The Consumer’s Corner

Yesteday we had some Pepsi Throwback, and as promised, today we’re going to kick it old school with Mountain Dew Throwback. Refresher, for those that do not know, the two ‘Throwback’ sodas are supposed to represent the original formulations of Pepsi Cola and Mountain Dew. In a time when milk was delivered to your door, when there was an evening paper, and you had more fingers than television stations, soft drinks were sweetened with REAL sugar, not high fructose corn syrup.

Today, corn syrup is much cheaper, and very few people can tell the difference. Coke ‘Classic’ really isn’t ‘classic’ at all, the original formula was based on sugar (and still is in other parts of the world). Pepsi’s story is the same. As well as Mountain Dew. I’ve tried the colas, and they’re okay, but the Dew is the one that really benefits from natural sugar.

Pepsi Throwback was smoother…. Mountain Dew Throwback is smoooooth. The stuff just glides down your throat, with none of the sticky residue that I’m used to from ‘regular’ Mountain Dew. The carbonation has been toned down a bit too, and while it takes a bit away from it’s ‘extreme’ image, it significantly adds to it’s drinkability. You have to love the old school label as well; that’s just slick!

Mountain Dew Throwback is a must try for any soda connoisseur. Feel free to check around for more consumer reviews, you don’t have to take my word for it. But I feel that it’s a definite must try. Available for a limited time only, so you better hurry!

Official Site

–Jeremy Hobbs

Not only do I write consumer reviews, I read a lot of them as well. Especially soda & soft drink news and reviews; it’s just an industry I’ve enjoyed following for a long time. There are lots of little cliques of people too; small mom & pop companies vs. the Big Two, Pepsi vs. Coke, and sugar vs. high fructose corn syrup. That natural sugar debate has always intrigued me, as I’ve rarely been able to obtain access to a steady supply of beverages that have been sweetened that way. An occasional Latin beverage, but nothing made by Coke or Pepsi.

Pepsi apparently took notice of this little clique of consumers, and released a couple of new beverages just for them. Mountain Dew Throwback, which I’ll review later, and what I have now, Pepsi Cola Throwback.

Pepsi Throwback generally tastes like regular Pepsi, the only things that I noticed was that it was a bit less sweet, and slightly less carbonated. ‘Mouth feel’ is somewhat cleaner and less sticky. Naturally, all those combined make it significantly ’smoother.’

To be perfectly honest, the only reason that I would consider picking this up over corn syrup Pepsi is that I think sugar is ‘healthier’ for you. Rather, both are bad, but I’m of the belief that pure sugar is the lesser of two evils.

Pepsi is saying this is a limited time product, and I’d tend to believe them. My gut tells me that there are not enough people that truly care about the differences, and certainly not enough to keep a spinoff brand profitable. If you like it, and it certainly isn’t bad, I’d stock up. Mildly recommended.

Official Site

–Jeremy Hobbs

My, it sure has been awhile since we saw any major extensions to the national soda brands. The last one that I remember was also a Dr. Pepper product, Diet Cherry Chocolate. If my memory serves me correctly, I said it was doomed to fail. Well, it failed. But major kudos for trying Doc!

They went back to the drawing board and came out with this; just regular Dr. Pepper with a bit of cherry flavor added in. Those of you with good memories might recall Dr. Pepper Red Fusion from a few years ago, and that’s pretty much what Dr. Pepper Cherry is. Red Fusion with a different color, and a diet sibling.

In all honesty, if you’re a fan of Dr. Pepper (or Diet Dr. Pepper), you’re more than likely going to enjoy the Cherry variants. It’s a bit hard to tell the difference, and I’m not entirely sure that I could in a blind taste test. Do I recommend trying it? I say; ‘Sure, why not?’ It isn’t something so unique and different that you should run right out for it, but if you see it somewhere and you’re thirsty, I would give it a shot. Enjoy Pepper-heads!

Official Site

–Jeremy Hobbs

Hop into the ‘Way Back’ machine, and you shall see that I wrote this review during the DEWmocracy campaign…

‘Saved the best for last. Third time is a charm. Blind squirrels find nuts sometimes. Pick any corny line you want, but this version of the ‘Dewmocracy’ is the best of the bunch by far. This is a drink I can see actually holding it’s own in the line of Mountain Dew products.

It’s so far in front of it’s competition that I think Pepsi rigged the contest. How this raspberry version tasted so good, and the other were so bleh, indicates that they sank the most amount of effort into Voltage. Should voters be able to be depended on, this will win the contest going away.

The berry flavor is refreshing, not overly sweet, and the product doesn’t have that ‘watered down’ appearance to it. Vaguely reminds me of the old ‘Pepsi Blue.’

Mountain Dew Voltage is a beverage that I will buy again; I enjoyed it more than some other varieties of Dew, like Code Red. Calorie content is astronomical, and I realize a diet version may be to much to ask, but a guy can hope. Give it a shot, and if you like it, let your voice be heard at the link below.’

When I’m wrong, I’ll say I’m wrong. Mountain Dew Voltage was great for a one night stand, but after I made a commitment and bought a 2-Liter, I realized the mistake that I had made. This stuff is just WAY too sweet for regular consumption; I tired of it less than half way through the bottle.

So the parts of that review that I recant are a) the ‘not overly sweet’ part; and b) that I’d ever buy this beverage again. Dear readers, please forgive me for my sins…

Official Site

–Jeremy Hobbs

No secret that I am completely addicted to soda; I swear I’d go into withdrawal symptoms within hours if I was left without a source. The feel of the bubbles tickling my nose, the beautiful sound that the bottle makes when being opened, the slight jolt from the caffeine; all wonderful traits of soda that I would not want to live without.

Now, you can create these experiences in your own home! For a few years now, I’ve had the fantasy of owning my very own soda fountain. That idea is completely impractical; the initial cost would be enormous, and it would take years to recoup your investment. Not to mention space constraints, upkeep costs, and the learning curve involved with a piece of machinery like that. Sodastream drink maker eliminates all of those problems, and offers a line of ‘mini fountains’ at affordable prices.

No larger than a large coffee maker, the Sodastream will make sparkling beverages for you one liter at a time. The kit arrives with the ‘chassis’ that holds everything together, two one-liter extra-strength reusable PET plastic bottles, a gas canister, and some syrup (amount/type depends on what you order). Set up was fairly easy, but I do recommend browsing the instructions before trying to put things together.

After everything is assembled, the Sodastream operates at the push of a button; just screw on the bottle of (cold!) water, and you’re good to go. The instructions say to give the button 3 presses for ‘average’ fizz, but I wasn’t satisfied with anything less than 4 ’shots.’ Add the syrup slowly, cap it, and give the bottle a very gentle shake, and then you can start sipping!

The syrup I’ve sampled thus far I’ve enjoyed. Calorie wise, even the ‘regular’ versions have around half the sugar as the major brands, and the flavor doesn’t suffer for it. Too much. The ‘cola’ had a bit of a ’store brand’ thing going on, but it was still more than drinkable. There is a large variety of flavors, sweetened and diet, as well as an energy drink blend, and a line of extracts that help you create flavored sparkling-water.

One idea that the folks at Sodastream seem to be pushing is Earth friendliness. The idea is sound; by using this machine along with the reusable bottles, you’re going to help eliminate excess waste, thus helping the environment. Noble, noble indeed!

Packages start at $79.99, and I think it’s useful enough that you’ll at least get your money back out of it. The Sodastream is a bit of a novelty, and I’m certainly not going to give up the name brands for good, but I love having it around. Recommended if you’re a soda enthusiast such as myself!

Official Site

–Jeremy Hobbs

This one wont be new to some of you, apparently it’s been around quite awhile in certain parts of the southeastern United States. I’ll be reviewing the regular sweetened, original version. There are diet, as well as cherry varities available as well, though not where this was found.

You could try to lump this is in with other citrus drinks, like the original Mountain Dew and Vault, but this beverage does have a very unique taste. It’s flavoring consists or concentrated orange, and lemon juices, and it’s very light and refreshing.

Ski is a quality soda as well. Upon first glance, I was thinking ’store brand knock off,’ but that’s why I sample the products before I review them. Ski left me wanting more than a sample, and it may find it’s own little niche in my beverage rotation; especially if I can find the diet version.

The excellent, unique flavor, and all around quality has me interested in trying other beverages produced by ‘Double Cola.’ I recommend giving these a try if you’re able to locate them; it’s nice to try something every now and then that isn’t a ‘me too’ product. Enjoy!

Official Site

–Jeremy Hobbs

Saved the best for last. Third time is a charm. Blind squirrels find nuts sometimes. Pick any corny line you want, but this version of the ‘Dewmocracy’ is the best of the bunch by far. This is a drink I can see actually holding it’s own in the line of Mountain Dew products.

It’s so far in front of it’s competition that I think Pepsi rigged the contest. How this raspberry version tasted so good, and the other were so bleh, indicates that they sank the most amount of effort into Voltage. Should voters be able to be depended on, this will win the contest going away.

The berry flavor is refreshing, not overly sweet, and the product doesn’t have that ‘watered down’ appearance to it. Vaguely reminds me of the old ‘Pepsi Blue.’

Mountain Dew Voltage is a beverage that I will buy again; I enjoyed it more than some other varieties of Dew, like Code Red. Calorie content is astronomical, and I realize a diet version may be to much to ask, but a guy can hope. Give it a shot, and if you like it, let your voice be heard at the link below.

Official Site

–Jeremy Hobbs

Number two in the ‘Dewmocracy’ series of limited edition Mountain Dews, we have ‘Revolution.’ ‘Wildberry’ fruit flavor, and ginseng. These Dews are part of a promotion; three will be released, a fan vote will be taken (and likely ignored), and one will be selected to be a regular part of the Mountain Dew line of beverages. Until it falls out of favor, anyway.

I enjoyed ‘Revolution’ considerably more than ‘Supernova,’ though it still suffered from a rediculously sweet flavor. Both beverages would’ve tasted so much better if they had just toned the flavors down a little bit. Drinking a full 20 ounce bottle is a near-nausiating experience.

Everyone on the net that has gotten ahold of this is comparing it to the Taco Bell exclusive Mountain Dew ‘Baja Blast.’ I’m a huge Baja Blast fan, and I can taste the similarities, but it just strays too far from a great thing. Pepsi could have a real winner on their hands if they’d just bottle Baja and set it loose, that is some great stuff!

Again, cannot recommend this drink. I’m hoping that Voltage (raspberry citrus) will be more satisfying to me. It really pains me to keep giving one of my favorite brands a hard time, but they’re just not getting it done with this line of extensions.

Official Site

-–Jeremy Hobbs

If not already in your favorite store’s cooler, three new flavors of Mountain Dew will be appearing there in relatively short order. Only one will find a permanent home, subject to a consumer vote. All three (well, 2 now) are in my fridge ready to be reviewed. First up? Supernova.

Described as ‘Dew’ with a blast of strawberry melon flavor, Mountain Dew Supernova is one of the sweetest drinks that I have ever consumed. And I drink everything. I had a ‘cotton candy’ flavored soda once, and it pailed in comparison. Two sips of Supernova, and my thoughts were, ‘I’m done.’

The melon flavor was more prevalent than the strawberry, and I’d have never guessed it was a Dew product had it not been on the label. But the sweetness was most dominant. Cannot stress that enough, Mountain Dew Supernova is tooth decay SWEET!

Calories hit at 290 per 20 ounce bottle. 76 grams of sugar. Cannot recommend this, and it most definitely will not be getting my vote in the DewMocracy contest. I don’t care if the others are worse; I’ll just vote for Ron Paul.

Official Site

–Jeremy Hobbs

Apart from doing dedicated reviews, I exclusively drink diet sodas. It was a habit I developed while participating in an incredibly successful diet (lost 1/3 of my body weight), but it is a habit that I have absolutely no intention to break. Dieting alone will get the weight off, but if you’re not willing to change your preexisting lifestyle, you’ll ‘find’ everything you lost, and probably a little more. I was unwilling to give up soft drinks, so I had to find some suitable replacements for my sugar packed sodas. Here we go!

• Number 5 on my list isn’t actually a ’soda,’ it’s an energy drink.  ‘Monster Low Carb.’ It’s not entirely calorie free, but it’s close enough. The taste is pleasant, I love the energy boost when needed, and it will not ‘crash’ on you like many energy drinks; simply because it lacks sugar. Very enjoyable, I buy this fairly often.

• Number 4 would be the ‘original diet soda that tastes good.’ Diet Dr. Pepper (Original). They were doing diet the right way a long time before the cola guys, and it’s still an excellent drink. One very convenient thing about Diet Dr. Pepper is that it can be found in a lot of soda fountains; in fact it’s the only one on this this that you’ll be able to find with any regularity. If you’re a sugar sweetened Pepper drinker looking to make the switch, this should be a fairly smooth transition for you.

• Number 3 is doing the Dew! Just with low/no calories. Reformulated a while back to include a better blend of artificial sweeteners, Diet Mountain Dew has found a near permanent placement in my refrigerator. The taste is a bit ‘different’ than regular Dew, but after sucking down a few cases of the diet version, I was unable to go back to the corn syrup version. Light, crisp, and it still gives you a nice pick-me-up.

• Number 2 is the latest to be released, and is in the middle of a huge marketing push by Pepsi. Diet Pepsi Max was introduced last year, mainly as a worthy opponent to the number one on my list. The blend of aspartame and Ace-k sweeteners tastes great, and the extra caffeine and ginseng give it a great punch. I’ve had non-diet drinkers accidentally grab these out of my fridge, and never notice they were no calorie colas. That says a lot.

And the winner is……..

• Number 1 Coke Zero. Easily the best replication of it’s ‘parent soda,’ Coke Zero is an amazing product. The fact that anyone still drinks ‘Diet Coke’ amazes me, it simply cannot compare to Coke Zero at all. You’ve seen the goofy ads about ‘taste infringement,’ but word of mouth and taste testing is what will sell this product. If you’ve yet to try it, I suggest buying a 20 oz at your earliest convenience.

Use the comments, agree and disagree with me, and don’t forget to leave your own Top 5. Or 10. Whatever you like

–Jeremy Hobbs