A Flowery Song

Interestingly, a visual inspection shows a couple of differences. The pour on the bottled export version produces large CO2 bubbles that cling to the side of the glass, while the canned original version quickly settles except for streams of small bubbles drifting to the top. The colour is somewhat close, but the bottled one is a more vibrant orange.

Nose: Indistinguishable. A mix of bubble gum and citrus with a cream soda base.

Taste: Hard to say. While I wouldn’t be able to pick it out in a blind test, the export version has a fizzier mouthfeel but slightly less of a bite. Oh, the flavour? Irn Bru is flavoured like Irn Bru; it resembles a citrusy cream soda with bubble gum high notes.

Overall: A more hard-core Irn Bru fanatic than I might find something to object to in the export version, but I found it practically indistinguishable from the real thing.

Background: It’s soda, it’s flavoured with juniper berries, it’s poncy. Dry also make several other flavours, including rhubarb, lavender, and lemongrass.

Nose: Citrusy, piny, sweet.

Taste: Lightly sweet, lightly tart, barely piny.

Overall: I like it. It could do with a bit more oomph in the flavour department, but as-is it’s very refreshing (and you could always splash in a bit of gin).

Background: Kvass is a mildly alcoholic drink made from bread (often rye). This is a non-alcoholic carbonated soft drink made from rye and barley malt concentrates.

Nose: Slightly sour and musty.

Taste: Sugary rye and some citric acid.

Overall: Nothing special. It’s certainly drinkable and an interesting flavour for soda, but it doesn’t wow.