Pangleheimer's Gourmet Blush
12 fl. oz.
glass bottle
Pangleheimers, Charlotte, NC

pretty cold, no ice

Kate's not here tonight, shirking her soda-tasting duties for a night of debauchery with the Ladies of USC Film School. So the burden falls upon my tongue alone. I will not let you down--THIS I SWEAR!

Gotta be honest: I've totally forgotten what kind of soda this is, and the blush color gives me little clue. Raspberry? Cherry? Or maybe they've gone wacky and made it birch beer? Let's open it and find out...

Okay, the cap twists off with a pneumatic puff you'd expect from a carnival ride or other piece of heavy machinery. The smell that comes out is exactly like the "red" color of those long, plastic tubes of frozen sugar-water I'd always beg Mom to get me in the grocery store. Then she got me one, and it burned my mouth it tasted so awful. Not exactly sweet, just sort of...red and cough-inducing.

This soda is much better than that. Maybe I was bracing for a punch in the tongue, but I have to say I was surprised at how little flavor there was. It's vaguely berry--sometimes so vaguely that I tasted a lot more carbonation. When I took a really, really big gulp I think I tasted a tiny bit of cinnamon, but don't hold me to that. Pangleheimer's Gourmet Blush is not bad--but it's not really anything. If I poured this on the ground, I doubt any ants would bother.

The berry flavor does intensify as you continue drinking, and I would have no problem finishing the bottle. This is a soda for an adult palate, with the lack of intensity you usually find in the natural sodas at Whole Foods. It's the NPR of sodas, and if you gave it to a kid, he'd probably spit most of it at his friend. There's a reason why Orange Nehi is still in business.

Final verdict: Berry-ey. Inoffensive. Carbonated like they were trying to get rid of the gas.

KP: AWOL, possibly drunk
MG: 5.5 of 10