IZZE Sparkling Pomegranate

Aroma: Mmmm, tangy. The pomegranate and lemon scents shine through in this one, making it smell surprisingly tart.

Taste: Wow, and I thought the smell was tart... This is so sour that I'm wondering if I just left it in my fridge for too long. I usually like strong, pronounced flavors, but this is just too stringent. It's like a bowl full of cranberries and pomegranate seeds with a slice of lemon. (And about a thimble full of sugar).

Price: $1.29 at a local health food store. Available nationwide at Whole Foods, Wild Oats, and a whole bunch of other national stores.

Ingredients: Pure juice from apple, grape, pineapple, lemon, pomegranate, cranberry and acerola juice concentrates, sparkling water, carrot juice (color), blueberry juice (color), natural flavors

Other Comments: Pepsi owns these guys, but I'm happy to review the IZZE line as a step in the right direction for one of the big boys. I respect the use of only fruit juice to sweeten their drinks.

Overall: This was just too sour for me. It's really surprising, since all the other flavors from IZZE are very well-balanced. I seriously think this may have been a bad batch, so I'll have to get a fresh bottle to make sure. For the time being, though, I can't give it more than two stars.

Rating: 2.0/5 stars.

-Danithius

Frützzo Pomegranate Blueberry

Aroma : The strong mixture of pomegranate and blueberry goes spelunking up your nasal caverns from right out of the bottle. The sweetness isn't as evident as in their other juices, but still lets you know it's there.

Taste : Slightly sweet and very tangy, this isn't as sweet as their Pomegranate Açai, but still has a very pleasant blend of juices. The tartness of the pomegranate lingers, but doesn't dry your mouth out.

Price : About $1.99 or higher for a 12oz bottle, mostly at WalMart.

Ingredients : Pomegranate, pineapple, apple, blueberry, black currant juices from concentrates and natural flavors.

Other Comments : Frützzo has a fun, funky little site, but nowhere to purchase their drinks online. Actually, I couldn't find anywhere online to purchase them, but plenty of other reviews. But you're not reading those, are you? Good. They remain a small company, with a line of all-natural drinks based on pomegranate juice, known for its health benefits, including the fighting of free radicals.

Overall : The flavors are quite strong, but not overpowering. The bottle is pretty cool too, and apparently they won awards for the design. All in all, I found it a refreshing, tangy beverage that is high in antioxidants, and somewhat high in sugar. If I had my choice between this and a much cheaper juice blend, I would still probably stick with this.

Rating : 4/5 stars.

-WiseGuise

SoBe Life Water Orange Tangerine

Aroma: Let's see, how to describe it...somewhere between actual orange juice and orange Kool-aid.
Taste: This has a light, "Orange-Flavor" taste with maybe a hint of the herbs that they sneaked in there. It has a good level of sweetness, and is nice and refreshing. I'll take this over say, Gatorade (or Powerade, or whatever -ade) any day, and not just because those others are riddled with HFCS. Life Water's flavor wins hands-down, as far as I am concerned.
Price: $1.00 (on sale) at a local grocer. Available nationwide.
Ingredients: filtered water, sugar, natural flavor, citric acid, ascorbic acid (vitamin C), sodium citrate, modified food starch, vitamin E acetate, calcium phosphate, gum arabic, acerola juice extract, calcium pantothenate, rosehip extract, B-apo-8'-carotenal (color), niacinamide, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), cyanocobalamin (vitamin B12).
Other Comments: I'm reviewing this drink because recently SoBe made the decision to stop using crystalline fructose, which we do not endorse, to plain old table sugar. (FYI, Glaceau Vitamin Water still uses the crystalline stuff). We know that SoBe was acquired by Pepsi a while ago, thus making them a part of The Machine, but I feel that they are taking steps in the right direction with this. They have also added herbal content in the change. The sugar content isn't bad: the 20 ounce bottle clocks in at 24 grams. (Remember, a 12 oz. can of Coke is about 40 grams, and don't even ask me how much orange soda has!)
Overall: This is a nice, refreshing, not-too-sweet flavored water option that I like to use in place of HFCS-riddled sports drinks. I believe there is some room for improvement and innovation as far as taste goes, but I think it's still one of the best widely-available options in this particular category.

Rating: 4.0/5 stars.

-Danithius