I like soda a lot. Like, too much, frankly. It’s a bit of a problem. Look, I love a great cocktail as much as the next person. The complexity of coffee and tea? Love it. An ice-cold beer on a hot day while the sun is setting and my schedule is free? Golden! Beautiful! But there are times when nothing slaps quite like an ice-cold Coca-Cola. Yes, soda has a lot of calories and sugar. It’s without a doubt bad for you in excess, but it’s just so damn good that I can’t get enough.
As such, I’m always on the hunt for delicious flavors and I have no allegiance towards Coca-Cola — or any brand for that matter. If it’s good, I’ll drink it and love it. Having said that, I’m not sure there is a brand that has as many delicious flavors as Sprecher Brewing.
The Sprecher Brewing Co. is one of the oldest craft breweries in Milwaukee and makes its craft beer and soda with an old-school gas-fired brew kettle, and real raw Wisconsin honey. It’s soda that’s elevated. So much so that the New York Times even declared Sprecher’s Root Beer as the best in America. That’s quite the accolade though our very own Steve Bramucci vehemently disagrees. I’ve had it, and it’s true! And I know my word holds a smidge more weight than the NYT right? Right??!?
Anyway, Sprecher has several different versions of its root beer. If you’re thinking of picking up a case the next time you’re in a Total Wine, BevMo, or your favorite craft drink store, I say why stop at root beer? So in an effort to help you navigate your way through Sprecher’s many flavors, I tasted and ranked every flavor in the brand’s Best Sellers and Popular Mix variety packs alongside a few other hard-to-find flavors.
For convenience’s sake, we’re going to link directly to Sprecher’s website on the price links. But please note that a lot of these soda bottles are available at craft beverage dealers in your local area (and some markets) for a cheaper price. Let’s dive in!
15. Grape Soda
Price: $39.99 (12 pack)
Tasting Notes:
A syrupy rush of purple grape flavors overtakes the palate in this stunningly sweet soda. As I said in the intro to this piece, I love soda, but I don’t think I’ve ever had a soda quite this sweet. It’s straight-up overwhelming, so much so that I had to peak at the Nutrition Facts label after my first drink.
I was shocked to find that a single bottle of this stuff has 72 grams of sugar, which is 144% of the typical daily allotment (a 12-oz. can of Coca-Cola has 39 grams for comparison’s sake). That’s a lot of sugar, and you can really taste it. Soda should be sweet but this is too sweet and too overwhelming.
The Bottom Line:
The sweetest soda on earth. Even if you like super syrupy sugar sodas, you might find this much too much. For that, we’re ranking it last.
14. Ginger Ale
Price: $39.99 (12 pack)
Tasting Notes:
A ginger ale can never be too spicy so if you like your ale with a lot of bite, Sprecher is your brand. This ginger ale has a wince-inducing quality to it that I love as spicy ginger notes attack your palate and fizz on the tongue. The finish is dry with the slightest sense of barrel notes. This is a craft ginger ale through and through. But I like it less as a straight soda and maybe more with a pour of whiskey.
The Bottom Line:
This is a great mixing ginger ale. On its own, it’s sharp, biting, and spicy.
13. Lo-Cal Cream Soda
Price: $39.99 (12 pack)
Tasting Notes:
Lush and creamy with strong notes of floral vanilla and rich warm honey. It’s incredible that Sprecher was able to pull this off with a soda that has only 40 calories and 7 grams of sugar(!). I wasn’t aware that this was a low-calorie version of the brand’s Cream Soda until I was uploading the photo for this article.
The Bottom Line:
This is a low-calorie cream soda with no compromise. This tastes like dessert in a bottle.
12. Green River
Price: $39.99 (12 pack)
Tasting Notes:
I’m a California boy through and through, so unlike people in the Pacific Northwest (where it’s so popular that burger joints make Green River milkshakes) or Midwest (the iconic green soda even appears in The Bear), I don’t have any nostalgic connection to Green River. I had never tried it until recently and I have to say … I don’t get it. I mean don’t get me wrong, it’s a fine soda. But it sort of tastes like green Jell-o to me.
It has a very artificial lime-forward flavor that is candy sweet. The fizz is nice and strong. But given the choice, I’d pick so many flavors above this one.
The Bottom Line:
This is a Midwest classic that is over 100 years old and tastes like lime-flavored Jello.
11. Puma Kola
Price: $39.99 (12 pack)
Tasting Notes:
I was dreading ranking this one because while I’d like to reiterate that I have no brand loyalty when it comes to cola-flavored sodas, Coca-Cola is king. Hands down. Most brands can’t hold a candle to the Georgia classic and I’m sorry to say that while I like Sprecher’s Puma Kola, it doesn’t have anything on Classic Coke.
Having said that, Puma Kola does do the balance of cinnamon, vanilla, and earthy cola nut flavors characteristic of a proper cola. It leans heavily on the cinnamon notes which play nicely with the earthy honey sweetness. What it lacks is the sharp bite of Coke though. I’m sorry to compare this with Coca-Cola, but it’s kind of hard not to.
The Bottom Line:
It’s a good well-balanced cola. Better than Pepsi and RC, but not as good as Coca-Cola.
10. Watermelon
Price:
Tasting Notes: $39.99 (12 pack)
This is juicy and refreshing with a light crispy flavor that feels gently kissed by the essence of watermelon, rather than drowned in artificial fruit notes like the Grape soda. The bottle’s mascot is a mythical creature known as the Hodag, a Norther Wisconsin legend that apparently loves watermelons. That little bit of lore helps to endear me to this flavor a bit more. There is a little bottle of Hodag in all of us!
The Bottom Line:
This is a deliciously crisp and refreshing watermelon soda that delivers sweet juicy notes without being overwhelming.
9. Lo-Cal Root Beer
Price: $39.99
Tasting Notes:
I honestly feel bad about ranking Sprecher’s Lo-Cal Root Beer in the middle of this list because I think it’s delicious. But … this brand makes too many different root beer flavors, and one of them has to rank the lowest. This root beer has a creamy vanilla-forward flavor with a rooty, earthy aftertaste and is sufficiently sweet despite being only 45 calories with 6 grams of sugar. It’s great, but Sprecher makes several root beers that are objectively better and more complex.
The Bottom Line:
If you love root beer but hate calories and excessive amounts of sugar, this will more than exceed your expectations.
8. Orange Dream
Price: $39.99 (12 pack)
Tasting Notes:
If you’ve ever wanted to experience the refreshing flavors of an ice-cold creamsicle in a soda, no brand does it better than Sprecher. Orange Dream Soda is delicious. It begins creamy with balanced vanilla and honey flavor before hints of citrus zest take over and leave you with an aftertaste that is equal parts zesty and rich.
The Bottom Line:
A winner through and through, the fact that the brand has even better flavors is a true testament to its craft. This could easily be your favorite and is the best creamsicle soda on the market hands down.
7. Door County Cherry Soda
Price: $39.99 (12 pack)
Tasting Notes:
Made with real Door County cherry juice and Wisconsin raw honey, Sprecher’s Door County Cherry Soda is a bottle of Wisconsin pride. And it pays off. The sourcing is incredible, delivering a bright and sparkling body with rich cherry notes. While the main flavor is juicy and bright, the aftertaste is kissed by a slight almond flavor which really helps to set this soda apart from any cherry soda I’ve ever tasted.
The Bottom Line:
This is a bright and deliciously refreshing cola-free cherry soda. It’s kind of like a highly elevated cherry Sprite.
6. Maple Root Beer
Price: $39.99 (12 pack)
Tasting Notes:
Vanilla forward and creamy with a warm floral maple finish. The aftertaste lives in caramel and toffee flavors with a deep molasses finish. Unlike most Sprecher soda flavors, this one isn’t sweetened with honey. Instead, they’re using cane sugar, which gives it a nice depth of flavor that sits on the tongue in the best ways.
The Bottom Line:
This is a nice maple-infused version of Sprecher’s famous root beer. It’s less vanilla-focused and more floral and rich.
5. Black Cherry
Price: $39.99 (12 pack)
Tasting Notes:
Sprecher’s Black Cherry makes no mention of using Door County cherry juice. As a result, it doesn’t have the same bright and juicy quality as the straight Cherry Soda. But having said that, I like this one a bit more. It has a deep rich dark cherry flavor that is intensely sweet, but not off-putting in any way. It’s tart, rich, and has a wonderful depth of flavor.
The Bottom Line:
It’s not as bright and refreshing as the Door County Cherry Soda flavor, but it’s rich and deep with a Black Forest cake vibe.
4. Dr. Sprecher
Price: $39.99 (12 pack)
Tasting Notes:
I’m not sure what the flavor of Dr. Pepper is supposed to be (some kind of spicy plum cocktail?), but Dr. Sprecher is not trying to replicate it in any way as far as I can tell. What you get here is a sort of spiced cherry soda. It’s rich with dark fruity notes and a spicy cola-like finish. Even though I think it’s a far cry from Dr. Pepper, it tastes delicious. So, no complaints here.
The Bottom Line:
Sprecher seems to have a knack for making cherry sodas, and this is one of the brand’s best. It’s not Dr. Pepper, it’s spiced cherry. Nevertheless, it’s insanely delicious. I hold this even above the soda that inspired it.
3. Rev’d Up Root Beer
Price: $39.99 (12 pack)
Tasting Notes:
There is no difference between Sprecher’s Rev’d Up Root Beer and its stock Root Beer flavor other than some added caffeine. Tasting these side by side, I don’t think the caffeine affects the flavor in any way. So I’ll save my tasting notes for the next entry. I’m only ranking this one lower than the non-caffeinated version because root beer is typically caffeine free. I don’t think it needs caffeine. But hey, this is there if you need it.
The Bottom Line:
This is just a caffeinated version of Sprecher’s amazing root beer.
2. Root Beer
Price: $39.99 (12 pack)
Tasting Notes:
This is a perfect root beer. Rich vanilla leads the way and is backed by the flavor of floral honey with a deep creamy finish. The mouthfeel is wonderfully dessert-like. It’s creamy but not too soft or sweet like cream soda. It still retains a sharp bite to it and a nice fizzy body. It’s hard to imagine a better root beer than this. Having said that, it’s still not my favorite Sprecher soda.
The Bottom Line:
We’re dealing with a perfect root beer here. Sprecher is well known in the soda community for making some of the best root beer on the market. Believe the hype.
1. Cherry Cola
Price: $39.99 (12 pack)
Tasting Notes:
I know Sprecher is known for root beer. But if that’s all that you know the brand for, you’re seriously missing out on this Cherry Cola. Right from the start, this cherry soda will win you over with its intoxicating and natural cherry aromas that dance from the bottle to the nose as soon as you twist the cap off.
The taste begins with a fizzy bite before introducing natural juicy cherry flavors, a hint of vanilla, some citrus, and warm cinnamon on the back end. The flavors constantly shift, making it so that every sip is a journey of flavors on the palate.
Like the cherry soda, this bottle uses real Door County cherry juice mixed with honey and infused into a cola base.
The Bottom Line:
Hands down Sprecher’s greatest flavor and one of the best sodas I’ve ever tasted. I know the root beer has the hype, but Cherry Cola is where it’s at! It’s a perfect soda.
