This is a first for the Narvar Soda Review blog, a diet soda! At the end of a grueling work day, I wanted nothing more than a sweet kick o’ the tasty soda pop. Well, maybe a good week-long vacation, but, y’know, capitalism. I stopped in at one of the Mega Grocer’s stores after work to pick up a few groceries and saw this beautiful soda.
Boylan is a pretty well known brand, and readily available in the midwest. That being said, I’m not sure that I’ve ever had any of their soda. Arguably, starting with a diet soda is a bad choice, but I’m excited to dip my toes in! It’s worth noting: this soda is sweetened with sucralose, which I’m good with. Aspartame sucks, sucralose is good, stevia is the best. Let’s go!
Place of Acquirement: Kroger, Gahanna, OH
Drinking Vessel/Portion: 12oz glass bottle, brown
AROMATICS: 7.5/10
This may just be my brain doing a brain thing, but I feel like I can tell from the scent that it’s a diet soda? Either way, a perfectly pleasant scent! Not overly aromatic.
FIRST SIP: 7/10
Pleasant, to be sure! I can definitely taste that it’s fake sugar, but that does not deter me.
TASTE: 7.5/10
OK, this is good stuff. Speaking regardless of the diet/regular situation, it’s good! I would genuinely consider drinking this over a regular soda at certain times. There’s almost a tiny bit of a fruity taste to it? I can’t quite pinpoint it.
AFTERTASTE: 6/10
So it stays sweet, that’s pleasant! It retains the root beer taste, it’s just, not quite that tasty? It kind of loses the good parts of a standard root beer taste and ends up a bit more bitter/acidic.
MOUTHFEEL: 7/10
Pretty standard, nothing too out of the ordinary.
DEPTH OF FLAVOR: 6/10
Nothing too special here, just the ol’ root beer taste. It’s a very nice taste and I enjoy it, but there’s pretty much only one level to this soda.
SWEETNESS: It’s Complicated (8/10)
This is a difficult thing to rate since the sugar is different! I’d say I’ve had sweeter diet sodas in my life. Either way, this hits the spot in my book. Good sweetness level!
FLAVOR(S) TASTED: Root Beer! Maybe a little bit of fruity-ness?
LAST SIP: 6.5/10
Lost some carbonation, but still good!
OVERALL RATING: 7/10
Boylan’s Diet Root Beer, what a thing! Often times, diet sodas can have their taste augmented or hurt by the fake sugar. In the case of this soda, the taste is not hurt by the fake sugar. Is it different from a regular soda? Of course it is. Does it taste like a root beer? Yes it does. Is it good? Yes indeed!
I go back and forth on diet sodas. Obviously, they’re fantastic in that they make soda accessible to folks with diabetes and other sugar-related issues. I know some folks can’t stand the taste of fake sugar, but I typically find some joy in it. That being said, there’s still a certain goodness in knowing “hey, I’m allocating calories for THIS soda” and the special-ness that it brings.
Boylan’s Diet Root Beer: A Good Thing.
