Dandelion and Burdock Soda from Fentimans

Sometimes you see something in the market and just know you need it in your life.

That’s what happened to me a few days ago, as I was perusing the shelves for something to review, and my eye caught on Fentimans Dandelion and Burdock soda. I’d never heard of it before, but the flavor combination intrigued me, and the fact that it had a German Shepherd on the label didn’t hurt either.

I don’t drink soda often, and I pass on anything that comes in an aluminum can; when I do drink it, the flavors always become ingrained as part of the memory itself: sarsaparilla is exploring the Dutch fair here in Eastern Pennsylvania during a hot summer day, cucumber and rosemary reminds me of my first trip to the Midwest, and cream soda reminds me of bonfires and late autumn nights.
 
Fentimans Dandelion and Burdock soda is going to forever remind me of sitting at my kitchen table, because that’s where I tried it, but sometimes the best foods come to you in the most mundane of places.

And let me tell you, this soda delivers. Had I gotten to go back and do it again, I would have chosen to first try this soda sitting outside in the middle of the night, because the flavor is so deep and rich and calming.

This soda really delivered for me. Here’s my post tasting review:

Product: Fentimans Dandelion and Burdock soda
Ingredients: A unique array of natural herbs and spices, good, natural stuff.
Price: I paid about $1.50 for it, highly reasonable for a treat such as this.
Taste: Extraordinary. It’s a mix of sweet dandelion and burdock, a little bite of ginger, enveloped in a blanket of smooth, deep aniseed. For me, this wasn’t so much of a soda as it was an experience. This is the kind of soda you take your time drinking, and it even had the perfect balance of fizz to really make the flavors pop out against your tongue.
Rating: Five out of five stars. I can’t find anything about this beverage to complain about. The flavor is great, the price is good, the label and bottle are beautiful. This could make a cute stocking stuffer for the holidays or a nice treat for yourself.

Fentimans also makes ginger beer, cherry tree cola, and ‘curiosity’ cola, which is their take on traditional cola. Please check them out online at:
http://www.fentimans.com/

Pumpkin Pie Soda from Maineroot

Today I've reviewed the Pumpkin Pie Soda from Maineroot, a Maine based beverage company that specializes in handcrafted sodas and lemonades. When I saw this, I was really excited to try it, but with all of the pumpkin flavored foods and drinks out during this season, did it impress with its promise of pumpkin pie flavor?

Well, sort of.

My post-video rating:

Product: Maineroot's Pumpkin Pie Soda
Ingredients: Simple, clean ingredients, with filtered water, cane juice, and spice. This beverage is caffeine free.
Price: I paid about $1.70 for one bottle, which is reasonable for a specialty beverage (compare to a plain cup of medium coffee at corporate coffee chains), though after tasting the beverage I did come to think that it should be priced lower.
Taste: While this soda has a distinct flavor of spices such as nutmeg, cinnamon, and a hint of clove, the flavor overall is light, and I found it slightly lacking. There was no flavor of pumpkin that I could personally detect, and while it was a very good spiced soda, it didn't fully deliver the pumpkin pie promise.
Rating: Three out of five stars. It is in fact a good soda, refreshing and with a nice flavor. Had it been named as simply an autumn spice soda rather than pumpkin pie, I could have rated it higher.

If you are interested in either the pumpkin pie soda, or any of Maineroot's soda flavors which I mentioned in the video, including blueberry or sarsaparilla, you can learn more about them at Maineroot's website:
http://maineroot.com/

Thanks for watching, and I can't wait to share my next snack with you!