dr. browns

I would like to briefly continue my NYC theme (Go Giants!). Dr. Browns, although bottled in Southern California, originates in NYC (and the old-timey images on the cans and bottles reflect that).

In NYC I most often find Dr. Browns in cans, not bottles, but it's still delicious. Sometimes I can find a six-pack in Duane Reade for, like, $1.99, which is awesome. I'm a big fan of their Diet Black Cherry Soda. Michael is partial to Cel-Ray soda, for reasons that I can't fathom. I mean, why in the world would you want to drink a celery-flavored anything? Anyway, according to Wikipedia, Dr. Browns is common in Jewish Delicatessen's. I like that they make that distinction. Not a corner deli, not your neighborhood bodega: only Jewish Delicatessen's. Why?

When I was traveling last summer, I managed to find Dr. Browns on a morning show set I was visiting.  I made sure that the segment was over, and I snagged a few bottles for the road. I couldn't believe that I'd never seen one in a bottle in NYC. Turns out I had to leave NYC to find one of its signature sodas in a bottle, not to mention the bottle cap stamped with Hebrew letters.

And then again, over Christmas when I was visiting the holy grail, I found another Dr. Browns in a bottle! This time a Cream Soda. This gives a nice range of what the bottle caps look like, but I must say that I prefer the latter. The old-timey images, this time of the Statue of Liberty, call to mind NYC and delicious soda (except for the fact that I've never found a bottle of one in NYC, oddly).

You can get a nice look at the full line of bottle caps for Dr. Browns here. But those images don't include the plain crown I have above. Is it rare? Anyone have any info on that? Or maybe it's a bottle cap that comes out around the Jewish Holidays or something? Help me out, dear readers.

cascal

Cascal is a holdover from my trip out west a few weeks ago. I was backstage at a TV show (fancy!) that was like a party. There were about a zillion people, a full bar, catering (not just a craft services table), and a fridge full of beer and a beverage I had never seen/heard of before.

Cascal is fermented natural soda that has a little bit of a identity crisis. It's billed as soda, but it tastes kind of like a cider. Yet it doesn't really advertise that it's nonalcoholic, so you sort of wonder what you are drinking. It's also much drier than a standard soda, which also makes you think it might be a cider. I tried the Crisp White with notes of pear, apricot and magnolia.

Don't get me wrong: it wasn't a bad beverage. I can't complain that it was too sweet, but I still couldn't bring myself to finish it. (Michael wasn't there to finish it for me.)  My colleague had a similar reaction: she thought that it was a cross between a soda, a cider, and a malt beverage.

The bottle cap is nice. It offers a "salut!" and a "cheers!" in addition to the Cascal logo. The bottle cap looks like someone left a sweating beverage without a coaster on it. I'm not sure if that is what they were going for, but it's not a bad thing.

Have any of you ever had Cascal? Are there fanatics for it?  Convince me! It's not something that I've seen on the east coast/northeast... although their twitter explains that they are in a partnership with Whole Foods. I like that they offer what the different flavors pair well with. Sort of like a wine or beer tasting, but, again, this proves my theory that Cascal has a bit of an identity crisis on its hands.

waialua

On my travels for work, I managed to pick up a few new sodas that I will highlight this week.  One of the more unusual root beers I came across (this one from a Whole Foods in LA) was Hawaii's Waialua.  Which made me think: can I find a root beer bottle cap from all 50 states? Beer bottle caps? Cola bottle caps? I'm sure that I'm already well on my way (and I did just find another one today, thanks to a fantastic cheese shop in the West Village).   Faithful readers, I hope you'll help me find the local root beer brews in each city I go to.  Upcoming destinations:  Kansas City, Philadelphia, Hartford, CT -- I'll also be in St. Louis, but I already have Fitz's covered... so if there are any others, lemme know! Leave me a comment if there is anything I should be looking out for. Also, if you know of a good online map system that I can plug into the blog so that I can track the progress. Any feedback is appreciated!

Anyway, back to Wailalua.  This was purchased for a lunch on the go, that sadly, was never eaten (damn you 12 hour days!).  But the root beer was saved and enjoyed with a delicious burrito dinner late at night in my hotel room after a VERY long day of work. It was smooth and refreshing. It has a hula girl on the bottle cap. I think that any soda or beer out of Hawaii is pretty much obligated to have a hula girl, palm tree, macadamia nut or umm.. a roasted pig... on the cap and/or label. Hula girl? Check.

At Whole Foods, I believe there were a few options for crazy flavors, but since I was on the clock, I didn't want to tip my hand as to what I was doing, so root beer it was.  I wonder if other Whole Foods carry Waialua so that I can do additional taste tests.  I'll definitely have to check it out.

I have a few more bottle caps from my travels. Stay tuned!