Derek Neuland - 489 Reviews

Sarsaparilla in a can? OK I'm willing to try this. It was pretty cheap so I was expecting this to taste pretty cheap. Was I right? Pretty much. I didn't know it was possible to make a mediocre sarsaparilla. Then again, there are lots of mediocre root beers so I guess someone had to screw up sarsaparilla as well. This just strengthens my suspicion that no good root beers/birch beers/sarsaparillas come in cans.

I had no idea what to expect with this soda prior to opening it. I purposely didn't read anything about the soda or Ouzo before tasting it. Apparently Ouzo is a traditional Greek alcoholic drink, but this is a soda modeled after the taste. It gave off a really interesting smell when I first opened it. It was a pleasant and familiar smell, but I couldn't place it. Then after the first sip it hit me: anise! Could this actually be the anise/licorice flavored soda I've been looking for/dreaming about? I think so!

When I imagined an anise soda, I dreamed it to be like the taste you get in your mouth after your fourth piece of licorice. While this isn't like that, I really like how the taste is. It's really subtle at first, but then as you swallow it, the taste gets more intense and potent. I want to savor every sip because I only have this one bottle and don't know when/where I'll be able to get it again.

When I was opening the box that contained the bottle, I was telling my housemate that this was called Gamer Soda. As he marveled at the logo, he wondered out loud how much caffeine they put in it. To our surprise, this soda is caffeine free. You'd think that a soda marketed towards a subculture that tends to have all night LAN parties. Maybe this will be so delicious that gamers won't miss the caffeine.

As far as orange soda's go, this is pretty good. It's clear, which threw me off a little. But once I got over that and actually took a sip my worries went away. It's almost like an orange cream, but light on the cream taste. Upon further sips, it's actually light on the orange taste too. If you like a mild orange soda, this is definitely for you.

I want to shake the hand of the person who thought of this drink. I am a big fan of both root beer and sarsaparilla, but I never thought of combining the two. It seems like mixing the two flavors would be like when Ray, Peter, and Egon crossed the streams. It would be a bad idea in theory, but it ends up being a really good thing.

Hosmer Mountain track record with sodas is still staying solid. This is another one that is sweetened with brown sugar and it makes it really rich and delicious.

I have yet to have a bottle of Vitamin Water I didn't like. They're like a good friend, always awesome and always there when you need them. I normally don't like grape flavored drinks, but coupled with raspberry it's really delicious. The thing I love most about the "Zero" line of Vitamin Water is that it's not as heavy tasting, and doesn't taste like gross fake sugar.

We've talked among ourselves that it's the middle of the road drinks that we have the hardest time reviewing. If a drink is horrible, it's easy to distinguish what's so bad about it. When a drink is amazing, there are so many thoughts we have about it, that's hard not to write an essay about it. But when a drink is good, but not amazing, that's when it's hard.

There's nothing wrong with this sarsaparilla. It's really smooth and clean tasting (probably because they use spring water), and the flavor is good. It's a very classic flavor, but there's nothing special about it. If someone gave me a bottle of this, I'd be stoked. Although, I don't think I'd seek it out as my #1 drink. Maybe I've become a soda snob?

I bought this because I had never heard of calamansi. The back of the can says it's a Philippine lemon, but a quick Google search brought up that it was more like a lime. Either way, it's some sort of citrus fruit. I was hoping this was going to be really tart and sour, but sadly it wasn't. It's good, but it tastes like a boring citrus drink. There's nothing special to this. Although, I just realized this is the first time I've had juice in a long time. Maybe I should drink less soda and more juice? I doubt that will happen.

I was expecting/hoping this would be really chunky and resemble something like rice pudding in drink form. Sadly, this was not the case. Surprisingly, this drink is clear! It's actually pretty delicious. The rice flavor is sweetened just the right amount. It's really light like rice milk is, but it's slightly refreshing. There's ginger on the ingredient list, but unfortunately it's not noticeable. I may be reflecting on the sweet cinnamon punch drink I had (which is also made by Paldo), but I think there is a slight cinnamon taste in the drink.

I may have found my new favorite ginger beer. While this may not be the spiciest out there, it has a great flavor. The ginger flavor coupled with the carbonation tickles my throat in a great way. This is definitely a sipping ginger beer, but I like that. I'm also a big fan of the bottle art. I don't know what else to really say about this, other than it's really good.

One thing I've noticed about energy drinks is they rarely taste good. They definitely do what they're advertised to do: give you energy. Would it be so hard for them to make them taste like anything but battery acid? I can taste the citrus in this can, but it's swooped away by the acidic aftertaste. This may not be the worst tasting energy drink I've ever had, but far from the best.

And now, I'm realizing that it was a bad idea to drink this on an empty stomach.

I've gotten in the habit of smelling drinks before I drink them, as if it's going to prepare me for what it tastes like. This smells like cough syrup, which half surprised me since this is supposed to be cola flavored. But on the other hand, I should expect it since most energy shots taste pretty bad. While this isn't the worst tasting energy shot ever, it's definitely not the best. I don't really see how this is cola flavored. There is a VERY slight cola aftertaste, but it's overshadowed by the gross energy drink taste.

I've been hearing a lot about relaxation drinks lately. I haven't had the opportunity to try one until now. It's made up of a lot of juices, as well as Valerian root, L-Theanine, Lemon Balm, and Chamomile. While I can't say if the drink is relaxing, or it's the music I'm listening to (or maybe both?), I can say that it tastes really good. The blueberry/blackberry combo is really nice. The carbonation and sweetness is right on as well. This reminds me a lot of Izze sparkling juice, which makes sense since that's what this is essentially. Completely random, but I also really like how the can feels. It has a matte finish to it. OK, maybe this is relaxing me because I'm starting to ramble about how much I enjoy the feel of this can. It might be time to lie in bed and watch Arrested Development.

When companies make soda clear that normally isn't clear, I am simultaneously excited and weary. Luckily, it usually works out just fine and tastes just as good without the food coloring. This is my first clear birch beer, and I must say it is quite nice. Upon opening this bottle, it let off a smell that I couldn't quite place but it was really nice. It was a refreshing, almost mint smell to it. Then I was hoping this drink would have a mint aftertaste to it.

While there is no mint taste, I really enjoy this. It's been a while since I've had birch beer, and this brings me back to my high school graduation party where I had a keg of birch beer. Hosmer really knows how to make a smooth and flavorful soda.

I have never had a cream soda that is sweetened with brown sugar. Now that I have, I wish more companies would try it out. This is a really smooth cream soda, as cream soda should be. The rich sweetness from the brown sugar makes this a really unique cream soda. It gives it a slight molasses taste, which is awesome in my eyes. This is my first soda by Hosmer Mountain and now I'm really excited to see what else they have to offer.

Dude one: "I really want to watch my weight, but I really want a Pepsi (just one Pepsi)."

Dude two: "Why don't you get a bottle of Diet Pepsi? It has zero calories."

Dude one: "No way, then everyone at the gym will know I'm watching my weight and make fun of me."

Dude two: "I heard about this new thing called Pepsi Max. It's just like Diet Pepsi, but it's in a discrete bottle without the dreaded word 'diet' on it."

Dude one: "Whoa! It even has a killer catch phrase on it: 'zero calories, maximum taste' "

Dude two: "Have fun with that, I can't stand the gross aspartame taste in it. I only know about it because I accidentally bought a bottle of it last week. I thought it was regular Pepsi and didn't notice it had zero calories until I got home. I drank it anyways because I didn't want to waste it."

I grew up in Tonawanda, NY, which is a suburb of Buffalo. Within Tonawanda, there was a section of it call Millstream. I had several friends who lived there and would hang out in that area a lot. One of my fondest memories about Millstream is when we started backyard wrestling under the name MWA, or Millstream Wrestling Association. I used to borrow my grandfather's video camera to tape all the matches. Good times!

This root beer would have been perfect for those summer days. We would have been really stoked on the name, and probably unofficially named it the official root beer of MWA. It has a perfect mixture of sweet and root beer taste to it. And then, there is a slight vanilla aftertaste that lingers on your lips. While this isn't the most complex tasting root beer, it really earns its "old time" name. This is a classic tasting root beer.

Ginger People are known for their intense ginger candy, so I had a feeling this was going to kick my ass (or stomach in this case). I'm really glad they didn't let me down. This ginger beer has a deep burn that settles really nicely in your stomach. It has a great ginger taste too, but it's not the most intense ginger beer so far. I've had a stuffed nose all week, and after a couple sips of this I was all cleared up. I swear that a good ginger beer is medicinal.

When I first came across this flavor many years ago, I got really excited since XXX is commonly associated with straight edge. Sadly, the quirky writing on the side of the bottle makes no mention of refraining from drugs and alcohol. Instead, they decided to make a bad joke about the adult film industry. Despite this, this will always be the straight edge flavor of Vitamin Water.

Name aside, I love the taste of this. Like most Vitamin Water, it's the perfect amount of sweetness and full of flavor. The blueberry and pomegranate are the prominent flavors here, and they mesh together really well.

Root beer like this reminds me why I love root beer. It's really smooth and rich, with hints of a lot of different flavors.

In the world of root beer, I've heard the term "head" a lot but have never experienced it much with bottles. This has "drought style head". Judging by my experience with this bottle, this must mean "lots of head". After putting this bottle down for a minute, the whole neck was filled with head. This wasn't necessarily a bad thing, just an observation.

When I saw this can, my immediate thought was "sugar water?" The ingredients confirmed this suspicion: sugar cane juice, water, sugar. Upon opening the can, the smell was really pungent and kind of gross. It smelled like what I imagine rancid sugar to smell like. Luckily, it didn't taste as bad as it smelled.

But at the end of the day, it's just sugar water. It's really hard not to let the gross smell waft into your nose while drinking this. Am I glad I tried this drink? Yes. Will I ever drink this again/finish this can? No way.