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Aside from some of the famous "gross" holiday flavors from Jones Soda over the years, such as the flagship Turkey & Gravy, Jones Soda Candy Cane Soda has probably made the most return trips to the Christmas lineup, debuting in 2006 with HFCS, then returning in 2007 with sugar, and again in 2008. As part of the 2011 Jones Soda Holiday Flavors, it joins other "reruns" such as Ginger Bread Soda, Pear Tree Soda, and Sugar Plum Soda

This entry comes with packaging reflective of Jones Soda's current look, with redish-pink being the accent color. The photo on the front (#1139076) from Tobi Marcinek of Bend, OR, features a multitude of Santas attempting to board some sort of light rail public transportation.

The drink is light pink in color and frankly smells like medicine, i.e. cough syrup. In fact, "syrup" seems to be the theme with this drink, because that pretty much summarizes the experience. It's minty, but pretty much tastes like a very sweet mouthwash that you swallow. I'm still not sure why this drink flavor continues to return, as it's the least authentic of the batch. Maybe this stuff would taste better as part of a mixer, or even to flavor your hot chocolate. But as a stand-along flavor, I can't imagine voluntarily wanting to ingest more than a few sips. It's not gross. It's just not good.

Jones Soda Candy Cane Soda
Carbonated water, inverted can sugar, phosphoric acid, natural and artificial flavors, sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate (as preservatives), gum acacia, calcium disodium EDTA (to protect flavor), Red #40

A 12 oz. bottle contains 180 calories, 35 mg sodium, and 44 g carbs (44 g sugars). Caffeine free.

Official Website: JonesSoda.com

As we look at the 2011 Jones Soda Holiday Flavors, it's time to explore Jones Soda Sugar Plum Soda. Don't miss our reviews on some of the other flavors, including Ginger Bread Soda and Pear Tree Soda.

Like the rest of the 2011 Holiday Flavors, Sugar Plum is a returning flavor, having first appeared in 2006 (with HFCS) and then again in 2007 (with sugar). Purple & black are the primary colors used on the 2011 label, with a submitted photo (#1229619) by Bekah Kurtaneck of Warsaw, IN, on the front. It's a kid dressed up like a reindeer, and the nose color matches the purple on the bottle packaging. Nice touch!

Once you pop the cap you are greeted with something fruit-smelling, probably from the grape family. Sweetness is obvious just from the scent. The purple-tinted liquid supports the smell, also sweet, but not overtly so.

The flavor is light and quite hard to place, to be honest. I'd say to most closely parallels a very weak grape soda, but with a cleaner aftertaste. This is a beverage that would probably fall into the lemon-lime category of uses by not being overpowering, thus more appropriate to compliment food.

Jones Soda Sugar Plum Soda
Carbonated water, inverted can sugar, natural and artificial flavors, phosphoric acid, sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate (as preservatives), calcium disodium EDTA (to protect flavor), Red #40, Blue #1

A 12 oz. bottle contains 180 calories, 35 mg sodium, and 44 g carbs (44 g sugars). Caffeine free.

Official Website: JonesSoda.com

Mike Burns, Co-Founder of CanMuseum.com, uncovers some "history rewriting" in his latest look at beverage cans

Coca-Cola has a long tradition of releasing holiday cans. Some years we see their famous Haddon Sundblom Santa Claus who was first introduced on cartons of bottles in 1931. Some years we see the Coca-Cola Polar Bears, having first starred in commercials in 1993 and which Coca-Cola holds as a beloved icon since 1922. This year Coca-Cola partnered with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to raise awareness and money to help "Save the Polar Bears." As part of this campaign, Coca-Cola decided that this year they would put polar bears on their Coca-Cola cans.

Coca-Cola made a public announcement on October 25, 2011, in the United States that beginning in November 2011, they were going to release the Polar Bear can design on their flagship brand, Coca-Cola. To make the cans stand out, they proposed something that had never been done before… make the Coca-Cola cans white.

The release window for these cans was slated to be from November 1, 2011, until February 2012, with 12-pack cases for the 12 oz. (355 mL) size and in 8-packs (with a special red plastic band holding the cans together) for the 7.5 oz. (222 mL) size. The can designs showcased a solid white background with a mother polar bear and two cubs in silver. The polar bears are walking across the silver snow in the Arctic. Not only was the red background turned white, but the white Coca-Cola logo was now red. Both cans display the text, "Protect the Polar Bear's Home. Join us at COKE.COM/ARCTICHOME." The design looks great. It was a very bold move by Coca-Cola to change history by changing the color of their cans.

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Continuing our look at the 2011 Jones Soda Holiday Flavors, after greatly enjoying Ginger Bread Soda, we cast our palettes on Jones Soda Pear Tree Soda.

Pear Tree is a returning flavor from 2008, with a yellowish hue and standard Jones Soda packaging. Our bottle featured a submitted photo (#1199154) by Valerie Collins of Victoria, BC, which showed a festive "Peace" sign in neon.

Unscrew the cap and I'm reminded somewhat of a sparkling apple cider or pear juice. It's light, sweet, fruity. The flavor itself is quite sweet, a tad on the syrupy side (despite being sugar-sweetened). It's quite subdued with a hint of pear flavor. The carbonation keeps it light, which is an experience that continues through the finish. Aftertaste is very clean. I'd classify this flavor along the likes of a lemon-lime drink in that it's just enough flavor to make things interesting, but nothing overwhelming or memorable.

Just like the Ginger Bread Soda, Pear Tree Soda isn't bad, nor is it gross, breaking from the Jones holiday flavor tradition. It may be worth picking up to share at your Christmas parties and family gatherings!

Jones Soda Pear Tree Soda
Carbonated water, inverted can sugar, citric acid, natural and artificial flavor, sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate (as preservative), calcium disodium EDTA (to protect flavor), Yellow #5, Blue #1

A 12 oz. bottle contains 160 calories, 35 mg sodium, and 39 g carbs (39 g sugars). Caffeine free.

Official Website: JonesSoda.com

For 2011, Jones Soda has released 4 "Holiday" flavors, continuing their tradition of special beverages this time of year. You may remember 2010's Bacon Soda, a worthy follow-up to the festive drink that started it all, Turkey & Gravy Soda.

Here at BevReview, we pride ourselves in having covered over 40 Jones Soda holiday soft drink releases since they first appeared; just take a look at our yearly archives: 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, & 2010.

When I attended the NACS Show in October, I not only learned about Jones' return to canned beverages, but also got a chance to chat with CEO Bill Meissner about the company's holiday flavor plans. It would appear the company is playing the game a bit more conservatively this year, with the featured flavors all haven't been previously released. More importantly, none of these drinks are actually gross. I'm going to guess that they'll probably sell more when folks aren't actually vomiting from ham-flavored soft drinks.

Which leads us to Jones Soda Ginger Bread Soda, notably a return of the original Gingerbread Man Soda from 2007. You'll note the slight namechange, dropping the "Man". Also, "Ginger Bread" is now two words, vs. "Gingerbread". Which spelling do you prefer?

This brownish-colored drink comes in a standard Jones bottle, complete with black label design and holiday-themed photos. My bottle photo (#1240721) featured a dog wearing a Santa hat, shot by Paula Herrlich of Seneca, PA. Pop the cap and you are greeted by a welcomed cinnamon-like scent that yes, does hint of gingerbread goodness. As for the taste, it's excellent. One of our testers remarked that the unique flavor would go well with vanilla ice cream, ala root beer float style. There's a pleasant infusion of spices, which is a nice departure in a soft drink, producing something that does seem like a great seasonal fit. On a whim, we mixed this beverage with some Pepsi and it brought back the flavor experience we loved so much with the long-gone Pepsi Holiday Spice (2004). Aftertaste is clean thanks to use of cane sugar, and the hearty flavor and scent really compliment each other quite well. Highly recommended!

Jones Soda Ginger Bread Soda Soda
Carbonated water, inverted can sugar, citric acid, natural flavors, caramel color, phosphoric acid, sodium benzoate (as preservative), gum acadia, potassium sorbate (as preservative), calcium disodium EDTA (to protect flavor)

A 12 oz. bottle contains 180 calories, 35 mg sodium, and 44 g carbs (44 g sugars). Caffeine free.

(Oh, and Pepsi, if you want to bring back Holiday Spice anytime soon, we're all for it. Pepsi Holiday Spice Throwback has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?)

Official Website: JonesSoda.com

Editor's Note: As a fan of Disney animated classics, this look at an Aladdin series of cans put a smile on my face! But I'll let Mike Burns, Co-Founder of CanMuseum.com, tell you more!

Quite often, beverage cans made outside of the United States are quite outstanding. The 1994 Fanta Disney's Aladdin set from Germany is a great example of spectacular can design.

Most people have seen or know of Disney's 31st animated film, Aladdin. It was released nationwide in the United States on November 25, 1992 and made its way over to Germany on November 18, 1993. The story is based on the folktale of "Aladdin and the Magic Lamp" from "One Thousand and One Nights". Disney's Aladdin featured many voice talents, including, Robin Williams, Gilbert Gottfried, and Frank Welker (of Scooby-Doo fame) and went on to win two Academy Awards (among other awards) and spin off into two sequels.

Fanta's Aladdin cans are all made from steel. This means they are sturdier than the aluminum cans of the United States with this thicker material. This helps to avoid denting but also adds to their weight. Steel cans are also magnetic as aluminum cans are not. All of the cans in this set are in full color on a white background and only on the Fanta Orangenlimonade (translated: Orangeade or Orange Soda) flavor. Each can has text that reads, "Film-Sammelmotiv" (translated: Film-motif collection) followed by the number of the can in the set. The artwork on each can looks like it could have been taken from a scene in the movie.

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Mike Burns, Co-Founder of CanMuseum.com, returns with another look at beverage cans

My last can review covered cans for the adult market. This review will take a look at cans marketed to children. Shasta Shortz was a 6-can set from the United States in 2003 with wild colors and crazy candy-like flavors that were made caffeine-free with kids in mind.

Each of the "short" cans was 8 fluid ounces (kid-portioned) and had a full color design of a pair of shorts wrapped around the entire can. The cans were sold in 8-pack boxes, so Shasta was able to focus more on the design and drop things like the volume and nutrition facts. They did add the text "THIS UNIT NOT LABELED FOR INDIVIDUAL SALE" on each of the cans since this key information was missing. This also forced consumers to buy more cans as they could only buy them in bulk. Each can also has its own unique barcode, however, I'm not sure why since the cans weren't sold individually.

The first can we will look at is Cotton Candy. The shorts on this can are pink with red, white and what looks like light pink vertical stripes. The belt and background are both purple. The belt has a thin silver belt buckle and two silver buttons on the fly. On the back, we see the words "SHASTASHORTZ.COM" on the left and there is a barcode designed as the back right pocket.

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The other day a package arrived with some mysterious silver cans. They were adorned with stickers proclaiming that Big Red Zero was inside. Per the attached note, "you are among the first to try Big Red Zero. These silver can samples came from our first production run." Well, that makes us feel rather special, I'll admit. Let's see what this stuff is all about!

Big Red Zero
(Source: Artwork via Big Red; Photo Manipulation by BevReview)

Per Becky Ozuna at Big Red, Big Red Zero will be replacing the current Diet Big Red offering. The press materials state that "we've tweaked our diet formula to bring you the sweet, smooth Big Red taste you know and love… with zero calories."

Diet Big Red vs. Big Red Zero
(Source Images: Big Red. Comparison by BevReview)

When you compare the ingredient lists side-by-side, you'll note there are differences. Probably the most obvious is that while Diet Big Red was artificially sweetened by sucralose and Ace-K, new Big Red Zero features 3 sweeteners: sucralose, Ace-K, and aspartame.

Big Red Zero
Carbonated water, citric acid, natural and artificial flavors, sucralose, sodicum benzoate, caffeine, malic acid, Red 40, acesulfame potassium, aspartame, phosphoric acid, and acacia gum

For a 20 oz. bottle, there are 0 calories, 30 mg sodium, and 0 g carbs (0 g sugars).

Diet Big Red
Carbonated water, sucralose, natural and artificial flavor, caffeine, sodium benzoate, Red 40, malic acid, and acesulfame potassium

For a 20 oz. bottle, there are 0 calories, 50 mg sodium, and 0 g carbs (0 g sugars).

Of course, we've never reviewed Diet Big Red, so unfortunately we are unable to perform a side-by-side flavor test to see which is the preferred taste. No doubt you'll have to discover this on your own.

Production can next to the Beverage Tree

Having been sent production samples, the full artwork and labeling was not in place, though those were provided separately. Through the magic of Photoshop, we've situated a can of Big Red Zero near our famous "Beverage Tree". It looks a lot better than a generic silver can, that's for sure!

Of note is that Zero borrows from the established color of "Zero" drinks that Coke first popularized: black. This is a nice branding improvement from the look/feel of Diet Big Red. It's not exactly innovative, but the message is clearly understood.

Production can samples of Big Red Zero

So that's the market positioning of Big Red Zero. How about the taste? Our original review of high fructose corn syrup-sweetened Big Red described the drink as follows:

Your beginning sip is subdued, but as Big Red washes over your tongue, the extreme sweetness of the drink really stands out. At this point, the bubble gum-ness of the taste becomes apparent as it flows off into a sweet aftertaste. It's syrupy overall, attributed to the non-natural flavor selection and the use of high fructose corn syrup. Overall, the experience is about what you would expect from a red creme soda-type flavor. Very sweet, gum-like, and syrupy.

With this as our basis, I wanted to see how the Zero version compared, especially for those looking to shave calories from their beverage consumption.

The first sip of Zero is pretty much on par with the original. Very sweet. The initial flavor (red creme, bubble gum) was also present. And then that expected artificial sweetener aftertaste kicked in. I'd say it's quite noticeable if you aren't familiar with the taste and texture of diet beverages. If your mouth has already been desensitized to such things, then you are really going to love Big Red Zero, because the flavor profile is pretty accurate. It's the tradeoff you get when you go the diet route, unfortunately (something even the newer stevia-sweetened drinks haven't perfected).

If you are a standard Big Red connoisseur and jump over to Big Red Zero, it may be more shocking for you, as is typically the case with a full calorie vs. no calorie drink comparison. Big Red has such a unique flavor already, so my gut is that we're going to have polar opposites who either love or hate this new rendition. There will be no middle ground.

For a zero calorie drink, Big Red Zero lives up to the name of the original. Heck, it even still packs a lot of caffeine at 3.12 mg/oz. The use of sucralose, Ace-K, and aspartame is hard to miss, but if you can overcome the artificial sweetener perceptions, than you are in for a treat.

Official Website: BigRed.com

Editor's Note: While we typically don't cover the alcoholic beverage market here on BevReview, Mike Burns of CanMuseum.com explains the challenges that can face any brand when a creative idea meets licensing restrictions, poor execution, and public relations backlash.

In 2004, The Miller Brewing Company released an 8-can set in the United States to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Rock Music. To do so, they partnered with Rolling Stone magazine, Fender Guitars, and Napster (remember them?) to feature a diverse group of musicians in rock history. Their goal was to get a representative of different influential artists, styles, and time-periods as best as they could on the cans.

The cans were made, but not without controversy. After all, how can you possibly represent 50 years of rock on 8 cans? Unfortunately, those upset with the cans weren't so because they felt certain artists were passed over, but because they took notice that no black artists were represented.

Miller Brewing Company responded with a public apology and insisted that when they were selecting artists, they did so based on the music business and not on race. In fact, they said they tried to get Jimi Hendrix on a can, but his estate declined participation. A number of other artists of all races also declined participation because they did not want to be associated with beer or alcohol due to their own bad experiences in the past with the beverage.

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Created in 1950, Jarritos is a popular soft drink brand from Mexico. In the late 1980s, importing to the United States began, and it has grown in popularity ever since. Not a surprise, given that Jarritos represents an interesting collection of flavors all sweetened with sugar. Today we pucker our palettes with a sampling of Jarritos Lime.

I live in Chicago, residing in a neighborhood that features an interesting mix of Hispanic and Polish residents, which always makes a trip to the local supermarket one of great cultural interest. It's hard to avoid seeing Jarritos on the store shelves and at local eateries. Back in June, BevReview noted that Jarritos was adding 3 new flavors to their primary product line: Mexican Cola, Mandarin Light, and Tamarind Light.

Jarritos products are available in 1.5 liter plastic bottles, 500 ml plastic bottles, and 370 ml (12.5 oz) glass bottles. Our review covers the glass version, which features the textured word "Jarritos" at the bottom o the next, with a pattern continuing up. The label is a clear sticker affixed to the front and back of the bottle, adorned with attractive callouts such as "Made in Mexico" and "100% Natural Flavor.)

The color is yellow with a tint of green, just slightly more yellow than Mountain Dew. Pop the bottle cap and you are greeted with a clean citrus scent that can't be mistaken for anything other than lime.

As for the flavor, it definitely isn't your standard lemon-lime combination. The drink skews on the lime side heavily (hence the name of the flavor), with a zingy sourness battling it out with a welcomed sweet experience. Overall, it's a pleasant combination of flavors. Nothing earth shattering; simply the way something like this is supposed to taste like. It's lime done right, and probably something that Jones Soda should have followed more closely when they experimented with a Hispanic Lime flavor a few years ago. Big thumbs up for Jarritos Lime!

Jarritos Lime
Carbonated water (water, carbon dioxide), natural sugar, citric acid, natural flavor, sodium benzoate (as preservative), Yellow 5, Blue 1

A 12.5 oz bottle contains 172 calories, 39 mg sodium, and 45 g carbs (45 g sugars). Caffeine free.

Official Website: Jarritos.com