Better Libations | Healthy Drink Reviews

Today we have another SoBe Lifewater contender up on the chopping block: Strawberry Dragonfruit.

This is another 0-calorie “Lean Machine” Lifewater sweetened exclusively with Stevia and Erythritol.  The other lean machines have surprised me with a depth of flavor and lack of obnoxious aftertaste that I have yet to find in other “diet” products.  As regular BL readers know, we stay away from any artificial sweeteners.  But because Lifewater uses Stevia (a sweet herb) and Erythritol (a natural sugar-alcohol), they make the cut.

Fragrance: Smells like a sweet-tart tropical fruit with a hint of bubblegum.

Taste: Like all the other Lifewaters, this is pleasant and chuggable.  The sweetness level is just right, and it delivers some moderate tropical/floral notes.  But it lacks the distinct flavor profile that I’ve come to enjoy from its fruity brethren.  All in all, it just isn’t enough to make me stand up and take notice.  I expect more from the flavor-formulators over at SoBe!

Summary: Sure, dragonfruit sounds cool.  I mean come on, it’s dragonfruit.  The only way to get a cooler-sounding piece of produce would be to invent ninjafruit or something.  (I’m trademarking that, by the way!)  But the thing is, dragonfruit is one of those items that sounds cool in principle, but then fails to deliver in practice.  I’ve had it fresh; it was like biting into a cardboard-and-poppyseed muffin.  It’s bland.  They could have compensated for its lack of flavor in this Lifewater with a more pronounced strawberry taste, but unfortunately it was nowhere to be found.

Rating: 3.0/5 It has the pleasant sweetness of its brethren, but falls short in the flavor department.

-Danithius-

User Ratings: (9 votes, average: 4.56 out of 5)
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3-Star Reviews, SoBe Life Water drink reviews, SoBe lifewater

Crazy mosaic of Jones-ness decorates the bottle

Greetings, Libationers!  Today I’m tackling an interesting flavor contender by Jones Soda.  First off, props to Jones for getting off the HFCS (high-fructose corn syrup) bandwagon way back in ’06.  That switch is the reason we can review their sodas – as you know, we don’t dig the HFCS.  But alas, while Jones does offer interesting soda flavors, it is still just flavored sugar-water, with no actual fruit juice or significant vitamins to sweeten the deal.  (At least this is the case with this particular flavor.  We did reviews of their new GABA line, which were a different story).  And wow, there is a lot of sugar in this thing.  46 grams for one 12-ounce bottle – that’s 15 teaspoons of sugar in this one bottle, people!

OK, with that said, let’s get down to business.  I crack open the multicolored bottle, and it explodes a cloud of fruity mist all over my face.  I must have shaken it up on the way back from the fridge.  It does give me an immediate sense of the beverage’s smell, however, which is acutely indescribable.  It’s like… it’s like… ow.  My brain is crying out in protest as I try to pluck out a single word to assign this product.  I have to break out the big guns for this one – excuse me while I grab a wine glass.

OK, here we go.  I swirl and sniff and swirl some more, trying to take it all in.  Hang on… OK, I think I have something.  I can’t produce a specific word for this stuff, so you’ll have to make do with a metaphor.  Imagine every kind of fruity candy and bubblegum that you see at your grocery store’s checkout stand.  Now imagine the checkout stands of all the grocery stores from all across the world.  With me?  OK, now all of those candies are placed in a single giant blender somewhere in northern Texas.  Hit “frappe” on that thing, and take a big whiff of the resulting product.  Yeah.  It’s like that.

Even the color is strange on this liquid.  It’s a translucent greenish color, like pond water in sunlight.

After all the drama that came from just smelling this stuff, I’m afraid to actually put it in my mouth!  I might break something in my tongue.  But no, I must press on, for the greater good!  Here goes nothing…

Ow, my brain… so many flavors… arghh…

I don’t know what the long-term effects of this thing will be… If I don’t make another post within a week’s time, please, someone send out a rescue crew.

Rating: 3.0 out of 5 – Loaded with sugar, but good when you need a thorough mind-blow.

-Danithius- (I think?)

User Rating: (1 votes, average: 3.00 out of 5)
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3-Star Reviews, Jones Soda Co. drink reviews, reviews

Yes, finally, the last oogave review that I’ve been putting off for a week.   Christmas shopping has been wreaking havoc on my posting, among other things.  Let’s get down to it, shall we?  Yes, we shall.  I ended up with the other citrus offering from oogave, Mandarin-Key Lime.  This simple soda has only four ingredients, as long as you count ‘natural flavors’ as a single ingredient.

The freshly opened bottle tickles my nose with a citrus-y mandarin feather, but I’m having a hard time detecting the lime.  With a swig, I get that first rush of sweet from the agave, then an orange tang, followed by a hint of lime.  None of the flavors really overwhelm the others except for the sweetness; at least you can say that oogave knows how to play it mellow with the flavors, if you’re into that sort of thing.

I think that Esteban could really play around with the flavors a lot more, make them familiar but interesting.  The sweetness always seems to take control of my taste-buds before the real flavors get a chance to take them for a ride.  I really wanted to like this soda more, but the sugars are the only thing my tongue has any memory of now that I’ve finished the bottle.  Although, I do feel fuller.

Score: 3 out of 5. The understated flavors disappear under the agave sweetness.

– WiseGuise

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3-Star Reviews, oogave all natural, independent company, oogave, organic

Sounds odd, but don't judge it yet.

I like finding the odd and random drinks that appear out there, ones that few have tried and I have never seen before.  But, I hesitate to review them, because of the above stated facts.  They are hard to find and not widely consumed; and often, not very good.  But sometimes you find a diamond in a field of coals.  This aloe drink may be one of those.

I remember using aloe as a home-remedy for small injuries and sunburns, my grandmother had a large plant on the back porch you could go break a piece off of and smear the smelly, slimy substance on your wound, which soon felt miraculously better.  Aloe is well known for its beneficial effects on the skin and for the stomach, as well as possibly aiding the immune system.

After curiously reading the contents, I shook it as directed then popped open the can.  A smell that brought to mind something likened to burnt grapes with a hint of aloe escaped the can.  Heedless of any foreboding I took a swig right out of it, and found my mouth  full of sweet, grape-y chunks of aloe, a lot of them.  It tasted much more of grape flesh than aloe, which can have a bitter taste.  There is a bit of a tang from the citric acid and Vitamin C (ascorbic acid).  Chewing the aloe chunks, which have an almost jello-like texture, releases more sweetness.

The grape taste is rather strong, and the sugar isn’t subtle either, with 23 g in the 8 oz can, still a bit less than Coke.  A couple extra g of carbs appear due to the aloe vera.  Texture people may not like the soft chunks of aloe, others may love it.  Nothing artificial, extra Vitamin C, and made in Korea.  I really enjoy trying new things like this, and encourage others to do the same.  Other bloggers have found these aloe drinks interesting as well.

Score: 3.5 out of 5. Uber sweet and uber grape, but a different kind of drink.

– WiseGuise

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3-Star Reviews, J1 all natural, drink reviews

Hi there Libationers!  Today we bring you an exclusively agave-sweetened root beer by a company called Oogave.  Agave has a very low glycemic index compared to other sweeteners, which means it takes longer for your body to break down and purportedly makes you feel fuller faster.  Oogave points this out on their website, stating that “you can’t pound down a quart of Oogavé like you can a traditional soft drink.”  I respect a company that encourages nutritionally wise use of their product.  I get the feeling that some beverage companies are trying to get me to drink their grog for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  They don’t care how fat I get, as long as it fattens their wallets.  So, props on that, Oogave, thanks for prioritizing customers over revenue.

Now for the product itself: it smells like a caramel-rich root beer, like a root beer flavored lollipop.  The flavor is rather understated.  It is lightly sweet, which is nice – the agave nectar is supposed to be sweeter than normal sugar.  This 12 oz bottle has 24 grams of sugar, which isn’t bad at all for a root beer.  But I feel the flavor lacks the rich and earthy punch that I expect from a good root beer.

I just finished off the bottle, and I do indeed feel full.  Moreso than if it was a regular soda, so it appears that claim is correct.  I liked it, but I don’t think I’ll try this one again.  I am, however, curious to try the other flavors.  I see potential here.

Rating: 3.5/5 - Low-sugar yet filling, low glycemic index, but in need of a more flavorful punch.

-Danithius-

***Review Rebuttal!***

I like the scent I smell, something here that isn’t in other rootbeers, almost like a coffee.  Carbonation is right, nice and creamy, but not a lot of bite.  It seems more like a cream-soda to me than a rootbeer.  Sweetness and body is perfect, but fails as a true rootbeer; I like it more as a cream-soda.  Score: 4 out of 5.

– WiseGuise

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3-Star Reviews, oogave drink reviews, oogave

Why so much pink?

Now I’ve gone on before about my love for the sweet-tartness of pomegranate, and my adoration for tea, so finding a mixture of the two is usually a guaranteed purchase for me.  Xingtea has one, and it’s good, but not great.  Spying this effort by Hansen,I tossed it into the back of the fridge for a couple weeks and forgot about it.  Running low on stockpiled potential reviews, I found it again and decided I should give it a shot, despite my less-than glowing review of their last drink.

Upon cracking the plastic seal and giving it a whiff, I catch the pomegranate escaping the confines of its plastic prison, along with its smaller, weaker inmate, tea.  It smells sweet.  My first mouthful is an oh-my-god-that’s-a-lot-of-sugar experience, and I glance at the bottle.  On the front it claims to be ‘lightly sweetened with cane sugar,’ and on the back it admits to 23 g of the sweet stuff per serving.  That’s nowhere near Coke’s 39 g a serving, but it still is not light.  After the sweetness rapidly fades away like an exceptionally brief love-affair, the real flavors are allowed to show their tastes.  The aftertaste is far more pleasant than the initial sugar rush, but it comes back with every mouthful.

Honest Tea is able to get its pleasant sweetness with only 12-20 g of sugar per serving, so I am curious why others aren’t able to do the same.  This one is obviously too sugary, they could easily lose 5 g a serving and still be plenty sweet.  And I’m also not quite sure what ‘Naturally Selected Ingredients’ are.  Picked by humans and not robots?  Whatever.  This wasn’t bad as flavored teas go, but not going to come out on top in a head-to-head with Honest Tea.

Score: 3 out of 5. Good flavors, but too much sugar almost overpowers them.

– WiseGuise

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3-Star Reviews, Hansen's green tea

Forgive my lack of posts over the last two weeks – I was detained on top-secret Better Libations official business.  (And no, don’t assume that’s just code for me being lazy.  That’s only a half-truth).

I came across this tantalizingly unique flavor at our local health food store, and it would not let me pass without buying it.  A rhubarb-flavored soda??  I barely even know what rhubarb is, but for some reason this got my curiosity up.  (I have a thing for new and unusual flavors).

Now it sits in front of me, waiting to be reviewed.  It gives off a very light, tart aroma that reminds me of… grapevine.  That’s the only thing I can compare it to.  OK, let’s see what rhubarb soda tastes like.

Wow.  On the bottle it says, “refreshingly tart and complex”.  Complex is the right word for this one.  After taking a drink, it’s like I am hit by four distinctly different stages of flavor.  Let me outline them for you:

Stage One: Bubbles, bubbles, everywhere.  Not a lot of taste in the first second, just carbonation.

Stage Two: Oh, there’s some flavor.  A light, tart, slightly fruity flavor creeps out for a moment to play.

Stage Three: Revenge of the bubbles.  The fruity flavor gets sent to its room, and the carbonated tonic-water comes out for another swing at your tongue in the aftertaste.

Stage Four: Just when you thought it was safe.  After the first three stages fade away, just when you think the roller-coaster ride is over, you find that the rhubarb flavor still lives on in your mouth, this time as a long-lingering aftertaste that clings to the back of your throat.

Complex, indeed.  I give props to DRY Soda for only using four ingredients and keeping things natural.  More props for keeping the sugar content low.  And a pat on the back for creating unique flavors.  But at the end of the day, it’s still gotta taste good, and I feel the tonic club-soda flavor is intrusive in an otherwise interesting and enjoyable experience.  Hard-core readers will remember that this was also my issue with DRY Soda’s Vanilla flavor.  I suppose if that’s what you’re looking for, this is right up your alley, but I don’t see myself sipping this as a mid-day refresher.  It has some interesting potential for meal pairings, though, which I will have to explore more.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars – Low sugar, natural, and an interesting flavor choice, but with a club-soda aftertaste.  (Two of them, actually).  If you don’t mind that, this is for you.

-Danithius-

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3-Star Reviews, Dry Soda Co. drink reviews

What does iced tea-energy drink equal? That's right, PARTY!!

Having completely given up hope that I can avoid buying energy drinks with the enticing ‘natural’ or ‘organic’ markings on them, I snatch up anything I can find that fits within our guidelines and chug it down unheeded, after I take an appropriate picture, of course.

GURU produces a line of energy drinks they claim are 100% natural AND organic.  Good for them.  I have chosen to review their Green Tea Honey-Lemon 100% Natural Energy Drink.  That’s a mouthful.  No carbonation or HFCS in this particular beverage, and the bright green can is very appealing and easy to spot.

It smells pretty much like nothing.  A little honey-tea whiff, and that’s it.  But how does this actually taste?  Well, like some kind of lemon-herb cough-drop, actually.  It tastes suspiciously of instant tea, and the citrus taste combines with the energy additives to cover any hint of honey.  The energy boost is definitely there, coming in smooth and it doesn’t give you the shakes.

Yet the taste still throws it off balance, leaving a sour aftertaste that doesn’t go away, like that rash you have.  You know what I’m talking about.  Use the salve your doctor prescribed.  Any how, I could drink this once in a while, and I might get used to it, but I don’t know if it’s worth it for me.  Besides, I hear their other flavors are better.

*Note: I am in no way linking GURU to the Communist Party, merely myself for wearing the shirt.*

Score: 3 out of 5. Too much medicine-y energy-drink taste, but good on the energy.

– WiseGuise

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3-Star Reviews, GURU drink reviews, energy drink, energy tea, green tea

Do you know how hard it is to take a good picture of a clear liquid?

This baby caught my eye the other day at the grocery store, partly because of it’s proud “Dry” label, and partly because of the vanilla bean flavor.  I’m always down with a good vanilla bean.

Now I’m at work, and it’s time to crack it open for a refreshment break.

It smells like a light cream soda.  So far so good.  But it tastes more like a plain club soda at first, leaving one to think, “wtf, I just paid $1.79 for a bottle of club soda”.  However, if you give it a second, then you find out that both the vanilla flavor and the delicate sweetness are hiding in the aftertaste.  And I do like the warm, lingering vanilla-bean taste, even if it does make a fashionably late entrance.

On Dry Soda Co.’s site, they have cocktail recipes that you can make with their products.  These guys are definitely trying to get recognized as the upper crust of the soda world, going as far as posting recipe pairing suggestions and flavor profiles on each of their drinks, much like fine wines.  Wow, so I get to feel all sophisticated and hip while I’m drinking it?  That’s worth an extra quarter point.  (Unfortunately, our ratings are all rounded down to the nearest half-point).

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 – the low sugar is great, the vanilla is tasty, but something has to be done about that club soda taste.

-Danithius-

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3-Star Reviews, Dry Soda Co. drink reviews

Towering over even the mighty Wasatch Mountains, Jones GABA.

Danithius has already covered the claims on Jones GABA’s packaging, so I get right down to business instead of meandering through a paragraph of facts for the second time.

There is a bare hint of nectarine essence in the first waft, that peach-like smell that reminds me of summer mornings, but it fades too quickly, like my sepia-toned memories.  Sigh.  In the more important flavor department, the nectarine comes off a little weak, and slightly drying. It goes down smooth, though.  I would have no problem chugging it, if it wasn’t in a skinny can.

After finishing all 12 oz, I went to the gym, hoping it would pep me up after being awake since five-thirty am, getting six hours of rest and working all day.  After a good thirty-minute jog, I felt relatively alert, and had enough energy to do more sets than I planned on.  It may have done what it is supposed to do, but the taste was still a little lacking.

Score: 3.5 out of 5.

– WiseGuise

User Rating: (1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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3-Star Reviews, Jones Soda Co. drink reviews