I was contacted recently to see if I would be interested in sampling Spindrift sodas which are billed as A Fresh Take on Sodas.  Now, I am not a soda drinker, and if I have a couple a year that’s a lot for me – so I was a bit apprehensive at first.  I did a bit of research and Spindrift did indeed appear to be more of an adult-type soda made from real fruit juice.  So then I began to wonder, how would these be different than the other seltzer and juice blends out there?  Well, let me tell you that Spindrift most definitely proves that not all sodas are created equally.  I was lucky enough to sample the entire product portfolio and let me tell you that just when you think you’ve found your favorite, the next flavor combination blows you away.  That being said, I have rarely come across a product where I loved all of the flavors…until now.

The first thing you notice when you pick up a bottle is that there are actually real ingredients that you can recognize on the label – not to mention real squeezed fruit juice and crushed berries (no concentrate here).  The second thing you’ll notice is that when you unscrew each cap there is the Web address for one of the company’s environmental partners that works to preserve water resources.  The third and quite possibly most important thing you’ll notice is the taste.  Now this might be hard to imagine but take everything you have come to expect from a soda, fruit spritzer, or flavored water.  Did you gather up those memories?  Good.  Now throw them away because Spindrift changes everything.

The first flavor that I tried was the Half & Half – half lemonade, half iced tea, complete with ¼ fresh squeezed lemon.  This flavor was a real stand out.  It instantly transported me back to my school days in Germany where a major manufacturer used to make something that tasted exactly like this – a lemony, sparkling ice-tea with lemon.  This flavor was the perfect balance of rich tea paired with the tart, real lemon juice, in a perfectly effervescent base.

Next up was the Cranberry Raspberry.  This one contains sixteen raspberries, nine cranberries, and a hint of fresh squeezed lemon juice.  The sweetness of the raspberries is perfectly balanced with the tart cranberry flavor and the lemon juice helps give it just the right amount of tangy kick.

The Grapefruit flavor was a particular standout because it tasted exactly like it had just been freshly squeezed and made to order – and it should because there’s ¼ of a grapefruit in each bottle.  It was wonderfully sour (in the good grapefruit way) with just a subtle hint of sweetness from the evaporated cane juice.

Mango Orange was the next in line and was a flavor powerhouse.  The fresh orange juice was paired with a rich Alphonso mango purée that really let the mango flavor shine through.  If you like mango that this flavor is definitely for you because I cannot think of another mango soda that even comes close to this one.

Continuing my way through the flavor portfolio, the Blackberry flavor was next.  This one had a crushed blackberry purée that was perfectly tart and sweet as a good blackberry flavor should be.  It was paired with fresh squeezed lemon juice that helped to elevate and bring out the tartness of the berries.

The final flavor was the Lemonade that touts ¾ fresh squeezed lemon and one-third fresh squeezed lime.  This is a terrifically tart lemonade where the fresh squeezed lemon juice is the star.  The subtle hint of lime helps take this lemonade to the next level.

So, Spindrift will definitely change your perception on soda and provides a guilt-free option for when you want to get your soda fix on.  I know that I will definitely be adding these to my beverage repertoires and I am looking forward to trying them as mixers paired with my favorite spirits.

You can learn more about Spindrift on their Web site where you can also order online and have their sodas delivered directly to your door.  You can also find them on Twitter and Facebook.