Bubble Up
Wednesday, May 5, 2010 at 2:41PM This bottle of Bubble Up was given to us by Abel A, and oddly enough I’ve been kind of excited to try it. I’m aware that it’s probably a 7up rip off, but the name of the soda is so campy that I’m drawn to it. The labeling isn’t particularly awesome, it involves *gasp!* a lemon and a lime. The label shows that this is full of chemicals, much like some of its mainstream brethren. The label also shows that this is produced under the authority of The Dad’s Root Beer Company, oh joy! Just so it’s clear where my bias might stand… of the three lemon/lime sodas my favorite is 7up, followed by Sierra Mist, and trailing far behind them is Sprite.
Taking a whiff I’m a bit surprised at the fact that lime seems to be the obviously more powerful flavor in Bubble Up… maybe I’ve written it off too soon. Time for drinkin’.
Before I go into the flavor aspect, I have to say that this is way less carbonated than I thought it would be. I see bubbles clinging all over the sides of the bottle, but it has no bite to it what-so-ever. Swishing Bubble Up around in your mouth thoroughly gets you the sharpness in mouth feel you should have received when you first opened it. As for the flavor of the three most common lemon/lime beverages it might compare to, Sprite is your winner there. I wouldn’t label Bubble Up as a lemon-lime soda though. If this were a race, the lime flavored horse would be about a lime flavored horse length ahead of the lemon flavored horse. A more honest flavor would be lime-lemon, but that doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue as well. If they wanted to face lawsuit I guess they could say it had a Lymon flavor. I can’t tell you how many times Mike and I reference bank lollipops when talking to one another about soda flavors, but the lime in this does taste lightly of lime bank sucker. Bubble Up isn’t particularly different in any way, but if you see it and it’s cheaper than the mainstream…
Verdict – Buy a Bottle!
~A
Twist enjoys a free Bubble Up with a bowl of rainbow stew.
Reader Comments (5)
Ahhh. Bubble Up. Good stuff. I remember first trying it as a kid in the 70s. The way I would differentiate the taste is that it is similar to 7-UP, but it tastes like it has a touch of ginger (not really, but that is the effect). I notice you tried it in a plastic bottle. For shame! Somehow, the ownership of Bubble Up has been a bit convoluted in recent years. For awhile, new owners had reformulated it with corn syrup in plastic bottles (as you show it, above) instead of the proper cane sugar and glass bottles. The good news is, there is at least one licensee now making it in glass bottles using real cane sugar. THAT combination makes all the difference. For me, 7-UP, Sprite, and Bubble Up don't really compete with each other...they each have a unique taste and sometimes you just get a "hankering" for a particular one of them.
Here's some trivia: Bubble Up was introduced in 1919, 10 years prior to the introduction of 7-UP:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubble_Up
Dave I truly wish I could try every soda in a glass bottle. Sadly this one wasn't available to me in that form. I will say that with the knowledge you dropped upon me in your comment I will be on constant look out for a cane sugar sweetened, glass bottle version of Bubble Up. Thanks for the readership!
A
Bubble up is probably one of my favorite lemon-lime sodas. Unfortunately, you tried it in it's worst possible format! You should try to get a hold of the Bubble Up that Orca Beverages make. They make a fine Bubble Up that tastes the way it should. You might want to check your local Cost Plus World Market; that's where I get my glass bottled/cane sugar Bubble Up from.
Here's a link to the bottler that does Bubble Up the right way: http://www.orcabeverage.com/ourdrinks.html
I agree 100% with the above statements that I should re-review this in a glass bottle. I found it in a glass bottle recently and tried it... AMAZING! If I still have a glass bottle available I'll make sure to re-review this beverage in it.
The glass bottle cane sugar version is available at World Market and is great
Also it is interesting to note that Bubble Up actually predates 7 Up.