Newly released is their line of premium mixers, aimed squarely at the upscale market where Fever-Tree and Q reign.  Like those competitors, they eschew artificial ingredients such as sweeteners and preservatives.  The line includes a tonic water with a light version, a club soda and this premium ginger beer.

The elegant clear-glass bottle holding 8.45oz (250ml) of ginger beer resembles some vintage White Rock bottles with its conical funnel shape and allows the liquid itself to become part of the color palette.  It complements nicely the rosy beige of the background field with its slightly more saturated ornamentation around the edges.  For the Premium line the logo has seen a complete overhaul.  While the usual logo looks accessible and established, it does say “mass-produced soft drink” pretty clearly.  This new one presents as upscale with its angular serifs and swooping strokes.  This effect is magnified by the pleasant amount of negative space on each side, giving the design room to breathe and emphasizing the elegance of it all.  The fairy girl who normally sits upon the white rock found above the logo instead perches on the bottle cap, looking closer to renaissance art than the 50’s-style of the classic line.  The final effect looks the part: elegant and upscale and ready to battle it out with Fever-Tree.

There are only four ingredients listed on the label: carbonated water, sugar, citric acid and natural flavor.  It’s a far cry from the oils, gums and starches listed on their standard ginger beer. The 250ml amounts to 110 calories.  That would be 156 for 12oz, just for comparison’s sake.

A soft haze graces the liquid with a nose of strong ginger and a tart zing.  There’s first the gentle rise of a mild sweetness tugging along an enthusiastic inflation of ginger.  Tartness zips about, rising to meet the ginger before ebbing away in step.  Heat sneaks in for the climax, typical in its intensity, leaving prickly footprints tip-tapping upon the tongue.  As the flavor falls away, sweetness and tart are the last to go.

With layered flavor and great-tasting ginger, this is a much better ginger beer than the standard version.  The tart elevates it, hitting just the right pitch to make the ginger sing.  While there’s nothing really ground-breaking or exotic here like Fever-Tree’s three gingers sourced from two continents, this really is a ginger beer done very well.  With it, White Rock now seems poised to wedge into that juicy upscale battle fought on store shelves every day.

Final Decision: Second Tier – Alluring

Purchased locally at Spec’s

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Today that prized liquid forms the basis for all of Llanllyr Source’s products, including this ginger beer.  The ingredients begin there and don’t go on for long, adding only sugar and natural flavors—no preservatives.  The calorie count remains comparatively low, only 70.8 in this 6.8-ounce (200ml) clear-glass bottle; that’s almost right at 125 per 12 ounces. 

The label design is clean and attractive, unafraid of negative space.  Upon it, black type dresses a milky brown field.  The field color varies with each of the company’s offerings and coordinates with the color of its cap.  In the logo, the “O” is usually filled with red, but on this one product the fill is orange.  The Welsh lion prances on both the label and the cap (which requires a bottle opener to remove).  It all comes together well, communicating elegance and dignity.

A handful of tumps stir the powdered ginger root and spices from the bottom of the bottle and up into the cloudy liquid.  Careful though; carbonation is strong. In fact, the first impression as Source fills the mouth is bubbles.  A froth of them offers greetings.  They part like a curtain, presenting the natural ginger flavor wrapped in tartness.  Sweetness swells but remains reserved.  The ginger’s bite is subtle but there, just a bit on the sides of the tongue, not a prickle but a presence.  The finish is pure ginger snap.

While there’s not much heat, enough is there to generate interest.  This is described as a taming of their Fiery Ginger Beer but it’s not so tame as to register as boring.  The spices and sparkle bring both taste and texture to this excellent beverage.  Llanllyr Source has here crafted something enticing.  Like a fine meal, it begins with cool water and ends with something sweet.  I’ll have seconds, please.

Final Decision: Second Tier – Alluring

Purchased locally at Total Wine | Online availability at: Amazon

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