I recommend (well, at least once) Hey-Song soda from Taiwan. It's a sasparilla soda, which is... interesting.

See this: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/43/239258775_028d35e2d3.jpg

We've got a few great sodas in Germany, for example Hermann Kola (yes, with a k) and Club-Mate, a mate-based carbonated iced tea.

Guys where ever did you get that Vimto can from????? It should look like this http://bit.ly/bswhjL

Get a proper fizzy british one, it's miles superior and extremely yum.

Part of it's popularity is from it's mascot Purple Roonie http://www.purpleronnie.com/

Next time try a Tango (in Orange), a Lilt or for a bit of Scottish flavour an Ironbru. We also have Shandy - a lemonade & beer "flavoured" drink sold to kids

As young and irredeemably geeky teenagers, my friends and I used to buy these drinks (IronBeer, Coco Rico, Cel-Ray, Materva, Jupiña, and the king of them all, Malta) and play pool on my parents' mini-pool table.

If you called a shot and missed it, your opponent chose what you had to drink. Malta was definitely the most revolting of the mix, but Cel-Ray was pretty bad.

We also used to do Faygo Frosh, but I'm not sure it can be found anymore. Also, if you can find Ignatius J. Reilly's favorite "Dr. Nut," it would be worth your while.

Sangria Senorial from Mexico is my favorite soda. Best stuff ever.
Second is Sidral Mundet apple soda.

While traveling through Switzerland, I was introduced to Elmer Citro. Very similar to Squirt, but not horrible.

http://www.elmercitro.ch/Elmer-Citro.112.0.html

Before you write off all drinks with pulp: aloe juice is absolutely delicious. Sweet, interesting, smooth and fairly crisp. It isn't technically a soda, but throw some seltzer in there and have a party.

As far as best sodas go: root beer.

Not specifically, but including, this rootbeer:
. Sweetened with honey, microbrewed and a pleasure to drink. Soda of choice, right there.

Also it has a freaking bear on it.
ROOTBEAR

I know it isn't quite as exotic, but I agree with the other Jarritos lovers. My favorite is Pina/Pineapple, but they are all pretty good.

When I was in Japan I had some great Melon-flavored drinks but I apologize that my language skills prevent me from recommending a brand. I've had Ramune since I got back in the US and it wasn't near as good as some canned varieties I tried.

Thanks for the laughs before I head out to drink many fizzy Irish beverages with less sugar and more pop.

I was checking out a local middle eastern grocery when some folks were buying "Yogurt Soda. Carbonated yogurt." Pretty weird stuff, so I bought a couple - and well, it must be an acquired taste. Check out a link here:
http://www.accidentalhedonist.com/index.php/2006/07/14/found_in_the_supermarket_yogurt_soda

Another oddity is found in Indian lassi, especially the mango lassi - fantastic, it can be found at most Indian restaurants.

Then there is always that American classic, Moxie! It's Maine's official state beverage. Moxie is a dark, bitter, bubbly drink that seems to be favored here in the Northeast. I cannot imagine a list of unusual sodas without it. It was lamented in the Boston Globe a few years back. I have a friend who swears it quenches his thirst better than any other soda. I think it tastes vile and bitter. I think that comes from the gentian root flavoring.

I find that with malta, either you love it, or hate it. I LooooOooOove Malta...and the only way to drink it is with condensed milk mixed in (oh, the decadence/calories).

I hear in some countries in the Caribbean like Jamaica, the folks mix their Malta with rum, condensed milk and raw eggs (excuse me whilst I puke into the garbage bin).

Lots of choices for sodas or pop, as they call it in the Midwest, here in sunny South Florida (since we are the gateway to the Caribbean and South and Central Americas).

for of all of you who like real cane sugar in your soda as opposed to corn syrup and dont want to have to look high and low for it, now is the time of year to get it. the coca-cola company changes over their factory and does a special passover run with cane sugar (because you cant have corn on passover), the bottles are marked with yellow caps so you can tell them apart. and yes, there is a real taste difference!

apple tango! from the uk! i've had american-made apple sodas and nothing compares. apple tango is the best, even better than appletizer.

I had it when I was stationed on Okinawa (17 years ago!). I think it was called White Water. It was cloudy white in color, not too sweet, but I still remember it all these years later. If you find some here in the US, could you tell me where?

I really like Ribena, a British blackcurrant soda.

Also, L&P, a lemon soda from New Zealand.

SpiffWilkie wrote:Sangria Senorial from Mexico is my favorite soda. Best stuff ever.

Definitely second this.

On another note:

http://www.sodapopstop.com/ is a good source for imported sodas (for information or for purchase). The owner is really passionate about this stuff . . .

gabemiami wrote:I find that with malta, either you love it, or hate it. I LooooOooOove Malta...and the only way to drink it is with condensed milk mixed in (oh, the decadence/calories).

I hear in some countries in the Caribbean like Jamaica, the folks mix their Malta with rum, condensed milk and raw eggs (excuse me whilst I puke into the garbage bin).

Lots of choices for sodas or pop, as they call it in the Midwest, here in sunny South Florida (since we are the gateway to the Caribbean and South and Central Americas).

LOL, when I was a kid my parents made me drink that concoction, so I would gain weight.
Not that it worked, but I enjoyed it.

SpiffWilkie wrote:Sangria Senorial from Mexico is my favorite soda. Best stuff ever.
Second is Sidral Mundet apple soda.

These are awesome! Also, a must-try is the grape Chaparrita, also made in Mexico. Another one (although probably harder to find) are Yolis (they sell them in the south - like in Acapulco). Good stuff!!

IRN–BRU tastes great. At least it did in Scotland, I don't know what happpens to the flavor by the time it gets here.

Ale–8-One from Winchester KY should also appear in your next odds-and-sodas round-up. It’s a regional, hard to find north of Cincinnati. Crisp flavors which blend well without losing their identity. Not too sweet and it tastes like they shun HFCS.

I just love fine literature! Woot is a Hoot. I think you are a rock star. Have you ever been to DisneyWorld? Check out Station Cool in Epcot. You can walk around with little cups and try free samples of a LOT of different sodas from around the world. Cool, refreshing and tasty.

Not sure where you can buy it in a can, but next time you're in a Vietnamese restaurant, try the salted plum soda. It's basically preserved plums submerged in carbonated water. Truly nasty.

Too bad only American sodas come in diet versions. After so many years of Diet Coke, I find the taste of corn syrup- and sugar-sweetened sodas repellent. Like Mr. Toon, I'd probably gag on most of these.

ha, I know you guys just walked down to Jay's and got these on a slow day! I'm just surprised it didn't happen sooner. I got an elderflower (or elderberry?)/lemon soda there once that was delightful. It came in a plastic bottle, maybe 1.5L, possibly eastern european in origin. Found it near the meat counter, not in the soda fridges. I think maybe foreign sodas are so sweet because a single can is meant to be split between two people or something, and we're approaching them from a big gulp mentality. Next time I go I'm trying that geranium soda, that looks decent.

You could do a whole episode with foreign varieties of Fanta. If you look at the wikipedia article on the brand, there are like 90 different flavors worldwide. And outside the US, they're actually good - I have fond memories of Fanta flavors like Blood Orange from Germany, which actually taste kind of like real fruit. Unfortunately, the American version comes in about two or three flavors and is generic junky "fruit" soda in all of the above.

Sold here in the US, there's a brand of soda called China Cola which is pretty interesting. Kind of an herbal/spiced cola.

Fact: Peru is one of the only places where Coca-Cola or Pepsi is not the most selling soda in the country, it is Inca Cola. (So coke just bought it )

Anyway, Inca cola is great.

you guys are badasses. thanks for saving me the trouble!

Solo is a great, refreshing, chug-it-down thirst quencher from Down Under - basically a lightly-carbonated traditional lemonade.

But if your travel budget doesn't extend to the antipodes, hit World O' Coke at the Coca Cola world headquarters in Atlanta. The factory tour finishes in a room of wall-to-wall soda fountains, where you can sample their different flavors from around the globe.

Lychee Fanta is... interesting, and apparently an acquired taste.

davideras wrote:Try some Kofola!!! Straight out of communist Czechoslovakia!

I agree, Kofola is great! Too bad I don't know of anywhere to buy it here in the states. I have to wait until my Czech friends come to visit.

On a side note, Slivovice and Becherovka would be great to have in an alcoholic beverage version of this.

More Apple Sidra please! I've tried both the green can and the yellow can of Apple Sidra. I'm assuming the green one is supposed to be from green apples. It's more tart but leaves a bad after taste. The yellow can is my fave. I would describe it as caramel apples in a can :D


Of all the Jarritos mentioned, I'm surprised that the Jarritos Toronja (grapefruit) wasn't mentioned at all. It's not as sweet as the Mandarin (which I think tastes like detergent) or the Fresa flavor. Toronja is sweet, tangy, and fizzy enough to put a smile on my face with each sip :]


Lastly, while all the rage is focused on Ramune as the preferred Japanese soft drink here in the states. Calpico is always over looked. Albeit it's not your typical soft drink as it's a yogurt based non-carbonated soft drink. Calpico describes itself as "refreshing and light, sweet and tangy, with a hint of citrus and yogurt flavors." Take a sip and it's exactly as described.
With a couple of different flavors (strawberry, mango, lychee, peach, and aloe), I still think the original is the best.



But why not just try all the Fanta flavors from all over the world? I for one would love to try Fanta Sweetie and Fanta Hip Hop (avail. Japan only :/) Fanta Toffee?!?!?!?!! whaaa....??? yeah... I vote woot should try all Fanta flavors from around the world!

SpiffWilkie wrote:Sangria Senorial from Mexico is my favorite soda. Best stuff ever.
Second is Sidral Mundet apple soda.

Seriously, if you like Sidral Mundet, I suggest Apple Sidra. Of all the apple sodas I've tried, Apple Sidra (in the yellow can) is still my fave.

ayla16 wrote:I had it when I was stationed on Okinawa (17 years ago!). I think it was called White Water. It was cloudy white in color, not too sweet, but I still remember it all these years later. If you find some here in the US, could you tell me where?

It's not Calpico is it?

Calpico is a little sweet though, and I don't know if it is ever called White Water.

MY NEW FAVORITE SODA, THOUGH NOT VERY EXOTIC, IS BEAR RUN BIRCH BEER PRODUCED IN PA. HARD TO GET. THEY DON'T HAVE VERY GOOD DISTRIBUTION. THE ONLY PLACE I'VE FOUND IT IS AT A REST STOP IN SNOWSHOE, PA. IT CAN BE FOUND ON LINE, BUT THE SHIPPING WILL KILL YA'. IT IS A VERY GOOD, CLEAN, CRISP CLEAR BIRCH BEER. TRY IT IF YOU CAN...NO PUN INTENDED (I'VE ONLY SEEN IT IN THE PLASTIC BOTTLE)!

I drank a lot of malta india and pina buena in Puerto Rico as a missionary. There was also a coconut drink that looked like sprite and a japanese soda that was flavored with chrysanthemum, tastes just like the flowers smell, weird stuff.

Try these Japanese/Korean sodas for the enticing names:
-Pocari Sweat
-Milkis

Available at any Korean grocer.

I've got to agree with others on Guarana Antartica being a top-notch drink. A bunch of energy drinks are based on the flavor.

For more fun from Thailand, try grass jelly. It's grass flavored liquid with jell-o chunks in it. It's better than it sounds.

One Malaysian soda that's really good is Zapple. It's a well done apple soda and tastes almost like Martinelli's sparkling apple juice. I wish we had apple sodas here.

My favorites at World of Coca Cola (Atlanta, GA):


From South Africa:
Bibo - Candy Pine Nut
(Very sweet candy flavored soda. Can't drink a lot without getting tired of it.)

From Djibouti:
Sunfill - Menthe
(Slightly minty flavored soda. Easy to drink, does not get tiresome)



Picture of the soda dispenser: http://www.flickr.com/photos/goingstuckey/1474245410/sizes/o/

As other people have pointed out Guarana by Antartica is great and one of my favorite sodas. On the top of my list are:

Guarana (Antartica)
Inca Kola
Kem
Bilz
Pap

The last three are chilean sodas produced by CCU (a beer company!).
CCU Site
Bilz y Pap Site

~Tico

apoor wrote:+1 for ginger beer. My favorite is Stewarts which can be hard to find, and has more bite than some people like. Others prefer the milder Barret's, which is the "official" ginger beer from Bermuda.

BTW -- there's no alcohol in ginger beer, which is why dark rum was invented. And ginger beer is not just ginger ale with more ginger; it's cayenne pepper that gives it the kick.

Goya ginger beer is pretty good.
I think it's the best of the cheaper, commonly found ginger beers in grocery stores. (I also see it in some Target stores for 44 cents a bottle. Other Target stores have it for 88 cents a bottle, which is closer to the average price that you find in grocery stores)

Albright wrote:My favorite Japanese sodas were the lemon-flavored ones. The one in particular I liked the most, I can't remember the name… I think it was a katakana transliteration of something like "Lemon Squash." Came in a black can, and wasn't too sweet, but could be hard to find in stores and vending machines - I found myself remembering the positions of vending machines that carried it so that I could come back to them later, which is not something one typically has to do in Japan where you can't walk across a room without tripping over one vending machine, crashing into another, and falling over on to a third. "C. C. Lemon" (in romaji) was sweeter, but a lot easier to find.

...and there was a vending machine near the Odakyu Sagamihara train station (near a liquor store) that had it! I can't remember the name either, but I fully agree. That stuff was good - especially when you hit the liquor store for soju/shochu to mix with it. If it weren't for the shochu, I'd say that brings back memories!


...and for the St. Louis testing contingent, why didn't y'all throw in a can of Vess lemon-line for a laugh? I miss that stuff!

mndvs737 wrote:If you're ever at one of the "World of Coke" locations (I know of Atlanta and Club Coll at EPCOT), they have a tasting section where you can try Coca-Cola products from around the world. Some that I remember:
Lemon Fanta (Israel) - lemon is right -- pucker up, kids!
Beverly (Italy) - a bitter aperitif - best foisted upon unsuspecting family members - "Here - this is really good!" (snicker snicker)
Inca was there as well -- w00t!

Yeah, and at the World of Coca Cola (in the movie they force you to watch at the entrance) they make a point out of reminding you to try the Beverly. Makes you wonder if they get a commission for each time the Beverly soda is dispensed. :-/

rustiangel wrote:The coca cola museum in Atlanta has a collection of products from all around the world, free to sample all you want.

Not really free, it's just added into the cost of admission ($15)