Thread: Favourite Soda

Been meaning to make this thread for a few days now. Pretty simple idea though. I'd have had a lot more to write about only a few years back. That's because just one of many dumb things the UK has done recently is the sugar tax. It's made Coke and Pepsi way more expensive and they're two of the only drinks that haven't been ruined. Basically the UK made it so that any soda that reaches a certain amount of grams of sugar (I forgot) has to pay a tax. That has meant the vast majority of soda.

So Coke and Pepsi have become two of the very last bastions to keep the formula. Other companies (or also the Coca-Cola Company with different less popular drinks) have quite greatly reduced the amount of sugar in their regular drinks despite still having zero versions while hiding this from their customers.

Of course, this becomes obvious to nearly everyone when they're hit with the bitterness from the sweetener replacements. So because of this I don't really have many "favourites" anymore nationally. Coke and Pepsi are great. What I've enjoyed most is international soda. I'm going to blame Zemekis for this because he showed me a video with his bottle of soda (yeah, totally not my fault at all for making the decision to buy ) but I bought a bunch of soda from an American soda site a few days back. It includes my favourite soda ever (probably anyway) that I had a few of in Spain the other year.



Damn this is refreshing. I never thought I'd find a Fanta that I prefer to Fanta Grape. To my surprise I found it in clearance on the soda site. So I ended up getting it for only a bit more than the Coca-Cola here because of the sugar tax overpricing. Some other American soda I only ordered one of just to try:

Anybody know how good these are? In particular I look forward to Coke Cherry Vanilla. That's two of the best flavours ever in one can. Damn America, getting everything great, and no stupid nanny state replacements. I still think that Cherry Coke used to have a way better design though.

Legend has it that it tasted better too.

Any favourites? Recommendations?

And yeah, for the record, I'd rather drink soda than beer or other alcohol. I know, it isn't a manly drink. It also doesn't taste like piss.

Fanta Apple!? I never even knew that was a thing! Is that carbonated as well? Must not be in the US or at least not where I live.

Generally, I am generic when it comes to soda. I like an ice-cold coke. I do like some sweeter ones as well such as Faygo's cotton candy soda. Something I have always wanted was a quality bubblegum soda which I guess exists in other countries but the only thing we have in the US (that I am aware of) is Jones blue bubblegum which is a Canadian brand and while it is good, it isn't the sweetness I'd expect.

Cherry vanilla coke and gape crush are top tier sodas. Another favorite soda of mine is Fanta Melon soda. One of my local Japanese markets carries it and I personally love it, but I do know a lot of other people don't care for the taste.

I've never seen apple Fanta before and now I'm beyond curious as to what that tastes like.

I'm a Pepsi man. I used to love Coke. Still drink it from time to time but I switched over to Pepsi. Runner up would be Mountain Dew Baja Blast and Surge.

Originally Posted by Mantis

And yeah, for the record, I'd rather drink soda than beer or other alcohol. I know, it isn't a manly drink. It also doesn't taste like piss.

Thanks for reminding me to crack open another cold beer. Gonna drink lots of BEER while I look at boobs tonight! After that I'll do some pushups and watch UFC.

Originally Posted by slaughtermaid

gape crush

OwO

Originally Posted by Starwind55

I'm a Pepsi man. I used to love Coke. Still drink it from time to time but I switched over to Pepsi. Runner up would be Mountain Dew Baja Blast and Surge.

Pepsiman, huh? I don't actually dislike the taste of Pepsi, but when I was a kid my dad told me that it was cheaper because it was for poor people & it comes from stomach medicine (which is true). I've had pepsi less than 5 times in my life but never disliked it. In fact, it has a better aftertaste than Coke. Still, if I go with a big brand, it's regular Coke.

As for recommendations you have the must-have classics like Dad's Blue Cream Soda, Brownie, and Surge. One that I discovered at Cracker Barrel and have taken to drinking semi-regularly is Moxie. It's a super old brand from Maine and instead of being sweet, it's bitter. All of its marketing is about how "Different" and "Distinctive" it is. Well, they got that right! I imagine that it's disgusting to 99% of people which is awesome because nobody who comes over to my house asks for my bottles of Moxie after I let them smell it. Imagine Root Beer but tone down the sweetness about 80% and crank up that medicine-like aftertaste up 800%.

My favorite at the moment is the local stuff I get from the Kutztown Bottling Works. Est. 1851 and I can see why they're still in business! Great selection, real sugar, and $1/bottle. Got a 4 pack of Sarsaparilla bottles from them on Saturday. I have no clue how you'd be able to find them internationally (or even outside of this county) but it's good shit.

It's funny that you make this thread now because I was just about to make the same thing for beer this afternoon before I realized that it's already been done.

Fanta Apple? That sounds really good. In America we have (seemingly) every Fanta except Apple and Black Currant(thanknyou Yahztee Croshaw). Apple sounds really good.
My favorite soda is Dr. Pepper. But I'm trying to get healthy, si I rarely drink it any more.
I have found that Coke Zero Vanilla/Cherry/Cherry&Vanilla are a good substitute.

All those drinks are coming tomorrow. Good timing! We're currently experiencing a heatwave.

Originally Posted by KorinKitty

Fanta Apple!? I never even knew that was a thing! Is that carbonated as well? Must not be in the US or at least not where I live.

Well, I was looking it up and apparently you do have the apple flavour, but only in ten of your states. Bizarrely enough, you only have the original orange flavour in six states except for in those fast food machines. There is also a green apple Fanta you have in the US. It's pretty decent. Both are carbonated.

Originally Posted by slaughtermaid

Another favorite soda of mine is Fanta Melon soda. One of my local Japanese markets carries it and I personally love it

I just looked at a list of all the different Fanta variants across the world. Japan has so many. It's crazy.

Originally Posted by Starwind55

I'm a Pepsi man. I used to love Coke. Still drink it from time to time but I switched over to Pepsi. Runner up would be Mountain Dew Baja Blast and Surge.

Surge is decent. I was able to try it when it made a return years back. but I didn't like it quite enough to warrant paying for more imports.

Originally Posted by Zemekis

Pepsiman, huh?

I know for a fact you were secretly hoping I'd post that.

Originally Posted by pseudohippie

Apple and Black Currant

I was about to recommend Ribena, a popular British blackcurrant cordial, but... since the sugar tax killed the taste, I guess not.

During the week I've been trying to cut back on alcohol, which has helped me get more quality sleep at the expense of satisfying my sugar cravings via pop. I've tried drinking more seltzer like La Croix and Bubly to get that fizzy sensation without feeling like an unhealthy squalor goblin. But I've recently caved and sure enough, there's a healthy stream of Vanilla Coke and Blackberry Canada Dry in my fridge. Those two are incredibly fine soda pops in their own right, but if I had to pick a favorite to completely alter my palette forever...it would have to be chinotto:

If I had to come up with the simplest way to describe chinotto, it would be this: take a bottle of Mexican Coke (the one with the cane sugar, not corn syrup) add a little sour notes akin to grapefruit, and a bitter note like black licorice but in the best way possible. This stuff was everywhere in Italy back in 2012, but it's another one of those things I have a really hard time finding, and I worked in my city's Little Italy for 5 years!

I have never seen that flavor of Sanpellegrino before and after reading your flavor description of it I REALLY want to try it.

Also, 10/10 empathize with trying to cut back soda and beer. I've gone through almost 3 packs of bubbly in the past week but the cravings are still there.

Fentimans make some of the best soda around. Particularly their cola:



It's botanically brewed which is very different to how the vast majority of other soda is made. The taste is bloody divine. They also do great cherry cola and their tasty dandelion and burdock (a bit on the strong side however, and I bet most of you haven't heard of this drink) as well as a handful of others. Fortunately Fentimans is one of those last bastions fighting against that tax so their drinks still taste great. If you visit the UK in future be sure to try a Fentimans soda. Sure would give Coca-Cola a run for their money if the price was the same.

Edit: It seems that they're now also brewing their drinks in the USA. It's done in Pennsylvania. You know what to look for next time you go shopping, Zemekis.