Nothing has changed (that I can tell) in the formulation of Monster Mojito between the 2007 and 2008 versions. Last year saw the addition of inverted cane sugar, which improved the cleanliness of the taste.

I think one reason why this flavor keeps returning is the fact that it offers an original flavor that is typically found in the alcoholic realm, but translates nicely to soda format. It's not just another version of a fruit or cola… it really is something unique and welcomed during the Halloween season.

Here's a recap from my 2006 review to educate those who may be interested on the origins of the mojito:

…mojito is a traditional Cuban cocktail which became quite popular in the United States during the late 1980s, but has recently seen a resurgence in popularity. This drink is a cousin of the Brazilian cocktail, Caipirinha.

4-pack Bottle Packaging – Side 2

A mojito is traditionally made of five ingredients: mint, rum, powdered sugar, lime juice, and club soda. Its combination of sweetness and refreshing citrus and mint flavors are intended to mask the potent kick of the rum, and have made the cocktail a popular summer drink.

This flavor is only available in 4-Packs… I picked mine up at Target. Let's take a look at the artwork on the bottles:

This color image (Photo #10088) by Daniel Burlingame of Muskegon, MI, is probably one of my favorites from the 2008 Halloween collection. Great composition, good colors, and nice use of focus. Nice job, Daniel!

This black and white image from Tony Perez of Hays, KS, is one of the oddest ones we've seen this year. The picture (Photo #10077) features a dog made up to be like a hot dog. Clever and morbid and the same time!

This color shot by Joshua Hutchinson features 3 illuminated pumpkin carvings. Photo #10100 comes to us all the way from Gardner, KS, and looks pretty spiffy. (Jones liked it so much, they used it on Side 2 of the 4-Pack box!)

Finally we have this girl witch photo from Melissa Dotson of Marshall, TX. I can't say I'm that excited by Photo #10098. Fuzzy composition and lighting that makes it somewhat hard to make things out. Nice try, however.

Before you finish off your bottle of Monster Mojito, let's pay a little tribute to Stephanie Robertson of Conroe, TX, who submitted the creepy but fun photo featured on Side 1 of the box. That's awesome! I love Photo #10105… it symbolizes the goofy Jones Halloween collection rather well!

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As part of the bottled 4-Pack of drinks available for a limited time, the theme of the beverage certainly makes sense. And when you first open the soda a very strong scent greets you. It so wants to be authentic apple, but instead comes off emulating a green apple-flavored Jolly Rancher candy. So I guess we're going for the fake and syrupy angle here!

When you actually have the courage to drink this flavor, you'll find less of the apple experience than you hoped. In fact, it's the scent of this drink that really saves it from utter horribleness, because the flavor is more like cough syrup than any sort of apple.

That's unfortunate, because there is so much potential for a good apple soda. They are pretty rare. Stick with Sidral Mundet if you want something worth drinking.

But before we wrap up this review, let's at least give credit to the folks who were fortunate enough to get their photos on this not-very-good drink…

The "vomiting pumpkin" motif is a popular one around this time of year, and it's nice to know that Photo #10108 doesn't disappoint. This color image was sent along by Krystal Gamez of Leesport, PA.

Love cats? Well, I'm not a big fan, but apparently Scott Gandert of Alpharetta, GA is. His image (Photo #10091) features a white cat with a witch hat. Too bad that cat doesn't have any magical power to make this drink taste better.

Finally, we have some creepy pumpkin head zombies or something (Photo #10104). This photo was sent in by Edward Regan of Joilet, IL… which isn't that far outside of Chicago, the HQ for BevReview.com. Something about that photo just doesn't seem right.

Let's wrap things up with a look at both panels of the 4-Pack box. Side 1 showcases a pretty morbid-but-happy clown (Photo #10078) provided by Natalie Seymour of Jacksonville, NC. I think it's fitting to have this image on the box for Dread Apple. There's just so much dread when captured together like that.

Flipping the box around, Side 2 gives us some rather happy looking ghosts courtesy of Jeff Stillson of Nappanee, IN. I wonder if these ghosts are Amish?!

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This flavor is part of the bottled 4-Pack of drinks available for a limited time. The color of the drink is typical of an orange soda like Crush, Sunkist, or Fanta Orange. But that's where the similarities end.

Upon opening the bottle, you are greeted by an orange scent that is more like a naval orange than others typically used in soft drink smells. And your first taste starts like a typical orange drink, but then it changes. There's a fruity flavor, but it's not quite orange. Instead, it's more like a grapefruit-type of flavor, as if you were to combine Squirt and orange juice.

The flavor itself is clean, but frankly, not very strong. I felt is was quite weak in the middle part of the drinking process. The aftertaste is clean, but leaves you with a little sour/bitter/fruity experience to finish things off. Not what I expected at all.

I was glad that this drink wasn't gross as it typical of a lot of Jones Soda novelty flavors, but I was really hoping for a more robust orange flavor, especially since it uses cane sugar as a sweetener.

Let's take a look at the customer-contributed photos that appeared on this flavor during the Halloween season…

Let's start off with this color image (Photo #10101) sent in by Anthony Pavone of Nanuet, NY. I'm going to guess that this baby wasn't a big fan of pumpkins… or Halloween… or anything.

Following up with another color image (Photo #10089), we have what appears to be a carved and illuminated pumpkin face with more skull-like tendencies. This art was submitted by Ryan Miller of St. John's, Newfoundland. Wow, hitting the scary stuff up there in Canada, I see.

Moving on to a black & white image (Photo #10093) submitted simply by Kirsten of Warren, MI. It's quite the unique robot costume that reminds me of a large cardboard outfit I wore as a kid around Halloween. It was in the shape of an old Kodak Instamatic camera, complete with flashcube. It was well-praised, but man, what a pain to walk in!

Finally we have a rather poor image (Photo #10095) submitted by Juli Dimichele of Canton, MI. It appears to be some sort of dog wearing a pumpkin costume. Frankly, it looks ridiculous and I'm not even sure why Jones would have selected this photo. Not a fan.

And before we go, let's touch on the images found on the 4-Pack box. On Side 1 we have Photo #10086 submitted by Christina Sirimanivong of Waukesha, WI. First of all, that's quite a last name! Secondly, I actually know where Waukesha is! Finally, the pirate cat.. cute and good color. Nice job.

Then over on Side 2 we have Photo #10094 sent in by Desiree Wainscott of Cody, WY. It's a small girl wearing a which costume. What sells this shot is the expression on the girl's face. Kudos!

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Having first appeared in 2005, it returned in 2006, then again in 2007. The only real change was in 2007 when the sweetener shifted to inverted cane sugar vs. high fructose corn syrup.

This incarnation once again comes in an 8 oz. can featured as part of a 4-park exclusive to Target. Gone are the scary pumpkin faces. This time around we've got a brown-colored design that depicts a werewolf with huge fangs. Well, it's either that or an Ewok on steroids.

The taste is still the same… heavy on syrup, with a smell and flavor hearkening back to maple syrup. Very sweet, nothing at all like candy corn itself. I wouldn't mind a real candy corn soft drink. This, however, is not it.

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This drink was originally available in a bottle in 2006, which we recalled being very lemony. Then last year it returned in 8 oz. can form as Jones Soda Sour Lemon Drop Dead Soda. This was like drinking liquefied Lemonheads candy. Very sour, very bitter. Fun for a few sips, but not enjoyable for all 8 oz.

It appears Jones went back to the original flavor profile, dropping the sour, and bringing us a decent lemon drink in a white can dressed up like a mummy.

Overall, the current incarnation is actually much cleaner in taste than the 2006 edition, thanks to the drop of HFCS and inclusion of pure cane sugar. The drink is a cross between Mountain Dew, Sprite, Vault, Squirt, and a host of other lemon-lime drinks, but with an heavier emphasis on the lemon part.

Lemon Drop Dead is one of my favorites in the Halloween collection, though I somewhat miss the unique taste of last year's sour version. Give it a try!

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Sporting a predominantly white/black can featuring a Dracula-like face on the front, the name of the drink is rather hard to make out given that it's written in a blood-like font. There really isn't any indication of what's in store regarding taste.

We've tested other drinks here on BevReview.com that claim to possess a pomegranate flavor, including some seasonal beverages like Pomegranate 7Up. Other sodas in the same ballpark might include Sierra Mist Cranberry Splash and Hansen's Natural Sparkling Sleek Pomegranate Green Tea.

What was odd about Jones Buried Pomegranate Soda was that it really didn't taste very cherry or pomegranate-like. The flavor was a bit weird, almost as if it was infused with some sort of herbal blend. That's not to say it was gross; it just wasn't expected. The light pink-colored drink did provide a unique taste profile, and for that, I'd recommend checking it out while you can find it.

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This limited edition flavor sports a green/black can design that features a Frankenstein-like face, ditching the pumpkin carving faces of previous Halloween collections from Jones. The tagline mentioning "A creepy treat by the folks at Jones" remains, however.

As far as taste, Jones Spooookiwi Soda had a familiar, fruity flavor we couldn't exactly put our fingers on. It had elements of Snapple Kiwi Strawberry crossed with a strawberry-flavored Jolly Rancher candy. While a unique taste and rather sweet, it also was quite drinkable. The color was a cloudy light green, similar to a lemon lime-type soft drink.

Familiar and pretty drinkable!

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This tradition started back in 2005 with their first release for 4 limited edition flavors in 8 oz. cans: Candy Corn, Caramel Apple, Scary Berry Lemonade, & Strawberry S'lime. In 2006, Jones stepped it up a notch by rolling out 7 different flavors (4 in cans, 3 in bottles): Berried Alive, Spider Cider, Gruesome Grape, Candy Corn, Lemon Drop Dead, Creepy Cranberry, and Monster Mojito. This was followed by 7 flavors in 2007 (again 4 in cans, 3 in bottles): Strawberry S'lime, Candy Corn, Sour Lemon Drop Dead, Gruesome Grape, Dread Licorice, Monster Mojito, and Black Cat Licorice.

For Halloween 2008, Jones once again is sticking with 7 flavors, some returning from previous years, and some new tastes added to the mix. 4 flavors have been released in 8 oz. cans exclusively at Target (sold in 4 packs), while 3 additional flavors are available in bottles (also sold in 4 packs).

The 4 flavors available in cans are as follows:

• Spooookiwi (New for 2008)
• Buried Pomegranate (New for 2008)
• Lemon Drop Dead (Rerun of the non-sour version offered in 2006, sour version offered in 2007)
• Candy Corn (Rerun from 2005, 2006, and 2007)

And don't forget the 3 flavors available in bottles:

• Dread Apple (New for 2008)
• Monster Mojito (Rerun from 2006 & 2007)
• Blood Orange (New for 2008)

Keep it here at BevReview.com as we provide in-depth reviews on each of these flavors!