This flavor was most likely a holiday rollout for 2009, featuring the following seasonal text on the label:

The first snowfall of the year is always exciting, no matter your age. Snowball fights and sledding bring out the kid in all of us. To celebrate our favorite season, Jones captured winter in a bottle and created this limited edition flavor. So whether you're a ski bunny in Boise or a snowbird in Boca Raton, crack open a color one and remember that summer will be here before you know it.

In the case of Pomegranate Cream, that winter flavor arrives in a pinkish hue. Interestingly, the flavor isn't very pomegranate at all. Rather, it's more like a cream soda with a hint of cherry… and very sweet. The aroma off the bottle also subscribes to the genre of cream soda. Not a bad flavor, but nothing really special. Granted, who knows how long this bottle has been around; that might just affect the tasting experience!

The photo on the label, #10956 by Jenn Mahoney of Southworth, WA, apparently depicts someone sledding/sliding on their knees in the snow. It's really rather hard to figure out what's going on. Any guesses?

Jones Soda Pomegranate Cream
Carbonated water, inverted cane sugar, natural and artificial flavors, citric acid, fruit and vegetable juice for color, phosphoric acid, sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate (as preservatives), calcium disodium EDTA (to protect flavor)

A 12 oz bottle contains 170 calories, 35 mg sodium, and 43 g carbs (42 g sugars). This drink is caffeine free.

This drink comes in a 20 oz. glass bottle with shortneck, emblazoned with Sobe's iconic lizard iconography. The beverage is a deep red color with a fruity, almost cranberry-like scent emanating from the open cap. Overall, quite pleasant.

As for the taste, it's sweet, but not too sweet. In fact, it's very good. It's also pretty much an assortment of a zillion "fruit concentrates" when it comes to flavor (take a look at the ingredients!) Lightly tangy when it first hits your tongue, followed by a deeper flavor of pomegranate, then a lightweight aftertaste. This drink contacts L-carnitine and red clover extract, which are herbs that apparently are there to help you… or something. Well, officially, Sobe claims that they "are specially formulated to energize the body, uplift the spirit, and enlighten the mind." So… you have that going for ya at least!

Here's what's inside:

Sobe Elixir Yumberry Pomegranate
Filtered water, sugar, pear juice concentrate, grape juice concentrate, pomegranate juice concentrate, calcium lactate, black carrot juice contentrate (color), citric acid, raspberry juice concentrate, natural flavor, ascrobic acid (Vitamin C), L-carnitine, red clover (trifolium pratense) flower extract, yumberry juice concentrate, chromium picolinate

A 20 oz. bottle contacts 250 calories, 55 mg of sodium, and 65 g of carbs (63 g of sugars).

If you get a chance to come upon a bottle of this discontinued drink, give Sobe Elixir Yumberry Pomegranate a try. I'm not sure why it's been washed off the market, but I would imagine other flavors or combinations had stronger sales. It's light, refreshing, and the flavor is surprisingly tasty!

Back in July, we were doing some trademark searches to see what might be found in the world of new beverages (much the same way we discovered Diet Mountain Dew Ultra Violet).

Pepsi Clear and Diet Pepsi Clear?
(Name Source: US Patent and Trademark Office)

Of interest were these two filings from PepsiCo:

Pepsi Clear (77553297)
Filing Date: August 22, 2008
Published for Opposition: December 30, 2008
Date of Status: March 24, 2009

Diet Pepsi Clear (77553299)
Filing Date: August 22, 2008
Published for Opposition: December 30, 2008
Date of Status: March 24, 2009

So what's the big deal, this is the old Crystal Pepsi from 1992-3, right? Actually, nope! What's different with the above trademark filings is that they are currently live in the USPTO database. The old Crystal Pepsi trademarks (74321835, 74321837) for "Clear Cola Crystal Pepsi" have been abandoned and are dead.

12-Pack cover of Crystal Pepsi
(Source: Wikipedia)

So what does this mean? Is this the return of Crystal Pepsi? Who knows. We're just presenting the information here… though the trademark filings and tweets from our friends at Salute To Soda might hint that direction (Emphasis ours):

We are working on a MAJOR development from one of the big soda companies. Let's just say things are about to get a little more clear.

Pepsi Clear logo used in Mexico
(Source: pepsi.com.mx)

Regarding the name Pepsi Clear, it's not entirely new. For a short time in 2005 or so, a product named Pepsi Clear was marketed in Mexico as a transparent cola, but that appears to no longer be available. However, it is a product that has the same name as what is currently showing up in the trademark searches.

Screenshot of Pepsi Clear contest website used in Mexico
(Source: pepsi.com.mx)
Click for larger image

Translation of website text via Google:

Win a kit Clear Pepsi … The only drink cola, transparent.

All you have to do is answer simple trivia about Pepsi Clear, and if you are one of the first to answer correctly, be one of the winners!

To participate you must be registered at www.pepsi.com.mx. Even if you do not win, enter your data and participate in all our promotions.

Pepsi Clear advertisement used in Mexico
(Source: pepsi.com.mx)
Click for larger image

Which leaves us not a lot to go on, so we might as well just remember the Crystal Pepsi era, whether or not it returns again. For those who don't remember, here's an excerpt from Wikipedia:

Crystal Pepsi was a soda made by PepsiCo from 1992 to 1993. It was marketed as a caffeine-free "clear alternative" to normal colas, equating clearness with purity and health. Its marketing tagline was "You've never seen a taste like this". However, the taste was not significantly different from other colas; unlike other colorless soft drinks, which usually have a lemon-lime flavor, Crystal Pepsi tasted much like the original Pepsi.

In 1992, the product came to test markets in Denver, Colorado; Sacramento, California; Dallas, Texas; and Providence, Rhode Island and had a positive response. Pleased with the results, PepsiCo launched the cola on April 13, 1992, and began to sell it nationwide in 1993. A series of television advertisements featuring Van Halen's hit song "Right Now" premiered on national television on January 31, 1993, during Super Bowl XXVII. In its first year, Crystal Pepsi captured a full percentage point of U.S. soft drink sales, approximately $474 million. Coca-Cola followed suit by launching Tab Clear on December 14, 1992.

Initial sales were good but quickly fell. Pepsi pulled the drink off the market and returned several months later with a reformulated citrus drink titled "Crystal From Pepsi", but this was short-lived as well.

Bus with Crystal Pepsi advertising
(Used by permission via spudart.org)

Crystal Pepsi Memories
Do you remember Crystal Pepsi? What are your memories of that uniquely clear drink? Post them in the comments and share them with others! Here's one to start things off from BevReview reader BJ Wanlund:

When I had that first Crystal Pepsi, it was unlike any other drink I have ever had before or since. I took one sip, and almost thought I was in heaven. This incredible clear cola was unlike any soda I'd ever tasted, either before or since that time.

Crystal Pepsi items from eBay
(Used by permission via spudart.org)

While it's been over 10 years since I last had a Crystal Pepsi, I can comment on the taste. The taste of Crystal Pepsi is very unique, and only two drinks since Crystal Pepsi shuffled off into the sunset have come even close to replicating the unique taste of Crystal Pepsi: Diet Rite Pure Zero Cola and the recent Pepsi Throwback. I daresay that the Pepsi Throwback actually got pretty close to the old Crystal Pepsi taste, what with the natural sugar blend they put in there.

What are your memories?

In the mid 1990s, the big craze for soft drink companies was to combine their beverages with coffee. Thus we saw a ton of products with this odd combination: Pepsi Kona, Pepsi Cappuccino, Java Cola, Café Cola, and others (mostly in isolated test markets). The initiative failed miserably. Apparently, Coke never got the memo.

Well, it took a little over a year, but it appears that Coca-Cola finally figured out what everyone else already knew… cola/coffee drinks don't work. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Coke is pulling the plug on Coca-Cola BlaK here in the States.

Coke has discontinued U.S. sales of the blended Coca-Cola and coffee concoction it introduced 17 months ago in 8-ounce bottles wrapped in mocha-brown plastic, the company confirmed Thursday.

Coca-Cola spokesman Scott Williamson said the company's bottlers will continue making and selling Coca-Cola Blak until concentrate supplies run out. He said he didn't know how long that will take.

Sales are expected to continue in France and other counties overseas. The drink also is available in Canada.

Coke spent two years developing Coca-Cola Blak in hopes of making inroads into consumers' growing taste for coffee and a booming premium beverage market.

The company didn't announce the move; it was first reported in a trade newsletter, Beverage Digest.

Why the niche beverage didn't catch on, Coke won't say for sure.

But Coca-Cola Blak, which has sold for as much as $1.99 a bottle, may have been too pricey for its target consumer, described by a Coke marketing executive last year as the over-30 "savvy, sophisticated achiever."

Or maybe it was the taste.

"It is not for everyone," Coke marketing executive Katie Bayne told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution when the drink launched in April 2006. "It is an adult Cola taste."

You just hate to say "we told you so," but I think that's pretty obvious here.

Pepsi looking to 'Jazz' up colas?
Sources say the No. 2 soft drink company plans to launch new fruit-flavored diet cola brand this summer.

By Parija Bhatnagar, CNNMoney.com staff writer
April 7, 2006: 11:36 AM EDT

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) – Pepsi is expected to launch a new brand of fruit-flavored diet colas this summer called "Jazz," a move that one industry expert says is intended to add "some excitement" to the company's cola offerings.

John Sicher, editor of industry trade publication Beverage Digest, said possible flavors would include strawberries and cream and cherry-vanilla. The brand would belong to the Pepsi trademark although it's not certain whether or not it will also carry the Pepsi name.

The product is expected to launch some time in the summer, Sicher said.

"The diet cola category is still growing and both Coke and Pepsi already have flavored cola offerings which have done well," Sicher said. "This new product should create some excitement for Pepsi because fruity-flavored drinks right now are popular right now with consumers."

Sicher said it was also unclear whether "Jazz" will become a permanent addition to Pepsi's portfolio but that as the new products are launched, Pepsi will discontinue production of regular and diet Pepsi Twist and regular Pepsi Vanilla.

Coca-Cola Co. already has a black cherry vanilla version of Diet Coke, which it launched in January.

Pepsi spokeswoman Nicole Bradley declined to comment on the story other than to say that the company is "always looking for new ways to grow our portfolio and innovation is very important to us."

…Sicher said it was also unclear whether "Jazz" will become a permanent addition to Pepsi's portfolio but that as the new products are launched, Pepsi will discontinue production of regular and diet Pepsi Twist and regular Pepsi Vanilla.

Full Story

Coke to phase out Vanilla Coke in U.S

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Coca-Cola Co., the world's largest soft drink maker, said on Friday it would phase out its Vanilla Coke, Vanilla Diet Coke and Diet Coke With Lemon beverages in the United States by end of this year. The company said sales have declined.

Coca-Cola added that it plans to introduce Diet Black Cherry Vanilla Coke and Black Cherry Vanilla Coke in the United States in January 2006.

The company said Vanilla Coke, which was introduced in the United States in 2002 and Diet Vanilla Coke in 2003, could return sometime in the future. Details about whether Diet Coke With Lemon, which made its U.S. entry in 2001, would be brought back were not available.

"I don't know if we have ever taken out a flavor and brought it back to the market, but the landscape continues to change and we want to be as flexible as possible to adapt to the changing landscape," said Scott Williamson, a spokesperson for Coca-Cola.

The phase out follows declining sales for the brands in the United States. Vanilla Coke sales slipped to 35 million unit cases in 2004 from 90 million unit cases in 2002, while Vanilla Diet Coke sales dropped to 13 million unit cases last year from 23 million unit cases in 2003, according to Beverage Marketing, a beverage research and consulting firm.

Sales of Diet Coke with Lemon have fallen to 9.9 million unit cases in 2004 from 24 million unit cases in 2001, data showed.

Analysts have said that one of the keys to the company's future is to innovate new products that will help Coca-Cola capture more consumers who have moved away from sugary soft drinks to diet versions, or to healthier low-or no-calorie beverages such as water and orange juices with reduced sugar.

Both Coca-Cola and PepsiCo Inc., the No. 2 soft drink company, are battling for the allegiance of increasingly picky U.S. consumers. The United States is the largest market for the soft-drink companies.

"It is a rapidly changing beverage landscape and it is important for Coke to move quickly to deliver on what the consumer wants," said Gary Hemphill, managing director of Beverage Marketing. "The competition for shelf space is intense."

Coke to phase out Vanilla Coke in U.S

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Coca-Cola Co., the world's largest soft drink maker, said on Friday it would phase out its Vanilla Coke, Vanilla Diet Coke and Diet Coke With Lemon beverages in the United States by end of this year. The company said sales have declined.

Coca-Cola added that it plans to introduce Diet Black Cherry Vanilla Coke and Black Cherry Vanilla Coke in the United States in January 2006.

The company said Vanilla Coke, which was introduced in the United States in 2002 and Diet Vanilla Coke in 2003, could return sometime in the future. Details about whether Diet Coke With Lemon, which made its U.S. entry in 2001, would be brought back were not available.

"I don't know if we have ever taken out a flavor and brought it back to the market, but the landscape continues to change and we want to be as flexible as possible to adapt to the changing landscape," said Scott Williamson, a spokesperson for Coca-Cola.

The phase out follows declining sales for the brands in the United States. Vanilla Coke sales slipped to 35 million unit cases in 2004 from 90 million unit cases in 2002, while Vanilla Diet Coke sales dropped to 13 million unit cases last year from 23 million unit cases in 2003, according to Beverage Marketing, a beverage research and consulting firm.

Sales of Diet Coke with Lemon have fallen to 9.9 million unit cases in 2004 from 24 million unit cases in 2001, data showed.

Analysts have said that one of the keys to the company's future is to innovate new products that will help Coca-Cola capture more consumers who have moved away from sugary soft drinks to diet versions, or to healthier low-or no-calorie beverages such as water and orange juices with reduced sugar.

Both Coca-Cola and PepsiCo Inc., the No. 2 soft drink company, are battling for the allegiance of increasingly picky U.S. consumers. The United States is the largest market for the soft-drink companies.

"It is a rapidly changing beverage landscape and it is important for Coke to move quickly to deliver on what the consumer wants," said Gary Hemphill, managing director of Beverage Marketing. "The competition for shelf space is intense."

DNP for 7UP's dnL
Company will focus on 7UP Plus, instead

dnL, a caffeinated version of 7UP that the company started selling in 2002 to compete with energy drinks, won't last the year. The company has announced it will discontinue it for 2006.

"That was a product launch that just didn't really align with what the consumer expected 7UP to be," said Gil Cassagne, president and CEO of Cadbury Schweppes America's Beverages.

The company recently launched 7UP Plus, a vitamin-fortified, low-calorie soft drink and is considering formulations that would reduce the calorie content even further.

The launch of the green, caffeinated dnL — 7UP upside down — was in direct contrast to the company's original "uncola" proposition, according to Cassagne.

Little-noticed Pepsi Blue gone after two years
By Scott Leith
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
05/01/04

Check your refrigerator: If there's an old bottle of Pepsi Blue, you have a bit of a collector's item.

Berry-flavored Pepsi Blue, launched two years ago by Pepsi-Cola, is officially out of the market.

Until now, few people beyond the brand's hard-core fans even noticed it was gone. But trade publication Beverage Digest noted the demise Friday, helping close this particular chapter of pop culture.

"It was actually a pretty interesting idea, but in the end, violets are blue, colas are not," said John Sicher, editor and publisher.

Pepsi Blue debuted in 2002 around the same time as Vanilla Coke, which survives. It inspired sales of 17 million cases in its debut year, according to Beverage Digest.

In 2003, however, sales dribbled to just 4.9 million cases, a minuscule total in the U.S. soft-drink world. With that, it was only a matter of time before Blue faded to black.

"People give us credit for trying new things," said Pepsi spokesman Dave DeCecco.

Coca-Cola has had its share of failures, too, notably Surge, a former competitor to Pepsi's Mountain Dew.

While Pepsi Blue has disappeared, some of those who hold stockpiles are looking for takers. EBay, that reliable marketplace of everything obscure, has a number of Pepsi Blue items on sale as collectibles, including bottles of the soda itself.

Pepsi will try, try again. This June, the company is launching Pepsi Edge, a midcalorie cola that will compete with a coming new Coke brand called C2.

Let's all mourn for this beverage