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Cascade Ice - Orange

We've been getting a lot of hits lately on searches for Cascade Ice (website still says coming soon), and I have never had a reply to my emails asking for information, so I'm curious why they don't seem to be interested in getting broader exposure since their Ice Water drinks seem to be rather popular. In any case, I'll just quite my griping and do the review.

Smells like orange Otter-Pops. Tastes much better, pulpy and sweet, very orange. Doesn't quite taste completely natural, I'm wondering how they get that 'orange essence.' Still says organic, and there is absolutely no chemical aftertaste, so I will take their word that it is all natural. Loaded with vitamins, like all the others.

I say stick this in your kid's face instead of Sunny D, it tastes better and it isn't naturally infused with chemicals and HFCS. And it's refreshing, just like the bottle promises! Now if only these guys would get some serious advertising behind this product, it would fare a whole lot better against the sodas false-flavored beverages of the world.

Score: 4.5 out of 5.

-- WiseGuise

Fizz-Ed - Red Raspberry

I've been seeing this in the fruit-juice aisle of my local evil-conglomerate Wal-Mart for a while now, but haven't been able to muster up the nerve to buy it until yesterday. It was $2.50 for a 4-pack, so that makes it about 75 cents a can, not bad. I stuffed it in the fridge until I got home from gorging on Thanksgiving food and cracked one open watching the news.

I didn't expect too much when I purchased this, but it fit our guidelines quite well. Apple & Eve, a company that also produces Seneca fruit juices makes this, so it's a smaller company. Check
It contains no HFCS, CF, or any other added sugar. Check
Sold at Wal-Mart, so it's most likely available everywhere. Check
It's 70% juice and carbonated water, so I ignored the 'fizzical' jokes and tossed it in the cart.

It's not often I do a double-take when drinking something, but this one honestly got me. The smell is very much like a sparkling cider, but the taste is slightly better than that. The tangy-sweet juice hits your tongue right along with the carbonation, but it bubbles away and leaves the taste of the raspberry for you to relish, with an undertone of the black currant, lemon and acerola flavors. The sour tang of the raspberry lingers, and it isn't at all unpleasant. After I finished the first one, I immediately grabbed another. Now I see why they pack them in four. Sneaky bastards.

This is possibly my favorite soda I have reviewed as of yet. 20 g sugar a can, not bad. Carbonation, not good for you, but just the right amount. May I have another?

Score: 5 out of 5, as long as you know it's carbonated and oh, so delicious.

-- WiseGuise

**Danithius Review Rebuttal!**
Wow, I'm impressed. This is awesome - great berry flavor, reasonable sugar. I'm in total agreement with WiseGuise, I give it a five.

Sobe Life Water - Yuzu Black Currant

The Vibrance of Life Water, cir. 2008

SoBe scores another tasty entry into the Life Water brand. Yuzu Black Currant, like any good berry drink, has a good mix of sweet and tart. It has a pleasant berry flavor, and like real sweet-tart berries, it leaves a dry feeling in the back of your throat.

And get this: it has juniperus communis berry extract in it!

What, why are you staring at me? Oh, you don't know what that is??

It's the extract of juniper berries, which are used to make gin. Oh sure, now you're all excited. Stop touching me.

Anyway, aside from that it has Acai extract and black carrot juice. All sorts of interesting stuff in here! I liked it - the flavor fits nicely with the image of its title. That said, I like the other flavors more. (Orange Tangerine and Goji Melon are my two favorite SoBe love interests).

Rating: 4.5/5

-Danithius-

Honest Tea - Organic Honey Green Tea

I promised you another Honest Tea review, and here it is. I decided to keep it simple this time, no fancy Ade's or fruit-flavored teas, this is a straight up green tea, and 'just a tad sweet.' I just got back from the gym and I wanted something refreshing without a lot of sugar, and what should I find staring at me pleadingly from the beer-infested recesses of my food-prison? This chilly little bottle.

The aroma is nothing special, it smells like tea. But the taste is amazingly layered for something with only five ingredients; water, cane sugar, tea, honey and citric acid. An initial sweetness bombards your tongue with an herby background, then the sugar fades away, letting the dry, slightly bitter tea leaves take over. As the tea flavor mellows off, a hint of the honey appears at the back of your tongue, tempting you into another swallow. If you chug it slowly, all the flavors blend together and trick you into stopping to enjoy it.

Even with the 20 g's of sugar per 16.9 oz, it was still slightly too bitter for me to fully enjoy, although I sure wish I had another bottle right now. Which reminds me, you can find Honest Tea in many health food stores, Albertson's, and wherever else you are lucky enough to spy it. Order online if you're desperate.

Score: A reluctant 4.5 out of 5.

-- WiseGuise

And in case you missed it

Here's the latest propaganda from the Corn Refiners lobby.





-- WiseGuise

Artificial Sweeteners-The Bitter Truth: A WiseGuise Diatribe

You will have noticed if you are a regular reader of this blog (or possibly if you accidentally stumbled upon it), that one of our biggest gripes in beverages is the sugar content, but I often prefer some sweetness. Pondering this conundrum, several questions fight their way up to the cerebral cortex of my frontal lobe.

• Why do humans put sugar in everything?
• Why do 'they' replace our beloved sugar with substitutes?
• Why do YOU care so much about sugar?

Humans naturally have a 'sweet tooth,' since sweet is one of the most important tastes after salt (why salt? hint: it keeps you alive). Like salt, sugar can be used as a preservative, since if you don't get it wet, sugar can last indefinitely. Sugar is a simple carbohydrate that your body breaks down easily, causing the 'sugar rush' that keeps your hyper-active kids running nonstop for days. Basically, we all love sweets.

Problem: Sugar has a relatively low nutritional value, being simply carbohydrates, and there are a large number who support the idea that it is making us fat. Well, not me, you. The other health problems related to excessive sugar intake range from tooth decay and diabetes to gout and possibly cancer. And nobody likes cancer.
There are, of course, alternatives. Honey is popular, but its distinct flavor and variation keeps it from use in many products, which want a simple, homogenized taste, like the beverage industry. HFCS is currently the most widely used sweetener, but I've gone on about that one before.
So what does the industry do to alleviate this 'problem'? Use low or non-calorie sugar alternatives! Sounds simple, right? Well, it was possible (in the US) until stevia was banned (in the US) as a sweetener in the early nineties. There are myriad other substitutes, some of them low or no calorie, like erythritol, but still are not seen in wide use. But pseudo-health-conscious people still want their sodas, dammit. So what was the burgeoning diet industry to do? Ah-ha! We'll make sugar. With no calories. Sweet.

The first artificial sugar was accidentally made back in 1879 by a chemist screwing around with coal tar derivatives. This went on to be known as saccharin. It was stable, and sweeter than sucrose, but had an unpleasant bitter or metallic aftertaste. If that isn't enough to turn you off to it, (oh yeah, it's still out there) just look at how it's made. By the way, the U.S. Congress decided it would be cool to repeal the law requiring saccharin products to carry health warning labels. Thanks, republicans!

More recently, other sweeteners have become popular, namely aspartame (NutraSweet, Equal and phenylalanine) and sucralose (Splenda). I have been unfortunate enough to try beverages with these sweeteners in them, even without my knowledge, and I can STILL taste them. Why don't I like this? I want the sweet taste, right? Yes, I do. But not with that false, almost plastic aftertaste. And although there have been some accusations to the contrary, these two have been deemed relatively safe to ingest, with no real adverse side affects noted. (Side note: packaged Splenda contains bulking agents, giving it 86% the caloric content of sugar, ergo it is NOT low-calorie)

As far as I am concerned, there is no substitute for natural sweeteners, HFCS and CF excluded. I love sweets just as much as anyone; hell, I still drink sodas on occasion, but I still look for the ones with real, natural, relatively unprocessed sugar in them. The key is moderation. I don't drink a gallon of soda per diem like I used to, instead I rely water, tea and fruit juice for my fluids. If you can't understand that you shouldn't drink that 44 oz cola every day, or that 44 oz diet cola, than I doubt even a higher power can help you. If you don't want to drink empty calories, drink water. And if you still whine because you like flavor, try non-sweetened waters like Hint or Alaya's Herbal Water.

-- WiseGuise

Hansen's - Sarsaparilla Soda

This little brown number is from Hansen's Signature line of all-natural sodas, known for their varied tasty beverages that I have personally enjoyed for fifteen years. This particular soda is apparently flavored with sarsaparilla, an American root. It is one of the main flavoring ingredients in root beer, along with sassafras. And guess what? It has super-powers!

Instead of letting this bottle languish in the chilly depths of my personal food-prison, I drank it almost immediately. It smells just like root beer--surprise! And it tastes like. . . wow, like a creamy root beer. Sweet and smooth, not much of a kick or bite, unlike ginger beer. IF you like that sort of thing, check out Danithius' Ginger People review.

I was honestly hoping for more of a spiced flavor, but was instead greeted with a melody of vanilla and familiar root beer flavors, almost like a cream soda. There is actually very little sarsaparilla, encompassed by the last ingredient, 'Natural Flavors.' And at 45 g of sugar in 12 oz, comes in just under (correction, well over) Coke. Yikes. But if you're looking for a natural, sweet, root-beer-like soda, this might just be your ticket.

Score: 3 out of 5. Lots of sweet, not enough kick.

-- WiseGuise

Tazo - Iced Apple Spice

Tazo Apple with Book and Headphone, cir. 2008

This little number caught my eye at a local grocer, and next thing I knew I was walking another liquid impulse buy back to my car. As you can see, this is a nice, deep apple-red. I wonder how they got it so red from the listed ingredients... perhaps they souped-up the rose hips?

Let me warn you, this stuff smells awesome. It's a spicy herbed-apple cider smell. Pungent, earthy, rich smell of autumn with a hint of sweet. Mmm. I sat there smelling this for 10 minutes straight before snapping myself out of it long enough to actually take a sip.

Wow. And it's got flavor to match. It didn't let me down after my fragrance binge. This juice drink is perfectly sweet, perfectly spicy, like a juicy apple cider spiced with just the right amount of cinnamon, peppermint, and lemon for zip. Delicious. It's all natural with 40% juice, decent sugar content, and interesting herb twists. I have to give this a 5. I'm on my way to the store to get another one right now.

Rating: 5.0/5

-Danithius-

Hint - Pear

I shall return for now to drinks that are more unfamiliar, and closer to our guidelines. In that spirit, I bring you: Hint. I first tried this early in the summer, two flavors I should have immediately reviewed, but I was shirking my duties at the time. For shame.

The bottle speaks confidently of its company's "Award Winning Product," and advocates us to 'drink water, not sugar.' I most wholeheartedly agree. The only ingredients in the bottle are water and natural flavorings.

This has the most pungent pear aroma I've ever experienced in a beverage, and the taste is right on as well, hinting of a pear-y sweetness while still having no sweeteners, or calories for that matter. You can chug it, and it tastes like good, cold water, and then retreats down your gullet leaving a pleasant pear aftertaste. This is definitely easy to enjoy slowly, letting the flavors mellow on your palette while you read Dostoevsky or your other favorite Russian author.

If you can ignore the eye-roll inducing pun joke on the side of the bottle, and the pear ones as well, you may enjoy this one as much as I did. Available in many health-food and grocery stores, online as well. And for now, the company seems to remain independent.

Score: 5 out of 5, the perfect beverage for those who still like some flavor in their life.

Zevia - Natural Orange

Zevia on Maple, cir. 2008

I typically avoid diet sodas of any kind, but one sweetener has come to my attention more than once, and I've been looking around for a chance to try it. I heard about it first from an anecdote in The Four-Hour Workweek. It's called Stevia. It's South-American herb with the nickname of "sweetleaf" - extracts of Stevia can be 300 times the sweetness of sugar.

Stevia has been outlawed by the FDA as a sweetener, reportedly after only one anonymous complaint... probably by a corn industry executive...

The FDA's official stance is that "no one has ever provided FDA with adequate evidence that the substance is safe".

Psh. You've passed a lot more fishy stuff than this, FDA. Any negative studies you can find on Stevia are nowhere near as freaky as some of the fake sweeteners on your approved list! (You'll notice on their site that they are still defending Saccharin.)

Stevia has been used for 30 years in Japan and for centuries in South America with no reported ill effects. Google it, there's a whole mess of controversy out there.

OK, down to business. The makers of this soda get around the FDA by labeling it as a "carbonated stevia supplement". Smooth. It has Erythritol, a sugar-alcohol also contained in Sobe Lifewater. It can be purchased online at https://store.zevia.com/, and at the time of writing, they were having a FREE 6 pack sampler special. You only pay for the S&H. Hook it up, I don't know how long that will be good for.

This soda has a kind of mellow after-sweetness with a light orange flavor. (Think Sobe Lifewater's orange flavor, only carbonated and with a little less flavor punch). This is heavily carbonated - too much for my taste, but nothing to a hardcore soda chugger. The flavor and sweetness seem to grow on you as you drink it, but it never quite delivers the flavorful body I'm looking for. I have a feeling it will take more oomph to wean hardcore soda lovers (or diet soda lovers) off the bottle. Some intense herbs and spice will do amazing things for flavor, Zevia, just look at some of the totally non-sweetened drinks that we've reviewed!

This is an interesting entry, but not amazing. Yes, it is probably a lot better for you than teeth-rotting regular soda or the chemical sweeteners in the diet stuff, but that's not enough to make my buddy list. I'm prepared to make some small flavor sacrifices for big returns on health, sure. But to get the big points, you need to give me the Holy Grail, that perfect combination of both flavor and health. I must have it all!

Rating: 3.0/5

Danithius

Honest Tea: Green Dragon Tea

Yes, I am doing yet another Honest Tea review, but look forward to another Cascade Ice review soon. ;)
I know what some of you are going to say, and I don't care. Then you are going to say, how did he know that? None of your business. Now you'll say, this guy is kind of a jerk. Agreed. Can we move on now? Thanks.

I picked up this particular Honest beverage on discount. I had to shake it up, being a bit silty from the tea. At first smell, it reminds me of a fruity rolled-up type snack, but the high quality kind, not that crap from General Mills (another mega-food-corp). It's my first time trying this, so I wasn't sure what green tea with passion fruit would taste like. Interesting. There's a moment of sweetness, followed by a slightly bitter and dry taste, and ending with the exotic flavor of the passion fruit.

There is a blurb on the back that basically chastises the sweet tea industry for putting unnecessary amounts of sugar in their teas, noting that 'One teaspoon takes away tea's bitterness. Another adds a nice sweetness. That's where we stop.' And they're true to that, there's only 16 grams of sugar in the 16.9 oz bottle.

I can't say this is one of my favorites, but it was definitely worth trying. It is more of a sipping drink than a chugger, the tea's dryness catches up with you. Not a bad tea, but still not mind blowing.

Ingredients: Purified water, organic cane sugar, organic green tea, organic lemon juice, natural passion fruit flavor, citric acid.

Score: 3 out of 5. I would have enjoyed a little more sweetness than the 'tad.'

*Note: the variety in the plastic bottle is apparently discontinued, but still available in the glass bottle. Look in your local grocer or health-food store.*

Bomba - Original Energy

I successfully avoided the temptation to yank the tab off and throw this before I actually drank it. I purchased this grenade-shaped bottle at my local BigLots, more out of curiosity and amusement than actually hoping I would enjoy it, as I have sworn off energy drinks for well over a year. Also, they tend to not fit our guidelines, so you wont see many of them on here. That being said, this was the ONLY energy drink I found there that contained just sugar, which finally won me over. I found their quirky website (Warning: sexy PG-13 images), and learned BOMBAenergy is located in Austria, so how in the devil a box of these made their way to Utah is strange indeed. Possibly through their Arizona distributor. If you happen to see where these are sold, let me know.

Anyhow, after I resisted tossing this bottle through the window and diving for cover, I took a whiff. Oddly, it smells like Smarties, with a weird cheap-chocolate scent underneath. *shrug* And wouldn't you know it, it tastes like Smarties too. Very sweet and tart, it's also slightly carbonated. I vaguely reminds me of a certain crimson male bovine drink, but not tasting so much like rodent urine.

This small bottle (8.4 ounces) contained a whopping 33 grams of sugar (no HFCS), and excessive amounts of caffeine, taurine and several vitamins. Here's the rest of the contents, even of the bottle itself. I had to stop drinking this less than halfway through, it was just too much sugar for me. Being merely curious, this didn't break my heart too much, and I will never drink another one again.

Score: 5 for clever packaging, 1 for taste and sugar content.

-- WiseGuise

Function: House Call

Pre-Script: Once again, between work and school, my reviews have suffered drastically. I will try to get up at least one a week; I'm hoping we can break the 100 review mark before the end of the year. My apologies, keep reading, and submit suggestions! Thanks, WiseGuise.

I found this at a local retailer of all things dented, damaged, discontinued and bizarre, but it can be found elsewhere, like Albertson's, for around $1.30. After another lengthy stay in my refrigerator, I cracked this open and gave it the usual smell test, which hinted at more of a lemonade than a tea. And then I drank it. Drum roll?

I was a little blown away by this drink after my last encounter with Function, which didn't impress me much flavor-wise. This one is great, it had a sweet, mildly citrus flavor, and a smooth almost milky texture. It was unlike any other 'honey green-tea' I have ever had before. Sugars come in at 24 grams a 16.9 oz bottle, not great, but still not Coke status.
Ingredients & Info.

Although it's a green tea, it is caffeine free, also 'Physician Developed' and packed with more vitamins and antioxidants than an Orange County housewife preparing for her next botox injection. Overall, this has been one of my favorite Function drinks, and I plan on sampling more in the future.

Score: 4.5 out of 5.

-- WiseGuise

Amazake Rice Shake - Go Hazelnuts

Amazake & Sake Bottle, cir. Aug 2008

This was the epitome of impulse buys for me - it was expensive, and I already had everything I came to the store for, but something about that bottle just seemed to call to me... maybe it was the hazelnut flavor. Maybe it was the name Amazake. Maybe it was subliminal advertising. Whatever it was, I gave it a shot.

Down to the nitty-gritty: like any drink that touts itself as high energy, this has a whole lot of sugar in it. 31 grams in just one cup of this stuff. (One 12 oz can of coke has 39g). Wowza. That is this drink's Achilles Heel. But the ingredients are simple enough, I like that. There are only five: organic rice, hazelnuts, vanilla, hazelnut flavor, and a bit of xanthan gum for kicks. (Actually, it makes it thicker and shake-y).

And the taste? Oooh, this is so hazelnutty-good. After sip number two, I was hooked. It has a rich, smooth hazelnut and vanilla flavor that is a little too perfect. Just the right consistency, and surprisingly, it doesn't taste all that sweet, despite all the sugar. Speaking of which, where the hell is the sugar?! I had to look at the ingredients again to be sure, but no sweetener is listed - it's just rice, nuts, and flavoring...

I was about to panic, but then I realized that "Oh, hey, it says on the label it's 'Naturally Sweet from the Rice Itself'". Wow. You can tell, too, because it lacks the flavor of any of the usual sweeteners. This piqued my curiosity, so I went to consult the magical interwebs. It was then my privledge to learn all about the traditional Japanese beverage amazake, from which this drink gets its name. Amazake is a sweet, low-alcohol beverage in Japan that is reknowned as a health drink. They combine certain rice grains cause the carbohydrates to be broken down into simple sugars, and voila! Natural rice-sugar. Oh, those Japanese!

Rating: 4.5 out of 5, the .5 docked because of the high (albeit natural) sugar. You're in for a real treat, just don't drink the stuff like it was bottled water, allright?

- Danithius -

PS, just found the website: http://www.grainaissance.com/amazake.html

Honest Ade - Limeade

This is my second organic, lime-flavored drink review; see my Talking Rain review. Now, as much as I like the flavor of lime, I may have high expectations from these ades, so it may color my review slightly, but I try to remain objective.

Smelling this is like sticking a freshly sliced lime up your nose, it's that potent. The flavor, however, seems a bit watered down, more so than my previous review. It still tastes just fine, and it is 'just a tad sweet' like Honest Ade proudly prints on their label, but I was hoping for a bit more lime flavor, some tartness, and this lacked that.

It's only Purified water, organic cane sugar, organic lime juice, organic lemon juice, natural lime flavor, organic lemon extract. With all that, you'd think it would be more limey. However, there was a tiny bit of pulp at the bottom, I'm only assuming that is just some of the 'natural lime flavor' (methinks lime peel).

Would I drink it again over any other sugar-laden ade? Sure. Would I wish it had more of a kick? Probably. Should I just shut up and review another drink? Yup.

Score: 4 out of 5.

-- WiseGuise

Talking Rain Twist - Lemon

Talking Rain w/ Ribeye Backdrop, cir. 2008

As illustrated by this photo, Talking Rain Twist Lemon tastes great on a hot sunny afternoon, especially when it's washing down a freshly seared meduim-rare piece of red meat. Mmmmmmm, cow.

Oh, and before I forget: Wise Guise, you'll find your severance check in the mail in the next couple of days. Nobody steals a new product line review out from under Danithius! You'll never work in this business again, you two-timing beverage whore!

Ahem. Now then, this drink has a nice sun-kissed lemon flavor with just the right amount of bite, and nothing else. No sugar, no anything, just lemon-water. Nice, crisp, clean - goes great with food or as a nice refresher.

With this tasty submission, Talking Rain has won its way back into my good graces, which is pretty hard to do after my last Talking Rain sampling fiasco. I can now officially retract my statement that all of their flavor-creator scientist people must have been flunkies that were fired from the Kool-Aid corporation. Clearly that was only half of their staff, and the non-idiot members are working on the Twist series.

This stuff is 9% juice, which includes pineapple concentrate. (Interesting choice of ingredients. I would have never guessed it had pineapple in it.) As I said, no sugar and no artificial sweeteners, so you can't get too much healthier than that.

All in all, it's great for what it is (lemon-water), and it fits in well with our M.O. as a site, but I'm going to dock a point for lack of originality. As was my problem at first with Metromint, I don't like giving full points to something that I could make at home for 1/10th of the price. C'mon, give me a lemon for a quarter and some tap water, I'll whip up five of these. (Yes, yes, I know yours is "Ultra Premium", Talking Rain. But MY tap water is "Uber-Premium". To infinity. So there.)

Score: 4.0/5

-Danithius

V8 V-Fusion

*Reader Suggested*

This has actually been on my radar for some time, since suggested to me by my juice-loving friend Annie. Once we finally received them in our state, I took an instant liking to them. These beverages are 100% juice, unlike their other alt-beverage V8 Splash, which contains only 10% juice and HFCS (and regular V8 has kill-you amounts of sodium).

The flavors I have tried are quite good, the Peach Mango being my favorite. The Pomegranate Blueberry is good but has a bit of an odd aftertaste in large quantities. The Strawberry Banana has a bit more sugar, 38 g per 12oz bottle, but still not bad. Oddly enough, the main filler in all these is sweet potato juice, although, I can't tell.

Each small bottle gives you a serving of fruit and vegetable, but can cost upwards of two bucks a bottle. I would buy the larger bottle (anywhere between $2.50-$3.20) and save some cash. I think this would be a great idea for those trying to get more fruit and veggies in their diet, or those of their kids/family. I would avoid the 'Lite' offerings, they contain sucralose, an artificial sweetener.

Sadly, V8 is also part of Campbell's, another large corporation slowly swallowing up other brands over the years. At least they have these drinks under their wide belt, possibly the healthiest thing the company makes.

Score: 4.5 out of 5, points lost for corporate hierarchy.

-- WiseGuise

Talking Rain Twist - West Indies Lime

One of my favorite flavors is lime, ask anyone. Well, anyone that knows me. If fact, just ask me, you can't trust anyone else. Now then. I spotted one of these in Danithius' fridge, so I found one myself, and have managed to post my review before him. Take that.

It has a crisp, limey, slightly sour taste, and finishes with a mild sweetness and is quite enjoyable for sipping. It smells like a key lime pie, too. This is certified organic AND kosher, for our Semitic readers.

After our dismal receiving of their sparkling water line, this is a more-than-welcome change. I was sad after I finished the bottle, and wanted to go get another. Although I wasn't too fond of the cottony tongue I got afterward, but that what comes with real citrus juices. So you can just deal with it too.

I like their little axiom I spied on the back of the bottle: As in Life, Chill For Best Results. It contains 9% 'nectar', and only 2 g of sugar a serving. The only ingredients are water, agave nectar, lime juice and citric acid. Although I probably wouldn't drink this while working out, any other time it would suit me quite well. More info about their line here.

Score: 4.5 out of 5.

--WiseGuise

Super Happy Asian Drink Hour - Ramune!

Ramune on Glass Table.
(Sorry I forgot to attach the pic on the first post)

*Wise Guise and I assembled a panel of friends, all possessing varied amounts of experience with foreign drinks, and had them try seven wacky/tasty/exotic drinks from Japan! We cleansed our palates with Japanese salty snacks in-between drinks.*

The name "Ramune" comes from the English word "lemonade". It has been sold in Japan for well over 100 years. The unique bottle design has been around from the beginning - the most prominent feature is its marble stopper, which is pushed down into the bottle's neck in order to open the drink. (The plastic mouth at the top of the bottle is too small for the marble to go through, thus avoiding any unfortunate soda-related choking deaths.) It can take some practice to drink from this bottle without having the marble roll back up into the mouth and block the flow of beverage. It's the perfect sipping drink, mostly because the bottle makes it literally impossible to chug!

Ramune comes in dozens of flavors, some of which rotate on a seasonal basis.

Joe (limited experience): "Tastes more like bubble gum. Melony bubble gum I like it, though. That gets my second vote."

Wise_Guise (moderate experience): "It's more of an apple flavor than a lemon flavor. It's a little too much carbonation for me."

Danithius (advanced experience): "Classic. Tasty Summer drink."

Adam (moderate experience): "Yep, that's Ramune"

Crystal (limited experience): "I feel like [Danithius] is trying to get us drunk. I like this one, though, it tastes a lot like Sprite."

Consensus: Melon-apple fizzy bubble gum sorta-lemony old-school Japanese soda! Worth a try even just for the unique bottle experience!