I’ve always been a man who has enjoyed a good soda (pop for you freaks in certain parts of the country, and “a Coke” for those of you who call all sodas by one cola’s brand name). Back in 7th and 8th grade I used to drink three sodas a day, which in retrospect was way too much and it makes me wonder why I’m not fat. Now I have trouble finishing a 20 oz bottle. But I still love good soda.
So that’s why it pissed me off when I found out recently that this new Black Cherry Vanilla Coke is replacing straight up Vanilla Coke (a.ka. ‘Nil). As far as I know, it sold really well, and has been out for a good five years or so. When Vanilla Coke was first released I would hit up the Blockbuster for 2 20oz for 2 dollars because it was a better deal than the grocery store, which still did not carry it in cans. Vanilla Coke never made it into the soda fountains of fast food joints ’round the nation, but it made it’s way into my home — and home is where the heart is.
BCVC isn’t that good, either. I think of it as more of a ‘desert soda’ (like a desert wine or beer). It’s very heavy, a little too sweet, and the sharpness of the coke flavor doesn’t go well with the boldness of the flavoring syrups. Needless to say, I’m disappointed on two accounts.
I thought I might take this time to make up a list of my top ten favorite soda of all time. This list does not include soda flavored with syrups like one might find at a soda shoppe or when your out getting malteds. This is only things that are sold (or were sold) in stores in either cans or bottles at fairly mainstream level. Feel free to comment on anything I missed or anything you disagree with. But because I have the website, I have the voice.
10. RC Cola - Royal Crown Cola is a fantastic cola alternative when you’re bored of Coke and Pepsi. I like to think of it as what Pepsi should taste like. When you’re tired of the two big cola companies bickering, turn to their quiet neighbor R.C., who will take you in, make you comfortable, and ease your pain.
9. Jones Soda Pink - Okay, so the #10 soda’s review is kind of a dud. I can’t find but one reference to Pink’s existence on the Internet. This makes me really sad, because Pink was more than just a bubble-gum or cotton candy flavored soda. It was damn good, though. Almost like a mix of cotton candy and their strawberries and cream sodas. Let me know if you’ve ever had it before.
8. Pepsi Holiday Spice - Weird choice, I know. But it’s the most interesting and experimental soda in recent memory. Unlike other combination sodas, Holiday Spice didn’t just bank on people’s love for certain flavors. Instead it crafted a cola with subtle flavors of ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon. It also had an extremely limited run, which saddens me.
7. Squirt - Big in some parts of the country, unheard of in others, Dr. Pepper/Seven Up Inc’s grapefruit flavor soda does citrus in a whole new way. Bored of lemon/lime? Squirt has a little more bite and more complexity than your average un-cola. It’s only flaw as that it’s a little too tart/sweet to enjoy on a regular basis.
6. dnL by 7up - Turn the 7-Up logo upside down and what do you get? Clever, huh? dnL is the first two of my lime love affairs. The color is greener than 7up, it has caffeine, and the lime flavor is much more pronounced. This was the soda of my first year of college (introduced to me by J). I was so bored of citrus flavor sodas by this point that dnL was a beacon of hope. Unfortunately they took it off the market, and that was that.
5. Pepsi Lime - Pepsi was the first to add a little twist of lemon to their diet sodas. This is well and good for diet drinkers out there, but I’m a straight up kind of guy. Pepsi got back in my good graces, however, when they released both diet and regular Pepsi Lime simultaneous. It’s been a staple of my fridge ever since. It gives a sweet smoothness to Pepsi, which I’m not generally a big fan of.
4. IBC Cream Soda - Cream sodas are delicious, there’s no doubt about it. So it was a matter of picking which company has done it the best. Jones Cream Soda tastes more like sugar water than anythign else, A&W is too bland, Hanks is good but feels like it’s missing something. So IBC comes out on top for taste and value (i.e. 32 oz for a dollar for a while there).
3. Vanilla Coke - I’ve already told you how much I love this one, so I’ll just tell you why it’s better than Pepsi Vanilla. Pepsi Vanilla tried to hard to bring the Vanilla flavor out to the forefront. It goes down a little smoother than ‘Nil, but overtakes the flavor combination too much. Some people claim ‘Nil has a bitter after taste, but I have never noticed it before. Irregardless, this is an amazing soda and I’m sad to see it go.
2. Coca-Cola Classic - It’s always the one, right? Back when we played soccer in elementary school we’d divide the teams up into “Coke versus Pepsi.” And where are those Pepsi kids now? Huh? Yeah, no where, that’s right. Seriously speaking, though, you can’t argue with a soda that has withstood the test of time so well (or a soda whose replacement was hated so much). Much like advertised, it is actually crisp and refreshing. It tastes good in all forms, whether fountain, bottle, or can. It’s just what a good soda should be.
1. Dr. Pepper - Oh how I love thee. People that don’t like Dr. Pepper weird me out. Dr. Pepper has been around for over a century now. It’s one of the few caramel colored sodas that cannot be classified as a cola, but is rather a mix of soda fountain flavors. It’s nice that it doesn’t belong to either Pepsi or Coca-Cola because you can find it packaged with either (’cept when Mr. Pibb gets in the way). Dr. Pepper is also awesome because it’s named for Charles T. Pepper, a man who earned his medical degree from the University of Virginia in the 1850s. That’s a pretty good claim to fame.
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