Empire - Real Cola

Brand: Empire (1930)
Size: 12 oz
Location: Bristol, RI
Sweetener: Sugar cane (46g)
Color: very dark brown
Aroma: light cola smell
Paired with: Trader Joe's Orange Chicken

Dr Fizz: It smelled and looked like a cola. I haven't really had colas besides the typical Coke, Pepsi or RC. While most specialty sodas are usually root beers or orange/grape/lime there don't usually seem to be colas. It must be pretty intimidating to go up against Coke and Pepsi. I had high hopes for this soda.

 Very Very Dark Cola

The cola smell was very mild, despite being such a dark color. The taste was fairly acidic, making the cola quite sour. It also had a fairly high fizz, higher than Coke. I couldn't detect any natural flavoring. There wasn't any creamyness to it and it wasn't very satisfying paired with the meal, which was also sour.

The wife says, "OOH it's thick, but not in a good way!"

Overall, I don't think it was very good. Nothing stood out as special. I still prefer Coke.

His Rating: 6/10
Her Rating: 3/10

Lil' Fizz's Rating: Orange Chicken is 10/10

AJ Stephans Birch Beer

AJ STEPHANS BIRCH BEER
Boston, 12 oz, 43g cane sugar
Aroma: See below
Color: Clear
Taste: ??
Eaten with: taquitos, taco soup RECIPE HERE

His reaction: I had no idea what birch beer was but assumed it would be somewhat like root beer. I was surprised when I poured out a clear liquid:

 Kinda like a New York Seltzer

It had a loud pop to it, like a seven-up would have. My immediate reaction to it before I started drinking was how great it smelled. It had a strong sarsaparilla type smell, with a sort of lickerish aroma. The flavor wasn't as surprising. It had a dry, sweet taste. It had a slightly vanilla taste and was vaguely like root beer. In all, it didn't really wow me as much as I had hoped.

Mrs. Fizz's reaction: She commented that it tasted like a clear root beer, which she liked. It reminded her of a vanilla cream soda. She said that the smell/taste was almost like liking a postage stamp or sealed envelope, but in a good way. Huh?

But in a good way

Dr Fizz: Overall, I was disappointed by the first selection. But boy did it smell good. I wish things like shampoo smelled like this
Rating: 6/10


Mrs. Fizz: This is probably the best clear drink I've ever had. Amen.
Rating: 8/10