Dry Lemongrass Soda

For those of you who are unaware, I absolutely love to cook. Although it usually leaves a bit of a mess behind, I am a particularly avid fan of Asian cooking. Lemongrass ranks pretty high on my list of favorite Asian seasonings, so I am sure that you can imagine my excitement when I found this beverage sitting on the shelf in my local organic grocery store. 

Upon buying the beverage, I was not familiar with Dry Soda Co., but after doing a bit of research, I came to find out that they are a fairly new soda manufacturer that focuses on creating all natural sodas that are less sweet than the competitors and better for your health, overall. I always tend to enjoy sodas that focus more on the flavor and less on the sugar, and I was naturally excited to give this one a try.

Unfortunately, I was met with a flavor that I can only describe as "strange." Although the drink did have hints of a distinctly lemongrass flavor, I'm not entirely sure how to describe the overall taste. The aroma of the beverage smells a bit like lemon-scented dishwasher detergent, which is a bit odd, but not necessarily bad. It just didn't smell or taste like I what I was expecting. I think that I was anticipating a taste more along the lines of lemongrass after it has been cooked into a recipe, but was instead met with a more raw, natural lemongrass taste. 

Overall, the drink was not bad by any means. The level of sweetness is well-balanced, and is present without being overbearing. However, I don't know how much the sugar adds to this particular flavor, as the taste of the lemongrass is so prominent that the marginal sweetness almost doesn't affect the beverage. Again, the taste is not really bad, per se. It's just really strange, and I don't know that I can say that I like it. I think that this one is definitely worth a try if and only if you like lemongrass, but I would not recommend this one to the general consumer.

Lemongrass makes for an excellent spice, but I don't know that it is the best ingredient in a soda. The "healthy soda" ethos of Dry Soda does incline me to give some of the other flavors a try, however, and I think that many of the other flavors that the company offers would lend themselves better to a "less sweet" soda approach.

Verdict: Not recommended

Purchased: Earth Fare [Columbia, SC]

Size: 12 fl. oz. [355 mL]

Price: $6.99 [4-pack]