I Tried Spindrift's 5 New Sodas and One Flavor Blew Me Away
Sparkling water aficionados are already familiar with Spindrift's line of delicious, made-with-real-juice offerings, but the company just released a line of soda drinks that might change your life (or at least, your soda habits). The five new flavors (Concord Freeze, Ginger Ale, Orange Cream Float, Shirley Temple, and Strawberry Shortcake), each contain 20% real fruit juice (no concentrate!) and fewer than 8g of naturally occurring sugar. No stevia, no additives, no bad ingredients, no guilt—just freshly-squeezed fruit, no concentrate.
"The origin of Spindrift SODA came from a simple question: could we take our way of making real ingredient beverages—which we have mastered over the last 15 years—and take it to its most extreme?" says Bill Creelman, founder of Spindrift Beverage Company. "The answer is 'yes,' and it's delicious. Spindrift SODA is our most ambitious product to date. There's nearly 3/4 of an orange in every can of Orange Cream Float! For the first time, Drifters can enjoy bold soda flavor without compromising on ingredients. I'm incredibly proud of the work we put into our new soda, and frankly, I'm blown away by the results."
I taste-tested all five flavors to see how they stack up, and one in particular is so good I don't think I can ever be without it. Read on to find out!
Strawberry Shortcake
It was love at first sip with the Strawberry Shortcake flavor, which Spindrift describes as a "decadent dessert soda with 0g added sugar and no engineered sweeteners." This soda has a lovely subtle strawberry/apple taste with a hint of citrus, isn't overly sweet, and has a beautiful creamy aftertaste thanks to the vanilla. Think "dirty soda" but with a fresh clean taste.
Shirley Temple
The Shirley Temple soda is interesting—I was underwhelmed with the first sip, but it actually has a really pleasant aftertaste. This cherry citrus flavor tastes strongly like pomegranate and has a light, soft, bubbly mouthfeel, and by the second and third sip I could really pick up on the slight hint of apple. Tart but in a subtle, enjoyable way.
Orange Cream Float
The Orange Cream Float flavor is delightful: Think of the orange vanilla soda of your dreams, elevated with slight tartness and without the overwhelming sweetness of the original. There's layers and complexity to this flavor thanks to the perfect combination of lime, orange, and vanilla, and I had to double check that all this flavor was coming through with just a few simple ingredients.
Concorde Freeze
The first thing that came to mind when trying this flavor was, hello, it's delicious—and second, it's so familiar. Grape soda was a staple for those of us growing up in the 90s, and it's been years since I've had any—so this really felt like a treat, but totally guilt-free. The Concorde Freeze is a very nice take on old-fashioned grape sodas, and I can see both kids and adults going crazy for it.
Ginger Ale
Ok, this drink has officially earned a permanent spot in my fridge—it's seriously incredible. The Ginger Ale flavor is zippy, bright, slightly sour and thoroughly addictive, with a sparkly mouth feel and fresh aftertaste. There's something very nostalgic about that immediate hit of lime, reminiscent of summer vacation, long hot sunny days, the beach, and those childhood Slushies that were delicious but terrible for us. Mark my words—this flavor is going to sell like gangbusters once the weather heats up and people are craving tart, refreshing beverages. It would also make an outstanding mixer for alcoholic drinks. Ridiculously good.
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