Coke, although I drink the diet version. Of course every soda in the South is called Coke. It's not uncommon to hear the following conversation Bring me a Coke. What kind? Sprite. If you want an actual Coke you ask for a CoColer.
If you ask for Coke in Amsterdam, you get the powdered sugar version. You have to ask for a Cola if you want a soda.
The current Mexican origin CocaCola is the ticket for a good Cuba Libre. Accept no substitute! Pepsi just will not do. Be sure to use plenty of fresh-cut lime -- at least a sixth, or better yet a quarter of a fresh lime. Squeeze the juice into an old fashioned glass as best you can. Rub the rim of the glass with the peel side of the lime fragment to deposit its aromatic oil all around the rim (you washed that lime first, right?). Then drop it into the glass and crush it around with a muddler. Then either strip the remaining pulp from the peel, squeeze it out and discard it and put the peel back in the glass as a garnish, or just leave the whole works in the glass. Pick up the glass, slant it and roll it so all that juice and oil coats the inside of the glass as close to the rim as practical. Put in a few cubes of ice, an ounce and a half or two of the rum of your choice -- a white rum like ordinary Bacardi silver or whatever they're calling it nowadays is traditional and I like it best. Darker, more flavoreable rums work too, but produce a beverage with concomitant flavors. Fill up with Mexican Coke, stir enough to blend but not knock the carbonation out of the Coke, and enjoy. All that messing around with the lime is whole point of the Cuba Libre, otherwise its just a rum & coke. The lime is the distinction, and the scent through your nose (lime oil on the rim) amplifies the taste. The procedure above takes a lot more time to describe than to do. It takes very little time; besides, a good drink is always worth the wait for its construction. Cheers Tony
but it's got to be very near 32° or you can taste the saccharine. Ice cold, it's excellent. Other than that, I've been liking the occasional Harris Teeter version of Coke Zero (no doubt available under other store labels).
I ran with a girl in the wild and wooly seventies that lived on the stuff. Now that I think of it, it was best very icy straight out of a cooler.
I'd like to see it catch on now that saccharine is shown to be harmless, or at least no more harmful than other artificial sweeteners. Tab is hard to come by sometime. Fresca is another good one, though not a cola.
Cola is soft drink or soda flavoured with citrus essential oils - Orange, Lemon, Lime and Neroli/Pettigrain mixed with spices - Cinnamon or Cassia, Nutmeg and Vanilla. Coca Cola even adds Coriander and Lavender.
I love Coca Cola. As I was advised to reduce my sugar intake and hate diet sodas, I have switched to Coca Cola Life. This is the reduced-sugar version and also uses some stevia sweetener. It tastes pretty good.
I didn't like the taste myself. I am a diabetic, the best I can do at the moment is drink soda as a treat or use cordials with soda water and heavily water it down. Ginger is my current favourite. I am looking at making my own sodas next.
What's your opinion of the new formula Coke Zero? I really like it, and I also don't generally like diet soda.
I have substantially reduced my soda intake and sweet tea over the past 4 years or so, and have lost around 25 pounds without major modification to food, although as I have lost weight I find I cannot eat as much, which is a good thing. I’ve switched to water and unsweetened tea. I now regard cola as an occasional treat versus an everyday drink. Coca Cola has always been my favorite, especially the old version before the “new” coke debacle. I’m not totally certain, but I think the old coke was sweetened with cane sugar, and Coke Classic was when corn syrup was introduced to the mix. RC Cola is a sentimental favorite, because of childhood memories at my grandparents in rural Alabama.
I didn’t care for the original Coke Zero; maybe I’ll try the new formulation. I do like the Coke Life fairly well, certainly better than diet soda.
I gave up "sweetea" as well. Don't eat processed sugar at all unless it's in dessert or chocolate, then only occasionally. Congrats on the positive changes! Stick to it.