Favorite Diet Sodas?

[David Kahn]

What are your favorite diet sodas?

Right now, I'm really liking Stewart's Diet Black Cherry Wishniak (whatever that is). It's on the edge of being too sweet, but it has a really nice, rich cherry soda flavor, and it feels almost creamy in the mouth. Very nice stuff.

Any other really good ones out there that I need to sample?

[dinaofdoom]

i am a diet coke in a 16-20 oz. bottle fan: not as sweet as regular coke (i just prefer the taste).
i don't do coffee in the mornings so diet coke is my morning caffeinated bevvie.
the colder, the better.

also? i am surprised no fellow massholes have chimed in on diet polar sodas....
i grew up in the late 70s-early 80s with a diabetic family, and we used to LOVE the diet polar sodas, like orange dry and cranberry dry.
they have a little bit of juice, which balances any artificial sweetener taste.

fresca is also good, but i have only tried the old-skool version, not the peach.

[bushwickgirl]

And one more time, diet Dr. Pepper.

[CrazyOne]

I rediscovered Fresca this year after using it to make palomas. Now I buy it just to drink straight every once in a while. I'm trying not to end up with a big soda habit again (used to drink multiple Diet Pepsis a day) but an occasional Fresca is good.

[Smileelisa]

Diet caffeine free coke. Actually that is the only soda I drink at all.

[JeffSan]

Honestly, I think I like almost ALL diet sodas! To list my favorites: (all "diet") A&W Root Beer, Big Red, Sprite, 7-Up, Dr. Pepper (and variations), Diet Rite, and A&W Creme Soda. Some of these are also either caffeine-free, or available in caffiene-free versions. There are some recent additions to the "orange" flavored drinks, including Orange Crush, Sunkist, etc., which either have several calories, or contain caffeine. What I drink the most of is Diet A&W Root Beer. It's a little higher in sodium than some of the diet drinks, but that is required in root beer (a 12 fl.oz. can has 100 mg Sodium).

[lindygal]

ps -- here's a treat if you don't mind a bit of sugar: you can get really good fruit syrups from Poland or Hungary at ethnic delis. I've found that the best sour-cherry syrup comes from Hungary, tho some Polish syrups come close (look for sour cherry, not Morello, Bing or black cherry). Also, Italian syrup made from amarena cherries or true maraschino syrup is great. Just pour a tablespoon or two into your favorite plain or lime-flavored seltzer, over ice, and garnish with a twig of fresh spearmint, sweet basil, or lemon or lime thyme. Also: Swiss, German, French or Polish black currant syrup and/or Swedish lingonberry syrup are great in seltzers and iced teas.

Finally, for something different, pour a bit of sugar-free hazelnut syrup into your diet cream soda -- tasty!!

[TeganZ]

I love Diet Rootbeer!

[lindygal]

I'm surprised nobody's mentioned it, but pink grapefruit soda usually isn't as sweet as regular soda, and I'll sometimes drink that instead of diet. Fizz makes a very nice one. When I was a kid, Squirt and Canfield's 50-50 were my favorites -- grapefruit, lemons, and limes: no surprise there -- but the diet versions have too much fake sweetener in them to taste good -- so instead I'll cut the regular version with a bit of lime-flavored seltzer and a wedge of fresh lime. That usually does the trick while reducing the sugar intake to almost nothing.

[roxlet]

It's not a diet soda per se, but it is so lo-cal that you could make a case for Q Tonic. Man, is that stuff good! It is true tonic WATER, not that syrupy stuff you usually get. It's hard to find though. I have to get mine at Fairway, though I am thinking of asking my local beverage joint to order me a case...

[maplesugar]

My fave is RW Knudsen's light Tangerine Spritzer. Not quite as sweet as a traditional soda/pop, and 90 cals rather than zero cal, but they're made without artificial sweeteners.

http://www.knudsenjuices.com/products...

[Doctormhl1]

How about good old Vernor's Diet Ginger Ale?

[lindygal]

Absolutely. IF you can get it.

[LeahBaila]

Boylan's Diet Orangesicle (or is it Orange Creme soda?), Diet Ruby Red Squirt

www.thelunchbelle.com

[fourunder]

Believe it or not, I still like TAB. Others on the list include:

Diet Dr Pepper
Fresca
Diet Rite Cola
Canfiels's Diet Chocolate

My new diet soda binge is MASH

http://www.drinkmash.com/

[pak1789]

My favorite is plain old Diet Coke. I've been drinking it ever since it came out circa 1985. I do occasionally enjoy other flavors of Diet Coke or Diet Dr. Pepper. I don't care for Diet Pepsi, but will drink it if there is nothing else available, such as in a restaurant that carries only Pepsi products.

I have lived in several countries (France, Turkey, and Benin in Africa) and the Diet Coke available there does not taste the same as the Diet Coke in the U.S. They must use a different artificial sweetener. I much prefer the American kind. In fact, in Turkey I started drinking Pepsi Max after a fellow American tipped me off that it tasted more like American Diet Coke than did the Turkish Diet Coke! I found he was right!

I hope my last soft drink on earth is a nice cold can of good old American Diet Coke...

[charitytd]

So maybe this doesn't count, but I love to get a nice, clear juice -- pomegranate, apple, kiwi -- and mix it with pellegrino. It's fewer calories than juice or regular soda, has nutritional content and better than either.

[laliz]

Diet Coke. In a bottle, seldom drink out of a can any more.
I like it over ice with lime in it sometimes.
No Diet Coke Lime, or Coke Zero or Diet Cherry Coke.
And never, ever, ever Diet Pepsi. Friends don't let friends drink Pepsi.

Every once in a while a Fresca, but Diet Coke every single day.

[AntonioMartin]

Diet Coke!!

But I also love Diet Vanilla Coke, Diet Cherry Coke and all the Root Beer and Cream Soda brands!!

I want to try the Diet Chocolate-Strawberry flavor by one of the lesser knwon brands, through!

[synergy]

Hands down (for me) Dr. Brown's Diet Creme Soda (no other brand of it)

[lindygal]

Heck, YES!!!! Doc Brown's diet creme is the best. Diet Vernor's Ale is great, but I can rarely find it in Chicago. Vernor's Ale of either kind used to be very easy to find; go figure. Also agree on the diet IBC root beer -- no off-taste like may others.

[thegolferbitch]

On a scorching hot day, I am a huge fan of ice cold diet coke (but from a can...the bottled doesn't taste right to me. Mind over matter?). My second favorite would be Miller Light, since everybody at Fenway Park (my local baseball venue) swears it's not really beer....

[ursabear]

David, allow me to explain about wishniak or vishniac. You are holding in your hands the very soul of Eastern European Jewry, my friend, or at the very least its' quintessence. Vishniak can be bought as a kosher wine made from sour cherries or can be made as a liqueur. The soda pop is a tamer American version of this hanukah beverage that can knock you on your tush. Easy to make. Two cups pitted cherries, two cups of sugar, two cups of vodka, macerate for three months, filter and enjoy as is, on ice or with Coke. For a modern take, serve in a flute glass, on ice with spritzer and a twiste of citrus. If you're feeling chic, you can buy the Maraska Croatian Wishniak brand or the Binyamina Vishniac from Israel at a fancy liqueur store. As they say in the old country, Mazel Tov!

[Ace_Mclean]

Diet Dr. Pepper is my fav. The new flavors like cherry van are not good IMO, and I've noticed a few places replacing plain old DDP with the new stuff.

Diet Sunkist is good as well, and Giant store brand diet cola is actually better than Diet Pepsi and Coke.

[amandine]

I pound Diet Sunkist... yummy. Not as sweet as Crush.

I know it's technically low-cal and not cal-free...but is anyone else into Coke Blak?

[amkirkland]

Coke blak struck me wrong. I like the concept, but the flavors didn't meld for some reason. In Great Britain I had Pepsi Max Cappucino (AKA Pepsi Max Cino). Max means it was diet and it had coffee flavor in it. It was a regular size soda, not the shot glass of blak. It was really good. At my QT (a gas station) sometimes I'll mix a little of their frozen coffee in with my Diet Dr. Pepper and get decent results.

[applehome]

As one of my syrup solutions to using soda club (http://www.sodaclubusa.com/), I started making a crystal light lemonade (and pink lemonade) soda. I just mix up the crystal light in a small cup, and then pour 1/2 into the liter soda. It's tasty, and I'm happy. But I knew that I was really onto something when I bought a fancy schmancy ceramic-pop-top 750 ml bottle of Lorina sparkling lemonade for $3.00 - and it tasted exactly like the crystal light soda I've been making... nice bottle, though...

[bijoux16]

I like the Diet Creme Sodas in the glass bottles at Trader Joe's. the same brand (don't remember the name... sorry) has a diet Root Beer flavor and diet Black Cherry flavor as well. I didn't like the Root Beer flavor and haven't tried the Black Cherry.

[fnarf]

I hate Diet Coke, but love Diet Coke with Lime. But my favorite is Fresca, regular Fresca. It doesn't taste like a "diet" drink, or a low-cal version of something else; it just tastes like Fresca.

Of course, nothing compares to the fantasticness of Tab, but I can no longer find it anywhere. As a "substitute Coke" it's nothing, but if you take it on its own terms it's marvelous -- much better than Coke or any of the other "real" soft drinks.

[himbeer]

I was visiting a friend who eschews all diet sodas. She offered me some Fresca. You know that's a diet soda, don't you? What???

My dentist encouraged me to switch to diet soda and now my palate has been retrained.

Diet Coke, Fresca, Canada Dry, Diet Sprite.

[Cinnamon]

I agree with everything himbeer says. These to my palate are the very best. Once in awhile, I'll also try a Diet Squirt (who knew, I thought it would be terrible) or a Diet Dr. Pepper, like at a friend's house if that's what they have.

[ML8000]

I've tried most and I still get the after taste of artifical sweetner which I just can't get over or ignore.

Anyone ever try a diet soda that doesn't have the after taste?

[calabasas_trafalgar]

If you only drink diet, your palate gets retrained. Except for the occasional swig of Seven Up, I have't had a regular soda since 1977.

[keysdax]

Love Diet Vernors but cannot get it in NE, so my current fave is Diet Cranberry Canada Dry Ginger Ale. When I want a super sweet diet soda I have been buying Pepsi Jazz Strawberries and Cream.

[Jolie]

I am totally addicted to Diet Pepsi. The colder the better. Diet Coke just does not compare. I cannot figure out why though.
I am also a big fan of Fresca.

[J T]

Faves for me... it's a tie between Coke Zero and Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper, slight edge to Coke Zero. I also like Diet Pepsi, Fresca, and the Diet Rite varieties. I even enjoy a Canfield's Diet Chocolate Fudge soda once in a while. I'll admit I've liked most diet sodas I've tried except for the Hansen diet sodas.

[EricDH]

If one more person posts that Diet Mountain Dew is their favorite I am probably going to puke, but anyways Diet Vernors is deffinatly my favorite diet pop because it tastes most like regular vernors than any other diet pop tastes to it's regular version

[calabasas_trafalgar]

Yeah, Diet Vernor's is great!

[Galleriaman]

My favorites so far, and the list keeps growing are (in no particular order!) :
1)Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper
2)Diet Black Cherry Vanilla Coke (prior to this, I was not a big diet coca cola fan)
3)Diet Frostie Root Beer
4)Diet Stewart's Root Beer
5)Diet Dr. Pepper
6)Coca Cola Zero

[YYZSolly]

I really like the diet Sierra Mist - a shame that we can't get it here in Canada. Diet Cherry Coke is awesome as well - also not available here. At home in Toronto, it's usually Diet Canada Dry Ginger Ale for me.

[nicki]

COKE ZERO!!! I'm amazed that not more people wrote that. It tastes almost exactly like Regular Classic Coke.

[gnosh]

A. Where is diet Cricket Cola from (i.e. what country)?
B. I love Diet Orangina but haven't seen it in a long time. Does anybody know where to buy it in New York or through the mail? (Cooincidentially I just asked this in the New York Outer Boroughs board, but nobody knew.)

[asiege2]

Cricket Cola is a U.S. product. http://cricketcola.com/

Don't know about the Orangina though, sorry.

[ThatPat]

I knew Orangina was originally European and I thought maybe it was Italian in origin, but apparently it originated in...of all places, Algeria, and then became French. It is now owned by Schweppes. I imagine you can get it in a lot of markets but not sure specifically about diet Orangina. I don't think I've ever tasted it.

[gnosh]

Thanks. I am going to write to Schweppes. All this discussion of it has turned a mild craving into a mission!

[gnosh]

Well, I just found a web site that sells rare and hard to find soda, including many diet sodas. Alas, it does not carry Orangina of any kind. But here it is, for seekers after other unusual sodas: www.sodafinder.com

Most of the prices are normal, but there are some rare collectable sodas that are vv expensive, i.e. $500 for a 12 pack of Pepsi Blue!

[ThatPat]

If you can find it (I've had trouble recently) diet Cricket Cola is really exceptional enough IMO to warrant the high price. There are a few markets on the westside of L.A. that have it. It has a light tea flavoring but mixed with the cola is extremely refreshing and actually better than their sugar version. For cheap, I actually prefer Diet Pepsi vanilla. Diet coke in France (when I was there in March) was incredibly better than the diet coke they sell here, by the way. Coca-Lite in Mexico is also much better than the Diet Coke sold here. Why in the world do they have different flavors in different countries?

Water is better for you!! (but I tend to forget that every time I eat lunch in a restaurant)

[shirlotta]

i don't really like soda in general, but i do love fresca, and it has 0 calories.

[asiege2]

Diet Dr. Enuf! It's somewhat local to TN, but I pick up a case or two whenever I pass through. It's quite good, and quite odd... your average lemon-lime soda, but with a little bit of a spicy kick.

Other than that, I also like Diet Vernors, though it can be a bit pricey.

[Marinating Matt]

I like Pennsylvania Dutch Diet Birch Beer. It only comes in 2 liter bottles as far as I know. I don't know if it's available all over the country. I live in New Jersey and I believe it's distributed by Pepsi.

[sprout]

The only diet I drink is sparkling water with a splenda sweetened syrup, like Monin's O'Free line or Torani. Add a bit of cream to a vanilla and its perfect, but not totally diet.

[mitchrc]

Diet Coke with Lime and Peach Fresca.

[sarvey]

Diet IBC Root Beer. I make a special trip to the only Safeway in town that stocks it.

[biscuit]

Let me add Jones Diet Green Apple Soda to the list. Tried it yesterday and it was heavenly.

[The Ranger]

That _does_ sound good! I'm off to Bev-and-More to check it out. (Just in case, how much for that habit?)

[biscuit]

I think it was on sale for a buck sixty-nine or thereabouts. Not a cheap habit by any means, but a nice, occasional splurge.

[leeds]

Fresca.

[Cinnamon]

2nd the Fresca

[southernitalian]

Third the Fresca

[Neta]

I use very little heavy cream maybe one and a half to two tablespoons. It doesn't take much and it does taste like a root beer float. Actually, it is very much like an egg cream.

[amkirkland]

I do the same, but typically with half and half (cause that's what's on hand) and more often in Dr. Pepper. I've actually been known to throw creamer in to my sodas at gas stations.

[welle]

Diet Guaraná by Antarctica - the stuff is pretty addictive (hence has to go Diet).

[Jolie]

where can i find this Diet Guarana?

[welle]

I don't know where you're located (looks like in Fl), but here in NY, with a big Brazilian population in Astoria, many grocery stores around there carry guarana sodas. The biggest market is Rio Bonito by Northern blvd.
I read there is a big Brazilian influx in Southern Florida, you may want to find your closest Brazilian enclave.

[davinagr]

I like Diet Coke with Lime. Also like Dr. Brown's Diet Cream Soda.

[Neta]

I like Diet Rite cola with some Da Vinci's sugarfree cherry syrup or choclate syrup or Barq's rootbeer with some heavy cream (sugar free rootbeer float).

[Cheese Boy]

I saw this in another post and I'm wondering about the Barq's and heavy cream mixture. Does it work? It reminds me of milk and pepsi. Ewwww. What kind of ratio are we talking about? maybe 80/20 or 70/30? Hopefully we're going for an egg cream flavor/consistency.
Inquiring minds want to know.

[PseudoNerd]

Hansen's Kiwi-Strawberry with freshly-squeezed lime (or key lime) juice, ginger ale with vanilla (preferably natural, unsugared powder) and (again) lime juice

[CulinaryKate]

I totally second the hansen's kiwi-stawberry, I had one with lunch today! The first soda I ever liked as a kid was Crush Strawberry (This was when i was 12 or something) and it tastes just like i remember

[Sam Ottawa]

Not a big diet soda drinker - but in the UK Schweppes has "slimline" tonic - basically diet tonic water. I've only been able to find diet tonic water in 2L bottles here (not condusive to stocking the bar for the occaisional G &T. Anyone know of a manufacturer who does it in cans or small bottles?

[Caitlin McGrath]

I've seen Schweppes diet tonic water in both 1-liter bottles and six-packs of 10-oz glass bottles here, in New York and in northern California. You might ask the manager of your market if he or she can order it for you.

[Robert Deutsch]

They re-released the No-Cal brand, which may have been the original diet soda even before Tab. The Clementine flavor is my favorite with the cherry/lime a close second.

[amandine]

Diet Sunkist orange

[wyf4lyf]

COKE ZERO...way better than Diet Coke or Tab!!

[laliz]

won't touch coke zero

[biscuit]

Diet Steaz Green Tea Cola! I can't get enough of the stuff. It's a low-carb, organically sweetened diet drink. Also a little hard to find, but worth it.

Also a fan of Hansen's Diet Ginger Ale, sweetened with Splenda, which I'm not crazy about, so I drink it in moderation.

[Bill on Capitol Hill]

That reminds me: I forgot diet Cricket green-tea cola, which is quite good. I wasn't aware of the Hansen's ginger ale -- I'll have to seek that out. Sometimes the inability to have a "real" spicy ginger ale almost makes me regret this whole diabetes thing.

[Candy]

I have had diet Blenheim ginger ale which is very good and spicy.

[Bill on Capitol Hill]

Diet A&W Root Beer, Diet Vernors (hello, Detroit!), and (don't laugh) Tab. The part-aspartame, part-saccharin Tab of today has a nice cinnamony note.

[beer786]

diet coke and diet dr pepper.

[Nicole]

I love Stewart's Diet Black Cherry too! FYI, Stewarts sodas are on sale at Bristol Farms this week for 2 4-packs/$4 (so 50 cents/bottle) in L.A.

[Leslieville]

You may not get this in the States,but my favorite diet drink is Presidents Choice diet Green Apple. It's a very strange colour,but it tastes just like a green apple, not sour,very refreshing and natural tasting. Their pomegranate diet is very good too, but the Green Apple is best!!!

[jfood]

Diet Mountain Dew. I also find that on a hot day when we are sitting at the pool I put some in my dog's water bowl and she laps it up. Keeps her hydrated.

[Non Cognomina]

I don't drink much soda, but was at a friend's house and had a sip of Diet Rite Golden Peach soda. It was so good that I asked to have one of my own! I also tried the Diet Rite Tangerine, but I didn't care for it.

[The Ranger]

There's a bonus for drinking Diet Rite: These are also low-sodium (key for those that are on the Optifast diet.)

[amkirkland]

I believe Diet Rite sodas use splenda, which some people seem to much less sensitive too, myself included.

[Darren72]

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/...

[David Kahn]

Great thread. (How could I have missed this?) Thanks.

[makalive45]

best diet soda ever:

DIET MOUNTAIN DEW

close second:

Diet Dr. Pepper

[Will Owen]

My tasting mechanism throws fits when it detects artificial sweeteners of any kind whatsoever. For some reason, the black-cherry flavor of Dr. Pepper masks that taste almost perfectly, and so that's the only diet soda I can abide. I might try some of the other black cherry kinds to see if they do the same.

Someone below mentions Schweppes Diet Tonic water. The only cocktail I've ever poured down the sink was a G&T I'd made with that by mistake.

[lindygal]

I find that saccharine and Equal both bother me in drinks; Splenda less so, but only if they don't overdo the amount -- and commercial soda makers usually do overdo it. At home, when I make fresh iced tea or soda of my own, I find that a mix of equal parts Splenda and superfine (bar) sugar works well, or else equal parts of Truvia (stevia), Splenda and superfine sugar or simple syrup. Even then, I use a light hand and typically even out the flavor with a squeeze of fresh lime. I even put fresh lime in Stewart's key lime soda over ice and in Dr. Brown's cream soda, not to mention my favorite brunch drink: blood orange juice and Pellegrino with a lime and a splash of Rose's grenadine, over ice. Yum!!

[calabasas_trafalgar]

Cherry Vanilla Diet Dr. Pepper

but the berries n cream tastes like cough medicine!

[amkirkland]

agreed

[chocolatetartguy]

Diet Mountain Dew is what Warren Zevon turned to when he stopped drinking alcohol.