Lilt

Lilt is a British soda with tropical fruit flavors. It has been available in the UK and Ireland since 1975. It pours a cloudy, dull yellow and smells like Fresca. I like Fresca, so that's a good thing. Lilt tastes like Fresca with a hint of pineapple, but the sweetness seems very artificial...like a lollipop. Strangely, it contains both sugar and artificial sweeteners.

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

Carlos Herbal Tea

This box drink caught my eye in the beverage cooler at a bakery in Chinatown. I tried to research it on the internet, but struggled (once again) with the hurdle of a foreign alphabet. Carlos's website has been taken down, but I was able to view this archived version of their site (It looks pretty cool). The graphics on the packaging are pretty cool as well.

I cut open the top of the drink and poured it into a glass (partially because I wanted to see what it looked like, but also because the little straw was missing). The tea is a dark, translucent brown color and it smells like southern-style sweet tea. And it totally tastes like southern-style sweet tea. Weird. It's very sweet. I'm surprised that this is a Chinese product because it tastes so Americanized. The packaging lists many ingredients (in English), but truthfully I don't taste the honeysuckle flower, chrysanthemum, or licorice...it just tastes like sweetened black tea. And it's pretty drinkable. I guess the Georgia-boy in me has a soft spot for overly sweet iced tea.

Carlos Herbal Tea
Is it delicious?: B+
Is it interesting?: C+
Drinkability: A-

Donkey Kong Jungle Juice

I found this can of Donkey Kong Jungle Juice several months ago at Urban Outfitters (of all places). It's made by a company that "designs, manufactures and distributes the world's most creative impulse items". Basically, they make novelty crap. And this is no exception.

I was surprised when I poured the contents of the can into a glass and it was a rosy pink color. (I guess I expected it to be a toxic green color like Surge or something.) You can smell the drink immediately from several feet away. It smells like vomit from Rainbow Brite's belly after having eaten too much bubblegum and cotton candy. And it tastes like liquid Smarties. Seriously. This would be the perfect beverage pairing for a bag full of Halloween candy. Donkey Kong is surely rolling over in his barrel.

Donkey Kong Jungle Juice
Is it delicious?: D
Is it interesting?: C-
Drinkability: D+