Wow.
This. I almost don't know what to say about this. I'll just work my way around...
I love to try new drinks and sodas, I really do. I will buy a new kind of soda, or heck, even a slightly altered flavor of soda I'm already familiar with, in a heartbeat. I've even been known to buy soda simply because the bottle was interesting. I can't help it. It's like some kind of sick compulsion.
Most of the time I'm pleasantly surprised by the types of drinks I come across. Yes, some of them have been too sweet, some weren't sweet enough, and I've found a few I haven't liked very much, but on the whole, there are very few kinds that I've encountered that I've found completely undrinkable. Even the ones I don't care for, I usually tough out by drinking them with meals or something that takes away from the taste. What I'm saying, is that I can usually finish off most of whatever it is I've bought.
Until today. Dear baby Jesus...today.
I picked up a bottle of Virgil's Zero Real Cola while on a trip to Earth Fare. If you aren't familiar with the store, I'd describe it as a big, organic market for rich hippies. There are all kinds of interesting things to buy and taste there, so I love my infrequent visits because the stock has usually been rotated and I always come away with something new. The drinks aisle is this wonderland of organic, unusual sodas. They are generally national brands, but nothing so "pedestrian" as Coke or Dr. Pepper. One thing I've noticed, is that a lot of these drinks are not sweetened with sugar. They have different kinds of sugar-alternatives, generally, which is bad for me because I don't like most alternative sweeteners. Anything artificial, and I'm gagging at the bitterness of it. Anything natural, but not sugar, has this weird...planty taste to me. I can't explain it any better than that. They taste planty. Now, I know sugar also comes from plants, but it doesn't taste planty, it just tastes sweet. That's the beauty of sugar, though, I guess.
But I digress.
I picked up the soda because I've had other kinds of Virgil's soda and liked it just fine. It isn't one of my go-to brands, but I have enjoyed the stuff that we've bought in the past. I was excited to see the "Zero" cola, because I enjoy Coke Zero and thought that a artisan soda with no calories would be awesome! I tend to like artisan cola drinks, because you can usually taste the different kinds of flavorings more clearly than you can with Coke or Pepsi. Maybe it's just me.
Well, I decided to try this soda while I was eating my dinner, thinking that even if it wasn't the best thing, I could still drink it without a problem. Unfortunately, I had overestimated my ability to soldier through untried sodas.
My first (and honestly, my only) sip of Virgil's Zero Real Cola began with the surprised thought of "Oooh! Cinnamon! I like cinnamon!" and ended with "Holy God, what evil beast expelled this bile from its most foul orifice?!" I couldn't drink anymore of it. I simply couldn't. It was disgusting. It was bitter and it coated my mouth and throat with it's taste. I wish I could be more specific than that, but I couldn't drink anymore. I ran to the kitchen and immediately poured it down the sink. You may not think it's fair to review a soda that I barely tasted, but I am only being honest here. I have never, ever tasted anything like that before, and if God loves me, I will never have to taste anything like that again.
Honestly, I think it was the stevia leaf extract that was the cause of my problems. I checked all of the other ingredients, and they are all familiar to me. Stevia I've only had a few times, and each time I've been less than impressed at whatever it is in. My apologies to Reeds inc. for my feelings about their product, but damn... I've had lots of products from that company, and none of the others has sent me running towards the sink in a blind panic. If I can come across a version of Virgil's Cola without the stevia, I'd love to try it to see if the regular kind is any better, but I don't want to drink this version of it ever, ever again. Do not want.
WEBSITE- Virgil's
SERVING SIZE: 1 Bottle
CALORIES: 0
CARBS: 0
TASTE: Bad. BADBADBAD!
Just tried Virgil's Zero Cream Soda and feel the same way about it. Whew!
ReplyDeleteYou have made me a happy man. I had exactly the same response to this swill. But I overpaid for a six-pack and I was damned if I was going to let it go to waste. So, I forced it upon many visitors to my house. In every case, the reaction was exactly the same: My poor victims rushed to the kitchen sink to pour the entire can down the drain! I have seen good reviews of this, uh, stuff, elsewhere, and I'm sure Virgil's heart is in the right place. But I'd rather dehydrate myself to death than drink another drop of this stuff.
ReplyDeleteOh, and I forgot to add, the can says, "You'll swear it's made in heaven." I'm sorry, but Virgil's Zero Sugar Cola comes straight from hell!
ReplyDeleteMy results were the same as the reviewer. I tried the cola and the root beer with the same results. Both became drain cleaner after the first taste.
ReplyDeleteUntil I found Virgil's soda, I had only heard of and tried Zevia as I diet soda made with Stevia. With Zevia I found certain flavors were pretty good, like their Ginger Root Beer or Grape, others were lacking, including their cola. So when I found Virgil's I had hopes that they had a good cola. I bought both the Root Beer and the Cola. The Root Beer was good, but the Cola was horrible. It almost tasted like there was some strange alcohol in it. I did force myself to get through the six pack, though it was slowly, as I wanted to see if I could either figure it out or adapt to the flavor. As I checked for reviews to see if it was me or a bad batch, I saw mention of spices. Maybe that it is. I have used many types of Stevia over the years for sweetening my coffee and tea. Even the early forms which had a little bitter aftertaste, it wasn't like this. I have used monk fruit sweeteners and did not care for them. But I don't think that's it either as the Root Beer has the same blend of Stevia, Erythritol and Monk Fruit, and it was fine. Something in the blend of flavors they use tastes off to me. I am too used to the standard brands of Cola, though I have to stick with diet as I am diabetic. I'm sure there are people out there that might find the flavor of this different in an appealing way, but I have never liked spices in drinks (not a fan of some other things like fruit on meat, pineapple on pizza, cinnamon in chili, etc. But other people do, so I have to assume there are those that might enjoy this "different" taste. But do not expect it to taste like the cola's you grew up with. Some people are more sensitive to the taste of alternative sweeteners, so that alone might turn them off to these types of sodas. But that aside the flavor is not a Cola flavor I cared for. I am curious if their regular sweetened version tastes the same or if it does have something to do with altering it for use with the non-calorie sweeteners. With the price as high as it is, I'm not sure I would try other flavors. I might get the Root Beer again, as that was good. For the record, Zevia was just as expensive when it first came around. Not sure if that was due to them starting out or if the stores just over charged since it wasn't readily available (mostly health type stores where everything is high priced) once it got to the supermarkets, the prices came down. But I found this at Target and it was a little over six bucks for a six-pack. For that price, it better be really good. All I can say is, the Cola is really bad to my taste.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy the zero cola and root beer taste better cold best stevia sodas.
ReplyDelete