The color was pretty artificial, but I’ve liked other sodas made by Fitz’s, so I wasn’t sure which way this one would go.

The smell – Not bad. Smells like strawberries, but not too sweet or artificial.

The taste – Good. This has a good solid fruit taste that’s above average. It’s full of fruity goodness. It’s a little bit, I don’t know. They didn’t use real sugar in this or something. It’s not bad, so I won’t take any points off.

The aftertaste is a little artificial, but not too bad.

This is a good soda, a solid above average, but I’d buy the Jackson Hole Strawberry instead. This will do if you can’t find anything else and you’re hurting for strawberry soda.

Cool label, once again. No photo for this one.

The first sniff is promising. Enough strawberry, but not too sweet.

The sip is good. Yes, folks, we have another winner. Got balance of fruit and sweetness. It’s full and complex and fruity.

Wait for the aftertaste and there it is, even better than the sip.

It’s like your whole mouth is filled with fresh strawberries.

Wow, this one is very good. I’ll be buying this one again. Yes, I will.

I’ve loved the other Boylan diet sodas that I’ve tried, so this one gave me high hopes.

I guess I’m deciding that I’m not a real “cola” fan. I’ve always been a Pepsi, not Coke, kind of a guy, but now that my taste has been enlightened and my sense of flavor has been educated, maybe I like the fruit ones better than the colas.

Let’s see what this one has for us today.

There’s the normal cola smell. It’s not too strong and not too weak. We’re off to a good start.

The taste? It’s interesting. It’s not bad. It’s not as good as the black cherry, but then, what is?

This has the whole full flavored cola taste. It’s got a bit of a strange aftertaste. Not bad.

The cola is in the forefront. Compared to diet Coke or Pepsi, this is a lot better.

The aftertaste bothers me though. There’s something funny about it. Again, not bad, but not great.

I have to give this diet cola a solid average rating. I’m not sure what’s better, but this is only average.

I wanted to like it, but I won’t be buying it again. Sorry it had to end this way.

JACKSON HOLE SODA CO.
HIGH MOUNTAIN HUCKLEBERRY

I was hoping that this one would be good. I love the label. I took extra photos of the label.

I’m wondering if that was all hype to make it looks old and nostalgic or if it was the real deal.

The smell was disappointing. There was not much there.

The sip? The sip was good.

It had a real fruity, berry taste.

There was real berries in the flavor. It was sweet and good and fresh and wonderful.

There was a bit of the mountain meadow in there. Yes, it was good.

The aftertaste was good too. It was stronger than the sip. It stayed with you for a minute.

Ah, berries. Yes, yes, I think I like this one.

It’s not too strong. It’s not too sweet. It’s full of berry flavor and not that artificial stuff.

This is good. I’ll buy it again.

INGREDIENTS: CARBONATED WATER, SUGAR, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS, CITRIC ACID, PROPYLENE GLYCOL, GUM ACACIA, CARAMEL COLOR, RED #40, BLUE #1, SODIUM BENZOATE (PRESERVATIVE).

PLANTATION STYLE MINT JULEP

I had high hopes for this one. I expected so much from this one that I bought three bottles of it.

I do love real mint juleps. I hate mouthwash.

This could go either way. Was I wrong? Would my bet pay off?

The smell was perfect. Nice, sweet, mellow, fresh mint. It was not too much. It was just enough.

The flavor was perfect. The aftertaste was perfect.

This had the perfect blend of mint flavor and sweetness. You can taste the sugar. It was smooth.

Wow. My bet paid off. I love this stuff.

It tastes like a Mojito.

The difference between real sugar and real mint compared to something called “artificial flavors” is so evident in this soda.

I could drink these all day.

I just might.

INGREDIENTS: Carbonated Water, Sugar, Flavor and Citric Acid.

BOYLAN BOTTLEWORKS DIET CREME SODA

I love creme soda too. It always seems decadent. It’s always sweet and smooth and just right.

Will this live up to my expectations?

The open bottle smells right. It’s got the sweet vanilla smell.

I have hope.

Ah, the first sip is perfection. It’s sweet, but not too sweet. Vanilla comes shining through. It’s everything I hoped for. It’s everything I remember about any creme soda I’ve ever had.

This is a great creme soda.

What about the finish? Will there be a bitter or chemical end to my bliss? Ahhh… no, nothing at all, just pure sweet vanilla. This is one of the best creme sodas I’ve ever had.

It’s diet! How can that be? I don’t know how they do it, but this and the black cherry soda were both flavored perfectly with no weird aftertaste.

I’m becoming a fan of Sucralose, I guess. It must be amazing stuff.

This creme soda is a 10 out of 10 for any creme soda anywhere. Truly amazing stuff. Yes, we’ll be buying more of this sweet, magical elixir.

INGREDIENTS: Made From: Carbonated Water, Pure Vanilla Extract, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Caramel Color, Citric Acid, Sodium Benzoate (Preserves Freshness), Sucralose, Acesulfame Potassium.

SWEET BLOSSOM SODA – LAVENDER

How good could lavender soda be? I do like lavender. I am a guy, but I’m in touch with my feminine side. I can handle that.

I expected this to taste like perfume. It should be all flowery and taste like soap. Everything else that I’ve seen that is scented with lavender is soapy.

This is soda that you should make your 13 year old boy drink when he says a bad word, right?

I open the bottle. It smells like, well, like nothing. There’s not really a scent to it.

That’s strange and unexpected.

I take my first sip. There is sweetness. It’s fresh and crisp.

Totally unexpected. This is really good. I like it a lot.

There is some lavender flavor in there, but it’s not unpleasant at all. It adds a bit of fruitiness to it. You get the most lavender in the aftertaste.

It lingers at the back of you mouth in a very pleasant, Summer day kind of way.

Images of mountain meadows on a sunny day pop into my head.

Yes, I like this a lot. I will be buying more of it. You can really tell that it’s made with real cane sugar in a glass bottle. It’s got that fresh “real” goodness to it.

Don’t let the lavender scare you off.

This is good stuff. Don’t waste it on your 13 year old son.

INGREDIENTS: Filtered Carbonated Water, Cane Sugar, Natural Lavender Extract, Citric Acid and Vegetable Juice for color. Pasteurized.

RED RIBBON HOME BREWED STYLE ROOT BEER

The first smell of the open bottle brings good, fresh root beer smells. This is a good sign. I’m going to like it.

I smell it a few more times, in anticipation. Hhhmmm… Yes.

I take a sip. Not bad as I’m sipping it. It’s root beer. It’s got the root beer flavor. Pretty full flavor. Sweet, but not as sweet as expected.

The disappointment settles in. The aftertaste is a strange chemical taste. Not a horrible taste. I’ve had worse, but not the nice, sweet afterglow of other root beer I’ve had.

This is OK. The flavor is not bad. The aftertaste is almost not bad. Nothing is great about this. I’m sad.

It’s average, through and through. As I was told in high school, it’s “not living up to it’s potential”. It could have been great, but it was merely good, with a below average aftertaste.

There’s something in the “artificial flavor” that’s throwing this one off. You might want to try it and see if I’m wrong, but we won’t be buying any more of this.

Sorry, man. We could have been good together, but it just didn’t work out.

INGREDIENTS: Filtered Carbonated Water, Sugar, Natural and Artificial Flavor, Citric Acid, Caramel Color.

BOYLAN BOTTLEWORKS DIET BLACK CHERRY

This is described as “A sweet, tart black cherry soda. Sweetened with Sucralose.”

I like black cherries. I want to like diet soda pops. I want to like this soda pop, but I have my doubts.

I pop it open and the smell if like black cherry soda. It’s that familiar smell of, I don’t know, jelly? candy? something. Something smells very familiar. It’s sweet and fruity. It smells of childhood.

I have hope.

I take a sip. I wait. My taste buds explode with the flavor of black cherry ice cream that I had as a kid. This is sweet, but not too sweet, and very fruity. Very, very black cherry. Very, very good.

I smile wide.

I take another sip and I’m 9 years old, eating a black cherry ice cream cone from the drug store. This takes me back.

I smile some more. This is great soda. I love this stuff. I could buy more of this stuff.

Great aftertaste. Just the right amount of everything. There is nothing wrong with soda.

Wait! Did I say this is a diet soda? This tastes like real cane sugar in there. I need to check the label. Yes, it’s diet. Unbelievable, but true.

This is an amazing diet soda. This is an amazing black cherry soda. The fact that it’s both, means that there will be more of this in our house soon. I can not recommend this enough.

INGREDIENTS: Carbonated Water, Natural Black Cherry Flavors, Citric Acid, Caramel Color, Red 40, Sodium Benzoate (Preserves Freshness), Sucralose, Acesulfame Potassium.

Sweet Blossom Soda - Jasmine

I’ve been looking forward to this one. “Sweet Blossom”! How could that be bad?

Well, I was afraid that it might be too sweet. I do like the smell of jasmine on a Summer night, but it could easily go over the edge towards the sweet and perfumery side.

I open the cap and smell it. Not much. I try again and there’s really not much of a smell. I’m disappointed. There’s a faint smell of something flowery, but not much at all. Where’s my jasmine?

I take the first sip. Pow! The sugar hits me. This is powerfully sweet. This is a big flavor, hidden behind that faint smell. I’m shocked. This is a cane sugar, pure and simple.

There, on the back of my tongue, I get the jasmine. It’s not flowery. It’s interesting, complex even. I like it. The sugar is almost overpowering, but the aftertaste of jasmine is like a secret gift. It’s a rich, full flavor, but it’s not what I expect.

I expected it to be flowery, but it’s more on the fruity side of things. I would even say that it tastes like apples. Clean and crisp, sweet and fruity, just short of too sweet, and some strange essence of jasmine in a way that’s unexpected.

This is very good stuff. I would definitely buy this stuff again. I love it, but it’s not what I expected at all. I expect some general note of “artificial flavors” along with a drop of jasmine, but when I read the contents, it’s just sugar, citric acid, and jasmine. That’s it. Amazing.

I taste apples.

INGREDIENTS: Filtered Carbonated Water, Cane Sugar, Citric Acid, Pure Jasmine Extract and Caramel Color. Pasteurized.