Get Your Drink On: Fizzy Lizzy, Mabi, Vignette
When coffee and tea don’t quite satisfy, and you feel like something easy to drink, it’s probably time to pull out a cold one. A cold soda, that is, something carbonated and sweet. At the Fancy Food Show, we found out about several neat beverages, and have been passing them around the last few weeks and gathering opinions.
Fizzy Lizzy makes a line of 8 sodas, each made from fruit juice and sparkling water, with no added sugar or other ingredients (though grape juice is added to some flavors as a sweetener). Flavors like Northern Lights Cranberry and Lone Star Grapefruit were great, though several folks were partial to Red Hill Pomegranate and Pacific Raspberry Lemon. Each tastes authentic, sweet and tart, and leaves one feeling refreshed and quenched rather than thirsty or unhappy, unlike some sodas. The packaging is also nice- sure to grab attention and stand out. They didn’t smell quite as good as you might expect upon opening, but the real issue is finding them at the moment. Some Whole Foods and Andronico’s locations have begun stocking them, and Fizzy Lizzy offers a handy guide- just type in your zipcode and go. At about $1.50 each, they are tastier (and cuter) than other comparable drinks.
If you wish you could be drinking wine but it’s only noon, maybe you should consider Vignette, the Wine Country Soda. Basically, these drinks are wine without the alcohol- made from the same grapes, but without the fermentation. Choose from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, or Rose, and enjoy a higher class of grape juice, made only from California grapes. No caffeine, no added sugar or high fructose corn syrup, and fairly light and fruity, these are a perfect substitute for those who want to avoid alcohol- with cheese, at parties, etc. They certainly lack some of the character of wines, but at least you can drive after you’ve had a few. Again, finding them may be a bit of an issue, but in San Francisco they are widely available in Whole Foods and some other grocery retailers (and at some wineries even). Around $2 a bottle.
Finally, if the other flavors might seem a bit pedestrian, let’s explore some Truly Obscure options- cucumber or jasmine, anyone? The name Global Beverage Enterprises may not be all that memorable (and their website might appear to have been transported from the 80s), but their beverages are interesting indeed. OK, these aren’t for everyone- cucumber is cool and refreshing, but is still cucumber folks. Jasmine does taste similar to the tea, but the carbonation was a bit distracting. The Rose soda was great though, a perfect complement for Mediterranean food, if a bit too sweet. But none were as immediately appealing as Mabi soda, also spelled Mauby or Mavi or other variations. Fermented slightly, it is similar to a root or birch beer, but distinctly different- more brown sugar, roasting, nutmeg, less bitter or medicinal. It’s a Caribbean thing, apparently, and we’ll be looking around for where to stock up. Which might be hard, as these drinks are the rarest in this article, available at a couple of places in NYC and some Caribbean grocery stores. $2 each.
