In a lot of ways, I’d probably say that I’m my mother’s child more than I am my father’s. That’s not to say I don’t take after my dad at all, just that I think my mom had a little more influence on me that he did. If you know that I grew up being home-schooled by her, that shouldn’t surprise you.
One character trait that I absolutely got from my father is this: I am, at any point in life, always ready to go into Big Lots and look for random stuff. Their drink aisle typically contains at least one or two sodas that I’ve never heard of. My recent Rocket Fizz trip had focused on Root Beer and Cola, so I wanted to switch it a bit. That’s where Fizzy Lizzy comes in.
It claims to be 100% natural and has no added sugars. All of the sugar comes from fruit juice, apparently! It’s 52% juice and 48% fizzy water; hence the name. It’s actually not majority Cranberry Juice, I believe the main juice in here is White Grape Juice. The bottle says “The proof is in the pulp!” which definitely seemed to be the case, as I turned the bottle upside down to find a layer of pulpy silt on the bottom. That’s a good sign! I’m glad I saw that before I opened it!
Place of Acquirement: Big Lots, Grove City, OH
Drinking Vessel/Portion: 12 oz clear bottle.
AROMATICS: 8/10
Smells like Cranberry! And fresh cranberry, too. Not some canned stuff that’s been in your pantry since last November. (sorry, cranberry sauce lovers.)
FIRST SIP: 5.5/10
Well, I kind of expected this. It’s pleasant, but not really sweet. Considering there’s only 100 calories in this (and most sodas average 150+ for 12oz), I knew it wasn’t going to be sweet. I should stress, it’s not bad in the least! And for some people, this may be heaven. But for me, I wish it were a lil sweeter…
TASTE: 5.5/10
It definitely tastes like cranberries. The thing about cranberries is, and not a lot of people know this, they’re really tart. Hard to believe, I know. They’re best balanced out with some sweetness, but I don’t believe the white grape juice concentrate really brings enough to level the scales.
AFTERTASTE: 7/10
Aftertaste is fine enough, no real problems. Aftertaste tastes pretty much like the soda does.
MOUTHFEEL: 8.5/10
Honestly, perfectly carbonated. A little acidic, but what do you expect from cranberry? No complaints on the mouthfeel end from me.
DEPTH OF FLAVOR: 5/10
The rating here isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it pretty much just tastes like cranberries. I can’t ask for anything more, it’s delivering on the promise it made!
SWEETNESS: 3.5/10
This is not sweet, sugary candy! It’s tart. Your 5 year old nephew that plays League of Legends and drinks 2 energy drinks before every football game would NOT like this. It’s definitely less sweet than the first thing I’d compare it to, Izze.
FLAVOR(S) TASTED:
Cranberry, shockingly.
LAST SIP: 6.5/10
Last sip had a ton of carbonation, for whatever reason. It was really pleasantly textured, and hadn’t lost any flavor in the way that other sodas may.
OVERALL RATING: 6/10
Look, I’m really, really not being mean here. This is not bad, it just doesn’t quite fit into my wheelhouse. It’s really not meant to be as sweet as I am in relationships: very. It only has 100 calories, which is not bad at all for 12 ounces. It was really nicely carbonated and felt nice in the mouth. Ultimately though, there are juice sodas that I would be more inclined to purchase than Fizzy Lizzy Cranberry.
