6 Natural Soda Brands: A Tasting by Real People

We definitely give them props for including so much juice (almost 60%) in their drinks. I hesitate to use the word "soda" as I don't really think that's what they're going for, although the drinks are carbonated. By cutting out corn syrup and adding sugar, Fizzy Lizzy is definitely better for you than traditional sodas. Since the drinks are so fruity, they more closely resemble a really good fruit juice than a soda. We especially liked the Mount Fuji Apple, which would be great with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Gulf Coast Tangerine was another winner, tasting like "a very juicy version of Orangina," according to Gloria. We weren't quite won over by the Red Hill Pomegranate, which Brian said "starts out OK, but has a peculiar aftertaste." The reviews were mixed for Lone Star Grapefruit, but we quickly realized that everyone who likes grapefruit liked it and those of us who don't like the fruit don't like the drink — so kudos to Fizzy Lizzy for capturing the real flavor of the fruit!

FLAVORS SAMPLED:
Mount Fuji Apple
Lone Star Grapefruit
Costa Rican Pineapple
Northern Lights Cranberry
Red Hill Pomegranate
Gulf Coast Tangerine
Yakima Valley Grape
Pacific Raspberry Lemon

GuS aims to be a dry, crisp alternative to all the sugary-sweet drinks out there. With flavors like Dry Meyer Lemon and Star Ruby Grapefruit, GuS appeals to a very different palate than traditional sodas. Preservative-free and sweetened only with natural cane sugar, these bubbly drinks were unlike anything else we tried. While the Extra Dry Ginger Ale didn't taste like the ginger ale we're used to, we liked it as a lighter alternative. "Do I want sparkling water, or do I want ginger ale? I'll go for this," Gloria said. Erin loved their Dry Pomegranate soda, but had some issues with the branding; "All in all, very refreshing and tasty. I give it an 8 out of 10. The –2 is for making me remember that I'm 40, not 14. Jerkmonkeys."

FLAVORS SAMPLED:
Dry Valencia Orange
Extra Dry Ginger Ale
Dry Pomegranate
Dry Cola
Star Ruby Grapefruit
Dry Crimson Grape
Dry Cranberry Lime
Dry Meyer Lemon

These syrupy concoctions were definitely the most unique drinks we tried. Made from picked-ripe fruit cooked in open kettles, pure cane sugar, organic lemon juice and carbonation, the Hot Lips sodas had a really rich, thick fruit flavor. We also thought it was pretty cool that the bottles contain actual fruit pulp and the flavors are made seasonally to use the freshest fruits. The Blackberry Hot Lips was Amelia's favorite, and tasted very juicy but also a little like tea. Overall, we really liked the flavors but the thick, chunky texture of the drink would take a little getting used to.

FLAVORS SAMPLED:
Blackberry
Strawberry
Raspberry

Izze sodas are 70% fruit juice, which makes for a really nice fruity drink. Most of their flavors are not ones we'd ever thought to try in drink form (Sparkling Blackberry? Sparkling Peach?) but that we liked nonetheless. Blueberries are one of my favorite fruits, and I suppose if you're looking to drink them, Izze's Sparkling Blueberry is your best bet. Their Sparkling Lime is a great option for a more traditionally flavored carbonated beverage. When reached for comment on Izze's Sparkling Clementine, Amelia said "My stomach hurts and I don't want to talk about this anymore." That's more a testament to how much soda we drank than the quality of the drink, I promise.

FLAVORS SAMPLED:
Sparkling Blackberry
Sparkling Clementine
Sparkling Peach
Sparkling Lime
Sparkling Blueberry

Sweetened only with organic agave nectar, Oogavè sodas tasted the most like the sodas we drink already. Their root beer was awesome, not in an uppity-natural-root-beer-drinker way but in a this-actually-tastes-like-the-root-beer-I'm-used-to way. Their cola and ginger ale were both commendable alternatives, as well. Oogavè gets high marks for creativity, too – their Mandarin Key Lime was the only bottle we actually emptied during the tasting, although Dan lamented that it just tasted sweet, not actually like mandarin or key lime. The Watermelon soda prompted a pretty strange review from Gloria that, even more strangely, everyone agreed with; "It tastes like if you put five pieces of watermelon Bubblicious gum in a cup, soaked it in water overnight, and then drank it." I guess we'll take her word on that one.

FLAVORS SAMPLED:
Watermelon
Ginger Ale
Mandarin Key Lime
Esteban’s Root Beer
Grapefruit
Esteban’s Cola

Pepsi's newest drink, this cola is made with all-natural ingredients such as real sugar, caramel and kola nut extract, and lightly sparkling water. It's great to see one of the soda giants going down this path, but as for taste – the reviews were mixed. According to Gloria, Pepsi Natural is "good for someone who kind of likes root beer, wants a natural soda and enjoys the smell of flat Coke." Perhaps more optimistically, Brian commented that "I don't get that weird metal taste on my tongue like I do with diet [soda]. It's sweet, with cola-ness and no weird things attacking my tongue."