Ale-8-One Flavor Ranking

 

Ale-8 is the king of carbonated beverages. The company has found the right combination of flavor and nostalgia to build a following of loyal customers, of which I am a member.

I still remember my first time drinking Ale-8 as a kid, on a father-son camping trip in Red River Gorge; it was just about the coolest thing I had ever tasted. Here and there across the intervening years, I would have another taste and enjoy the crisp, refreshing, genuine ginger and sugar flavor. Over the last couple years, my interest in this drink has revived and it has become something of a tradition for me to enjoy Ale-8-One as a special treat. With this reinvigorated interest, I've been able to sample a few different flavors of my favorite soft drink! Here is my definitive and official ranking of all the Ale-8-One flavors I have thus-far sampled, which will be updated should I try a new flavor for the first time.

#6: Orange Cream Ale-8

This was my first voyage into new flavors of this classic drink. There's something to the mellow softening effect of vanilla, but orange-flavored soda has never been my favorite and this proved to be no exception. Orange as a fruit is excellent, but as a pop flavor just doesn't work the best. I would still partake of this if given the opportunity, but will not pursue it again, considering the strength of the competition.

#5: Cherry Ale-8

Cherry Ale-8 is quite good. The drink does a nice job of offering the right balance of cherry flavor - not too heavy or too light. No artificial colors or flavors, either. A big step up from the orange, but not quite as good as...

#4: Peach Ale-8

Peach is a really nice Ale-8 flavor. It's simple, sweet, and refreshing. It tastes like peach. It's good. It also tastes a tad sweeter than the classic flavor despite identical sugar numbers (it's just less cut by the citrus and ginger), making it more accessible as an after-meal treat or summer oceanside refreshment. I'm a big fan.

#3: Strawmelon Ale-8

It was a surprise seeing this one show up in a local grocery store, but of course I wanted to give it a try and ended up enjoying a few of these on a vacation. It grew on me each time I tried it; a pleasant, sweet flavor with the strawberry-watermelon idea coming through, and crisp and refreshing like you expect from an Ale-8. The flavor was perhaps a hair better than peach (although now I suppose I'll have to try that one again, as well) but not quite on the level of blackberry. A tasty and satisfying refreshment!

#2: Blackberry Ale-8

I am partway through my first ever bottle of Blackberry Ale-8 as I write this review. It's a real slam dunk - all the upsides of peach but with a beautiful blackberry flavor that I like even better than the others previously mentioned on this list. I also like that they don't go for the artificial colors on this one. Again, they keep it simple and nail the flavor, while maintaining citrus and ginger to give it that signature pop.

Before I get to Number 1, I should also mention that all Ale-8 is not the sweetest pop on the market - far from it. With 30g sugar per 12oz bottle, it falls below Coke, Pepsi, Sprite, and Mountain Dew. Normally I'm not the guy to go looking for the low sugar option - nothing tastes "too sweet" for me - but I think that magical 30g number lifts the drink somehow. Drinking one of the other big names mentioned above feels heavier and more artificial (HF corn syrup), whereas Ale-8 is a light and refreshingly sweet experience. 

But the lower sugar content does affect how to get the best experience out of your Ale-8, which brings me to Number One...

#1: Classic Ale-8

Nothing can replace the classic taste of the original Ale-8-One. Other ginger-ale staples like Vernors and Canada Dry simply don't hold a candle to it - and I enjoy them both! It's the classic green glass bottle, it's the Kentucky vibes, it's the smell of sweet citrus-ginger vapor rising from the bottle after you twist the cap, but more than anything, it's the taste.

If you are interested in trying Ale-8, I will go back to the point on sweetness for a moment. The Standard American Diet is so pumped full of sugar that, depending on your strategy, Ale-8 may fall a little short for you when it comes to sweetness. Having enjoyed many bottles of this wonderful elixir, allow me to give you a recipe for the best possible experience. If you want to enjoy the absolute best bottle of soda pop you've ever had, follow these simple instructions.

    A) Enjoy a reasonably sized, ordinary breakfast.

    B) Be active during the day, preferably outdoors, preferably during the summer in Kentucky.

    C) For lunch, eat something small or skip the meal. Refrain from snacking.

    C) Remain adequately hydrated as the afternoon wears on, but not so much as to not be thirsty.

    D) Sit down with loved ones to a dinner that includes a hamburger, again preferably outside.

    E) Thank the Lord, and just before beginning to eat, twist open a classic Ale-8 and take a sip.