Kas Limón

Kas is a Spanish soft drink that is produced by PepsiCo. It's available in several flavors (lemon, orange, grapefruit, apple, and "bitter") and is used primarily as a mixer. I, however, drank my Kas straight...a virgin Kas. The color is slightly yellow and quite cloudy, like pear juice, but very carbonated. It smells like lemon zest. It has a strong flavor of real lemon juice. Tart and refreshing. Not too sweet. It's kind of similar to San Pellegrino Aranciata.



If you want to see a photo of a can of Kas featuring Darth Maul, click here.

Kas Limón
Is it delicious?: B
Is it interesting?: C+
Drinkability: B

p.s. Kas apparently used to have some advertisements with overtly sexual overtones, which might explain why this man appears to be feeding Kas to a woman's breasts:

Orval

Orval is one of the seven Trappist breweries where world-class beer is brewed by monks. I've only tried a few Trappist ales, but from what I understand, Orval is one of the more distinctive ones (mostly due to the local, wild Brettanomyces yeast used during maturation).

The beer pours with an enormous off-white head and a slightly hazy copper color. The haziness may be attributed to the active yeast in the bottle (or maybe it was just my bad pour). It has a peculiar, soapy scent...maybe with a hint of butterscotch? That peculiar smell is definitely a component of the flavor too. There's a bit of a sour note to this beer, similar to a Lambic. The flavor seems to die off rather quickly, leaving you with just a bitter aftertaste. I've got to say, I had high expectations for this beer and it's rather disappointing. Kinda makes me wonder if something went wrong with this bottle.

Orval
Is it delicious?: C-
Is it interesting?: B-
Drinkability: C

From the Mailbag

Dear Cool Bre.ws,

Last night while in the beverage section of my local grocery store, a question came to mind about your routine as beverage tester, taster and reviewer.
When you sample a beverage do you consume the entire thing, or just let a few sips do the job? If so, have there ever been any beverages that you just couldn't finish?

How does this all work?

Sincerely,
A Devoted Reader and Dedicated Drinker

Devoted Reader,

Great Question!
If a beverage comes in a reasonably sized vessel or is not resealable and is worthy, I will generally drink the whole thing. I always start my review before I take the first sip. But, sometimes I finish the review about halfway through the beverage and spend the other half just enjoying it. For some beverages, there's a big difference between drinking it and drinking it while reviewing it. The reviews I did for Olive Juice and the barrell-aged Goose Island Stout come to mind. Some beverages are so complex that they're fascinating to analyze, but if you were to hand that same beverage to someone and ask "What do you think of this?" they'd probably gag.

And to answer your other question...yes, their have been several beverages I couldn't finish. Romi's Yogurt Drink, Coco Loto, and a few more that I haven't posted yet.

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for reviews of a "baked style" yogurt drink, a delicious imperial pilsner, and an energy drink called "Jungle Juice".

Cheers!
Jeff