Soft Drinks

[Jeanie]

Originally Posted by Lucas

sparkling lemonade

Sunkist makes a Sparkling Lemonade that is sooo good with vodka.

[ThornGhost]

Dr. Enuf is a super local East Tennessee brand with a big following in specific areas. It kind of tastes like Sprite, but it is made with pure cane sugar and used to be sold as a "cure all". Good stuff if you can find it!

[NevznachaY]

I'll second Orangina and Red Bull Cola. Other great colas are:

Afri-Cola (also known as "The Nazi Cola")


Cola Blak (deathly to your heart, but awesome to the extreme - at least for me; it seems to be an acquired taste)


I can't believe that no people from the UK mentioned this:


As well as this:


Germany and Austria have this heavenly concoction:


France has a lot of interesting brands - but, unfortunately, I forgot all the names (Diabolo?).

There are crazy Russian soft drinks as well!
For starters, there's the ages-old kvas:


Basically, it's fermented (and, therefore, carbonated) liquid bread. It's very popular.

Then, for example, there's Baikal, that worked as a cola substitute in the USSR. It includes eleuterococcus, a mild hallucinogen!

[ArugulaZ]

I was never brave enough to try Coca-Cola Blak when it was here in the United States. Now that it's not here, I'm kicking myself for not giving it a shot.

So, is it common in Russian households to hang clusters of bagels from the ceiling? O_o;

Aranciata is a great beverage, although mine came in less ornate blue cans. You know what's really good, though? Ramune. I bought a few bottles from a place called Asian Food Grocer a week ago... all orange, and all incredibly tasty. I wish this were easier to get in the United States. Meijer was carrying a knockoff in its international food section but it was a pale imitation of the real thing, with a boring and limited selection of flavors.

[Meditative_Zebra]

Originally Posted by Matchstick

Orangina is awesome, but you definitely can get it in North America. I've seen it in a number of different cities.

Originally Posted by Lucas

Yeah, I've gotten Orangina from Trader Joe's a few times.

Orangina, the drink you can only get outside of North America.

Orangina, the drink you can only get in North America by mail order.

Orangine, the drink you can only get if your city has stores cool enough to stock it. Seriously, you can get Orangina at Trader Joe's? That's awesome. Too bad that the nearest Trader Joe's is 500 miles away from me.

[Nobuyuki]

I still miss Coke Blak. It was a much more subtle taste than I would've expected but still really unique.

[NevznachaY]

Originally Posted by ArugulaZ

So, is it common in Russian households to hang clusters of bagels from the ceiling? O_o;

Those are not bagels, these are, um, сушки (sushkas? no idea!); the small, dried version.

[ThornGhost]

Man Coke Blak was an unsavory thing I don't even know what you all are talking about.

[Knight]

I stopped drinking soft drinks regularly after almost a year of living with some of my old roommates. They would keep stealing them, and both would deny it. I mostly drank Dr. Pepper, and had originally tried switching to Diet Dr. Pepper after accidentally getting one in a vending machine and discovering I actually liked it better than the regular version, but they eventually started stealing that too. So I just stopped drinking soda since even confrontation didn't stop them. After a few months, I didn't miss it anymore.

However, I still like some of the better tasting ones, I occasionally get some. For some reason, Coke tastes way better when it comes out of a glass bottle, so I always pick up a few packs of the Christmas themed ones when they go on clearance. And of course, I love Pepsi Throwback. I only have one 12-pack left in my pantry, and I'm kind of reluctant to get into it.

Originally Posted by ArugulaZ

I was never brave enough to try Coca-Cola Blak when it was here in the United States. Now that it's not here, I'm kicking myself for not giving it a shot.

This. I always saw it, and I wanted to try it, but I always put it off, and now it's gone.

I'll try and keep an eye out for Orangina and try it the next time I see it. I remember seeing it a lot in a grocery store, but I have no idea when or where it was.

[Lumber Baron]

Originally Posted by Meditative_Zebra

Orangine, the drink you can only get if your city has stores cool enough to stock it. Seriously, you can get Orangina at Trader Joe's? That's awesome. Too bad that the nearest Trader Joe's is 500 miles away from me.

I found Orangina at the Food4Less today. That's a used food store, man. Where do you live anyway?

[Meditative_Zebra]

Originally Posted by Lumber Baron

I found Orangina at the Food4Less today. That's a used food store, man. Where do you live anyway?

Used food? Ewww.

It kind of sucks living in flyover country. All the cool stuff seems to stick to the coasts. And Oklahoma is about as far away from the coast as you can get.

[Red Hedgehog]

Originally Posted by Daikaiju

I miss Frank's Black Cherry Wishniak. Canada Dry now makes it under their label but it seems to be missing a certain something.

No kidding. The only black cherry soda that's widely available in New York is Doc Brown's which is good, but is just not the same thing.

Frank's Black Cherry Wishniak forever!

[Marfy]

Originally Posted by Lumber Baron

I found Orangina at the Food4Less today. That's a used food store, man. Where do you live anyway?

Wait,, what? Not actual used food? You can't buy half a tomato that's been sitting in a refrigerator for weeks, or a box of instant oatmeal from 1996 with three of the sachets missing, right? Please say that's not what this place is.

[Dizzy]

Originally Posted by NevznachaY

Afri-Cola (also known as "The Nazi Cola")

Cola Blak (deathly to your heart, but awesome to the extreme - at least for me; it seems to be an acquired taste)

Ooh! I hate Coke/Pepsi/et al. but I have to try these!

[Paul le Fou]

Coke black was fantastic. Tastes great, super-wired!


Suntory has a line of "sparkling" drinks. (I think these are all the same line.) Recently was sparkling white grape juice, i.e. white grape soda. It was great! I am currently drinking the Chocolate Sparkling. It is... it's not bad! I guess.

Also, pepsi comes out with special flavors here. Currently available is Azuki pepsi. Azuki are sweet red beans usually used in desserts (this one is actually not horrible, just befuddling). Previously was Shiso - a bitter mint-family (not minty) leaf often eaten with sushi. Some summers ago was Cucumber. Apparently there is also pepsi white, which is yogurt-flavored.

On the other end of this horrifying spectrum, you can still get Pepsi Twist here. Win some, lose some.

[Lumber Baron]

Originally Posted by nbip

Wait,, what? Not actual used food? You can't buy half a tomato that's been sitting in a refrigerator for weeks, or a box of instant oatmeal from 1996 with three of the sachets missing, right? Please say that's not what this place is.

No, it's a derisive term for grocery outlets, and other grocery stores that are cheap, slightly sketchy, and all the food is still in the cardboard pallet box they were shipped in. Food4Less is great though; the selection is great and they have a huge bulk dry goods section.

[pence]

There's a store-brand soda at shoprite called Champaña de Cola that tastes like something that would be served at someone's Chuck E Cheese birthday party. I feel like I should be playing Spider Stompin' while I drink this, it's seriously cotton candy.

Comb Stranger convinced me to buy a 3L bottle because that's the smallest amount of Champaña de Cola that can be purchased.

[Lucas]

Coke Blak was great. Not as funny tasting as you might expect, and half a bottle would leave me wired all day.

[Marfy]

Originally Posted by Lumber Baron

No, it's a derisive term for grocery outlets, and other grocery stores that are cheap, slightly sketchy, and all the food is still in the cardboard pallet box they were shipped in. Food4Less is great though; the selection is great and they have a huge bulk dry goods section.

Oh, good to know. I was really horrified for a little while there.

[Meditative_Zebra]

Has anyone ever had Barq's red creme soda? My dad says he has fond memories of this from years ago. I've tried to find some for him, but without any success.

Alternatively, are there any red creme sodas that are as good or better than the Barq's?

[ThornGhost]

Does anybody live where you can still get RC Edge? It disappeared from our local distributors, but research online leads me to believe it's still available in limited markets.

It's gross and tastes like table pepper and most of the time the 2-liters are muddy for some reason but I drank an unseemly amount of it back when it was available.

[ajr82]

Originally Posted by Meditative_Zebra

Has anyone ever had Barq's red creme soda? My dad says he has fond memories of this from years ago. I've tried to find some for him, but without any success.

Alternatively, are there any red creme sodas that are as good or better than the Barq's?

Red cream soda is by far the most prevalent kind in Canada. Other than Jones, I can't really think of any other clear cream sodas you can find in most stores here. Crush is alright, but probably not as good as Barq's. I seem to remember Stewart's having a really good red cream soda.

[Comb Stranger]

My old ACME carried Orangina, and I've seen it all over the place. I didn't realize it was rare.

Also, Coke Blak was great, except that it was like $2.50 for an 8oz bottle. It wasn't THAT great.

[Red Hedgehog]

Originally Posted by Comb Stranger

My old ACME carried Orangina, and I've seen it all over the place. I didn't realize it was rare.

It isn't. At least in the NYC-Philly corridor.

[Violentvixen]

Originally Posted by NevznachaY

Afri-Cola (also known as "The Nazi Cola")

Cola Blak (deathly to your heart, but awesome to the extreme - at least for me; it seems to be an acquired taste)

I'm intrigued by this Afri-cola thing. I remember trying the coffee Coke and not having any real opinion of it. I can't even remember how it tasted now.

Originally Posted by nbip

Wait,, what? Not actual used food? You can't buy half a tomato that's been sitting in a refrigerator for weeks, or a box of instant oatmeal from 1996 with three of the sachets missing, right? Please say that's not what this place is.

Originally Posted by Lumber Baron

No, it's a derisive term for grocery outlets, and other grocery stores that are cheap, slightly sketchy, and all the food is still in the cardboard pallet box they were shipped in. Food4Less is great though; the selection is great and they have a huge bulk dry goods section.

To be fair, they also have a lot of things that are VERY close to the expiration date.

Originally Posted by ajr82

Red cream soda is by far the most prevalent kind in Canada. Other than Jones, I can't really think of any other clear cream sodas you can find in most stores here. Crush is alright, but probably not as good as Barq's. I seem to remember Stewart's having a really good red cream soda.

Oh man, how could I forget this stuff. I practically lived off it in high school. These days it sends me into seizures, although I have tried the green apple stuff in a martini and that was surprisingly tasty.

[Wolfgang]

Originally Posted by Red Hedgehog

It isn't. At least in the NYC-Philly corridor.

The Northeast, really, I've seen it all the time in New England as well. I mainly like it for the bottle.

[Torgo]

Originally Posted by NevznachaY

Cola Blak (deathly to your heart, but awesome to the extreme - at least for me; it seems to be an acquired taste)

I'm insanely jealous that you guys still get Coke Blak. Then again...

Originally Posted by Comb Stranger

Also, Coke Blak was great, except that it was like $2.50 for an 8oz bottle. It wasn't THAT great.

For serious.

[NevznachaY]

Oh, we don't. It was imported from France - but then, I haven't seen it in about six months. I can only hope that it's still in production over there.

And I personally think that it is that good.

[ajr82]

I did not like Coke Blak, but I'll say this for it: it was better than Pepsi Twist, because Pepsi Twist tasted like floor cleaner.

[openedsource]

I'm not a big soft drink drinker at all - gave up soda a while back. But I originally purchased Q tonic as a mixer, but I found that I enjoy it all on its own.