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One of the greatest joys of traveling, in my sad opinion, is visiting grocery stores and sampling local or hard-to-find soft drinks. To many, soda is a sickly-sweet mishmash of high fructose corn syrup and carbonated water -- and in some cases, I'd agree with that. But there's also a surprising amount of variety and complexity if you're willing to look past Pepsi and Coke and into the weirder options. Here are some of my favorites: Cheerwine  Let's start with probably the best-known "unknown" soda, Cheerwine. Based out of North Carolina, Cheerwine is popular throughout the American South. It's a cherry soda, but the cherry flavor isn't as pronounced as you might think. It is, however, very, very sweet, so be warned if you try to avoid syrupy drinks. It's pretty easy to find in my experience, and it's worth trying at least once. Find Cheerwine near you: https://cheerwine.com/distributor_locator Dang! That's Good! Root Beer  Based out of Milwaukee, Dang! is probably one of my favorite root beers. It's made with cane sugar and, in my opinion, it's really smooth, with more emphasis on vanilla and less on the harsher, "rootier" flavors of sarsaparilla and sassafras. They also make a butterscotch root beer that's not unlike drinking liquid Werther's Originals, but in a good way. Store locator: http://www.imperialflavors.com/products/dang-that-s-good/where-to-buy Jarritos  Jarritos is a Mexican company that sells a variety of fruit flavored sodas throughout Mexico and parts of the United States. I was introduced to it as a child living in a Kansas town with a large Mexican immigrant population, where it was so popular, our local Kroger started importing it. I think it's a lot easier to find these days. Grapefruit is my favorite flavor, but they also make tamarind, guava, mango and hibiscus, among others. They're all really good. Store locator: https://jarritos.com/#/locator Swamp Pop  Based out of Lafeyette, Louisiana, Swamp Pop's Noble Cane Cola is my favorite cola. It's made with cane sugar, not HFCS, and it allegedly contains Louisiana figs. It's a more subtle and complex cola than most. It has a deep, rich flavor with notes of fruit and bitters. I've been successful in finding it at World Market as well as, weirdly, my local hardware store. Find Swamp Pop: http://drinkswamppop.com/buy/ Thoughts, reviews and recommendations are all welcome in this thread! If there's something you consumed and you can't remember what it was, try to describe it and I'm sure someone will be able to point you in the right direction. And while this post focuses on soda, all beverages are fair game here. Happy drinking, friends!
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Sep 22, 2016 01:18
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 Tastes like dr. pepper, cough medicine, and cigarette butts but I love the poo poo out of the stuff. You can generally find it almost anywhere in Maine and in select stores all around New England. It's bottled by coke now but it's still pretty regional. Oldest commercially bottled soda in existance, state soda of Maine My favorite fact about Moxie is that they didn't get the name for it from the word moxie. The word moxie is from the soda. Yeah you may have never heard of it now but at one time this stuff was so popular that it's name made it's way into the public lexicon.
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Sep 22, 2016 01:25
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Sep 22, 2016 01:31
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Sep 22, 2016 02:16
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Agent355 posted:
can confirm.
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Sep 22, 2016 02:32
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nice glass of limoncello
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Sep 22, 2016 06:08
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VcZSaU5vjQ
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Sep 22, 2016 06:30
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OP, one of my old roommates keeps on going on about how Jarritos Mexican Cola is the best flavor but whenever we are at a store with Jarritos, we can never find it and he is unable to describe what makes it so good. I think he is being a liar face and the flavor does not actually exist. Have you tried it? What's the deal?
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Sep 22, 2016 16:31
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I don't even remember it being particularly good, but I am obsessed with finding Colt Black Cherry because it's impossible to find here. We did, however, used to live next to a convenience store where the owner would go to the States every so often and buy cases of vanilla Coke, which was nice of him. That was my story.
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Sep 22, 2016 16:33
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Are energy drinks allowed? I have no idea what "natural caffeine" is but these are probably the best tasting energy drinks I've ever had. 
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Sep 22, 2016 16:39
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 Anything else is just glorified ginger ale. This stuff burns in the best possible way, and is the best thing ever with a squeeze of lime. Fever Tree is also okay, but better suited to mixed drinks than on it's own. Crow Jane has a new favorite as of 17:02 on Sep 22, 2016 |
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Sep 22, 2016 16:40
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 Always pick up a small bottle of this stuff after work. It's great.
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Sep 22, 2016 17:06
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 Faygo gets a lot of flak for being associated with the Insane Clown Posse, but people need to remember that they only started mentioning it in their lyrics because it's local, it tastes good, and you can get a three liter for a dollar, which is important if you don't have much money. The whole line is really decent, especially for a budget brand, but three flavours really stick out: Redpop The flagship, pretends to be strawberry, actually red licorice. Perfection. Vanilla Cream Tastes like a milkshake, perfectly clear. A favourite for sipping and for spraying at the gathering when you don't want stains on your jncos. Rock n Rye Basically the first two mixed together. Tastes exactly as good as it sounds, and it sounds amazing. flavor.flv has a new favorite as of 17:10 on Sep 22, 2016 |
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Sep 22, 2016 17:07
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Melon soda of any kind is great and I wish it was more of a thing outside of Japan. Favourite brand is probably Suntory Pop, which you can get in a lot of vending machines there:
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Sep 22, 2016 17:23
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 Everyday
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Sep 22, 2016 17:35
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Leninade. http://leninade.realsoda.com/ Sooooooo good
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Sep 22, 2016 17:47
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 A friend of mine brings me back a couple of cases of this stuff when she visits her relatives out in the middle of nowhere. It's one of the best drinks I've ever had, and in a refreshing change of pace, the diet is every bit as good as the full-calorie.
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Sep 22, 2016 17:52
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Pastry of the Year posted:
A co-worker who has relatives in Centralia, IL gave me a can of that he brought back a couple weeks ago. I have cousins that live there as well so if I like it, I'll have them bring me a couple cases when they come up for the holidays.
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Sep 22, 2016 17:54
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Sep 22, 2016 17:56
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Cory Parsnipson posted:OP, one of my old roommates keeps on going on about how Jarritos Mexican Cola is the best flavor but whenever we are at a store with Jarritos, we can never find it and he is unable to describe what makes it so good. I think he is being a liar face and the flavor does not actually exist. Have you tried it? What's the deal? It's real and it's great! It has a really dark caramel-ish flavor. I know they still make it because it's listed on their website, but I haven't seen it lately either...
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Sep 22, 2016 19:29
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I like to drink pee pee and diarrhea
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Sep 22, 2016 20:23
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 I heard they make the pocaris do 20 minutes on a stationary bike to get enough for 1 can.
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Sep 22, 2016 20:56
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This soda will be the death of me.
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Sep 22, 2016 21:05
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peter gabriel posted:
You disgusting heathen 
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Sep 22, 2016 21:13
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Hey this thread might know. Back in 2007 I was on a high school trip to Europe and I bought a drink that I still don't know the name of. All I remember was the bottle had a little cat drinking a drink from a cup that had a little umbrella and straw in it and the cats shadow was a giant monster. I bought it in Italy anyone know what I'm talking about?
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Sep 22, 2016 22:51
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DrAlexanderTobacco posted:You disgusting heathen Either works for me, I am currently on Tetley 
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Sep 23, 2016 01:21
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 Soooooo good.
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Sep 23, 2016 02:22
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Moxie owns if you're not a screaming infant and are fine with a soda that's a little bitter and tastes like licorice. Faygo is so super-sweet I thought my mouth was covered in slime. loving disgusting. If I wanted something super-sweet, I'd have some goddamn malta. There are a couple brands, I can get a pack at an afro-carribbean place for six bucks or so. It tastes like unfermented, unhopped brown beer, that is, very sweet and, well, malty. Kind of like kvass then, which also owns.
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Sep 23, 2016 02:29
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Pastry of the Year posted:
Ski is made by Double Cola so if you're ever in the South, some parts of the midwest, you could probably find it.
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Sep 23, 2016 02:40
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 Choose wisely, for you may choose only but one flavor of Dew...
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Sep 23, 2016 02:54
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Les Grossman and I are of the same mind https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5ESh49jymw Also Bawls and Faygo Rock n' Rye.
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Sep 23, 2016 03:07
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That Ski stuff looks good. I'll have to see if it's available nearby. I hadn't heard that the Jarrito's Mexicola had made it to the states either, that's another I'll have to grab. My favorite drink lately has been Virgil's Dr. Better.  Like Dr. Pepper, but better. No really, it's pretty good, maybe even better than the Dr. Pepper they make at that one place that still uses the original recipe and rebottles it in the classic bottles. It's kinda weird how easy it is to discern all the ingredients they used to make it. I swear I'm not trying to be a dumb soda sommelier. Very smooth and not to sweet, and sadly harder and harder to find in my area. The regular supermarkets stopped carrying it and now I can only find it at the pricier whole foods style markets.
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Sep 23, 2016 05:06
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Electric Lady posted:This soda will be the death of me. Don't ever move out of the Southwest. My family has to ship this stuff to me, and they're not allowed to visit without bringing some. The Dregs has a new favorite as of 11:35 on Sep 23, 2016 |
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Sep 23, 2016 11:33
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cup of feathers
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Sep 23, 2016 11:51
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 If you're ever in Switzerland, try these things. They're delicious
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Sep 23, 2016 14:59
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 Delicious Jamaican grapefruit pop you can get a lot of places in the UK. Amazing with rum.
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Sep 23, 2016 15:07
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Sep 23, 2016 15:59
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 this loving drink  it's swamp water. it's a taste like combined cream soda, orange and grape soda, dr. pepper, and root beer. it's utterly perplexing. every once in a while i drink one just to feel utter bafflement and confusion. i don't understand how this drink has managed to get so big that it has claimed an entire loving aisle in every Scottish grocery store. but the commercials are pretty funny: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LcHFkXmCb8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibuLgsVcQUY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fX_K4mNTTI8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UprxM_aBWk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFEmtJRSrvw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_LVBcnDDQ4
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Sep 23, 2016 16:18
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Agent355 posted:
I always thought Moxie tasted like how hot roofing tar smells. It really is godawful with a weird aftertaste, but somehow it's strangely addictive. Every soda back then had to have a weirdly strong and gross taste so it could be sold as a drink with medicinal properties. This one was sold to cure "paralysis, softening of the brain, nervousness, and insomnia." I'm sure that caffeinated beverage will do wonders on your nervousness and insomnia.
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Sep 23, 2016 18:00
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Bert Roberge posted:I always thought Moxie tasted like how hot roofing tar smells. It really is godawful with a weird aftertaste, but somehow it's strangely addictive.  that feels like a parody of ridiculous side effects
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Sep 23, 2016 18:12
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