Back in 2006, we reviewed Route 66 Root Beer, a beverage targeted at travelers along famed Route 66. We found it bland at the time, but it turns out that there are other flavors. Thus, we present Route 66 Orange Soda.
Old Bottle Design
My wife and I have travelled the Illinois portion of Route 66 quite a few times and see various beverages along the way. Originally branded as Lucky 66 Orange Soda, this flavor is one of many now bottled by Route 66 Sodas, LLC. out of Lebanon, MO. The brand was previously handled by Route 66 Soda & Bottling Company of Wilmington, IL, but was purchased and moved in 2007.
With the new ownership, the brand has been undergoing a refreshening, including a move to decorated glass bottles vs. the paper labeled bottles that had been used in the past.
New Bottle Designs
(Source: Route66Sodas.com)
A clear shift in brand has also been made by moving away from the "Lucky 66" moniker and just going with "Route 66 Sodas" as the parent name. In the case of this review, however, we've got one of the older paper labeled bottles, but that shouldn't effect what's inside, right?
Upon cracking open the bottle, you are greeted with a muted orange scent. It's not bad, just not what was expected. Personally, I was anticipating something much stronger. That theme actually carries over to the flavor itself. It's not a powerful orange. Nothing on par with the over-the-top fakeness found in Crush, Fanta, or Sunkist.
I can't say it's the best orange I've ever had. It seemed to be lacking a certain "punch", so to speak. Maybe like the previous root beer we had reviewed, this could be classified also as "bland." Not horrible, but also probably not something you'd go out of your way to pick up when given other choices.
Now, in the company's defense, it does appear that there has been a formula change between the older bottle we received and what is currently being sold. Here's a comparison of ingredients:
Old Bottle
Carbonated water, cane sugar and/or high fructose corn sweetener, natural and artificial flavors, citric acid, modified food starch, FD&C Yellow #6, ester gum, sodium benzoate, and potassium sorbateNew Bottle
Carbonated water, real cane sugar, citric acid, gum arabic, sodium benzoate, natural flavors, ester gum, FD&C Yellow #6, Red #40 and BHA
A 12 oz bottle contains 160 calories, 41 mg sodium, 35 g carbs, and 28g sugars.
We're looking forward to tracking down a newer bottle of Route 66 Orange Soda with its different formulation to see how it compares. Because frankly, we can't really recommend the version we tried.
Gotta tell you I was excited about anything that helps promote the 'Mother Road'. I first saw the 'Route 66 Soda' in a supermarket in Tucumcari New Mexico last summer and bought a couple of bottles to pass out as gifts. I found the soda was popular with relatives and called the 'factory' to purchase more. The Gentleman who answers the phone said it 'was too costly' to deliver crates of the product anywhere except on his runs up and down old Route 66. I told him I lived about 6 hours away and would be happy to drive to meet him to pick up a case or two to avoid the $25 dollar per box shipping. (I have relatives who live in the area and visit quite often) Well, as you can imagine, I never heard back from him. So, like a fish, I took the bait and paid 52 dollars for one box of soda, which included the $25 dollar shipping fee via FEDEX.
Box came and I can see why the extra charge, there was at least $25 dollars worth of styrofoam snails in the package. Besides overpaying for shipping, the snails went everywhere upon opening and had static cling which went to all corners of my house. What a mess. While I dig the product, I don't like the service from the company and I know others who have been treated the same way. You may be King of the road on ol' Route 66 but this company does not treat it's customers like "Kings" and with that kind of service, I sadly predict the 'Route 66 soda' will go the way of the "Mother Road".