The Best Laid Plans... The Case of the Missing Jarritos Soda

One of the most fun things about being a food blogger is the opportunity to review and try new foods and food-related products sent to me by different companies.  I really like being adventurous and trying new things and then sharing them with others who can benefit. For that reason, I was very excited when I was contacted to review Jarritos sodas, the national sodas of Mexico, made exclusively with real sugar.  I knew exactly what I was going to do-  I was going to have a fiesta, I selected a menu, and waited for my sodas to be shipped to me.

When the sodas came, my excitement mounted, because, besides jewel-colored bottles of soda it included a CD of music that I knew would make my Jarritos-inspired Mexican fiesta really sing. If you don't know Jarritos (I have tasted Goya sodas, and Mexican Coke, made with real sugar), you have got to go to their website- it is a fiesta in itself with virtual bottles of soda on ice, and each one, as you choose it, gives a description of the flavor accompanied by the  sound of a bottle being pulled from a bed of ice- seriously, it is making me thirsty right now! And the flavors- from the more  familiar strawberry and fruit punch to the more exotic guava  and tamarind, they look so pretty- perfect for a summer barbecue or fiesta.

Which brings me back to my review.  I am dreaming of fish tacos and guacamole with the sound of maracas as a background and an ice-cold Jarritos soda- I would definitely try the pineapple or guava. Since we have an extra fridge in the garage I put the Jarritos way in the back so they would be nicely chilled when the time came to guzzle them down they would be nice and cold.  My plan for an excellent review post was coming together.  Then it happened.  My daughter went into early labor with my very first grandchild, family descended into town and my world for the next 72 hours was hospitals and fast food.  When I finally came home a new grandma and went to tidy up the kitchen (which had been at the mercy of men and children for the last two days!),  I felt my heart stop.  Scattered all over the counter and island were Jarritos pop tops, littering the kitchen and the den. "Who drank these sodas?"  The inquisition began.... I was getting to the bottom of this.  My daughter was the first to cave,  "Well I had two, but Gavin had three I think...." they were all singing like canaries, ratting one another out.  I walked to the outside fridge only to find that every single soda, even the tamarind, was gone, along with my dreams of an authentic Mexican fiesta complete with jewel-toned Jarritos sodas.  So here I am, reviewing a product that I never got to taste, but I can share the impressions of some of the toughest critics I know, my family.  Molly, who rations her soda intake and never drinks sodas with sugar said that she had the cola and that it was "the best cola I have ever tasted.  Bridget had the pineapple and the strawberry and she declared them, "really amazing- light and fruity and not too sweet."  Gavin, who is a connoiseur of the unusual had the tamarind and Jamaica and he said they were both really good, he especially liked the tamarind ice cold.  I have yet to get the rascals who drank the guava, lime and mandarin orange, but I haven't tried water-boarding yet.

So what can I say about Jarritos sodas? Well first-hand, not much, though I did manage to hang on to the awesome CD for myself, but frankly listening to it just causes a flashback that makes me want to chase after the Jarritos thieves with a pinata stick.  I can say though that for the 16 to 30 crowd, they were a big hit. As for me, I will be heading to Amazon to order a case for myself (gosh I hope my kids don't read this blog....)