Jason Draper - 2709 Reviews

I for one am glad that the great pomegranate rush of 2007 is over. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy pomegranate, but during that time it was everywhere you looked. It was as if there was a great surplus of the fruit, and companies were putting it in anything they could, just to get rid of it. I think enough time has passed that I can really start enjoying the fruit again and all of its antioxidant powers.
This is nice because it's not a tangerine/pomegranate tea. It's tangerine tea that was brewed and then mixed with pomegranate juice. The end result is a blend of two separate flavors that come in waves, instead of them being forced together. You can still taste the tea, but it still has a nice juicy flavor as well. Bravo on the drink, and the wonderful bottle.

"Pakola, more like Puke-ola" - Terrence Joseph Reihle

Do you know what ice cream soda shouldn't taste like? Getting sprayed in the mouth with a nursing home's collective perfumes.

Completely undrinkable.

Our friend Martin gave us this bottle of root beer to review. It's a pretty decent one. It has an initial taste that is reminiscent of Barq's, but then a really nice after taste takes over. It's made of natural root beer flavor, panama bark extract, hops, star anise, juniper berries and vanilla bean. I love a good root beer with a nice selection of natural ingredients. It gives the root beer a personality of it's own. The after taste is like no other root beer I've ever had.

I really liked the label on this bottle. Unfortunately, the contents of the bottle weren't as great. There is only the slightest of burns to this drink. It has a strange taste to it besides the ginger. It tastes like a ginger ale (not ginger beer) that was poured into a bottle that formerly held a cleaner. Need I mention that said bottle wasn't properly rinsed? I for one am not a fan.

I could definitely see this as being an acquired taste. On first sip I thought it was pretty terrible, but the further I got into the bottle the more I thought it wasn't so bad. If this was something that was around all the time, I could really see after drinking it here and there for a while, really starting to love it.
It's mate, so it has a ton of caffeine in it (which I need to stay awake tonight). It also gives it a strong bitter taste. I think the lemon lime flavor takes away from the mate flavor. I'm expecting to like the original one more.

This is juice #2 for the day in the war against sickness. This time I went for something that was 100% juice. If I'm going to do this I should do it right. Well if I was going to do it right, I should be pounding some pomegranate and acai juices. I don't have any of that in my fridge at the moment, so I have to make due with this delicious juice. Kiwis and strawberries are two of my favorite fruits. They have been paired together hundreds of times in the past. Unfortunately, the companies who have paired them have diluted the flavor with so much sugar that they just end up tasting like liquid sweetness. I have it on good authority that the pope is in talks to declare that a mortal sin. Yes, you heard it hear first, you will go to hell if you ruin the flavor of delicious fruits with too much sugar. R.W. Knudsen apparently also caught word of this papal act, because they have kept their fruit juices natural and sugar free. I think I'm feeling better already.

Of course I woke up sick today. It's only a cold mind you, but it is New Years Eve. I'm going to fight my way through this with a strict regiment of juice. I will float this sickness out through my bladder. That's just what you want to hear when you're looking for a drink review isn't it?
This is a pretty standard fruit punch. This reminds me of the stuff they used to feed us in elementary school. You don't believe me that I remember? Maybe I have the world's craziest memory. Maybe I remember everything. Or, maybe I'm just assuming this is what that tasted like. I have no idea. I'm sick, remember?

If you know me, you may know that I have stomach problems. I've had them since early high school. I have a tendency to get way stressed over things I can't control. I've learned to keep it to a minimum, but it seems my stomach issues are a permanent fixture in my life. I learned that high fructose corn syrup contributes to my problem as well. As long as I keep it to a minimum in my diet I won't be writhing in pain at night. Due to that back-story, you will understand how I was excited when we received a package of PRE in the mail. I was told that pro-biotic drinks would help with my issues, and I'm always looking for help.
I expected it to be a pretty thick drink, which it was not. Yogurt naturally has the same bacteria as they use in the drink, so I had associated the two. It ends up it has a similar consistency to a Vitamin Water. The flavor isn't that far off either, except unlike Vitamin Water this actually has real fruit in it. With passion fruit, oranges and guava in the mix, there are some pretty heavy hitters on this team. They blend together nicely to make this a winning drink.

This isn't at creamy as other Thai teas that I have had. They pretty much decreased the amount of non-dairy creamy and upped the milk. Unfortunately, there's really not much more to say about this. I enjoy it. It's not as creamy as most.

As you may well know, the Thirsty Dudes are scientists. We are obligated by the scientific community to conduct experiments constantly. We barely have time to drink all of these beverages for you our loyal readers. This review is one such experiment.
Clear root beer is a strange, strange thing. You crack it open and the smell is there; the scent of a decent root beer. Tasting it is a different story. It tastes like the lightest root beer ever. My hypothesis was correct that the fact that it's clear really messed with my taste buds. I really believe that if it were brown it would taste more like root beer to me. So, so strange.

I was shocked by how much this juice smelled like actual peaches. Our experiences with the other Tropical Grove juices haven't been the best. This does have more sugar than juice, but it still tastes like peaches. Unfortunately, the peaches taste like they weren't ripe when they were juiced. Couldn't you have left them on the tree just a little bit longer? I understand that time is a factor in turning a profit, but a couple of days longer and it seems like this juice could have been something pretty good, instead of being on the lower side of mediocre.

This is it. This is what I have waited about 15 years to have again. I drank this all the time in high school (well the blue Brain Wash, this is the red one). I'll tell you something, it's still awesome. It tastes like no other soda I've ever had. This is definitely unusual. I think cherry is supposed to be the base flavor of this. You get a slight hint of it, and then the craziness sets in. I have no frame of reference for what the compare the flavor to. It's highly carbonated, and it has got a bit of a burn to it. Why is that? Oh because it has jalapeno oil in it. What other company would do that? I love it. It's also insanely caffeinated due to the herbal blend (and the straight up caffeine) in it.
Dan said it's tastes like Spencer Gifts, he's a bit off. It tastes more like something you would buy from a "head shop," which happens to be where I would buy them in high school. This drink should always have a place reserved right in-between the "bubblers" and the bootleg "live-side" Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Red Hot Chili Pepper CDs.

I'm not going to lie. I almost didn't drink this. When I opened it I took a whiff of the not at all appealing fluid contained in the bottle. My friend Dan said "It smells like a girl who chewed strawberry gum, who had terrible breath." For the sake of you, our loyal readers, I followed through and introduced bottle to lips. It didn't taste as terrible as it's odor. It was also not very good. Like the other Abbot Farms' sodas I've had, it tasted like a cheap liquefied candy. Not even like those candies wrapped in foil made to look like strawberries that your great aunt Millie keeps in her winter coat, an even cheaper candy than that.
While I do appreciate the attempt you have made Abbot Farms, please stick to cider in your future ventures.

Adventure number two in the return to the world of Skeleteens didn't go as amazingly as number one. The Black Lemonade is still pretty rad, but it's not something that I'm going to crave.
On first sip, I was in love. This is really strong bitter slightly carbonated lemonade. The problem is it's a bit too strong. About 1/3 of the way through the 12oz bottle I could already tell I was starting to get a stomachache. I took about an hour break, and now I'm back into it.
Now that I'm at it again, it now tastes like carbonated lemonade that had some candy dissolved into it. You know how cola tastes when you drink it through a licorice straw? It's a similar effect as that, but with a different candy.
This also has all the crazy herbal ingredients in it, so I'm sure I'll have an energy freak out shortly.
Oh and they weren't kidding. This stuff is black. Hold it up to a light and it is just darkness, it doesn't have a red or blue tint at all.

You know what can be enjoyable? Going to the moving pictures theatre. You know what is never enjoyable? Paying exorbitant amounts of money for the syrupy trash they pass off as drinks in said establishments. Am I a scumbag because I bring my own beverages to the theatre? If you say yes, then I demand you talk to the establishments and get them to start carrying some decent drinks.
Today I went and saw True Grit. I thought it was rad, but that is neither here nor there in the world of beverage reviews. About halfway through what I will call the second act, I busted out this tea. I had bought it in NJ on a recent trip. I thought it was something I had drank a while back, and as soon as it hit my lips, I knew I was correct. Ah yes the day we got back from touring the UK to discover that our van had close to zero stopping power in the brakes world. We waited all day for a garage to fix it (which they never did) and I drank iced tea from a close by grocery store. You like how my thoughts on a movie play no part in a review, but my tales of vehicular woes do? Well I was pissed off, and this tea brought me a little enjoyment in the middle of a very annoying situation. It's pretty outstanding in the world of overly sweet fruit teas, which I do love on occasion. It actually tastes like raspberries, and not just fruity sugary sweetness. That I can get into.
Oh and when I was on my most recent trip to Jersey, I noticed that the previously mentioned garage had gone out of business. Serves them right.

There is one ingredient in this bottle: organic apple juice. Everyone else who tried it thought that is was a really good apple juice. The problem I have with it is totally me and not the actual product. I'm from Western New York where apple orchards run rampant. I drink a lot of apple juice and cider. This is definitely made from a different type of apple than I am used to. It has a different aftertaste than what I'm used to. I understand why other people would like it. I know it's made from quality apples. I mean everyone else really liked it. I'm just a picky fool who doesn't like change.

I got a text message from a friend late the other night telling me to go out to my front yard because she had thrown a growler onto my snow covered front lawn of this delicious soda for me. I quickly ran out in my pjs and grabbed it up from its snowy tomb.
Flying Bison is a local brewery that will occasionally make some soda. I had heard they were making this, but when I went to get some, it wasn't ready yet. I was definitely pumped to be able to try it. It wasn't as strong as I was expecting it to be. That is definitely a good thing. Anything that is too strongly mint flavored is generally terrible. This tastes like they got a decent nondescript flavored soda going on in a large vat and then dissolved a couple of hundred candy canes on it. While it's in your mouth there is only a slight mint flavor to it. It's when you swallow and breath in that the mintiness really hits you. You also get a nice minty taste when you lick your lips afterward.
I couldn't drink a huge glass of this, but a nice small glass of it is a really nice accent to the season.

You know how when you have plants in junky pots you generally put a plate underneath them. It catches the water that seeps out of the dirt after you water them. This tastes exactly like I would expect that runoff water to. I couldn't get more than one sip into me. Our friend Dan also likened it to "sweet creek water." If you're into either of those gross dirty waters, boy do I have an energy boost for you!

Back in the mid 90's when I was in high school, New Age Creations and Showplace Theatre (a local music venue) used to sell the Skeleteens line of soda. I was obsessed with it. It was overly caffeinated, and I remember some of them felt like you were drinking liquid smoke. After a few months they disappeared from the shelves. There were a bunch of rumors floating around as to why, most of them being about how there was actually some sort of illegal drug in the ingredients, or that one of the ingredients had been banned. This was about a decade before energy drinks really hit the market hard, so things heavily caffeinated seemed insane. Remember how people went nuts about Jolt back in the day?
I quickly forgot the company even existed. About two years ago I started searching for info, but no one knew what I was talking about. Even my friends who used to get them with me, barely remembered them existing. It didn't help that I couldn't remember the name of the company. Finally someone remembered they were called Skeleteens, and I scoured the internet. I found out that although the Skeleteens company is no more, Real Soda has taken over and on occasions small runs of the drinks were made, unfortunately I could only find them at distributors in California, and shipping was astronomical. I searched for them everywhere I went, with no luck. Then for Xmas this year, my girlfriend's parents ordered me a bunch of sodas from Galcos. I got one of each Skeleteens flavor, and boy am I ever stoked.
Okay forget the back-story, on to the review. As soon as I popped this open the smell hit me, and I totally felt like I was 15 again. It's crazily carbonated, but this one unfortunately didn't have as strong of a liquid smoke feeling as I remember (I now liken that feeling to crazy strong ginger beer). It starts off as a grape flavor, but then it switches directions and heads somewhere out west. I have no idea what to compare the flavor to, but I really love it. Maybe it's all the crazy herbs that are in the drink. Here is a list: Siberian Ginseng, Jasmine, Buchu, Dillweed, Ginko Biloba, Clove, Echinacea, Damiana, Kola Nut, Dong Quai, Brazilian Guarna, Gotu Kola, African Capsicum and Chamomile (I don't get why this one was in here). It's a weird mix of energy releasing and sexual stimulation herbs and those to promote a healthy immune system. Shear insanity. I've only gotten halfway through the bottle, and I already real insanely caffeinated. I have yet to have any sexual stimulation, so I'm calling their bluff.
Oh, and the label does nothing but scream 90's counter-culture. It's such an "alternative" company. Here are some of the things printed on the label: "arousing carbonated drink", "True love ain't cheap", "It's a turn on", "Helps to keep your heart on", "Nine inches full of wetness", "Not to be used alone unless you're into self-satisfaction" and my personal favorite (right above the ingredients) "What you'll be swallowing is these."
I don't know if it's just nostalgia or what, but I'm giving this a five-bottle review. I really love the way it tastes. I was hoping that I would think it was disgusting now that I'm older, so that I wouldn't have to worry about finding it again. Oh well. Now I'm going to have to find the pink variety of this. If anyone has any hook ups of how I can get this without it costing me a million dollars in shipping, please, please, please let me know.

Well my mom took one sip of this and said "Well that's gross." She also lives on water and diet store brand pop, so she's not much of an authority.
My review is that it tastes like a fairly decent cola. I think it's way better than a Pepsi or Coke, but not as tasty as some gourmet colas I've had.
The name may make you think that there is weed in this, since it's also a relaxing soda. Fear not, no illegal drugs are used in the making of this soda. I guess I can't vouch for the sobriety of the workers who make it. It does have passionflower and kava in it, which can help one to relax. It won't knock you out like other relaxations do.