As promised, I have now written up my notes from tasting a few of Square Root Soda’s drinks and from there have a few thoughts about how non-alcoholic drinks can succeed. I have previously mentioned doing dryish January, which has comprised of not drinking for most of the week and then only focusing on a few small very good drinks.
Without good non-alcoholic drinks, like these sodas, I would have an issue in the evenings when I fancy something more interesting than water to drink, but could do without the caffeine of most tea and coffees. So I turn to these drinks, not so much as a replacement for an alcoholic drink, as they do not stack up against wine or beer when directly compared. Instead, they offer a refreshing drink that delivers flavour and a wider sense of pleasure.
For it is worth noting that the packaging and style of the drinks is important. Square Root have a distinct look and it continues from their bottle design to the appearance of the drinks. It might seem minor but when I reach for a drink, I often want something that feels more specially than glugging tap water from old glasses that are really just the glass casing of old candles (they are rather good though for things like mulled wine as they can stand high temperatures).
Anyway, I should stop getting distracted talking about things that are specific to my kitchen and how I serve drinks and so here are my notes:
Ginger & Blood Orange Highball:
Look: Delicate yellow colour that is fully opaque.
Smell: Ginger dominates but without harshness and there is a hint of fruit sweetness.
Mouthfeel: Smooth without excessive fizz.
Taste: Very smooth orange flavour which perfectly compliments the ginger. The ginger flavour well developed with just a note of warmth and there is just enough sugar to balance this. The finish could be a tad more citrusy.
As the bottle suggests – it works very well with Bourbon.
Apple:
Look: Nice colour, and the carbonation puts me in mind of cider and so is rather enticing.
Smell: Malic notes mixed with the perfumed freshness of green apples.
Mouthfeel: Mediumly bodied nicely complimented by the carbonation.
Taste: Surprisingly fresh with a pleasing tart start well balanced by the sweet finish.
The whole experience gave me a sense of a crisp autumn day and plucking an apple from a tree, and that surprisingly summery kick of flavour as you bite into the apple.
Blackcurrant:
Look: Nice colour, closer to blackcurrant juice than the slightly overly saturated hue of Ribena.
Smell: is very fruity with a surprising deep richness.
Mouthfeel: Well balance carbonation with enough body to be satisfying.
Taste: The sweetness is well balanced as the natural tartness is accentuated with a touch of lemon, and the more aromatic notes of fresh blackcurrants are not dominated.
I can imagine that this would be lovely on a warm autumn day after a long walk or cycle, especially as they tops need no opener so could be slipped into a rucksack for a midcycle break.
Lemonade:
Look: Like classic lemonade really what more can be said.
Smell: Again, very hard to describe without comparison to the memory of Ur-lemonade, the normal citric aromas are nicely balanced with the more perfumed notes of the zest.
Mouthfeel: A tad over carbonated and so a distraction to the flavour.
Taste: Not too sweet with a pleasing balance of tart sweet and aromatic, with just a hint of bitterness that makes you want to take another sip. But could be a tad more tart.
Non-alcoholic Negroni Spritz:
Look: Colour is quite light and puts me in mind more of a fruity spritz than the vivid red that Campari gives.
Smell: Rather spicy with notes of bitter grapefruit and a hint of citrus backing
Mouthfeel: It lacks the body that alcohol gives, and so does not have the same long finish.
Taste: Pleasant enough but rather unbalanced and dominated by spice.
An ok drink but does not hit the spot like a real Negroni spritz. It really lacks the herbal punch of a good gin, nor the rich sweet depth of vermouth.
As you can see, I did not love all of these drinks, but I do think that some of these are brilliant. In general, I think it is a little unfair to be comparing something like lemonade with a non-alcoholic spritz as it is always easier to make a drink on its own terms than trying to make a replica of something, when you are denied one of the key ingredients. This is not helped in this case by my love for Campari based drinks, so I could not help but approached the non-alcoholic Negroni Spritz with considerable preconceived ideas of what it should taste like.
If I had to recommend any of them, I would suggest their lemonade is a great staple, and the Blood Orange & Ginger Highball really surprised me in a great way. The interplay of slightly bitter and sweet orange with the warmth and aromatic kick of ginger is just perfect. Plus, I liked the way it is able to stand up to the quite dominant sweet flavour of Bourbon, which not something that many drinks could do. One drink I didn’t taste on this occasion is their artemisia tonic, which makes a great change from normal tonic, and can stand up to some very herbal gins (like Monkey 47) without being dominated.
I must also say that I like Square Root Soda for their labelling, as they do not do the normal fudge of calling a whole range of things ‘natural flavourings’ so you can see what is in your drink. It is also nice to see clear nutritional information on the bottles, but this could be improved by giving a total calorie count as well as the per 100ml as you do not always drink the same volume of different things so might well end up drinking more calories in a drink that is lower per 100ml as it works in a larger serving volume.
All in all, they are a company I would recommend, especially as if you do not know what you will like it is very easy to order a mixed box rather than having to buy a load and hope you will like them.
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