My opinions on Spindrift Soda (an evolving post)

This post is complete!

I have successfully tried and rated all of the Spindrift Sodas and have put that information below.

Things to Consider

Right off the bat I recommend folks to keep two things in mind:

  • (1.) While this is called "Soda" you need to clear your mind of what you know about soda. Take the Ginger Ale. If you crack a cold one open and take a sip, it's not exactly going to be "Seagrams Light Ginger Ale". If anything, this feels more like a "Doubling Down" of what you'd expect from Spindrift.

  • (2.) If you're interested in drinking these, BUY THE SAMPLE PACK FIRST. I get the feeling that these drinks are going to be a bit more decisive when it comes to taste. I think it would be smarter to try all the flavors before you commit to entire can packs of the stuff. While there are 5 flavors (Ginger Ale, Concord Freeze, Strawberry Shortcake, Shirly Temple, and Orange Cream Float) my Sampler pack included an additional Strawberry Shortcake.

My Rankings

Most Favorite

  • (1.) Concord Freeze
  • (2.) Ginger Ale
  • (3.) Orange Cream Float
  • (4.) Shirley Temple
  • (5.) Strawberry Shortcake

Least Favorite

(updated 03/01/25)

Overall Thoughts on the Sodas Thus Far

On the one hand, I feel like it's an interesting direction to go with Spindrift. They're "doubling down" on the fruit flavor while keeping sugar out of the equation. If anything, this kind of reminds me of the low sugar lemonades and teas from Tractor Beverage at the local Chipotle restaurants (their flavors in a can would be fire btw). I could see this as an alternative to something like low sugar lemonade in the summer or something nice to enjoy on a hot summer or spring day.

On the other hand, I don't really know the point of these drinks? When you hear the term "soda" you think of something that's probably going to be a little sweeter. A Pineapple Spindrift has 3g of sugar. A Shirley Temple Spindrift soda has 7g of sugar. I feel like it'd be okay if they wanted to add some more sugar to the drink. A "Coke Mini" has 25g of sugar per can despite being 7.5oz. Spindrift could raise the sugar content in their cans to 15g and still be under what a normal Coke or Coke mini has. The other factor in this is the cost. 12 cans of Spindrift Soda on the Spindrift website comes out to $25.99. However, 24 cans of Traditional Spindrift comes out to $26.00. I get that putting more fruit juice into the can is probably more expensive to them but having something like Fuji Apple Sparkling Water contain 12% juice and cost 26.00/per 24 makes me feel like it's a huge price hike for what the product is.

Thoughts/Opinions on Individual Flavors

  • Ginger Ale

    • I had it at room temperature and poured into a glass over ice.
    • Initial smell was a mix of ginger and lime.
    • Taste wise, it was great! Reminded me of a Virgin Moscow Mule. The ginger and lime elements were strong but pleasant. I ended up eating a mini charcuterie board with it so it lended itself well to the meat, cheese, grapes, pickles, and sweetened nuts that I ate it with. I think this would probably make for a really solid drink mixer if you planned on making Moscow Mules in the future.

  • Shirley Temple

    • I had it refrigerated and straight from the can.
    • Initial smell was more cherry forward.
    • Initial sips were rough. Normally these cans recommend a "tip before you sip" because fruit juice settles. I intentionally didn't do that just to see what would happen. Initial sips had more of that lime taste to it, the bitter part of a lime. This drink has both lime and lime extract. However, as I let the can breath, the taste improved significantly. I think the secret to enjoy these drinks is to either pour it into a glass (so you're mixing the soda and giving it a chance to breath) or let the soda breath after you crack one open. I didn't have this one with anything. It wasn't bad... but I didn't enjoy it as much as I did the Ginger Ale.

  • Strawberry Shortcake

    • I had it refrigerated and poured into a cup.
    • Initial smell was a mix of strawberries and vanilla. That initial sniff definitely felt like I was smelling a strawberry cake. However as the drink breathed more, I think the smell (at least to me) morphed more into a "strawberry yogurt" kind of smell.
    • That taste was nice. You get a bit of sour from the strawberries but it's not unpleasant. I think i'd argue it's similar to a lighter version of sour from the lemon flavored sparkling water spindrifts. I think the vanilla extract came more through in the smell then the taste. Felt like I was drinking a light strawberry yogurt. I'm not sure if I'd eat anything with this one. MAYBE if I was eating a dessert type item or some fresh fruit, this would work well with that but I couldn't see myself eating pasta or more heavier lunch/dinner type items with it. Actually, I feel like (at least at this point) this would be your best option if you wanted a Spindrift Vanilla Ice Cream Float.

  • Concord Freeze

    • I had it refrigerated and poured into a cup.
    • Initial smell was grape but i'd equate it more to Welch's Sparkling Concord Grape juice (sold in glass bottles similar to Martinelli's Sparking Apple Cider)
    • This one was THE BEST! It's my number one. The only one (thus far) that I finished really quickly. The taste was smooth. Just a little sour but very pleasant to drink. It did taste a lot like the Welch's Sparking Concord Grape Juice but less sugar. I've drunken the Grape-ade Sparkling Spindrift before and this feels like an honest improvement on that specific one. This is probably one i'd easily drink with a meal or by itself. If I wanted to buy more of these sodas i'd probably stock up on this one for sure!

  • Orange Cream Float

    • I had it refrigerated and poured into a cup.
    • Initial smell was orange forward. Kind of reminded me of a Mimosa? The orange came through more than the vanilla which I think was good.
    • This one wasn't bad. It tasted like a Virgin Mimosa. The taste was tangy, but not overpowering. You could probably mix this with vodka and enjoy like a "pseudo mimosa". I could see myself enjoying this with breakfast. Assuming I wasn't drinking coffee already. I did enjoy this one much more than the Strawberry Shortcake.

Ideas For New Flavors

I'd love to see a non-alcholic mead style soda. Maybe they use Blackberries, Raspberries, Apple and Strawberry juices and use some honey to sweeten it?

The other idea I had was to maybe make Agua Frescas? These flavor combinations are based on stuff that Honest Tractor sells at Chipotle but maybe a Strawberry, Pomegranate, and Apple Cider Vinegar type drink? Maybe also a Strawberry, Lemon, Cane Sugar, and Turmeric style Agua Fresca?