I’ve known Hank’s as one of the best root beers on the market, and I’ve also been impressed with their seasonal offerings (link to reviews here). Now that I look back, I tried the root beer 8 years ago and wasn’t super impressed! I know that I’ve had it since then and really liked it, so I believe it’s time for an update to that review. Not today, but soon.

Today I’m spotlighting a new line of sodas that Hank’s released called “Hank’s Naturals”. Hank’s Naturals lean into natural colors and flavors, but are a fully sweetened between 130 and 170 calories per bottle. I appreciate the use of cane sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup, as well as deploying fruit/vegetable juice to color the beverages. After trying all 4 flavors I have my favorites, but they were all well executed and delicious in their own ways. The flavors available at this time are Pompelmo Citrus, Caramel Apple, Mexicola, and Irish Ginger Ale. For the sake of transparency, Hank’s sent me these sodas at no cost, but this review is as accurate and fair of a review as I can provide. Here’s are my thoughts on the sodas in order of my preference (favorite to least).

Pompelmo Citrus

Pompelmo is the Italian word for grapefruit, although I’m not sure if the citrus flavors here are limited to grapefruit. This soda was the most refreshing of the bunch, and the bright crisp citrus flavor would be a great compliment to a lot of different foods. It tastes light, although each bottle contains 150 calories. I also really liked the soft pink color. This isn’t wildly different from some other citrus/grapefruit sodas in the market, but it’s a great addition to what Hank’s offers. Out of the four, I could drink the most of these and ran out of these bottles first.

Caramel Apple

The sweetest of the bunch, but for good reason. If you’re making a caramel apple soda you should lean into that caramel flavor, and that will require sugar. At 170 calories I don’t think this is extreme, but the 40 grams of cane sugar make this soda taste more like a treat than a hydration source. There is some brightness from the apple flavor to offset the creamy caramel notes, and Hank’s did a good job with the overall balance. It’s been a while since I tried the previous version of their Caramel Apple Cream soda (a limited edition seasonal release), but the ingredients and calorie count are nearly identical, with the exception of “artificial flavors” in addition to the natural ones. This was great, but it’s the port wine of soda options in this line.

Mexicola

There aren’t a lot of hints as to what flavors this cola, but the label has sugar cane in the picture, and that’s definitely present. Beyond that, I picked up some fruity flavors in addition to warm spices (nutmeg? cinnamon?). This drink stands alone from Mexi-Coke, and at 160 calories (40 grams of sugar) it skews sweet rather than bitter. I liked it, but I didn’t prefer it over the other two above. Cola enthusiasts would do well to try it, and I personally respect the challenge of making something complicated like a cola using all natural ingredients.

Irish Ginger Ale

Ginger ale has an interesting history that overlaps a bit with the pharmaceutical past of other modern beverages. It’s believed to have been created in Ireland in the mid 1800’s by Thomas Joseph Cantrell, and was a non-alcoholic evolution of the ginger beers prevalent in England at the time. Ginger ale was and is a sparkling beverage made with ginger extract, sugar, and carbonated water, but what makes something an Irish Ginger Ale? This is my own opinion, but less sweet (dry) varieties of ginger ale became popular in Canada in the early 1900’s (Canada Dry), so maybe Irish vs Canadian ginger ale is a way to describe the level of sweetness? If that’s true, then I believe the label of this Hank’s ginger ale is accurate. Their Irish Ginger Ale packs a lot of ginger flavor and heat, but it’s also very sweet. I prefer my ginger ales with less sugar which is why this one is at the bottom of my list. It’s very good, and you’ll feel the ginger extract in your sinuses. Coincidentally, this is the least sugared of the 4 beverages with 32 grams of sugar (130 calories), but somehow it stayed on my tongue for a while. I recommend trying it, but I’d rather have the pompelo citrus.

Summary

These natural sodas are great, and I’d love to see more of this from Hank’s and other manufacturers. The muted colors are a perk, not a weakness, and they’re bringing lots of flavor with these ingredients. Thanks to Hank’s for sending me the sample!