fivestarsoda

History: We know. The name. You’re curious about the name, right? Cream pop? Sure. Creamsicle? Yup. Orange Drömsicle? What the F is that?!? Don’t worry, we got you. According to Boots Beverages National Director, Kim Joiner, the name ties into the roots of the Bryan, Texas-based family business. “Mark Kristen’s grandfather, Ambrose (pictured on the Sarsaparilla bottle) came over from Germany in 1862. Ambrose purchased the bottling company in February 1930.” Apparently in Germany they enjoy drömsicles. But don’t panic, everyone. This indeed is an orange cream soda. In fact, it is designed with “ultra creaminess” in mind. Joiner tells us this is the closest Boots Beverages could get to an orange cream flavor without literally putting dairy in the soda. She doesn’t pull punches when we ask what the idea behind the concept was, adding they wanted to “create the best tasting orange soda” on the market. The flavor was launched in October of 2016 as part of the second five flavors the company launched. We’ve reviewed a couple from the first round if you wanna take a peek. If you’re looking for a culinary pairing for orange drömsicle, Joiner suggests a light protein like fish or to just go all in and enjoy it with ice cream. For the more adventurous, try it with champagne poured over the top and drink in the sophistication.

Where to get: Boots Beverages Store • Summit City Soda • Soda Emporium • Antiqology

Nose: Creamy orange, huge vanilla notes, dreamsicle, orange popsicle, those little childhood fake orange drink barrels, orange popsicles. The smell on this is divine. If the taste is anywhere as good as the smell, I may slip into something more comfortable…

Taste: Tangy orange zest, orange popsicles, mild vanilla. The vanilla swirls around the other flavors like a Texas tornado. It becomes more prominent as you continue drinking the soda. The orange is tangy and refreshing right off the bat, with an authentic punch. The flavors in orange drömsicle sway back and forth between zesty orange juice with smooth, mild vanilla and candy orange popsicle with bold, velvety vanilla cream. Superb.

Finish: Mild vanilla tails off, leaving a taste of light, earthy orange zest that lingers.

Rating: This is one of the best orange cream sodas on the craft soda market. It’s orange and vanilla exquisiteness. You won’t want to stop after you start drinking this, and there’s a few reasons. The flavors are familiar, but complex. Comfortable, but challenging. Refreshing, yet bold. We can’t think of anything wrong with this is what we’re saying. The way the flavors develop as you drink it is what takes orange drömsicle to the next level. Boots Beverages carefully crafted this soda in a way that mixes flavors of your childhood and adulthood. On the arrival, the orange half of the equation tastes fresh and ripe floating along a vanilla river. As you continue drinking, the orange transforms into more of a candy popsicle taste and the vanilla becomes creamier and bolder in flavor. I love the way this evolves. It’s tangy, creamy and has just the right amount of zip on it. When a soda can make you smile, it’s done its job. Boots Beverages will likely always be most known for their masterful coconut cream soda, but orange drömsicle proves there’s a new sheriff in town.

History: Oogave’s Horchata is a interesting bottle of flavor to welcome us back to the craft soda game after nearly a year-long sabbatical. To our knowledge, they’re the only company in the world besides Rocketfizz (and let’s be real, Rocketfizz… actually never mind, we don’t want to get in trouble) that has converted this milky, cinnamon and vanilla-forward drink into an effervescent carbonated form. For those not in the know, horchata is a beverage that originated in Spain made using cinnamon, vanilla, and tiger nuts, which look like what you’d expect if peanuts and cranberries got together and had an ugly kid. In America, where tiger nuts aren’t as popular, rice is often used as a substitute. Oogave is a brand owned by Rocky Mountain Soda Co. out of Denver, Colorado and as one might guess, they use agave syrup instead of cane sugar to sweeten their sodas. Fun fact: according to co-founder and flavor creator Drew Fulton, the company specifically uses organic Blue Weber light premium agave, the same type of agave used in high-end tequila, to create their syrup. It takes seven years(!!!) to age the agave until its ready to to use in Oogave soda. Dawg, the age of the agave used in this soda is older than most small children. Agave syrup is also actually sweeter than cane sugar, so it takes less of it to make Oogave sodas, meaning they’re lower in calories than most craft sodas. All Oogave sodas are also organic and vegan-friendly.

Oogave Horchata was introduced in 2017 and its inspiration is directly linked to food, according to Fulton. He goes on, saying “Denver has a really great Mexican and hispanic food scene” and that the first thing he does after getting back in town from a road trip is hit up his favorite taco stand where he noshes on green chiles and tacos al pastor. We won’t divulge his secret spot, but he gushes that they make “dank” horchata and that’s he had the idea to turn it into a soda for “three of four years.” Fulton says he wanted to balance the crisp and refreshing elements of a lighter craft soda with the “darker cinnamon, spice flavor and some caramel notes” that are present in horchata. We’ll give him credit. He’s swinging for the fences here. Usually these types of offbeat flavors are love-it or hate-it with no in between. I’m skeptical. But I can’t help myself.

Where to get: Rocky Mountain Soda Store • Amazon • Or find your local retailer here.

Nose: Earthy – not as much sweetness as I’d expect from a drink based on cinnamon and vanilla. Mild vanilla and caramel. Oaerall kind of like a very mild cream soda scent.

Taste: Creamy cinnamon, tangy vanilla that lingers, mild red hots, caramel, soft carbonation. The taste is so much different from the smell and it’s delicious. The first flavor of Oogave Horchata you notice is this creamy cinnamon that evolves as you drink it from almost like a cinnamon cream soda into an earthier, but mild red hot flavor. The backbone of the soda though, is a light, tangy vanilla flavor. It’s hard to describe another soda I’ve tasted it in; it’s a different vanilla flavor than one you find in cream sodas or root beers. More pulled back in terms of boldness, but there’s a zip to it that makes it stand out. A signature tangy taste that when combined with the cinnamon and mild caramel notes, really plays well. This is light and refreshing i.e. lemon lime, but with flavors foreign to that style of soda. It combines elements from different genres of craft soda into a whole new drinking experience.

Finish: The finish is light and crisp with subdued cinnamon and vanilla flavors. The carbonation really stands out here. It’s light and frothy and doesn’t overpower the flavors like some sodas. It’s such a hard experience to wrap my head around because the main flavors – vanilla and cinnamon – are typically associated with sodas that sit heavy in the mouth and the stomach. That’s not the case here. This is refreshing and inviting.

Rating: I gotta be honest – I was pretty hesitant about this at first. Not even based on the flavor, but because of the agave. To me, the backbone of craft soda is pure cane sugar, so to go in a totally different direction raised flags. But Oogave Horchata is proof that great craft soda is not bound by traditional ingredients or flavors. “Organic has the connotation of being good for you, but not good-tasting. We want to dispel that,” says Fulton. This is master craft at its finest, a rare feat of taking an unknown flavor from one sector of the culinary world and infusing it into another seamlessly. It’s crisp, refreshing, yet also sweet and comforting. Even if you’re not a horchata drinker or haven’t even heard of it, these flavors are familiar. Warm vanilla and lush cinnamon dance along the tongue and are pulled back from the shore by a final wave of crisp carbonation. It’s nicely carbonated and the flavors aren’t overbearing. Nothing gets in the way or overpowers anything else in this soda. The agave, dare I say, makes this even smoother? This is best served ice cold out of the bottle or with finely chopped ice in a glass. If you’re into the cocktail scene, try it with a dark rum floater, per the soda’s creator. I’m telling you, take a risk on this thing. It won’t let you down. It’s one of the best sodas we’ve had in the last year. Easily.