R.W. Knudsen's Sparkling Cherry

My Experience:

First off, its scent is very dark, very much like black (as opposed to normal) cherries. It's not as sparkling as Martinelli's (I'm learning that nothing is) and the carbonation was quite coarse. The acidity is higher than most sparkling juices I've tried, and the flavor is very strong. Of cherry, that is, though the plum juice that's also in the drink shows through a little. The acidity probably comes from the pineapple juice that's also in this blend. It's very sweet, though not as sweet as Martinelli's, similar to R.W.'s offering in pear but somewhat more tart, due to the cherries I'm assuming.

It's got a nip of sour in the finish. It could make a good every-day drink, (which I'm calling a Table Drink, as in a Table Wine.)

It reminds me a lot of the cherry kirsebærsauce sauce that goes with Ris a la mande.

This would be great for a cherry float with vanilla ice cream!

Works as a wine Alternative: Sure.

Did I like it: Yes, though nothing spectacular, 6 out of 10.

Would I Recommend it: Just like the Kristian Regále stuff, I've enjoyed trying all of these and comparing them. (Though these haven't been as good as the Kristian Regále stuff.)

Who Might Like it: You know, with all of these sparkling juices it's pretty straight forward. I'd recommend them to anyone who likes the fruit they are based on, or thinks they could find a good pairing.

Kristian Regále Sparkling Apple Juice

My Experience:

Here is the next in a series of Kristian Regále, look to the sidebar on the right to find the others.

Almost clear, it just has the tiniest yellow tint to it, lots of tiny bubbles adhere to the sides of the glass, and there is no foam on top. Pretty strong carbonation. It's definitely got a green apple taste to it, and is ever so slightly bitter due to the carbonation. I think it's sweeter than the peach, but it has a tangy, sour taste also. It's good, a little more acidic than most juices, just like all the other Kirstian Regále's we've tried. We had it with tilapia & pesto. It's actually a lot like a Green Apple Jolly Rancher, but not as sweet.

Works as a wine Alternative: It paired very well with the food, which is always a good sign, and I think it pairs well with lots of lighter meals.

Did I like it: Yes, 7 out of 10.

Would I Recommend it: Yes, and try it with a variety foods.

Who Might Like it: If you like sparkling ciders, this is a refreshing change.

Ikea & an Old Favorite

A while back we tried out something by Kristian Regále, Sparkling Pomegranate-Apple and I loved it. We actually found it at Walmart, and we recently went back to get more, but when we went down the juice aisle, there was a huge empty section where the Pomegranate had been, with only the plain ol' apple, as well as peach. While those were good, the Pomegranate had a particularly unique flavor. I hoped they were just out of stock, but now it's been a couple of months since I've seen it there. I gave up hope of finding a local source for the stuff.

Skip ahead a few weeks. We were buying one of our little ones a new mattress at Ikea, and after we checked out we found three huge stacks of bottles. Low and behold, they were all Kristian Regále! They had Pomegranate, Peach, Pear and, of course, Lingonberry. I bought one of each, expect new posts soon!

P.S. I think we'll be going back again soon, I'll make sure to snap a picture next time.

Kristian Regále Sparkling Peach Juice

My Experience:

It's very translucent, with just a light golden color. It smells like you'd expect a peach to smell, but the taste hints of a white grape juice, though it has no grape in it and tastes more peachy over time, especially as it warms up. It's tingly on the tongue, but doesn't foam up. It's slightly drier than your average juice, with a hint of bitterness, probably from the carbonation.

Works as a Wine Alternative: Yes, a sweet one. I think it would work well with an alfredo, and it'd cut through the sauce. Pair it with things that are very light.

Did I Like it: Yes, though not as much as their offering in Pomegranate-Apple, a 6 out of 10. My wife doesn't like it so much.

Would I Recommend it: Yes, I've had a ton of fun trying out all the Kristian Regále stuff.

Who Might Like it: Most anyone who likes peaches?

[Update: I've tried this again since, and I think I appreciate it even more with the right pairing.]

Effervé Sparkling Pink Lemonade

My Experience:

For our anniversary we went to Fresh & Easy and picked up a random assortment of yummy looking foods and had a meal out in the backyard. As a gift my wife got me the rest of the R.W. Knudsen Sparkling Juices I hadn't tried yet (see side bar for the round-up) but we also found this Effervé Sparkling Pink Lemonade ("Pétillante Limonade Rose" or somethin'.) They also had a non-pink version, but we went with the pink version. (What's Pink Lemonade anyway? Is it made from pink lemons? No.)

The color is light pink, looks like a traditional pink lemonade but with no pulp. Lightly carbonated, it's best served a bit colder than we had it (we only had time for a quick chill). It's quite dry for a juice, just a little sweet, and just a little tangy, and is a touch more sour during the finish. It's alright as a palate cleanser but doesn't quite leave me with the clean feeling a good one does. It's very acidic. We had it with some very acidic lemon hummus salad dressing, and the dressing made the lemonade taste sweet, so I'm glad the lemonade wasn't sweeter or it would have been overwhelming with our salad.

Looking at the ingredients, there is technically no juice, just citric acid and other ingredients, though all natural.

It doesn't really taste like lemonade. There is a hint of bitterness, but just a tiny touch, possibly from whatever sparkling water they used. Smells more lemony than it tastes. My wife likes it a lot.

Works as a Wine Alternative: Yes, in terms of being a culinary beverage.

Did I Like it: Yes! 8 out of 10!

Would I Recommend it: Yes, everyone knows what things to serve lemonade with, so pairing is easy, and it's not a huge departure from what you might expect, so it's very approachable.

Who Might Like it: Most anyone, even some people who don't like lemonade, as while it's more acidic, the sourness and sweetness are both less intense then a normal lemonade.

R.W. Knudsen's Sparkling Cranberry

My Experience:

A while back we had R.W. Knudsen's Sparkling Organic Pear Juice, and loved it! So we decided to try the rest of their juices, with high hopes.

The photo makes it look darker than it is, and it has very few, very small bubbles. It's not as tart as I thought a cranberry drink would be, and it's less sweet than the pear drink. It's lighter than most cranberry drinks I've had also. I enjoy it, but think it needs a great pairing to shine. On the negative, it's almost watery, and just a bit sweet and bit tart, overall pretty mellow for a sparkling drink. I want to try it with something light but savory and/or beefy. It's not very fizzy and surprisingly flat, and I wish it were a bit more acidic.

The last glass of the bottle was completely full of big fat red specks. The sediment was a huge downer.

I liked the taste, but with the low carbonation and high sediment content, I'm wondering if I got a bad bottle, which is not a good thing to wonder about.

Works as a Wine Alternative: Yes, though needs to be paired well.

Did I Like it: Yes, with some huge reservations, like the sediment. 4 out of 10, would have been a 6 without the sediment.

Would I Recommend it: Try a different flavor first, the pear is awesome.

Who Might Like it: It's not just for cranberry lovers, which is good in my mind.

Sparkling Water Round Up

After trying the Ariel Brut, I couldn't help but think "I wonder if I could simply use sparkling water to mimic this taste." So, I bought a bunch of sparkling waters to test the theory!

Big K Lemon Lime

Tastes like bitter sugarless 7-Up. Big bubbles, soda-like texture.

Perrier Lime

Much less fizzy, smaller bubbles, smoother to drink, not as harsh on the tongue, not as bitter and a little more lemony.

S. Pellegrino

Not as bitter as the first two. Much more watery, i.e. very lightly carbonated, and tiny tiny bubles. I prefer the taste and feel of this one.

The Perrier is ok on its own, but if you want to add sparkle to a drink, I'd grab the most strongly carbonated club soda you can find, because the other two are simply too weak to combine with something else and not simply water it down.

I thought the lime / lemon taste would be good with mexican food but it's not. Neither my wife nor I really like any of these.

When I tried the Ariel Brut, it had me wondering just how close it was to just a glass of sparkling water, and I can confidently say it's very, very different. These sparkling waters, flavored or not, are not substitutes for the complexities, taste, and craft of the Bruts.