Mark your calendars, October 5th was the day my mind was officially blown. This was without a doubt the best cream soda I’ve ever had. That anyone has ever had. This is not hyperbole, this is fact.
The Indian Wells Brewing Company makes a lot of sodas (beers as well). They make some under their own name, but they also help others with private label brands. If you’ve had more than 15 gourmet sodas I’ll bet that at least one has come through this factory. Their website doesn’t show them, but in addition to their regular sodas they also produce a premium line called “Special Reserve”. I previously reviewed their incredible root beer and their slightly less incredible, but still good, black cherry soda.
For being a cream soda, there’s a lot going on in this bottle. I don’t entirely understand what they’re telling us on the label but the most important part is that the soda (or at least the syrup) is aged in a chestnut barrel. I don’t know much about brewing, but what I think this does is imbue the soda with a warm vanilla/smokey flavor that stands out from the regular vanilla notes of a cream soda. Sounds reasonable, right? Anyhoo, that’s a pretty rare thing in the soda world.
More importantly, it doesn’t matter how fancy your beverage sounds, what matters is how enjoyable it is to drink. This cream soda is outstanding! The carbonation kicks up a lot of the vanilla scents so you start tasting it before it hits your tongue. Very aromatic.
What I tasted first was something that I think is best described as a crème brûlée in soda form. There’s a bit of a burnt sugar/caramel taste which blends smoothly in a solid vanilla finish. When I say smooth, I mean smooth like Kevin Bacon in Footloose.
When I say smooth, I mean smooth like Patrick Swayze (RIP) in Dirty Dancing.
When I say smooth, I mean smooth like George Clooney in absolutely everything that the man has ever done. Yeah. That’s smooth.
To sum it up, I loved this cream soda. It’s 100% a premium beverage, and the $6.99 price tag for the 22 ounce bottle is justified. I’m giving it a 9.2 out of 10 on my rating scale. It’s a drink that I would purchase for special occasions or when I need a reminder that there is still a shred of good in this world.
I love the bottle, I love the wax dipped cap, I love the caramel brown color, and I love that Indian Wells provided this bottle for me to review. Yes, it was free, but even if I had purchased it myself like the other two Special Edition sodas I would have rated it the same. You can find this product at your local Rocket Fizz, and probably some other premium soda retailers.
Catalog:
Sampled on 10/5/2016
The Sodafry 