks off. Literally. I had to go across the room, pick them up and put them back on my feet. They are so light and bubbly, but still jam packed with fruit flavor. In my dream world all fruit flavored pop would be like this. It's not syrupy and it actually tastes like raspberries, not sugar or some other sweetener. It also comes in a very classy and classic looking bottle.

Kristall for when you want to party fancy style. Anything else would be uncivilized....or something.

This drink left me wanting more. It tastes like mint seltzer water. I didn't get any tea flavor and didn't get a lot of sweetness. If you are anything like my girlfriend, you drink soda water at restaurants, or even San Pelligrino, which I find undrinkable. I think people drink it because it seems like the "rich person" thing to do when I'm pretty sure that even "rich people" drink it because they see other "rich people" drinking it and secretly not liking it.

Rich people do some strange things. Honestly. One word. Madras. Cut that crap out.

Rich people might like this or they might like pretending to. Us people down in the streets, we want something that doesn't taste like your fountain pop machine ran out of syrup and the idiot behind the counter didn't notice. That on mint.

Do you honestly think that you can make money off that, Sherman; a fox that knows karate? It's a novelty, sure, but does he really know karate or does he just look adorable in a gi? You don't know what a gi is and you want to...a gi is a karate uniform. Yes, with the belt. What color belt are you going to give him and don't say black because you and I both know that a fox could not achieve the highest standard in karate. He's nowhere near as disciplined and I have never even met him. You say that you've got a sponsor already? That's quick, who is it? Krazy Kritters? What do they do? They make juice? Oh, sparkling juice! Cool. I'd like to try that someday when you make it big.

You've got some on you now? Oh, there's that little fox on there now. Cool. Good job. I guess he didn't even need to actually take a class. Can I have this to drink? Thanks. Oh, this is...odd. Did you drink this before you signed the contract? It's strange. It tastes like...remember when they made that gum with pop in it? That's what it tastes like. If you put fruit punch pop in gum and then liquefied it this is what you would have. Plus, the Stevia kind of gives it this unwanted, bitter aftertaste that I do not find desirable.

Look we all know that pictures of starving children sells records, but do foxes in karate attire sell drinks? I don't think so if it tastes like this.