A question for American soda/pop/soft drink connoisseurs
18 replies, posted
This shit
[t]http://www.americana.lu/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/c/a/canadadry_can.png[/t]
Some stores here down under will occasionally import American drinks such as Dr Pepper, Cherry Coke, and this (Canada Dry). So my question about this drink is: Do Americans recognise that this drink pretty much tastes just like lemonade, with barely even a whiff of ginger? Or is it normal for American food and drinks to be toned down so heavily?
Like I'm not trying to be a snob, but most ginger ales and ginger beers here will send you recoiling from the spiciness of the ginger, which is excellent. But the whole time I was drinking a can of this, all I can think of was 'this is fucking lemonade'.
[QUOTE=BF;51382518]This shit
[t]http://www.americana.lu/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/c/a/canadadry_can.png[/t]
Some stores here down under will occasionally import American drinks such as Dr Pepper, Cherry Coke, and this (Canada Dry). So my question about this drink is: Do Americans recognise that this drink pretty much tastes just like lemonade, with barely even a whiff of ginger? Or is it normal for American food and drinks to be toned down so heavily?
Like I'm not trying to be a snob, but most ginger ales and ginger beers here will send you recoiling from the spiciness of the ginger, which is excellent. But the whole time I was drinking a can of this, all I can think of was 'this is fucking lemonade'.[/QUOTE]
Canadian Canada Dry seems better, funny enough, though it's not that strong either. People are used to soda being sugary, so that's how they make it.
I don't know why you'd think it tastes like lemonade though :v:
[QUOTE=BF;51382518]Some stores here down under will occasionally import American drinks such as Dr Pepper, Cherry Coke, and this (Canada Dry). So my question about this drink is: Do Americans recognise that this drink pretty much tastes just like lemonade, with barely even a whiff of ginger? Or is it normal for American food and drinks to be toned down so heavily?
Like [b]I'm not trying to be a snob, but most ginger ales and ginger beers here will send you recoiling from the spiciness of the ginger, which is excellent.[/b] But the whole time I was drinking a can of this, all I can think of was 'this is fucking lemonade'.[/QUOTE]
"I'm not trying to be a snob but if people don't like it when their drinks physically hurt them their drinks are toned down" v:v:v
In all seriousness though, I know very few people who drink that shit straight, mostly I see it used in alcoholic drinks. It's also kinda puzzling how you're attributing a drink invented by a Canadian that even has "Canada" in the name to America, unless you're just using it as a general term for North America.
I find that ginger ale here tastes like Sprite with a hint of ginger in it, it's not overwhelming.
Every mass manufactured ginger ale I've had is basically just Sprite. I like to buy independent craft ginger ales, I've found some really good ones and some that are almost too spicy to drink. Canada Dry, Schweppes, and other big manufacturer ones just aren't good.
The vast majority of ginger ale in the US is "dry", which is basically Sprite with a hint of ginger. I like it, it's not as sweet and has a few less calories. Canada Dry is just that, it caught on nicely here and so all of our ginger ale brands do the same thing. The US/Canada variations are not much different; all sodas adjust slightly to regional preferences (west coast and east coast "versions" of the same brand taste a little different) but yeah.
You can find golden ginger ale (called "dark" I think) at the supermarket but it's not served anywhere. I wouldn't bother importing it, nobody here drinks it so it's not really representative of American sodas. Yours is probably better.
It's a good dry ginger ale and a personal favorite soda of mine.
Canada Dry and Schweppes is what most Americans think of ginger ALE, ask for a ginger BEER and more often or not you'll get stuff that's much closer to a spiced ginger soda, like Vernor's or other local brands
It's a weird distinction but most people here in cali think of Ale like a sweet soda while Beer is the more traditional and spice heavy stuff
[QUOTE=Elspin;51382557]"I'm not trying to be a snob but if people don't like it when their drinks physically hurt them their drinks are toned down" v:v:v
In all seriousness though, I know very few people who drink that shit straight, mostly I see it used in alcoholic drinks. It's also kinda puzzling how you're attributing a drink invented by a Canadian that even has "Canada" in the name to America, unless you're just using it as a general term for North America.[/QUOTE]
Not physically hurt you, but just burns your throat. Ginger ales here don't do it as well as ginger beers do, but they still have distinctive ginger notes. I can't taste any ginger in Canada Dry tbh. Like the others have been saying, it's almost exactly like Sprite.
And it was imported from the United States where it was apparently made (the corn syrup in the ingredients hints at that too), not Canada.
[editline]17th November 2016[/editline]
[QUOTE=Snowmew;51382570]The vast majority of ginger ale in the US is "dry", which is basically Sprite with a hint of ginger. I like it, it's not as sweet and has a few less calories. Canada Dry is just that, it caught on nicely here and so all of our ginger ale brands do the same thing. The US/Canada variations are not much different; all sodas adjust slightly to regional preferences (west coast and east coast "versions" of the same brand taste a little different) but yeah.
You can find golden ginger ale (called "dark" I think) at the supermarket but it's not served anywhere. I wouldn't bother importing it, nobody here drinks it so it's not really representative of American sodas. Yours is probably better.[/QUOTE]
All ginger ales here have a gold/brown colour. What colour does Canada Dry have? Clear?
[QUOTE=BF;51382689]Not physically hurt you, but just burns your throat. Ginger ales here don't do it as well as ginger beers do, but they still have distinctive ginger notes. I can't taste any ginger in Canada Dry tbh. Like the others have been saying, it's almost exactly like Sprite.
And it was imported from the United States where it was apparently made (the corn syrup in the ingredients hints at that too), not Canada.
[editline]17th November 2016[/editline]
All ginger ales here have a dark brown colour. What colour does Canada Dry have? Clear?[/QUOTE]
There are two types of ginger ale, the harsher dark brown ginger ale and the "dry" lighter ginger ale that was invented in Canada starting with Canada dry. You could find that out on wikipedia, though. The american bit comes in because virtually all successful drink/snack companies are bought up by major american companies, you could argue that makes them american but I think where they were created/originated from is probably more significant.
[QUOTE=BF;51382518]This shit
[t]http://www.americana.lu/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/c/a/canadadry_can.png[/t]
Some stores here down under will occasionally import American drinks such as Dr Pepper, Cherry Coke, and this (Canada Dry). So my question about this drink is: Do Americans recognise that this drink pretty much tastes just like lemonade, with barely even a whiff of ginger? Or is it normal for American food and drinks to be toned down so heavily?
Like I'm not trying to be a snob, but most ginger ales and ginger beers here will send you recoiling from the spiciness of the ginger, which is excellent. But the whole time I was drinking a can of this, all I can think of was 'this is fucking lemonade'.[/QUOTE]
no idea where you're getting lemonade from but canada dry is a very mild ginger ale even as far as we're concerned. dry ginger ale is generally pretty pretty mild
also it's actually a canadian product, not american. hence the name. plus americans generally just use ginger ale to mask the flavor of cheap gin, not many people just drink it
[QUOTE=BF;51382518]This shit
[t]http://www.americana.lu/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/c/a/canadadry_can.png[/t]
Some stores here down under will occasionally import American drinks such as Dr Pepper, Cherry Coke, and this (Canada Dry). So my question about this drink is: Do Americans recognise that this drink pretty much tastes just like lemonade, with barely even a whiff of ginger? Or is it normal for American food and drinks to be toned down so heavily?
Like I'm not trying to be a snob, but most ginger ales and ginger beers here will send you recoiling from the spiciness of the ginger, which is excellent. But the whole time I was drinking a can of this, all I can think of was 'this is fucking lemonade'.[/QUOTE]
[IMG]https://joytourandtravel.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/vernors.jpg[/IMG]
This stuff is the best but it's only available in Michigan and Indiana afaik.
[editline]17th November 2016[/editline]
You want recoil, this shit will give you recoil
[QUOTE=The_J_Hat;51383213][IMG]https://joytourandtravel.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/vernors.jpg[/IMG]
This stuff is the best but it's only available in Michigan and Indiana afaik.
[editline]17th November 2016[/editline]
You want recoil, this shit will give you recoil[/QUOTE]
There's an American imports store around my area. Might go for a drive tomorrow and see if they stock that.
man that sounds disappointing, what's the point of drinking ginger beer if it doesn't taste like ginger :v:
used to be a guy at my school who brewed alcoholic ginger beer and that shit was great, but bunderburg definitely hits the mark for nice gingerbeer
[QUOTE=The_J_Hat;51383213][IMG]https://joytourandtravel.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/vernors.jpg[/IMG]
This stuff is the best but it's only available in Michigan and Indiana afaik.
l[/QUOTE]
It's available everywhere, we have it in california
It's owned by Dr Pepper so it's a big brand
Yeah, most of the common flavored stuff you find in the states is blatantly not-actually-[insert flavor]-flavored, and sugared up to fuck. Especially in the case of shit that would normally have a gingery, sour, bitter, or otherwise un-American taste. Fortunately, however, if you know what you're looking for, and are willing to spend an extra buck, you can usually find a more authentic version within the same aisle.
[QUOTE=Pitchfork;51383625]Yeah, most of the common flavored stuff you find in the states is blatantly not-actually-[insert flavor]-flavored, and sugared up to fuck. Especially in the case of shit that would normally have a gingery, sour, bitter, or otherwise un-American taste. Fortunately, however, if you know what you're looking for, and are willing to spend an extra buck, you can usually find a more authentic version within the same aisle.[/QUOTE]
Reminds me of another American drink that I tried, A&W root beer. Except I could taste more of the added vanilla flavouring than the damn root beer itself. Schweppes, Kirks, Bundaberg and I think Saxby's all sell a similar Sarsaparilla thing here, but none of them put any kind of vanilla flavouring in it I don't think. I know for sure that Schweppes and Kirks don't.
Do major American producers think that American consumers aren't adventurous or they don't have taste buds, or are most Americans really not adventurous or don't have taste buds?
[QUOTE=BF;51383719]Reminds me of another American drink that I tried, A&W root beer. Except I could taste more of the added vanilla flavouring than the damn root beer itself. Schweppes, Kirks, Bundaberg and I think Saxby's all sell a similar Sarsaparilla thing here, but none of them put any kind of vanilla flavouring in it I don't think. I know for sure that Schweppes and Kirks don't.
Do major American producers think that American consumers aren't adventurous or they don't have taste buds, or are most Americans really not adventurous or don't have taste buds?[/QUOTE]
I'd love to try other countries soft drinks as an American. I love soda in general but I know it tastes different elsewhere and I'd love to try it myself.
[QUOTE=BF;51383719]Reminds me of another American drink that I tried, A&W root beer. Except I could taste more of the added vanilla flavouring than the damn root beer itself. Schweppes, Kirks, Bundaberg and I think Saxby's all sell a similar Sarsaparilla thing here, but none of them put any kind of vanilla flavouring in it I don't think. I know for sure that Schweppes and Kirks don't.
Do major American producers think that American consumers aren't adventurous or they don't have taste buds, or are most Americans really not adventurous or don't have taste buds?[/QUOTE]
they're after the broadest market, and even the most adventurous palates enjoy a safe and simple comfort food every once in a while.
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