joia sodas, hooray!

i don’t do a ton of product reviews on this blog, but when something comes along that really stands out, i like to share it with you, dear readers.  let me start this review by saying that i don’t really like alcoholic beverages.  i’ve tried over the years to like them, but pretty much any boozy beverage (other than some mixed drinks that are mostly fruit juice which i can manage to imbibe, but then almost always realize that i would have liked it better without the booze) just tastes awful to me.  and so, i celebrate interesting sodas.

over the years there have been a few contenders (bottlegreen’s elderflower presse, izze, fizzy lizzy, dry soda, gus…) but in the end, they are all just the same handful of flavors (with the notable exception of the bottlegreen presse and dry soda’s cucumber, lavender, juniper berry and rhubarb flavors) or flavor families:  citrus, cola, ginger ale, fruit juice, cream soda.  generally, a one-note flavor, mostly just sugar and bubbles.  last year, a dear friend of mine discovered joia sodas and brought some to a party.

lime, hibiscus and clove?  i was intrigued.  then i tasted it.  yum.  very different and very layered flavor.  i’ve now tried five of the six flavors and … i like them all!  i haven’t done a side-by-side taste test to pick a favorite yet because i so enjoy savoring them one at a time.  when my friend came to town last week, i asked her to pick up a 4-pack of each of their flavors for me (no local grocery stores carry them here yet.  not sure if that’s a blessing or an annoyance).  i’m looking forward to trying out flavor #6–ginger, apricot and allspice!

*note:  i am not affiliated with joia and did not receive any compensation for this review, although if they need anyone to sample new flavors in development, i’d be happy to volunteer….