Review: Cannonborough Beverage Co. Sodas and Mixers
Review: Cannonborough Beverage Co. Sodas and Mixers
Charleston-based Cannonborough Beverage Co. started making its fresh fruit sodas in 2012, where they are sold for drinking soda and for use as cocktail mixers. These all-natural sodas come in 750ml bottles (the crown caps can be a problem unless you’re preparing drinks for a party or a punch bowl), and can be purchased online from the company.
We tasted all three varieties of the Cannonborough lineup. Thoughts follow.
Cannonborough Beverage Co. Grapefruit Elderflower – Sweet elderflower hits the nose, and with a sip the grapefruit quickly takes over. The sugar-meets-flower notes of the elderflower do battle here, with sweetness shining brightly for a second, before the sour grapefruit finishes things off. My clear favorite of the bunch, I’d love to mix with this versatile product. A-
Cannonborough Beverage Co. Honey Basil – Herbal and sweet on the nose, but the earthy, spicier basil notes run the show on the palate. Seemingly built for mixing with gin, it’s a combination that works very well — as a sweeter alternative to a gin and tonic. Less fun on its own, though. B+
Cannonborough Beverage Co. Ginger Beer – A complex mixer compared the relatively straightforward remainder of the lineup, made with ginger, habanero, vanilla, and cloves. Quite foamy, and much sweeter smelling than I was expecting. Sweet citrus notes — sugared lemon/lime, primarily — hit the palate first, with the racy ginger — crushed bits of ginger root are readily visible in the liquid — providing a fiery, bracing finish. A bit scattered. B
each $10 per 750ml bottle
Cannonborough Beverage Co. Grapefruit Elderflower
$10
These all sound good, but you should really keep an eye out for their root beer which will hopefully be available online soon. The local city paper did a write up of it recently: http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/charleston/charlestons-beverage-craftsmen-dig-for-flavor-and-the-results-taste-mighty-fine/Content?oid=5761570 – sounds really interesting. They found an unusual substitute for the sassafras in traditional root beer recipes.
Here’s a link to a short video about the Cannonborough team https://vimeo.com/166870467