Now for something a little bit different from the usual beer theme—soda pop! Earlier this spring I received samples of four flavors of Stiller’s Soda, a relatively new line of classic sodas co-founded by actor and comedian Ben Stiller. The selling point of these sodas is “classic soda made right” and highlight classic (or nostalgic) flavors made with organic ingredients and are low calorie.
All of the sodas have only 30 calories per 12 ounce can, and interestingly, they all contain the 100% recommended daily values of vitamins D, C, and B12. While they do contain real cane sugar, they also include stevia, a sweet plant that is a common sugar substitute, and monk fruit, also used as a low-calorie sugar substitute. So they are positioned as a “healthy” soda
And of course, these are all non-alcoholic, just regular soda, which I don’t believe I’ve ever reviewed here on the blog., with the possible exception of root beer. So, let’s see what we’ve got.
Lemon Lime
Crafted with lime and lemon juice concentrates and natural flavors (as well as the ingredients I noted above), Lemon Lime is certainly one of those classic, even universal soda flavors everyone is familiar with. There’s no specific page on the company website for this, but you can buy it directly on Amazon.
My notes: Looks and smells like a lemon lime soda, very pale milky yellow with fizzy body, and bright citrus aroma of fresh lemon and lime juice. The flavor is mellow and pleasant with the fresh squeeze of the fruits and a moderate sweetness—and then at the back, there’s an artificial sweetener note and checking the ingredients, I do see that stevia is on the list which fits that bill. I suspect that this is light enough in flavor that the stevia becomes more noticeable, but it’s not bad. Pretty clean finish without leaving a cloyingly sweet coating on the tongue.
Shirley Temple
A Shirley Temple is a drink traditionally made with ginger ale and grenadine for a cherry soda experience, with more modern recipes using lemon lime instead of ginger; the Stiller’s Soda version goes with lemon lime as well, and the cherry contribution comes from dark sweet cherry juice concentrate. I don’t know how popular it is these days, but with a goal of highlighting classic soda flavors, this works well. You can also buy it on Amazon.
My notes: Lovely pink color and it has the smell of grenadine, a maraschino cherry syrup note that’s pleasant and not cough-syrupy like I feared it could be. The flavor is good, with solid cherry flavor—black cherry hard candy—with a kiss of lime and a touch of grenadine. Sweetness is just right and balanced, and the stevia is much less noticeable than in the Lemon Lime, and seems to mesh better with the cherry. There a bit of lingering grenadine flavor which is fine, otherwise it finishes clean like the Lemon Lime.
Root Beer
I’ve always loved root beer and it is still one of my favorite types of soda, especially when it leans into intense root beer flavoring (I’ve had more “natural” versions that taste more herbal or earthy which don’t quite do it for me). This version relies on “organic root beer flavor” which is rather vague, but it actually works out well here. Also on Amazon.
My notes: Right off the bat this has the look and aroma of the classic root beer, and that aroma is spot-on with a perfect nostalgic character that takes me back to homemade root beer we would make when we were kids. The flavor hits pretty close to the mark too, it either needs a touch more sweetness or more of the sarsaparilla flavor bumped up to make it a bit more robust, but within this “natural, classic soda” template it does work just fine. Stevia in the aftertaste (a touch artificial) but this drinks nicely.
Shirley Cola
This is the Stiller’s Soda version of a Roy Rogers, which is similar to a Shirley Temple but made with cola instead of lemon lime or ginger ale—essentially, it’s a cherry cola. It’s also the newest flavor in the Stiller’s Soda lineup, introduced this spring. It features a “natural cola flavor” (not sure exactly what that is since cola flavor is blended from a variety of sources) as well as caffeine, with both grenadine and natural black cherry flavors. Yes, you can get this on Amazon as well.
My notes: This is subtle and mellow, starting with the aroma—light black cherry notes that has a hint of almond, along with cola character (subtle spicing). The cherry/grenadine character in the flavor is also quite mellow, it’s more cola-forward but even then, it’s a bit light overall. It’s almost a touch herbal. It’s perfectly drinkable, but I’m wanting more character overall here. Clean finish like the others as well.
Overall
If you drink soda and are interested in less sugar/lower calories and more focus on natural and organic ingredients—somewhat healthy even, despite still being soft drinks—these Stiller’s Sodas are worth checking out. The price point is a bit high for soda so keep that in mind (you’re also paying for the celebrity backing). In my opinion the strongest flavors of these four are the Root Beer and the Shirley Temple, but they also come in a variety pack so you can try all of them to find what works for you.
