Ramune Soda - Kimchi Flavor?

OK, let's face it. 2014 was not a great year at the beverage shack. I went from doing too much and making no money, to making great many and doing even more. As a result, my strange soda drinking habits took a back seat to fun daily occurrences of children calling me short, adults calling me dumb and colleagues calling me weird! But one of my New Years resolutions was to get back in the writer's chair (I pretend it's a rocket ship; it pisses off my neighbors) and do more writing. So let's get back into it shall we?

MMMM. Just look at that picture about. If anything is going to pull me out of soda retirement it's...kimchi? I know kimchi exists and has something to do with like, cabbage, but I've never tried it. Wikipedia describes it as "a traditional fermented Korean side dish made of vegetables with a variety of seasonings. It is often described as spicy and sour." Yea there should not be a soda based on this...at all.

But Min Wong on the bottle is so happy that I am going to try her delicious cabbage pop. "Ha ha ha, stupid fat American. So fat can't chew. Eats carbonated vegetable water! Hello Kitty and so forth." Well I won't stand here and get teased by some Asian stereotype, let's get drinkin'. For those of you who saw my old blog where I tried Ramune's Teriyaki soda, you know that it was really difficult to open, but I've done my homework this time and I'm cracking this bad boy open with no trouble...

And I'm bleeding. God Dammit Raume! Why do you hate me so??? OK going for a sniff. UGH. It smells like beef bullion broth. And it's making gurgling sounds like the bog of eternal stench in "The Labyrinth." First reference of 2015; nailed it! No more stalling - time for a sip (cautiously sips)...

If we've ever been friends, you know this fact about me - I hate ketchup. And that's what this tastes like: sweet ketchup pop. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go shame cry for about an hour. Tune in next week (I promise!) for an expired Harry Potter soda ripoff that I said I'd review a year ago. (No I didn't get a new one; it's the same bottle). 

Ketchup? Catsup?

Dr. Brown's Cel-Ray Soda

If you've been to a Panera Bread in your lifetime, chances are you've seen Dr. Brown's soda. The Black Cherry and Root Beer are fairly common flavors and quite tasty, but their most popular and rarest (oxymoron?) is the Cel-Ray soda, a soda derived from the extract of celery seeds. I did a little research, and the good doctor has been pumping out this celery flavored tonic since 1869 and was originally developed to give nutrients to immigrant children. Why not just give them some celery? Because science. Apparently this particular soda was so popular among the New York Jewish community in the 1930s that it became known as "Jewish Champagne." There's a lot of history involved in a soda based on something that only tastes good with cream cheese slathered on it. Today, unless you're in New York or Florida, you'll find it pretty hard to stumble across a bottle of Cel-Ray. But is it worth seeking out?

Appearance:

Well it's green, which...I guess...means celery. We're reminded twice that this beverage has been around since 1869, and the front features a small photo of people crossing the Brooklyn Bridge. I'm assuming in 1869. And I'm assuming it's because they had a cravin' for some cel-ray soda. It's interesting to note that it is actually made with celery seeds. Not like the peanut butter soda that blatantly lied to my face and tasted like sugary peanut water. I'm not gonna lie - I'm pretty excited to try this one.





Smell/First Sip:
I take a whiff and the two things I smell are sugar and very very faintly, celery. I don't know if this is my mind
playing tricks on me because I have celery on the brain, but it definitely had a mild celery smell. I've never typed the word "celery" this many times in one sitting in my life. Brace yourself Jewish Champagne, I'm going in. (sips). That's...interesting. It's heavily carbonated, and you can feel the bubbles on the way down your throat. I DO taste celery, and it's not an overly sweet flavor mixed in. I guess the best way to explain it would be if you blended ginger ale with celery and then took out half the sugar. Shalom!

Drinkability/Overall:
One of my favorite Gatorade flavors is Cucumber-Lime because there's a fresh vegetable hint mixed in with the fruity flavor. It's really refreshing. The same can be said for Cel-Ray Soda. It's fresh, has a hint of celery that's not overpowering, and it works as a soda. This might be my favorite (read: only good one ever) beverage I've tried on the Soda Shack thus far. So...yea...not a very funny review I guess, but thanks Dr. Brown!

                                                            "You're welcome, Matt."