Review: Jones Sugar Plum Soda

[Tannerman]

As mentioned in our Overview of the Jones Soda Holiday collection, for 2006 Jones Soda released three flavors in classic 4-Packs. The first of those flavors we tried was Sugar Plum Soda.

Jones Sugar Plum Soda

Unlike the beverages in the Holiday Pack and Dessert Pack, the label style was a little different for a 4-Pack drink. (It should also be noted that, duh, we have 4 different bottles here!)

4-Pack Bottle Packaging – One Side

These drinks have a lot in common design-wise as the 4-Packs found in the 2006 Halloween collection (Jones Lemon Drop Dead Soda, Jones Creepy Cranberry Soda, Jones Monster Mojito Soda).

4-Pack Bottle Packaging – The Other Side

Whereas the label style on the Halloween bottles featured black lettering and borders on an orange background, the Holiday 4-Packs possess red borders, green backgrounds, and silver lettering. This is in contrast to the Holiday and Dessert Packs which feature classic Jones black backgrounds, white borders, and silver lettering.

Randy tries Sugar Plum on his pallette

Before you ask, "a sugar plum is a piece of candy that is made of sugar and shaped in a small round or oval shape. They are similar to truffles with a dark chocolate exterior and a plum-flavored interior." I can't say that I've ever had a sugar plum. But I would assume that this soda would work off that plum flavor. I don't eat plums, so I guess I'm taste testing blind here!

Are you ready for this drink, Patrick?

Jones Sugar Plum Soda is a light purple in color, very clearish. It resembles window cleaner in appearance... kinda like the Sparkle brand.

Diane is not too impressed

When you smell the drink, it actually has somewhat of an alcoholic overtone for some reason, even those it's just a regular soft drink. Very fruity, but weak aroma. Like all 4-Pack and Dessert Pack sodas in 2006, Sugar Plum is sweetened with high fructose corn syrup.

The flavor was so overpowering, Marisa and Debbie are knocked to the floor

Frankly, the taste wasn't all that great, which was surprising to me. The bottled 4-Packs from the Halloween collection tended to buck the trend of "gross" sodas from Jones. I was thinking that the Holiday versions would do the same. I believe I was wrong.

Jim can't get enough!

In this case, you have a flavor that resembled watered-down grape soda with some sort of obscure aftertaste. I can't quite place it. It's not gag-inducing, but it's not very pleasant either. Tastes very chemical, if that makes any sense.

Was this baby #613 in town?

As Sugar Plum Soda is bundled in a handy 4-Pack, we have 4 different customer-contributed labels to inspect. First off we have an "adorable" baby in a Santa hat sent by Steve Spegal of Butler, KY. Never been there, but it's south of Cincinnati if anyone cares. Population 613 in 2000. Gee, sounds like a wonderful place to do nothing but take photos of your kids and send them into a soda company!

"Daddy, why do you drive so drunk?"

If anyone should be the poster child for Sugar Plum Soda, it's the cute little girl in the photo sent by Cassandra N. Tiensivu of Chester Township, MI. This lovely little spot is northwest of Grand Rapids and probably features classic Michigan stupidity, the Michigan Left. I feel sorry that this girl will probably never grow up to learn to drive like normal people.

Coming Soon to Iowa: Lessons in Focus!

Libby Head of Iowa City, IA submitted this out-of-focus photo of an ugly Christmas tree ornament. Not much to do there in Iowa, is there Libby?

The Boro House

Finally there is a nifty image of a gingerbread house found on a bottle label contributed by Milly H. of The Boro, TN. Um, where? After a little research, I found that "The Boro" refers to Murfreesboro, TN, a city that Milly is so embarrassed to be part of that she had to use a fake name for it and withhold her own last name. Per Wikipedia, "although Murfreesboro is sometimes considered a suburb or exurb of Nashville, Tennessee, it is far enough away and has a large enough population to maintain a separate identity from its larger neighbor."

I guess it doesn't really matter what label you throw on Jones Sugar Plum Soda. It's just not very good.

Jones Soda Holiday 2006 - Overview
Holiday Pack:
Jones Turkey & Gravy Soda
Jones Sweet Potato Soda
Jones Dinner Roll Soda Soda
Jones Pea Soda
Jones Antacid Flavored Soda
Dessert Pack:
Jones Apple Pie Soda
Jones Banana Cream Pie Soda
Jones Cherry Pie Soda
Jones Key Lime Pie Soda
Jones Blueberry Pie Soda
4-Packs:
Jones Candy Cane Soda
Jones Egg Nog Soda
Jones Sugar Plum Soda

[Tiensivu]

Hey there!

Thanks for the commentary on my label. Yep, we sure do have those stupid Michigan lefts. When I went through driver's ed we still had normal roads. Have you experienced Michigan's smart (or as I call them, stupid) lights? They are supposed to gauge when there is someone at a light and adjust the lights accordingly. Woe to the driver who has to rush through a 2-second green.

My husband and I were just in Chicago for a party. We may have the Michigan lefts, but we sure don't have the Chicago Cabbies! I'm certain I attained a few extra white hairs during those rides!

Hey, my kiddo (the one on the bottle) and I were just interviewed by a Grand Rapids television station. I'm gonna ask permission to upload the segment to YouTube once it's aired (I was told it'd be a few weeks).

Thanks again for the comment!


- Cassandra

P.S. Daddy doesn't drink.

[Tannerman]

Hi Cassandra,

Wow, what a small world, huh? I hope you don't mind my obvious tongue-in-cheek take on the Jones Soda bottles. When you have done as many beverage reviews as I have, you start looking for new things to write about.

I can relate to the cabbie situation. Once on a return flight through Midway, we hopped a cab home. It was one of those "ride of your lives" kind of things!

Thanks for taking the time to post and all that good stuff. Let us know if you get that TV segment uploaded. That would be fun to watch. Feel free to poke around elsewhere here in the TannerWorld Junction forums and chime in if you'd like. (You won't want to miss Steve's 25 Days of Christmas Music). We're a fun crowd to chat with online.

- Steve

[Tiensivu]

Hey Steve!

No worries. I figured it was just commentary to make the reviews... pop!

I've been checking the other posts. There's some really fun stuff here.

I'll post in this thread if and when I get that video uploaded.

Merry Christmas!


- Cassandra