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America's largest independent soda bottler has had a polar bear as its mascot since the early 20th century. |
Ever since I stopped drinking alcoholic beverages over twenty years ago, I have been on a hunt for a really tasty non-alcoholic adult beverage substitute.
For years I drank Diet Pepsi (even Diet Coke was cloyingly sweet tasting to me).
After a while, I tired of cola and started drinking seltzer.
Now seltzer is nice (who actually drinks New Jersey tap water?) but after a while it gets boring.
I tried fruit-flavored seltzers, fruit-flavored waters, but none seemed truly flavorful and interesting.
Then one day at Stop & Shop all the seltzer was mysteriously cleaned out -- except for a brand I had noticed but never tried before -- Polar.
(Who are these people? Turns out it is a 4th-generation, family owned business based in Worcester, Mass., and is the largest independent soda bottler in the country.)
I took some home. It was fine, but it was still just seltzer.
Suddenly last week there was a whole display of fruit flavored sodas from Polar, in regular and diet versions.
I loaded up and took samples of each offering's diet version home to chill.
The verdict?
Five of these are (imho) outstanding, world-class adult beverages --
Each of these has a hearty flavor, and crisp non-cloying taste. I assume the "dry" appellation means less sweet, which suits me fine.
- Pomegranate Dry
- Pink Grapefruit Dry
- Orange Dry
- Raspberry Lime
- Black Cherry
In addition, there are three others that are quite drinkable, though I found them a little wan-tasting --
Root Beer especially I measure against my memories of Dad's Root Beer, which was the only brand available where I grew up. Polar just is not intense enough.
- Ginger Ale
- Root Beer
- Birch Beer
One flavor I had no interest in even trying -- Cream Soda. I just have never been able to even understand the concept. It holds no interest for me, though I do understand it is an essential part of some people's beverage landscape. You're on your own if Cream Soda is your thing.
Lastly, there was one flavor I looked forward to but found disappointingly faint -- Grape.
Now you have to know I grew up in Concord grape country and it wasn't until I got to college that I even knew there was any other kind of grape.
Concord -- which all grape sodas and drinks are based on -- is not a shy grape. It is truly robust. The only problem is that most bottlers kill it with sweetness. That is why I expected Polar's version to be robust but dry (that is, not so sweet). Unfortunately, it just didn't have that pep I was looking for. Sort of like a third carbon copy (for those who remember carbon paper).
However, Polar's offerings are truly worthwhile and I encourage anyone looking for a flavorful diet soda to try the Polar brand.
You may want to hurry as I have no idea if the shelf section is permanent. It appeared as if by magic. The 1-liter bottles are currently priced at 99¢ each which is a sweet spot price-wise.
For more information about Polar, its history and its products, visit their website here.
NOTE: This is an unsolicited personal homage to the beverages.
-- Dan Damon [ follow ]
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