Pure Cane Sugar - 220 Reviews

Carlos was a man who knew his juice. He drank it all the time. He never drank pop and probably drank more juice than water. He drank more juice than he ate fruit. He likes the good stuff, though. He didn't drink run of the mill "drink" type juices. He went for the higher end stuff.

One day he was in a lull of drinks. There was nothing new and nothing interesting. All of a sudden he came across a bottle of Body Armor. He was attracted to the nice packaging. He read the ingredients and saw that it was gluten free which was a plus, and it was filled with not only orange and mango juice but also vitamins and minerals turning this into the "Super Drink" it said that it was.

He bought it without hesitation, cracked it open, and took a sip. He was pleased. Not only did he get a good tasting orange juice but also the mango kick was a good pair. There was also a ten percent bonus coconut water in there, too.

He felt good. He didn't feel like it was too sweet and actually the coconut water gave it a little bit of a different dimension with bite. He had found a new drink that made him a happy man.

Hank went on a cruise. Hank loved cruises. He would go anywhere that the boat told him to go. He was like a lemming when it came to sight seeing. The people at the docks would say, "Sir. Do you want to go to swim with the dolphins?" and he would almost never not do it. The only time he would say no would be when he saw a souvenir shop in a country that he hadn't been to and just needed to get a key chain to add to his collection.

Hank loved going to shore as much as he loved going on the ship but when he was on the ship, he would eat a copious amount of fruit. One day, he came from the shore with a coconut. He knew that he would have to use it before he got back to the States because they couldn't bring it back into the country. He decided to have some fun with it.

He went to the cafeteria at night and got a bowl full of fruit. He got cherries, apples, pineapples, and oranges. He brought them to the kids pool which was now empty as the kids were asleep. He hated getting sticky so he went into the pool with all the fruit. He started mushing up all the fruit into a cup; one fruit at a time into the cup. Finally, when all the fruit was properly mushed up, he put some of the coconut juice into the cup. He took one sip and regretted not doing it sooner. It tastes like a fruit punch that was properly sweetened not with corn syrup but with the natural sugar from the fruit as well as some raw sugar packets from the cafeteria. It was slightly chalky because of the coconut water but still very drinkable.

Just as he finished his drink, some of the deckhands saw him and chased him out of the kid's pool. He ran away holding his cup but dropping a trail of squished fruit and seeds along the way. The security aboard the ship found his room easily and just told him not to make a mess in the pool anymore. He obliged and sat quietly in his room and drank what was left of his concoction.

Body Armor is back with a couple new flavors and a few old ones reworked a little. The release of the new “mixed berry” flavor is an update to their Raspberry, Blueberry Goji beverage. The packaging is basically the same as the old version, and the flavor isn't that far off as well. It tastes of many berries, antioxidants and coconut water, which is good because that is exactly what it is.

It's nice that there are so many options out there in a world that for years was Gatorade or nothing. I would say that 8 out of 10 times I would choose this over a classic sports drink. As an added bonus to the flavor with each bottle you get 2.5 times the electrolytes as a bottle of Gatorade and 2 times the vitamins that are in Vitamin Water. You're getting flavor and more functionality. It looks like this is a win-win.

Mojitos aren't just for the Mexican or the lovers of Mexican food anymore! Was it ever that way? I rarely see people drink let alone drink mojitos. I like the idea of mint in a drink but there is an awful lot of mint in a mojito. People sit there and stab away at the mint and hope that they didn't just pay twelve dollars for ice and mint. Before we go any further, I know mojitos have lime and not lemon, but this very closely resembles that of a mojito so I'm going to push forward with it as is.

This is actually pretty refreshing drink. Light but adequate mint and equal parts lemon meet in the middle, shake hands like they sold each other a car at a very reasonable price, and do so very maturely. This does taste a bit like a watered down and for some reason minty lemonade but it's far enough away from it that I shouldn't bother mentioning it. It's just too bad that keyboards don't come with some sort of key that I could go back and erase. I mean, typewriters had it. Seems like an odd thing to forget after all these years.

Summer? Yes but for a limited time. If you can, find this, enjoy the sun, and try to surf. Even if you can get up for a couple seconds, that's enough to get the itch, right?

Viva Aloe! That is a statement I can get behind. I don't know how a plant that tastes so much like poison when found in nature can be transformed into such a tantalizing beverage, but some things you are just not meant to know. Other things that I didn't need to know include that there are more chickens on the planet than humans (the great poultry revolt will soon be upon us) and that the guy from Drew Carey did the voice of Batman in one of the cartoons (way to talk about taking you out of the awesomeness that is Batman).

This may be the first aloe drink that I have tasted that tasted fresh and not like it came from some mix. The bottle boasts, “no gelatin, no powder, no artificial color or flavors,” so it looks like I was somewhat correct. It's also make from real fruit juice, which is a nice change from the fake flavors these drinks normally have. This also has mammoth size aloe chunks in it, amongst the smaller ones. It's mostly smaller chunks that are the size they are in most aloe drinks, but every once in awhile you get a huge hunking one and it's wonderful.

On top of all of that this is the only watermelon flavored beverage…€¦actually any watermelon product that I have had that doesn't taste like a Jolly Rancher candy. This actually tastes like the fruit. It's subtle, but it's there and it doesn't taste overly watered down like I imagine straight watermelon juice would. I think this is a miracle of nature.

I also see that this company makes a honeydew variety and I must now hunt that down before I can die happy.

Finally. Look, when I was a kid I could probably stomach super sweet all of the day, but now I've got to watch what goes into me. This isn't one of those "I'm getting old" things but I don't need that stuff anymore. Kid stuff. I'm as immature as I can be but when it comes to "kid food" that stuff straight sucks. This is the first strawberry pop I've had that doesn't make me want to just save the dentists of the world some time and knock out my own teeth. It's real "candy strawberry" tasting but it's not too sugary. It's also not lingering thanks to the real sugar and not corn syrup. Get it in and get it over with. This one is a win.

Alright now, just ease back the cord of the bow. Hold the arrow back for a moment. Now, don't forget to breathe and relax. Once you feel confident that you have your target in your sites simply let go and let the pressure do the rest. Oh it looks like you missed the target. Speaking of, do you know what else missed the target: This bottle of Nature's Blends. I mean I guess it hit the target, but it certainly wasn't a bulls-eye. It hit somewhere in one of the outer circles.

The whole shtick of these drinks is that they are spring water and real juice. The thing is that if you add water to juice, you just get watered down juice. That is exciting for no one. So instead Poland Spring took some juice concentrate and added spring water, which would essentially make it juice again. They also added sugar and a couple of other ingredients that give it a slightly weird aftertaste. The thing is that instead of coming across like juice, this tastes like a Vitamin Water, minus the vitamins.

I'm pretty sure that nine times out of ten I would choose either plain water or just juice over this. It tastes perfectly satisfactory, but there are a handful of companies who do similar things better that are readily available.

This is the least dramatic Joia I have had. Is it still good? Yes. Is it as good? No. I enjoy the oddities that come from these guys. This one still has nutmeg and jasmine, which, for all intents and purposes, are strange ingredients. What does it do? It makes for some of the best sparkling orange juice I've ever had. I would amp it up, Joia. That's what you do. Ramp it up. Double the nutmeg. I want this to taste like a Christmas orange juice drank inside of a floral wonderland. This is just a great orange juice with fizzles. Yeah. Fizzles. I do what I want. This is great just not as great as I wanted it to be. Still got a four out of five. Even when they fail they win.

Did you know that Poland Spring is from an actual town in Maine, and obviously not from the country of Poland? I really hope you didn't think it was from Poland, because I'm sure it would cost more than $.30 per bottle if it were, you know with duties and taxes and all. Now don't you feel stupid?

Did you also know that Poland Spring is owned by Nestle? On top of that they own a buttload of other bottled water brands, which include Arrowhead, Calistoga, Deer Park, Ice Mountain, Ozarka and Zephyrhills. It's all crazy go nuts university in here.

Since these are all regional brands I wonder if any of the other brands are also releasing a "Nature's Blends" line? I'd be okay with that. This is a fairly simple beverage. It's water, cane sugar and white grape/raspberry juice concentrate. It has a decent fruit flavor, but I could do with even less sugar in it. I am a crotchety old man after all. There is only 5% juice in here, but they label it as spring water with real juice beverage, so it's okay. Basically it tastes like Vitamin Water without all the vitamins. It's really ridiculous that Vitamin Water has become my basis for comparison for so many drinks, but it's out there and everyone knows it. So there you have it.

I sat down with the owner of this company. We had chicken wings at my favorite place. He said he wanted wings and I took him to my favorite place. Yes, I am usually a snob when it comes to food and tourism and indigenous stuff but in the case of wings, I'm a classic man. He took a quick glance of this legendary site and wanted to meet Jay and I. Jay was busy so I met him. Solo mission. Mano a mano, just like the Hall and Oates song.

He told me that he thought I was really going to like this. I think he things that I really hang out in the organic section of the store exclusively the way that he kept telling me this was all natural and was made with real sugar. Today I decided to see just how valid his statement was. Two words. "It was." You can taste everything. Green tea complete with bitterness. Honey and more bitter ginseng. It really makes you look back at Arizona and question why they can't make an all natural tea. They must just be killing it with that green tea but as I drink this, it makes me feel like Arizona is way too sweet and this is where it's at. This is a great tea. Fans of Arizona rejoice that you can break free of the chains and drink something natural. I guess I'll go get dreadlocks and start eating quinoa and tofu for all meals. It's been real, meat and preservatives. That dude had me pegged.

There are a decent amount of breweries out that that make sodas along with their line of beers. I always wonder what prompts them to do so. I'm not complaining, but to be honest, I can't see there being nearly as big of a market for pop as there is for alcoholic beverages. Maybe they do it out of nostalgia, or perhaps they do it because being around so much consumable liquid all day every day makes for some thirsty employees. They certainly can't sit around drinking the beer all day, or things would most definitely get messy around the brewery. Whatever their reasons I thank them for following through. The soda that comes from breweries is generally of a higher quality than your everyday pops that you find at the corner store. They take more time in making their beverages and it shows in the flavor.

I recently met up with Night Birds to do a mid-west tour. I took a bus to meet them in Cleveland, which caused me to get to town a couple of hours before they were to arrive. When you're in that town with some time to kill and an empty stomach they only viable option is to make your way to Melt. It's a gourmet grilled cheese bar/restaurant with a ton of vegetarian/vegan options and a soda list that rivals a lot of bars beer list. After a public transportation mishap and a two mile walk, I found myself sitting at the bar eating one of the largest sandwiches I have ever handled and drinking this wonderful bottle of ginger beer. At first I thought it was really tame, but the more sips I took the greater the ginger burn. I wasn't disappointed in that department. Actually, I wasn't disappointed at all. It had a nice natural ginger flavor with a slight burst of lemon. It had more lemon than any other ginger beer I have tried, but it worked ridiculously well with the ginger. It's also on the sweeter side of most sodas of this flavor, but you know what? I'm totally okay with that.

Someday I will actually make my way to Ithaca. It's in NY only a couple of hours from where I live, but for some reason I've never been there, even though it sounds like a place I would totally love. When I go I shall drown my non-existent sorrows in bottle after bottle of their ginger brew.

I think that the chronology of it happens like this:

1. Thirsty Dudes is created.


2. Some dudes read the reviews and decide they know the key to our hearts.


3. Joia is created solely to please us.


4. We find Joia drinks and review them all highly.

All of these drinks are wonderfully handcrafted and include a fantastic blend of ingredients that no other companies let happen. Allspice in a drink? That's crazy. Well, lame drink companies, it's not crazy. It's fantastic. Even if it is crazy, it's done with a logical base and really delivers. You get a little ginger, more flavor that spice, but it's there. The apricot really blasts through but the allspice hangs out with you like the faithful friend. Beginning to end the drink keeps on delivering.

Joia, we know that you used us as a cheat sheet to make "the perfect drinks" but we don't care. Keep up the good work. If this was math class, we would lean over and let you cheat off our paper and sorry about our poor penmanship. If all else fails, answer "C."

I believe the scientists who live above me have finally finished their time machine. As far as I can tell they got their flux capacitor or whatever working, traveled back to the mid 90's to rectify some travesty that took place and brought me back this iced tea to review all in an afternoon. Now I know that time travel is impossible, and messing with anything in the past would have horrible consequences on the future and yadda yadda yadda, but I can see no other explanation for the packaging of this tea. Certainly no one in this millennia would ever think that using tribal print would be enticing to anyone of any age group.

The peach flavoring in this is fairly strong, and there is a ton of sugar in there (57.5g in a 20oz bottle). It's nothing fancy, but it's also not supposed to be. I'm actually okay with it flavor wise. If you like really sweet tea and can't get enough of peaches, I'd happily hand you a bottle of this.

I just made a few calls to several friends who are tattoo artists and all three of them have confirmed that since Y2K they have not been asked to put any tribal artwork into anyone skin. There you have it, time travel is now possible.

Hey you! Yes, you over there. Come over here I have something to ask you. You don't perhaps find yourself to be an intelligent person do you? Oh, you think of your self as a bumbling idiot? Well, you certainly have a bleak self perception. How about you keep moving along then? Hey you! No, not you self admitted “bumbling idiot,” the guy over there in the red. Dear sir in the red, do you consider yourself to be a person of intellect? You do, good. I have something for you to try; it's a new energy drink that has been formulated specifically for those with above average intelligence. There are a bunch of flavors that work towards specific functions. Since you look like a man who has been worn out by his day, try this one. It's called “Renew' has it has a mango-peach flavor. I know isn't it weird that it's mango-peach and not peach mango, like every other drink out there? That's where the intelligence comes in. Mangos are better than peaches, so they deserve top billing. Would a dummy think of that? You can bet your bottom dollar that they wouldn't, but then again you certainly wouldn't be on your bottom dollar because you are no idiot.

The thing about Vuka is that it's not your average energy drink. It tastes more like a flavored sparkling water with a little something extra, rather than toxic sludge. Who wouldn't like a sweetened sparkling water that tastes like peach and mango? You got me; the sugar would certainly make it into a soda. See you are smart. It is on the lighter side of pop though. There is a slight aftertaste to it that is reminiscent of alcoholic beverages, but it's not too terrible. I myself can't stand the taste of alcohol, and I was able to drink this with no problem.

If you're concerned about the energy aspect of Vuka, it has the same amount of caffeine and taurine as a comparable sized can of Red Bull. On top of that it also contains a bunch of B vitamins, panax ginseng, d-ribose and grape seed extract. Don't worry about it. It packs quite a punch.

Now doesn't that all sound/taste great? Now I'll just need to inspect your wallet for a quick background check. I'll run it to our offices around the corner and I'll meet you back here in twenty. I sure am lucky to have run into such an intelligent gentleman such as you.

Cathy, sometimes the things you do at dinner really upset me. No, I am being serious. You really embarrassed me in front of our friends. I don't know why you feel like you can just say those things in front of them. Do you feel like you are protected and that I'm not going to say anything? If you have something to say, just say it. I would much rather hear it from you in the privacy of our own home than have you express your issues in front of people.

Look, I don't know why I'm being so hard on you. It's almost February and I haven't seen the sun in months. It really sucks, Cathy. It's not your fault. What's that? You bought me something at the market before we went to dinner? That's sweet of you. What is it? Oh, lemonade. That's awesome, Cath. Thank you so much. I'm going to dive into this right now.

Oh, Cathy. My dear sweet Cathy. You are an absolute angel. This is perfect right now. Lemonade is a summertime drink and I now have a glimmer of hope of making it through another winter. It's tart and sweet but not too much of either. It doesn't have any aftertaste of anything and has all natural ingredients, too. You really thought this through. Good pick, Cathy. I'm sorry about what I said earlier. You know how this weather gets to me. Come over here and let me give you a big smooch. Here, let me whisper something in your ear. Come here......I know you've been cheating on me.

I occasionally, well...more than occasionally get behind in my drinks and start "taking from the front." Anyone who has ever restocked shelves knows that is a no-no. Yogurt is expiring, milk is curdling, children are crying because of the results of my actions. Jay came over and set me straight by spending ten minutes in my back room, pulling out all my old stock, organizing my current back stock, stealing a couple drinks for himself, and being a generally great dude as per usual.

Among the old stock was this drink, which I had no idea I had. A chocolate cola: can you imagine? It's two great inventions in one bottle, ready for my drinking pleasure. Forgotten like it never happened. Poor, dusty bottle. I took everything Jay said needed to be reviewed due to companies sending it to us or expiration date to work and here we are, finally, after all these cold nights alone, together at last. Two objects, looking deep into each other's eyes, wanting each other. Desire. I took off the bottle's top lustfully only to be delivered with what I can only describe in the current context as "me doing most of the work." You feel me, ladies and gentlemen? It's not a great cola in itself. It's not a great chocolate taste in itself. Together cancels each other out more so leaving me looking to find pleasure elsewhere. It smells like a bowl of Tootsie Pops but it only tastes slightly like chocolate. The cola is non-existent.

While I'm not having actual sex with a bottle of pop, if it were good enough, I might at least think about it. This is a regrettable one night stand who is nice outside of the bedroom. She smells good, is a great person to talk to, but you should have never taken it further than that.

Vegans, you're getting luckier by the day. Your hatred of animals and animal by-products is getting easier stronger and more beneficial. You are no longer segregated to the underground seed and nut parlors of old but now you are welcomed into the sunlight and above ground stores and restaurants. You are treated special without questions asked. Your influence is growing. Soon, no one will look at a cow the same way. Soon, Morrissey will have one less thing to be sad about.

This totally animal free drink is pretty great. Almond milk is thicker than soymilk so it's more "milkshakey" which means "better" in layman terms. I don't get a lot of dark chocolate but I might get "slightly shadier chocolate." I wouldn't give it the credit that it asks for since I am allowed to be critical on my own soapbox. That being said, it's still good.

Vegetarians and vegans, you may dance until the sun comes out for this drink passes the test of a carnivore. I have spoken and it has been said. I hereby sanction this drink as acceptable to all parties.

Yes, I am here as a guest of the Underhills. Mr Underhill said to just apply any charges I accrue to their account. With that being said I will be needing the largest yacht you have available, a whole mess of towels, some scuba gear, a barrel of peanut butter filler pretzels, a case of ball bearings, a couple of bottles of your finest root beer, a bloody mary a steak sandwich, and a steak sandwich. No you may not inquire what I need all of these items for. The Underhills had told me that this club was all about digression and the privacy of their guests. I certainly hope that they were not wrong.

Yes, I understand it may take a short bit of time to get all of those items together. I will be waiting down by the dock. Say, can I get one of those root beers and a steak sandwich while I wait?

Well twenty minutes sure was a long time for you to gather everything I needed. I will most certainly have a talk with the Underhills about the promptness of this club. I will say the root beer was quite delicious though, and those seagulls certainly seemed to enjoy the steak sandwich. I'm a vegetarian you know, so I don't put death into my mouth. Those birds though, they went crazy for it, so their compliments to the chef. About that root beer though, I saw that it was called Yacht Club, is that this clubs own brand? Oh no, it's a company that caters to all yachting aficionados? Oh it's actually made by Yachting Aficionados magazine? Who'd have known? Well my compliments to that rag for finally doing something right for once. I had expected a regular, run of the mill root beer, but what your crew is serving is top notch. I see that the ingredients list it as just “root beer flavor,” but you can really taste the high concentration of wintergreen and licorice without them being distracting. There's a nice hint of vanilla in there as well. I also see that it's made with Artesian water. You got lucky with that one friend. I solely drink water from Artesia. If water from anywhere else on this planet had passed over my lips you would be in for a world of hurt.

How about this? You help me load all of this stuff onto the yacht, go grab me another case of this brew and I won't mention any of these negative aspects of this little adventure to the Underhills. You wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of a tongue lashing from that group, I can tell you that.

I found myself at P.F. Changs a few days ago. The food was mediocre, and the service was horrible. But this review isn't about how the waitress brought out our appetizer 1 minute before our meal or how she brought us the wrong check. Nope, this is about their homemade ginger beer.

How have I gone this long and not heard that P.F. Changs makes their own ginger beer? I blame myself for not being friends with people who frequent the establishment.

Unlike most ginger beer's I've had so far, this has a very strong lemon taste to it. Based on the description, it's mixed with lemon juice and you can definitely taste it. As far as the ginger goes, it's mild at first but has a nice sharp after taste. Another interesting/unique aspect of this ginger beer is that it was served with a mint leave in the glass. I couldn't really taste much mint, but maybe if I had submerged it in the glass it would have been more abundant.

P.F. Changs: bottle this ginger beer and you will sell a lot.

(Note: All my photos of the glass didn't come out so I opted for a photo I took of the menu listing).

Dear Grandpa Lundquist,
I know we haven't seen each other in many, many years, but I needed to write you about something important. Despite being family, I think it's important that I am completely honest with you. I found a bottle of your "Christmas Soda" in the basement last night and drank it. Well, tried to drink it. Mom said it's called Julmust in Sweden and you used to trick her with it when she wanted a treat. I wish she had warned me before I took a big swig. If I knew it had barley and hops in it, I would have never taken it off the shelf. To quote a friend who I let try it, "it tastes like cough medicine, flat beer, and diet coke". While I've never tasted beer myself, I agree completely. My question to you is why would you make something so gross?

Thanks for the proverbial lump of coal.

Your disgusted grandson,
Derek