MAYrathon 2.0 Day 12 - Double Cola

Since I’m on a cola kick after trying King Kong Cola, I may as well go for broke with Double Cola. I mentioned earlier in the month that during this MAYrathon, I would be able to cross a few classic sodas off of my list that I’ve always wanted to try which brings us to Double Cola. Now while I said in my last review that all colas either taste like Coke/Pepsi or taste like ass, I have high hopes for this one as it has been around since 1933. I’ve known about the brand for a long time, and only recently learned that they also manufacture Ski soda, which I tried for the first time in April. I’m always fascinated by products that have lasted generations. I like to picture my great grandfather sitting around the kitchen and listening to Green Hornet on the radio while swigging a Double Cola. I just love that nostalgic feel.

So what’s the history of Double Cola? It’s long and boring, but here’s a few highlights.Run On Sentence Award Winner:  Charles D. Little founded the Good Grape Company in 1922 and produced a grape soda which later became the Marvel (No Iron Man sadly) Cola company which produced a purple soda called Jumbo which eventually took out the purple and became Double Cola (named so because it was 12 oz as opposed to the typical 6 oz sodas common at the time) which then in 1933 becomes the Seminole Flavor Company which then, in 1953 change their name to the Double Cola company based on the beverage that has become their flagship soda which then begins to own more regional soda flavors including Ski and their own Diet Double Cola which then changes ownership several times throughout the decades which then, while still a regional favorite mainly east of the Mississippi, has continued to be a local favorite and thrive since the early 30s. RUN ON SENTENCE FTW!!!!

So let’s get onto trying this bad boy. And like I said, unlike typical colas, I am excited to see what this one takes like. The bottle is a classic 12 oz glass with “Drink Double Cola” printed on the front and also informing us that it is Pure Cane Sugar Since 1933. Other than that, just the standard nutritional facts, website and vague ingredients. I break open the bottle (like a sexy wolverine) and it definitely has that typical cola scent, but it has a vague Pepsi smell which could be a good thing. Chug time - I hate to say it, but this tastes like freaking RC Cola. Yea...it’s pretty much RC Cola. Which sucks because RC Cola sucks. I had high hopes for this but I’m left feeling like my senior year homecoming when my date left with a taller, blonder man and I went bowling...Good times! I need a Surge.

Ski Soda

It's once again been a long hiatus here at the shack, and I am once again dusting off the old blog and giving it another go. 2017 did not start off well for me, and I've had to deal with a lot of crap, but I am slowly digging my way out of the muck and once again rediscovering things that I love like tasting obscure sodas and yelling obscenities at kids on bikes and jumping through sprinklers in my bikini. It's time to get back into those nostalgic moments that truly made me feel happy. And this one is double the nostalgia because not only is it on the list of classic sodas I've always wanted to try, but it's also one of the very first sodas I attempted to review when I started this blog in 2013. Why did it not happen? Because there were black floaties all over the bottle and it scared the crap out of me, so I pretty much put it out of my mind for a few years. But now, with a fresher bottle and a fresher perspective, I have returned to finally taste - Ski Soda.

Lefty, using his right hand like a prick.

Here's a jerk who LOVES Ski Soda.

Detroit has the Faygo Company and Vernors. Texas has Big Red. Montana has crippling depression. But if you were to travel to southern Illinois, St. Louis or Nashville, they you're in Ski country. It's in every restaurant's fountain machine right next to the big wigs like Pepsi and Coke. It all started when "Lefty" J. Meier used the money he won after foiling a bank robbery to open up his own soda bottling company. Eventually he joined forces with the Double Cola company where the popular Midwest soda is still manufactured today. This caffeinated classic is often compared to Mountain Dew or Mello Yellow, but unlike the two is known for having a distinct lemon, lime AND orange taste. 

Alright, I am excited to try this one as it's been four years in the making. The bottle is a simple green glass with a picture of a girl water skiing next to the large Ski logo. What's very odd is that it doesn't list the ingredients on the bottle. I thought that was a law or something. I don't really care though because I am NOT waiting another four years for this. Let's twist this bottle open and give it a sniff. It smells a bit like Kickapoo Joy Juice or maybe Sun Drop. The taste? Unique. I can see where people compare it to Mountain Dew, but it's very, very different. It's a bit flatter than most sodas, and the orange definitely plays a part in the flavor. I guess if anything, I would compare it to a mix between Kickapoo Joy juice and a flat Mountain Dew Livewire. I don't hate it!

Well, it's good to be back, and you can certainly expect more updates in the near future as I'm moving in a few months and I have a ton of crap that I need to eat/drink/vomit up before then.