So where does the name come from anyway?  In 1835, Texas, then a province of Mexico, sat on the brink of revolution.  As tensions rose, Mexico thought it best to reclaim a loaned cannon from the town of Gonzalez.  The town refused to return the weapon and, in defiance, rose a white flag with a painting of the cannon and emblazoned with the now immortal words, “COME AND TAKE IT.”

This moment holds a special place in the hearts of Texans even today and shirts, stickers and tattoos of the flag are common.  It’s that spirit of resistance that gave rise to the Republic of Texas for which the Lone Star means independence.

While the story behind the name is one of legend, the story behind the brand is not.

In Lewisville, Texas sits North Texas Distillers, the creator of 1835 The Lone Star and 16 other brands of spirit, 10 of which are vodkas.  Where are they all coming from?  Lone Star doesn’t have its own distillery or its own offices.  It doesn’t even have its own webpage.  So, what’s the story behind Lone Star?  If the ginger beer is any clue, it’s possible that it’s not much more than a wrapper.

The can will tell you the drink originates in Pilot Point, Texas, a tiny speck north of Dallas with less than 5000 people.  That’s the home of the Western Son vodka distillery.  Western Son crafts their own ginger beer too—previously reviewed—right there in town.  The highly distinctive ingredient list—consisting of rarities like high fructose corn syrup, caramel coloring and several additives and preservatives—sticks in the memory for its unusual nature.  It was a surprise to see it repeated on the side of the Lone Star can.

The can itself lacks inspiration, unlike the name.  A black field surrounds a grunge-framed white rectangle.  The logo floats within, comprised of a condensed western font.  A lone bronze star sits awkwardly in the lower right.  The design holds little presence and looks a bit budget, quite different from Western Son’s striking use of type—which is important because this is Western Son Ginger Beer in a different can.  No, not even a different can since the design is actually printed upon a plastic wrap hugging the can.  The liquid fills each blank can in a long train.  Then the cans get wrapped in livery based on however many of each are needed.

The Western Son review contains all the information but here’s a quick summary.  The darkly colored liquid holds a whopping 225 calories and tastes of sweet ginger and citrus.  It’s tart and tangy.  The development though is static, with little change in the experience throughout the progression.  There’s also the unfortunate (though mild) sensation of syrup pressing down on the tongue.  So while the flavor is nice, the texture isn’t. 

This ginger beer sees a much narrower distribution than its accompanying vodka so acquiring it isn’t easy.  That means stumbling across it is rare so it’s probably worth picking up to try it.  However it’s likely that adjacent to it rests another, more familiar selection that might prove a tastier choice.  Stick with what you know or go on an adventure: that decision is yours.

Final Decision: Third Tier – Enjoyable

Purchased locally at: Spec’s

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SoCo Extra Ginger appeared before and won praise for both its packaging and its flavor.  The bottle here hasn’t changed much.  Its unusual shape gives an impression of freshness while the logo offers a bit of style.  Here the seal is a fun pink and unique to the Peach.  The only issue rises with the color of the printing on the label.  The yellow type and line drawing disappear into the color of the beverage, a far cry from the well-chosen pink ink found on the Extra Ginger.

Inside the 16-ounce clear glass bottle, no preservatives can be found.  This is a drink that needs to stay constantly refrigerated.  Sparkling water, lemon, peach, organic cane juice, ginger and lime comprise every ingredient in this ginger beer.  While even the hard-to-pronounce ingredients found in other competitors are perfectly safe, it can be nice to not feel like a Google search is required to enjoy a drink.  The list instills confidence and puts the mind at ease.

Two 8-ounce servings occupy the container at 80 calories apiece.  12 ounces, for comparison’s sake, come to 120.

The gently rotated liquid is permeated with sediment and pouring generates a fair amount of fizz.  The opaque color hints at the peach within, with its orange-yellow tint.  Ginger and lemon float on the nose with perhaps just a touch of peach. 

It’s moderately sweet at first then the flavors step in, tart lemon out front with the ginger and the peach just behind.  Just after that bright punch of lemon at the climax, peach steps forward.  Ginger mixes well the whole time but never in a primary role.  Peach dominates the finish but lemon nevertheless persists.  The barest hint of prickle pitter-pats upon the lips but otherwise heat remains gentle. 

There’s five members to this merry band: heat, sweet, ginger, peach, lemon and each plays a slightly more significant part than the last.  Lemon and peach are the stars of this show, the ginger tying them together.  They do tussle a bit, elbowing to stay in the spotlight but this isn’t a bad thing.  It makes for an evolving progression, a scenic trip through the varied components of this unique ginger beer.  And hey, it’s summer.  There’s no better time to take a trip.

Final Decision: Second Tier – Alluring

Purchased at Texan Market in Austin, Texas | Check the SoCo website for other locations around the Austin, Denton and Dallas/Ft. Worth areas.

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With the renewed interest in the Moscow Mule, demand for ginger beer skyrocketed and visionary distillers like Western Son saw an opportunity to not only expand their bottom line but to showcase the spirit they’d worked so hard to create.  Enter Western Son Texas Ginger Beer.

The can design (printed on a plastic wrap and not directly on the can itself) builds off the branding of their vodka bottles with its bold type on a field the color of aged paper.  It gives the impression of an Old West wanted poster and catches, holds the eye.  Black rings the lower third of the can, providing a pleasing contrast.  Around back, the reason the drink exists is made plain.  It’s the recipe for a “Western Mule,” consisting of Western Son vodka and Western Son ginger beer. 

The uninspiring ingredient list also graces the back of the can.  Anything delectable sits locked behind the amorphous “natural flavors” while preservatives and additives get spelled out.  The list includes sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate, gum acacia and ester gum.  While sporting a couple of these is common, seeing them all is unusual.  What’s even rarer is the use of high fructose corn syrup as the sweetener.  A review encountered it only one other time.  Also present, caramel color richens the presentation.  Water and citric acid round out the list, which amounts to 150 calories for an 8oz serving, a staggering 225 for the 12oz can.

As expected, the liquid appears darker than most ginger beers with what seems to be a fine sediment suspended within it, not floating but locked in place.  Few bubbles ascend during the pour.  The nose detects a light ginger with a hint of citrus.  Tasting, a flash of sweetness precedes the almost immediate arrival of ginger and citrus.  A constant undercurrent of sweetness runs beneath the floating haze of the ginger.  The sharpness of the citrus is pronounced but not overpowering.  There’s a mild syrupy quality laying upon the tongue.  Heat never arrives.  The finish offers more of the same, tart and ginger running parallel.

Overall there’s not much of a progression.  What it is in the beginning is what it is in the middle is what it is in the end.  Other ginger beers play a bit more in the mouth but this is content to sit still.  The balance though between the ginger and citrus sets it apart.  It’s perfectly tuned and the two flavors complement each other well.  The energy here comes from the tang but it could use a touch of heat and a bit more carbonation to really make it dance. 

The mouthfeel is odd too.  The thick feeling pressing upon the tongue gives the sensation of drinking a flat soda.  It’s mild though and not a huge issue.  The citrus and ginger mostly make up for the concerns but that 225 calories equal a steep price for a flawed treat.  One of these is enjoyable but one of these is enough.

Final Decision: Third Tier – Enjoyable

Purchased locally at: Spec’s

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While it’s not the only ginger beer in town, it’s carved its own niche as extremely fresh, exotically flavored and primarily a standalone drink.  (That said, mixing is certainly encouraged as an array of tempting drink recipes await at the website.)  Locations carrying single-serving bottles span from grocery stores to convenience shops but if you want a growler, visit a local farmer’s market.  It really doesn’t even have to be too local anymore.  Vendors can be found in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area now too.

SoCo, named for the lively South Congress district near downtown Austin, brews a dizzying variety of flavors into their ginger beers, most being seasonal offerings depending on what fruits or vegetables are judged freshest at the time.  Offerings include, but are not limited to, watermelon, jalapeno-lime, cranberry, blackberry, prickly pear and beet-carrot.  None contain preservatives and in fact the ginger beer needs to stay refrigerated at all times.

The packaging is extremely attractive.  The 16-ounce glass holds a milk-bottle shape, giving an impression of a freshness lurking within.  The pink artwork contrasts nicely with the color of the drink and includes the stylish logo, skillful typesetting and a line illustration of a lemon half with ginger root.  A seal bridges over the aluminum cap, another nod to its freshness.

The liquid inside (with 70 calories in each of the eight-ounce servings — that’s 105 per 12oz) contains only a few ingredients: sparkling water, lemon, ginger, organic cane juice and lime.  It’s the kind of list that raises no questions and inspires confidence in the purchase.  It’s near clear when undisturbed with a robust dusting of sediment resting at the bottom.  Rotating it to mix it back up results in an opaque ginger color, very tempting.  Twist off the top and smell deeply of a strong ginger scent with a bright hint of tartness.

Tasting, the initial rush of sweetness so common in ginger beers doesn’t come.  The rush is instead of lemon, joined momentarily by refreshing ginger.  The two sharply peak, hand-in-hand, before fading away, leaving a citrusy finish.   Heat sneaks in during the flavor evolution and lingers afterward, a little on the tongue but the keenest prickles dance on the lips.

The heavy lemon flavor separates SoCo from the pack, nearly that of a lemonade.  The ginger is buoyant though and the two marry well, creating a frisky ginger beer perfect for a warm Texas day.

Final Decision: Second Tier – Alluring

Purchased at Texan Market in Austin, Texas | Check the SoCo website for other locations around the Austin, Denton and Dallas/Ft. Worth areas.

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He took inspiration from his dad.  The man was an admitted soda addict and Trevor saw that as an opportunity.  He began brewing his own kombucha with a new idea: what if it could be made to taste like soda?  After trials and errors and much tinkering, in 2012 Live Beverages came to life.  Trevor had finally developed a kombucha that tasted much like soda.  His dad embraced it and never looked back.

On the subject, their kombucha still tastes like kombucha, but that flavor rides shotgun with the soda flavor behind the wheel.  The sharp edges normally found in the taste are sanded down, making what is oftentimes a distasteful beverage quite delicious.

Live Soda came next.  By reversing his thinking Trevor created a soda with probiotic content like kombucha.  Several flavors are now on offer like Cola, Root Beer and this, Live Soda Ginger, which is said to ride the line between ginger ale and ginger beer.

It’s worth mentioning that the claimed benefits of probiotics are questionable, but one thing Live Soda has going for it in that regard is that, unlike a lot of other probiotic foods, it contains bacteria that actually are a member of the human gut flora ecosystem.

The packaging is excellent.  Live Soda won a BevNet award for their rebranding and it’s understandable why.  The clean and attractive logo features prominently on the two-tone can.  “Ginger” slashes in a stylish typeface across a golden background filled with bubbles.  It’s all very modern and enticing and clearly communicates what makes this soda different from its shelf companions.  Full marks.

As the can proclaims, Live Soda Ginger contains no calories.  Instead of sugar, erythritol and monk fruit extract perform the sweetening duties.  Accompanying them are carbonated water, natural flavors, citric acid and the probiotic bacillus subtilis.  Quite concise.

The liquid appears a robust bronze color with moderate carbonation and without sediment.  It smells only weakly of ginger.  The initial taste sensation is stark dryness, almost as if sipping carbonated water.  Ginger then unfurls, not prickly yet tactile, carrying a bright tartness but no heat.  There’s no evolution to the finish; the flavor just attenuates until it’s gone.

Live Soda achieves a hybridity between ginger beer and ale but it stands dryer than either one.  Without the sweetness, it feels unsatisfying, a reminder that this is supposed to be good for you. There’s nothing about it that feels like an indulgence.

What’s more, the flavor profile is simple to the point of being uninteresting.  Without a unique and attractive taste, to choose this beverage is only to choose the probiotics.  It struggles to compare favorably to otherwise similar ginger soda options, like those low in sweetness or calorie count.  If it’s a practical decision, then it’s not much of a decision at all.  But if it isn’t, then it might be best to explore elsewhere.

Final Decision: Fourth Tier – Passable

Purchased locally at: HEB

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Introduced in 2016, the newest addition to the Boots line is this, the Lucky Ginger Brew.  It begins with carbonated water.  Added to that are “natural flavors” and a little phosphoric acid for tang.  Pure cane sugar does the work of sweetening and 170 calories are counted in the final product.

The container is a green-glass, 12-ounce, long-neck bottle with a quite busy label encircling it.  The logo sits high and defines the center; “Lucky Ginger Brew” is of course significant, appearing over ginger root, over ginger leaves, over a diamond pattern, over a sparkling golden liquid background.  As with all Boots bottles, there’s a bit of family history included.  Aunt Emma’s vintage visage runs down the right side of the label with just a little blurb describing her, the youngest of Boots Kristen’s sisters.

A honeyed sweetness nudges the tongue, followed by the emergence of basil notes.  Then a fire ignites in the mouth.  The ginger’s bite is significant, swarming the tongue and back of the mouth, sometimes rising up into the nose.  When it eases, the basil returns, having been temporarily shouted down by the insistence of the ginger. Soy joins in for a savory finish with the two flavors curiously reaching their peak intensity a second or two after the swallow.  The heat lingers on, even building with subsequent sips and easing its way down the throat.  Finishing the bottle, the mouth is left mildly stunned, like the feeling after overindulging on the salsa at a beloved cantina.

This admirable commitment to spiciness ultimately sits imbalanced, overpowering other flavors on the palette.  Ingredients can work together to produce a unified taste but here the fire competes (and wins) versus other, more understated contributions.  Those who seek and enjoy hefty helpings of heat should certainly take notice as this could fast become a favorite, but others who long to explore the nuances and progression of a ginger beer’s flavor could here find their desires thwarted.

Boots Beverages comes with a rich history it proudly celebrates with every bottle sold.  Becoming a part of that history means being memorable and Lucky Ginger Brew is definitely that.  While other ginger beers may be tasted and forgotten, Boots bounces around in the head long after that final sip.

Final Decision: Third Tier – Enjoyable

Purchased locally at: HEB | Online availability at Antiqology

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Since locals look for local fare, where there’s a niche there’s an opportunity.  Pennyback, founded in 2018, looked at a lack of locally made mixers in a town full of locally made liquors and ventured to pack tonic and soda into that lack.  Mixing up a Moscow Mule?  Why not pair Pennyback ginger beer with your Tito’s vodka for fun Austin flair?

The clear glass 9.3 ounce bottle (275ml) is ensconced in an elegant label, cut away at 45 degrees and tracing the Pennyback crest, giving the impression that the liquid itself is part of the branding. A pair of unique details implying an artisanal product with careful oversight: there’s a field for the batch number (mine was 001) and a stamp over the stock number in a table low on the label (mine was 08).

This stunning packaging ports a near-clear liquid with just a tinge of ginger color, built on a foundation of carbonated artesian water.  While there’s no sediment, natural ginger root extract delivers flavor here along with agave and cinchona bark (a source of quinine).  Sweetening comes by way of the agave syrup and pure cane sugar.  100 calories dwell within.  For comparison concerns, 129 calories occupy 12 ounces of this ginger beer, extremely efficient indeed.

A quiet sweetness touches the tip of the tongue before the ginger sings its song.  A pleasant, peppery prickle dances about the mouth and tickles the back of the throat as the sides of the tongue detect notes of agave.  There’s a gentle salt surprise on the finish of this dry ginger beer that tacks a sophisticated coda onto Pennyback’s eloquent verse. 

If there’s an issue, it’s that Pennyback is a bit reserved, dampened a bit.  The flavor is fantastic, but it lacks a climactic intensity as the sensations play out in the mouth.

An experienced ginger beer drinker seeking something new and challenging will appreciate the care and skill taken to make Pennyback.  Anyone looking to mix a drink that escapes a rut should look here too.  It presses the bounds of convention, cruising to the horizon but never traveling so far as to become unrecognizable.  This is an engaging experience and one I anticipate experiencing again.

Final Decision: Second Tier – Alluring

Purchased at: Twin Liquors in the Austin area | Also available there at: Total Wine  |  Online availability at:  Maybe Amazon

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