Yes, it's that time of year again.

As you know, I'm an avid Jones Soda fan and a collector of rare/promotional bottles, flavors, and packs of theirs. For the past 2 years, Jones has put out Holiday Packs for Toys For Tots and St. Jude's Hospital. 2004 there was one holiday pack. 2005 saw two of them, but we only taste-tested one of them, i had trouble getting my hands on the second one... normally i'll buy 2 holiday packs and some friends and I will taste test one and I'll keep the other for my shelf. This year was no exception.

If you'd like the tests for the last two years, you can find them here: 2004 2005

Once again, Jones Soda has put out their annual holiday pack... in fact, two of them... This year, one is a Holiday Pack, and one is a Dessert Pack. Both of them are available at Target if you'd like to give them a shot.

First thing's first, let's meet the taste testers!

(From Left To Right, Back To Front in the case of the girls)
John, Drok (who was drunk), Kim, Amanda, Kevin, and yours truly (Tim).

It should be noted that each bottle of Jones Soda has a fortune under the cap...

And now, to the taste tests... I'll go in order of which we tried them:

Holiday Pack

Flavors: Turkey and Gravy Soda, Pea Soda, Sweet Potato Soda, Dinner Roll Soda, and Antacid Soda

Turkey and Gravy Soda:
Fortune: You will be called upon to help a friend in trouble
Looks like:
Kevin: Rusty water
Kim: Chicken Broth
Drok: Rice water
John: Chicken broth
Amanda: Chicken broth
Tim: Stomach bile

Tastes Like:
Kevin: Cornstarch and chicken boullion
Kim: Rotten Butterscotch
Drok: Snot
John: Flat diet soda
Amanda: Unusually old butterscotch
Tim: Butterscotchy, as always

Overall Rating:
Kevin: 3/10
Kim: 3/10
Drok: 2/10
John: 4/10
Amanda: 2/10
Tim: 5/10

Pea Soda:
Fortune: Accept the next proposition you hear
Looks like:
Kevin: Oil + Antifreeze = Head gasket!!!
Kim: Bad fishtank water
Drok: Pond water
John: Dirty water
Amanda: Liquid puke
Tim: Pureed vegetable smoothie/pond water

Tastes Like:
Kevin: Sweetened vomit
Kim: Exercist vomit
Drok: Pond water
John: Pea + crap
Amanda: Chalk and puke
Tim: Moldy vegetables from the crisper drawer, covered in Splenda

Overall Rating:
Kevin: 3/10
Kim: 2/10
Drok: 4/10
John: 1/10
Amanda: 1/10
Tim: 4/10

Sweet Potato Soda:
Fortune: Concentration leads to success
Looks like:
Kevin: Someone with dehydrated urine
Kim: Orange flavored Alkaseltzer
Drok: Orange cream soda
John: Orange cream soda
Amanda: Orange soda
Tim: Non-threatening like orange soda

Tastes Like:
Kevin: Maple syrup + butter
Kim: butterscotch sweet potatoes
Drok: Sweet potato casserole
John: Syrup and candy
Amanda: cotton candied sweet potatoes
Tim: Overly sweet, butterscotch and brown sugar

Overall Rating:
Kevin: 7/10
Kim: 6/10
Drok: 8/10
John: 8/10
Amanda: 6/10
Tim: 5/10

Dinner Roll Soda:
Fortune: You will participate in a gala affair
Looks like:
Kevin: Green Tea
Kim: None; filtered water
Drok: urine
John: Urine
Amanda: Ethiopian water
Tim: Urine

Tastes Like:
Kevin: Seltzer water + movie theatre butter
Kim: popcorn jellybeans gone wrong
Drok: popcorn jellybeans + water
John: Drok's mom's (censored)
Amanda: Seltzer water + popcorn
Tim: Selzer water and popcorn

Overall Rating:
Kevin: 3/10
Kim: 1/10
Drok: -5/10
John: -1/10
Amanda: 4/10
Tim: 6/10

Antacid Soda:
Fortune: Miss the bus on purpose
Looks like:
Kevin: Grapefruit Juice
Kim: Pink Lemonade
Drok: Pepto-Bismol
John: Pink Lemonade
Amanda: Pink Lemonade
Tim: Pink Lemonade

Tastes Like:
Kevin: Watered down Pepto-Bismol
Kim: Watered down Pepto
Drok: Peppermint puke
John: That chalk stuff at the hospital
Amanda: Watered down Pepto-Bismol and wintergreen gum
Tim: Smells like pink wintergreen candies, tastes likewise.

Overall Rating:
Kevin: 5/10
Kim: 8/10
Drok: 2/10
John: 1/10
Amanda: 8/10
Tim: 7/10


Dessert Pack

Flavors: Apple Pie Soda, Banana Cream Pie Soda, Blueberry Pie Soda, Cherry Pie Soda, Key Lime Pie Soda

Apple Pie Soda:
Fortune: Try a new hair color
Looks like:
Kevin: Apple Juice
Kim: Urine
Drok: Cider
John: Urine
Amanda: Pee
Tim: Dark cider or tainted lager

Tastes Like:
Kevin: Apple-cinnamon
Kim: Applesauce
Drok: Happy
John: Better than Drok's Happy
Amanda: Apple sauce
Tim: Smells like the inside of an apple cider plant, tastes like overly cinnamony apples

Overall Rating:
Kevin: 8/10
Kim: 7/10
Drok: 9/10
John: 9/10
Amanda: 7/10
Tim: 7/10

Banana Cream Pie Soda:
Fortune: Financial security is right around the corner
Looks like:
Kevin: Lemonade
Kim: Lemonade
Drok: Urine
John: Lemonade
Amanda: Lemonade
Tim: Lemonade

Tastes Like:
Kevin: Artificial banana flavoring (which i hate)
Kim: Banana runts
Drok: Banana runts
John: Banana runts candy
Amanda: Banana runts
Tim: Smells like banana runts, tastes likewise (I was the first to come up with that comparison)

Overall Rating:
Kevin: 4/10
Kim: 8/10
Drok: 8/10
John: 6/10
Amanda: 8/10
Tim: 9/10

Blueberry Pie Soda:
Fortune: You will make a profitable investment
Looks like:
Kevin: Powerade
Kim: Windshield washer fluid
Drok: Windex
John: Windex
Amanda: Wiper fluid
Tim: Plant food or windex

Tastes Like:
Kevin: Blueberry fruit snacks
Kim: Applesauce
Drok: Medecine
John: Blue ice pops
Amanda: Blueberries
Tim: Doesn't smell like much, tastes like blue ice pops

Overall Rating:
Kevin: 7/10
Kim: 7/10
Drok: 6/10
John: 10/10
Amanda: 9/10
Tim: 9/10

Cherry Pie Soda:
Fortune: Stop smoking
Looks like:
Kevin: Cherokee red
Kim: Fruit punch
Drok: Blood
John: Blood
Amanda: Punch
Tim: Red Kool-Aid

Tastes Like:
Kevin: Marachino cherry juice
Kim: Cough medicine and Code Red
Drok: Cherries and cream... she's my cherry pie
John: Cough syrup
Amanda: Cherries and cream
Tim: Smells like marachino cherry juice, tastes likewise with hint of cheesecake crust

Overall Rating:
Kevin: 8/10
Kim: 6/10
Drok: 10/10
John: 8/10
Amanda: 10/10
Tim: 10/10

Key Lime Pie Soda:
Fortune: The project that you have in mind is gaining momentum
Looks like:
Kevin: Tim's Karmann Ghia or Ecto Cooler
Kim: Antifreeze
Drok: Slimer
John: Pea soup
Amanda: Antifreeze
Tim: Antifreeze

Tastes Like:
Kevin: 50/50
Kim: Mountain Dew
Drok: Lime ice pop
John: Mountain Dew... REE COLAAAA
Amanda: Mountain Dew
Tim: Smells like lime juice, tastes like Surge

Overall Rating:
Kevin: 9/10
Kim: 10/10
Drok: 10/10
John: 9/10
Amanda: 10/10
Tim: 9/10


So that's it... I know it was kinda long, but I hope you all enjoyed it... go out and try them for yourselves!

And look for another one of these next year!