We continued the great soda war last week with 365 All Natural Cola.
Sorry, no photos this time around. You can go back to the original post to see the soda can. I was going to take a shot of the cola in a glass like I did last time, but it was identical to Blue Sky, which you can see in the original post. Once again, this mean's that 365 cola contains caramel coloring, but it also states it's from a natural source.
Anyway, this brand was somewhat similar to Blue Sky in flavor. It was similar to RC again, but its flavor was a bit more complex and interesting. It wasn't too sweet nor too bland. 365's biggest advantage over its competitors so far is bite. Yes, this soda actually has adequate carbonation! That's a really important cola quality for me. While the RC-like flavor doesn't do it for me the way Virgil's more organic notes did, the presence of amped-up carbonation is an important factor.
Rating (out of five bubbles): We both concur it's a 3.5, making it Grey's favorite and tied for first with me.
Round 4 -- the finale
In the final round, we tested out Jones Pure Cane Cola.
It's in a clear glass bottle, so you can see that it is, in fact, brown thanks to naturally sourced caramel coloring. As I anticipated, this was the clear winner. It has a crisp, complex flavor and plenty of delicious carbonation. Unlike its competitors, it has caffeine, so that may explain the extra bite. Whatever the case, this was a joy to imbibe. It is its own cola -- not a Coke, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper, or (God forbid another) RC Cola rip-off. It was refreshing and tasty from the bottle, and as I discovered over the weekend, it's quite wonderful from the can, too. You can buy 12 packs of it from Reasor's for $4 (I think). I am very happy to have found the perfect Diet Dr. Pepper replacement. Though this one has calories, I'm happy to spend 160 of them on something tasty and not totally chemical-laden.
Rating (out of five bubbles): He gives it a 4, I edge it up slightly to a 4.5.
Conclusion: Jones definitely came in first, while Blue Sky was the least appealing. Of course, none can overtake my favorite cane-sugar cola of all time, the German-produced Afri-Cola. Oh how I miss thee.
I hope you enjoyed this little adventure as much as we did!
1 comment:
I've never tried Jones, but I keep meaning to...sounds yummy. I wanted to let you know that I tagged you on my blog today! Have a great afternoon Brigid.
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