sidral aga

I have written about Sidral Mundet before, but I don't believe I've touched upon the apple soda Sidral Aga. Except for their bottle caps, they're pretty interchangeable. Although, it does beg the question: which would hold up better in a taste test? I have my work cut out for me, if I'm ever able to find both Sidrals again.

Sidral Aga was procured during out recent sojourn to Corona, and when the weird Mexican sodas abounded, Michael and I took the call. We were double-fisting our way down 106th St in Queens with wacky, oddly-colored drinks in our hands. Sidral Aga, as mentioned before, is an apple soda, and tastes like every other apple soda I've ever had.

The bottle cap is up there -- we have the green background, huge red apple, and Sidral in flowing letters and AGA in bold, purple letters. If you didn't know you were getting an apple soda via that bottle cap, well, you just don't get it, do you?!

The more I think about it, the more I think I need an Aga vs. Mundet taste test. Who's in? It would also, of course, feature a head-to-head comparison of the bottle caps. Bonus post? I think so.

p.s. Check out the Sidral Aga website: it has a curiously amazing song playing upon entry to the English site. Pop/techno/muzak thing going on with some awesome synthesizers. What that has to do apple soda and Mexico, I really couldn't tell you.

topo sabores & barrilitos

Target is good for many things.  Bizarre Mexican Sodas can now be added to that list.

I found Topo Sabores and Barrilitos in the very back of the soda aisle in Target. They were heavily discounted -- both bottles were less than $.70.

Topo Sabores was a strawberry soda that tasted, well, sticky. I had one sip before I needed to chase it with some seltzer. Even Michael couldn't finish this one for me!

The Barrilitos fared much better.  Usually apple is a good way to go with international sodas, and this one was no different. It basically tasted like a sparking cider.

I'm not sure what to do about these Mexican sodas. They're really turning into another version of Malta for me. I know they're good for the whole "international" aspect of this blog, but really, I just don't know if I can take many more of them! I might have to stick to apple varieties only.

As for the crowns, they're pretty fun. Topo Sabores is the more unusual one, with the florid font -- usually Mexican sodas stick with bolder fonts, such as the one on Barrilitos.

In any case, hopefully this means no more strawberry soda for me for a while. I can focus on root beers, regular beers, and other tasty drinks.  Wish me luck!

original sin, woodchuck and mystery cap!

A few weekends ago,  a friend of mine came to visit NYC from Massachusetts. It was wonderful to see her, and we managed to take in a concert of a folk musician known for his humorous lyrics. It was a great night - the food was great, the music was great and the company was great. On the walk home, we stopped in a local deli to check out the beer selection. We decided to switch things up a bit and go totally domestic in our selection, since we'd been a bit disappointed with all the international beverages we've been sampling.

An old standby in my house is Woodchuck Cider.  Always delicious and refreshing in a pinch, Woodchuck Hard Cider comes in many flavors.  Going with what seems to be a theme in this blog, we went for the Granny Smith Apple variety.  And it didn't disappoint!  Woodchuck hails from Vermont. Any cider (or beer ... or beverage in general, for that matter) that has an animal as its mascot is OK by me.

A new cider for me, however, is Original Sin.  It was crisp, refreshing and the bottle cap is awesome.  (and isn't that what it is all about, people?) You gotta love a devil tail incorporated into the design.   It looks like OS and is even made in and distributed out of New York City.

The last beverage procured on that fine evening in February is this IPA from Green Flash Brewing Co. in San Diego, CA:

If I had not taken a picture of the bottle, I promise you I never would have remembered what it was called.  My friend drank the whole bottle, and didn't even let me taste-test. I guess that means it was good and therefore gets the super cool bottle cap seal of approval.

manzanita sol - guest post by michael lober

Lauren asked me to do a guest post this week. We both live in an ethnically diverse neighborhood of New York City, and one of the things we enjoy doing occasionally is strolling through grocery stores and mini-marts and taking stock of the packaged food imported from all corners of the globe--powdered milk from Greece, mate from Brazil and, of course, sodas from everywhere. If Lauren weren't interested in the design and packaging of these products, we'd probably stick with plastic bottles of Coke, Diet Coke, and Sprite like most everyone else; instead, we search for bottles stacked somewhere near the back in their own section of overlooked drinks that look like they've been gathering dust for years. On a recent trip we found bottled sodas from Slovenia, Jordan, and Peru all in the same store!

Yet, as we've learned, searching for these bottled sodas is often more fun than consuming them. In my admittedly limited experience, too many international sodas are overly sweet and leave an aftertaste that coats your entire mouth. Case in point: Manzanita Sol. We found this sparkling apple drink from Mexico in the back freezer of a neighborhood convenience store, and were mildly optimistic, since fruit flavored international sodas usually go down better than colas and, especially, malt sodas. The bottle cap is rather plain--bright red and perhaps reflective of a tropical landscape. But the soda is a sugar overload--a carbonated apple juice concoction with three scoops of sugar mixed in. The experience is akin to drinking an apple-flavored lollipop. Perhaps what I'm trying to say is that if you ever see a bottle of this soda sitting forlornly on a rack in the back freezer of your convenience store, well, stick with what you know.

mirianda and sidral mundet

I think I'm going to go with some fruity (tasting) sodas with this update.   Mirianda is a soda made by Pepsi.  It is billed as an "orange drink".  The carbonation left much to be desired, and after a few sips,  I concluded that  really tasted more like an expired orange popsicle. The bottle cap isn't very exciting to look at, and according to the bottle, it's from Honduras. 

The second bottle cap is much more exciting.  Sidral Mundet is an apple flavored soda from Mexico.  It tastes a lot like sparking cider, but a bit sweeter.  And you cannot beat the cap!  With a big apple and a pleasing font, it is most certainly eye catching.

I have a lot of fun beers and sodas coming up, so stay tuned!