A Thanksgiving Soda Feast - in a bottle?

It's Thanksgiving Day in the US today - and boy, is my mouth watering at the thought of downing some "Corn on the Cob" soda and topping it off with some liquid "Smoked Salmon Paté" ..... MMMMmmmmmmmm. The what now?

Never heard of Jones Soda? Shame on you... it's hip, it's cool, it's different - and I don't even have any kids to tell me so. I've followed the beverage landscape long enough to know - this is the stuff that the media eats up - or drinks up, at least.

Jones Soda has been around for a number of years - you may or may not have seen their more traditional flavored sodas in your local beverage cooler with flavors like Vanilla Cola, Fufu Berry, Green Apple, and Strawberry Lime just to name a few. But every once in a while, they come up with something that makes you take a second look (and third, and fourth).

It all started with the Hotwheels Pack in 2003. Jones Soda brought out a bottle with a Hotwheels car on it - and packaged along with the bottle was a Hotwheels dinky car based on their orange Jones Soda RV. It was an instant hit with collectors and beverage connoisseurs alike. Then Jones took the ball and ran with it when they concocted their first version of 'Turkey and Gravy' soda for Thanksgiving 2003.

Now the Thanksgiving soda smorgasbord has exploded with two different Jones Soda holiday packs to whet your taste buds with sodas you never knew you always wanted. "Turkey & Gravy" is back, but you'll also now be able to enjoy Broccoli Casserole, Wild Herb Stuffing, Cranberry Sauce, Pumpkin Pie and Pecan Pie. I'm not kidding - how could I make this stuff up?

Don't believe me? Maybe you'll listen to Jones Soda's CEO: “Because of the overwhelming response to our holiday packs in 2004, we saw that there was a real demand for zero-calorie, meal-replacement beverages. This was also an opportunity to provide even more support for children’s charities,” says Peter van Stolk, President and CEO. “This year, we wanted to make the holiday packs more available to our consumers and our partnership with Target helped make this happen.” The company's goal is to raise $100,000 in support of St. Jude, the leader in the research and treatment of childhood cancer and other catastrophic diseases.

Over the past couple of years, Jones Soda has come up with some truly innovative sodas to grab the public's attention. Halloween soda cans, weird and wacky photos on their labels, and when you're not a billion dollar empire, why not strive for the outrageous! I say bravo to Jones Soda for thinking outside of the bottle. Would I try Turkey & Gravy soda ? Definitely! The only question I have is, would you serve Turkey and Gravy soda hot or let it chill and have it as leftovers?

I don't know about you, but I'll definitely be clicking over to eBay and bidding on the special edition "Turkey and Gravy" lip balm that the Jones Soda folks sent out to the media (I think I was conveniently overlooked this year). I guess technically, it was done to entice and help spread the word about the Jones Holiday packs since who in their right mind would buy it; but what could be better than licking your lips and getting a full flavored turkey experience? :0)

See you in the pages of the Soda Pop Dreams print edition, happy collecting, and digest well, dear readers.