Review: Jones Soda Turkey & Gravy Soda (2005, National Version)
Dec 3rd, 2005 by Steve
As mentioned back in November, I was able to pick up the Jones Soda Holiday Pack (National Version). Now I've held on to these for a while waiting to taste them. Originally, I wanted Amy and I to give them a taste and then write reviews about them. But Amy's heavy influence (i.e. "Do I REALLY have to drink that stuff?") gave me a better idea to share the fun.
Alternatively, I decided to share these drinks with our holiday guests during our various Festive Film Fridays events in December. This way, I'd not only be able to try the drinks, but you'd also get the breathtaking reactions of your friends. And after these tastings, they probably wouldn't be my friends anymore.
I should mention that you get far more than gross-tasting sodas when you buy a Holiday Pack. You actually help raise money for St. Jude's Children's Research Center. But you get more than that!
Included in the box is a nice plastic fork to help you eat your liquid meals. Goes great with turkey! There's also a Wash 'n Dry-type hand towel to clean up after yourself. Oh, and what great holiday meal would be complete without an extensive Wine List to correspond to the delicacies!
So, the first of the Holiday Pack up for tasting was the flagship that started this mess in the first place… Turkey & Gravy Soda. It has been around since 2003. Looking at the ingredient label, there's a lot in common with a real turkey feast. Namely, salt. 310 mg worth! It's the number 3 ingredient behind "carbonated water" and "natural and artificial flavors."
Jones Soda is known for their unique labels, in many cases taking submitted photos from fans and sticking those on their bottles. For this edition of Turkey & Gravy Soda, two simple blue ornaments are arranged on a nice white background. Seems inviting enough. The color of the beverage, an interesting brown hue, provides a striking contrast to this. But, how does it taste? These photos might summarize it for you:
I had to suppress my gag reflex big time in order to get my one and only gulp of this drink down! Some at our gathering thought it would be fun to chug their samples like a shot drink. I'm not so sure that was a wise idea. One thing was for sure, it didn't matter how much you sampled, the aftertaste stuck with you for quite a while. The smell of the drink was rancid enough. The taste sure did match it. And boy was it salty! (Amy actually chickened out of tasting this drink).
If anything, Turkey & Gravy Soda lived up to its reputation as a very interesting drink. A little too interesting for my tastes. Next up… Pumpkin Pie Soda!
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