Virgil's Cream Soda

We start Cream Soda Week with a unique cream soda from Virgil's, who also make an absolutely delicious orange cream soda in addition to a classic root beer. But what sets this soda apart is the fact that it is made with cane sugar and it is micro brewed. It is considered a gourmet soda and made by REED'S Inc. from ingredients from around the world, is gluten free and contains no preservatives.

Well, he does look like a carpenter

Let's get to the soda but first, the bottle. What I originally thought was a pirate named Virgil on the bottle turns out to just be a bearded man in a flannel shirt, serving the soda to two eagerly waiting children. Unique, and intricate for a bottle label, and as I look closer at this particular label, I read "So rich and creamy you'll swear it's made in Heaven." So is that Jesus serving the soda? Did Jesus wear flannel? The background is definitely clouds...OK, well the label is, different, but the bottle itself is shaped more like a beer bottle than a soda and looks a little larger than only 12 oz.

Being the first sip of the week, Virgil's gets a leg up because cream soda is not a regular taste and that initial hit is like no other, something that may wear off as the week goes on. I don't guzzle cream soda at first; I sip. I want to enjoy that taste because it's not quenching a thirst, it is satisfying a craving. Virgil's is thick, extremely smooth, but filling. The all natural ingredients are apparent as one can almost taste the real cane sugar. It hits on every vanilla cream soda flavor and definitely envelops the taste buds and the tongue, reaching all the way down the throat. There is a substantial lack of carbonation, which is typical of cream sodas but in this sense, it goes unmissed as Virgil's drinks like a beverage compared to a bubbly soda.

So far the week is a success. Virgil's is smooth with no bite, and nothing to distract from that heavy vanilla taste.

Smoothness: 8.5 - Extremely smooth, like you're drinking cream itself

Overall Taste: 8.3 - The taste is definitively vanilla bean, you can almost taste the purity

Fizz Factor: 5.5 - Carbonation doesn't hit you until the soda is in your stomach

Appearance: 7.0 - Not a fan of Jesus serving me soda or wearing a flannel, but the soda is a perfect tan, and darker than some of the others to be sampled this week

Flavor: 8.0 - Nails the cream soda taste and does it all naturally, so no complaints here

From the company: 12 oz has 160 calories, 0g of fat, 42g of carbs, 42g of sugar and 0g of protein.