[Radio7]

My favorite soda of all time used to be Schweppes diet raspberry ginger ale. In the early-to-mid-90's I sucked it down daily. A proud addict I was

However, I soon found that the product was no longer stocked on Canadian shelves. Here and there I'd find a can, but the well ran dry near the end of the decade.

I've not seen it since.
So, my question to you all is, does this beverage still exist? Perhaps only in limited marketing areas? Am I the only person who loved this stuff?
If anyone can answer these crucial questions , I know the worldly EG'ers can.

Thanks,
R.

[phaelon56]

I think.... not absolutely sure but think.... it may be available in North Jersey but only in 2 liter bottles. I know they have the regular raspberry ginger ale. What really rocks and is definitely on the shelves in North Jersey is Schweppes Diet Dry Grape Ginger Ale. Have you tried that one?

[Kim WB]

I'm a fan of this as well, and it is hard to find. Even regular diet is hard to find in cans...I'm able to get the diet raspberry in 2L bottles in central NJ. I'm a diet coke addict, and this drinking the diet raspberry made me feel virtuous, considering my massive caffeine intake from that habit.

[bigbear]

HomeTownFavorites stocks the regular. If you ask, maybe they can get the diet.

"Our product selection is based on customer request; you tell us what you can't find, we will try to carry."

[hillbill]

Cadbury Beverages Canada Inc
200 Matheson Boulevard West
Suite 101
Mississauga
L5R 3L7
Ontario
Canada

tel: +1 905 712 4121
fax: +1 905 712 8635

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[Radio7]

Thanks guys, glad to hear I'm not the only fan!

Phaelon, no I haven't tried dryGrape, but it sounds fabulous. Not too sweet but crisp and refreshing, I'd imagine.

I'm moving to the U.S. this weekend, as it happens, so I'll keep my eyes peeled out there.

Thanks for the heads-up, Bigbear. As cool as the soda-ordering dotcoms are, I just cant justify paying big prices for unique flavours shipped to my home. Its student poverty!

It is SO true, Kim, that diet soda of almost any kind is hard to find. Its some sort of sugar conspiracy I suppose. I really dislike the high-sweet taste of regular pop, I find it overwhelming. As a kid I drank coke, but since my teens my sweet tooth has mysteriously gone away for the most part. Although alot of my taste preferences changed around then.

In a similar vein, what an odd niche market it must be that the new mid-calorie sodas are being sold to. What is the point? It seems simple: go regular or go diet, it's not a life-or-death quandry. If someone were that worried about the specific caloric content - if soda is the primary source of one's diet woes; some re-jigging of personal eating habits in general would be in order.

~Radio

[lancastermike]

I certainly remember the raspberry ginger ale. I went to store tonight and checked out the soda aisle. Cranberry seems to be the flavor these days for ginger ale as their was a diet and regular cranberry ginger ale but no raspberry of any kind.

[Roger Troutman]

lancastermike, on May 14 2004, 06:35 PM, said:

I certainly remember the raspberry ginger ale. I went to store tonight and checked out the soda aisle. Cranberry seems to be the flavor these days for ginger ale as their was a diet and regular cranberry ginger ale but no raspberry of any kind.

The cranberry ginger ale is very good.

[slyaspie]

So I've been trying tons of different diet sodas lately, because I'm addicted to the carbonation but can't take the syrupy sweetness of regular soda anymore.

The other day I picked up A&W's Diet Cream Soda "Sparkling Vanilla", and it is really, really good, especially if you put a squeeze of lemon in it. It foams really nicely and the yucky aspartame aftertaste is zero, or pretty damn near. I'm so excited about it that I had to share...yes I'm a nerd...:)

I know that you guys have been talking about the mid calorie sodas in another thread, but i haven't seen one for favorite diet sodas, so if I'm not repeating the topic, which ones do you like?

Hansen's diet sodas are really good (not all of them though), as is Schweppes.

also, on another note, have any of you had R.W. Knudsen sodas? They are my favorite (along with S. Pellegrino), and they have two really good flavors, tangerine, and Jamaican Lemonade, they are wonderful and more natural than most sodas.

[phaelon56]

I find the aspartame aftertaste to be a problem in nearly all diet sodas although when I drink soda I usually stick to diet.

Unadulterated my current favorites are A&W ir IBC diet Rot Beer and also diet Dr. Pepper. Diet Pepsi actually tastes pretty good if you add about an ounce or so of cranberry juice to a glass full. It adds a slightly fruity note and somehow the cranberry cuts that edgy aspartame aftertaste. Cranberry is high in sugar but an oucne of it doesn't add many calories.

[JAZ]

I haven't thought about this in months, but about a year ago, I tried Diet Cricket soda, a green tea and cola hybrid, and was pleasantly surprised at how good it was. Here's a link to a thread on the brand and my thoughts on the diet version.

Really, I'm so used to drinking Diet Coke that the bitterness doesn't bother me -- in fact, I sort of like it. It's the same with diet tonic -- the extra bitterness is not a problem.

As for other sodas, I find that diet root beers in general tend to be more like regular than any other category.

[jetsie]

Has anyone found any decent diet sodas made with Splenda? I just tried Diet Rite, and found it overly sweet, with a freaky sweet aftertaste that stuck to my tongue for 15 minutes.

[phaelon56]

Not yet. I think that for some of us there's an inherent cloying quality to the sweetness that Splenda creates but it may be just that the manufacturers need to throttle back the sweetness a bit. Awhile back I got in the habit of ensuring that I always had some Edy's "no sugar added" ice cream on hand for a diabetic friend who visits periodically. It was pretty good stuff (the Butter Pecan flavor) and I started eating some of it myself (can't let it expire ). Recently their lable started touting the fact "Now sweetened with Splenda". I'm reasonably sure they used to use Nutrasweet. The new stuff is almost too sweet to be edible. The Splenda has radically altered the character of what was a pretty good sugar freeproduct. It appears to be the same problem with sodas.

[Yasmin]

Diet Vanilla Pepsi is really good too, other than the A&W Diet Cream Soda is my favorite also.

[KatieM]

If I got Diet Coke intravenously, it wouldn't be enough. My mom never let us have "pop" with sugar in it, so we could only ever have diet. As a result, diet tastes normal to me, and ones with real sugar make me ill. Also, I am quite prone to addictions (of the legal kind), so it's actually lucky that Diet Coke is the only vice I have right now. Well, and chocolate. But that's more normal. I'm intrigued by this Sparkling Vanilla stuff, though. Sounds awesome! Oh, and I love Fresca. Also Diet Squirt, which is practically the same thing, but you can't find it out here (in B'more). Diet IBC rocks. Especially when it's out of a frosty mug like at Cracker Barrel.

[andiesenji]

I tried Diet Rite cola with a squeeze of lemon juice and another with a squeeze of lime juice.
It helped a lot. The Raspberry is okay as is.

[bsan]

I don't go for the diet sodas because of the taste that it leaves in your mouth. I tend to stay away from the diet sodas and go for the regular carbonated beverages.

[ColaFan]

There is a product line called "White T". They do have reviews on BevBet. They have a Diet Peach made with Spenda and it tastes great.
Problem is that it's hard to find.

[laniloa]

I like Stewart's diet root beer much better then IBC. I think it has less of an aftertaste and tastes truer to the original.

[bergerka]

1. Fresca!

2. Diet IBC root beer (if you say "cream soda" to me, I will gag. I swear I will. Sam thinks it's hilarious).

3. Diet Coke, caffeinated or non.

I actually have found I can't drink regular soda anymore, because I find it too sweet.

K

[stdonova]

I recently found out that if you are getting your soda from a fountain that if you fill the cup most of the way with Diet Pepsi, but put in about an inch or so of regular Pepsi, it really cuts the artificially sweet taste. I love this. It's even better than regular Pepsi.

It works with Coke too, but for some reason I think Pepsi is better for this trick.

I guess that's the idea between those new C2 drinks, but I like mixing my own at the fountain. If you're having a stressful day, maybe you add a little more "real" soda to cheer yourself up.

Or you could end up making the classic 12-year old girl's drink mixing a little bit of everything from the fountain - we called it a "suicide".

[phaelon56]

bergerka, on Aug 3 2004, 04:46 AM, said:

1. Fresca!

2. Diet IBC root beer (if you say "cream soda" to me, I will gag. I swear I will. Sam thinks it's hilarious).

3. Diet Coke, caffeinated or non.

I actually have found I can't drink regular soda anymore, because I find it too sweet.

K

Apparently we are on a similar wavelength soda-wise

1) Fresca rules. It's even better with about an ounce or so of cranberry to top off a tall glass of Fresca with ice. If only they made Diet Ting my world would be complete

2) I'm not only with you on Diet IBC root beer (A&W's diet is not too bad but doesn't compare) but cream Soda is an abomination and must violate some fundamental rule of nature. I'm certain of that.

3) 2 out of 3 ain't bad. Diet Pepsi, Diet Coke - ho hum to all the diet cola's - the wtwo are markedly different but I"m nto a big fan of either 0although the Cokek does beat the Pepsi).

[mpav]

Pepsi One gets my vote for diet colas, but overall I'm mad about Canada Dry Diet Ginger Ale. Crisp, not sweet, refreshing.

[bergerka]

Dudes, I just had a Diet Orange Slice with lunch...it was DELICIOUS. Who knew???? WAY better than Diet Sunkist, more orangey and less aspartame taste.

K

[viva]

phaelon56, you can't have Diet Ting, because the sugar rush is what it's all about! I got hooked on the vodka & Tings in Jamaica. Refreshing!

[JAZ]

stdonova, on Aug 3 2004, 03:51 AM, said:

I recently found out that if you are getting your soda from a fountain that if you fill the cup most of the way with Diet Pepsi, but put in about an inch or so of regular Pepsi, it really cuts the artificially sweet taste. I love this. It's even better than regular Pepsi.

I do everything in my power not to drink anything from a fountain. Not only is the carbonation almost always screwed up, the proportions of syrup to water can vary dramatically. But I know a lot of people who use the mostly-diet-with-a-splash-of-regular trick.

[Libationgoddess]

Ting. OH. El Rey de soda.... I keep 2 bottles in the fridge at all times. I'm currently on Atkins, but in case of emergency, break glass....

I just can't get through diet sodas because of the aftertaste, and am growing fonder of flavored seltzers. But I am curious on anyones thoughts
about Equal and Splenda....I did a blind tasting last week with a friend; diluted 1 packet each to 1 ounce of water. Equal won, hands down....

What is your preference?

[CtznCane]

I'm trying to curb my soda intake and go for the diet stuff. A friend recommended Diet Rite because they use splenda and I liked it. Never looked to see what Fresca uses but that has always been a refereshing drink though I'm not big on the grapefruit taste.

The worst I've tried however is Diet Pepsi and I like regular Pepsi. Absolutely no taste to it at all I thought.

[Chrisser]

bsan, on Aug 2 2004, 12:47 PM, said:

I don't go for the diet sodas because of the taste that it leaves in your mouth. I tend to stay away from the diet sodas and go for the regular carbonated beverages.

And you're okay with enjoying 12 teaspoons of sugar in your system as well? If for nothing else, do diet for your TEETH.

[the queneau]

phaelon56, on Jul 16 2004, 12:20 PM, said:

Diet Pepsi actually tastes pretty good if you add about an ounce or so of cranberry juice to a glass full. It adds a slightly fruity note

Really? Adding fruit juice adds a slightly fruity note?

Who woulda thunk it.



Anyway, it's Diet Irn Bru for wee me all the whey. Made from mini-girders, apparently.