Boylan Cane Cola

Boylan Bottling Company
Cane Cola

Normally, I'm a Coke Zero drinker, but if it's not available, I'll drink Coke or Pepsi, so long as it's not the diet versions.  Basically, I like cola. 

 

Usually, that means whatever is on sale at the grocery store. 

When I want to indulge, however, and we're shopping at The Italian Centre, we pick up some Boylan Soda.  It's more expensive at about $1.66 (plus deposit) for a 355ml bottle, and comes in a variety of flavours.  Black cherry, ginger ale, cream soda, birch beer, orange, grape, and basic cane cola - the cane referring to the type of sugar used to sweeten it.  Now, I don't particularly care whether the sugar came from cane or beets.  If anything, I lean toward beet sugar, since I'm from Manitoba, which has a fairly large sugar beet industry, and I like to support local industry.

No matter.  Sugar is sugar, and personally, I can't tell the difference in taste.  In many ways, Boylan Soda reminds me of the Pic a Pop of my childhood.  

Boylan Soda touts itself as "vintage soda pop," and we've worked our way through all the flavours available locally since discovering the brand. It's a family owned business that's been in operation since 1891.  The Cane Cola ingredients list is refreshingly short.  Carbonated water.  Cane sugar.  Natural flavours.  Colour.  Phosphoric acid.  Caffeine - from coffee (where else does one get caffeine from?  I'd never really thought of that before.)

But is it any good?

In a word, yes.

The Cane Cola has that cola taste without the harsh, tinny bite the big name versions have.  It's smooth and creamy, without tasting like over sugared crack.  This is a cola even Spindle likes, and she has never liked cola.  Her sister prefers the Birch Beer and they both really like the Ginger Ale.  I like the Black Cherry, but my preference is the Cane Cola.   

If you can find it, give it a try.

MASH, ripe mango & blood orange

Hey, do you remember the first time you picked up a bottle of Jones Soda? I do. I was in my early adolescent years and, being from the boonies, I wasn't familiar with a huge variety of sodas in general. I remember thinking that the photos on the labels were a really cute idea, and I was taken by the laid-back-dude element in the product descriptions.

Since then, I have become far more cynical. The point is that it was my introduction to beverages that like to talk to you, the viewer. They want to win you over with a friendly, chatty image, like the vitamin water that goes off on a tangent about work-outs and sick-days and breakfast with orange juice. MASH seems at first to be running with the same gimmick but oh, oh no. This drink is feisty.

"MASH was conceived with everyone in mind, taking all that's good from a number of well-liked beverages."

It says, and I raise an eyebrow. A number of well-liked beverages, huh?

"It's not 100% juice, it's not soda-pop. nor will you get vitamins or energy from it (we still believe in getting a good night's sleep and eating your vegetables)."

Really. You can almost hear the "Unlike those OTHER guys" muttered sidelong.

"But you will love its natural fruit essence and its very light sweetness (and low calories!). So whatever you do or study, MASH is for you... when you're looking for something to drink other than water (water water, that is)."

I'll love no matter what I study? Sweet! I'm always looking for a drink that isn't at odds with my perusal of Chaucer.

But seriously, MASH, there's a point where you can just get too colloquial... "Water water"? Really? It makes me imagine a room full of marketing experts trying to figure out how they can snark their competitors whilst retaining that Casual, Down To Earth tone that the kids are into these days.

But you're probably tired of my nitpicking.... How is the drink itself?

Boring. Sorry. It's sugary and carbonated to a degree that had all three of us comparing it to lemon candy. Maybe focus more on the blood-orange than the prose next time, MASH?

George's Good Drink mango hibiscus & vanilla

George's Good Drink Hibiscus & Vanilla Mango Tea is part of that fascinating branch of beverage culture. You know, the one that splashes 'ALL NATURAL' around its label as though it were an Olympic medal, uses nice understated colours and a self-consciously vintage, quirky design... their little cartoon man (an arrow helpfully naming him as the titular 'George') assuring you that this is, indeed, a good drink. It knows it's audience is what I'm saying.

Is it a Good Drink, though?

Yup.

It has a light, fruity scent and a crisp flavour. The mango is evident, the floral and vanilla flavours slightly less so, and it has an unusually clean finish that led me to conclude part way through tasting that this is what flavoured waters are trying to be. As someone who waters down her fruit-juices on a regular basis, I have some issues with most flavoured waters. They're going for 'light and clean' and somehow fall flat in the territory of 'indistinguishable and sugary'. This, however, pulls it off. It's nice and refreshing with hardly an aftertaste of which to speak. Give a try if you're looking for a thirst quencher.

Sanpellegrino Chinotto

I vaguely remembered having something of Sanpellegrino brand before and being... none too impressed. It's a very popular drink in the cafés and groceries around my city, but I've been avoiding it.

Until now, dear readers. Oh, the things I sacrifice in the name of journalism...

I kid. Either my memory is faulty or there's a horrible flavour into which I'll run someday and tell you all about and this isn't it. All talk of "Citrus" and "Herbal" aside, this drink tastes rather like bubblegum. It has a pleasant dark red-brown colour and a hint of dessert spices, definitely a unique beverage. Not to mention that the label and can design is just lovely. It's a tad sweet for me, but I'd recommend giving it try.

Club.Malz malt beverage

Ah, another non-alcoholic malt beverage! This time in an adorable wee bottle! How does it compare to our last brush with the type? ...Not extremely well. A lot of the elements of the Tiger Malt are there, making this a shorter review, but in place of the Tiger's thick, creamy molasses taste we have a sharp, hollow, carbonated sweetness. Losing the richness but maintaining the ever-so-slightly burnt aftertaste. Not a good trade, if you ask me. Skip it unless you're collecting bottle caps!

Kirin Ichiban

Place: Kyoto

Cost: About five dollars.

This is something I'd been meaning to try for a while. I'd never had a Japanese beer, and the label is just beautiful. When I finally got around to it, I was presented with this light, golden brew in a bottle of unusually thin glass. Upon tasting it...

all right, I admit that I'm not very keen on light beers in general. I gravitate toward dark, smooth and flavourful. So my first impression was of acidic tastelessness that hit the back of my tongue with a certain hostility and lingered there with obstinacy. It got better once I was a few bites into my meal (Chirashi, delicious.) and I detected the tiniest notes of other, mellow flavours hanging around, but I found them to be drowned out by that overbearing non-flavour that seems ubiquitous in light beers. And Guinness.

And "One of the world's most unique premium beers" as it says on the label? No, sorry. Also, there are no degrees of uniqueness. But I digress.

I'd recommend it if you like the general type, but drink it with food and drink it cold.

Planters Punch

Lazia

under $5

The girls and I headed out for a late evening nosh at one of our favourite restaurants.  One of the handy things about Lazia being within walking distance of home is that it allows me to try something alcoholic and not have to be concerned about driving, later. 

This drink was one of their specials of the day; a mixture of tropical fruit juices, grenadine and rum.  Sadly, it was quite dark and my camera just wouldn't focus on the glass at all, so this picture was the best I could do.  It's quite a pretty little drink.  Unlike the mojito I'd tried during our last visit, I could actually taste the rum over the other flavours.  It was really quite a refreshing drink, with just the right combination of fruitiness, grenadine sweetness and rum.  Definitely one worth ordering again!