Dead Winter!

[El Stormo]

Seriously, man, what the fuck is up with San Benedetto soft drink? I bought a bottle of that gunk for shits and giggles in the "Italy" section of our supermarket and IT TASTES LIKE FUCKING CHICORY. Who drinks this shite? Italians? Do they actually drink that vomit? Fuck.

 

[Dead Winter]

Are you talking about Chinotto? San Benedetto is a brand that makes everything from iced tea to orange soda (ernge drank is what we call it back in La.) to Chinotto, which I think is what you're referring to. It's really bitter and is made more as a drink without alcohol. It's something you drink with certain foods or smoking or something. It almost tastes like a mixed drink without the alcohol. That said, the San Benedetto Chinotto is shit.

Try Spuma if you can. It tastes like a less overly sweet cream soda but without all the crap that US soda makers put in their drinks.

Also their Cedrata is really good...it's a sweet lemony Mountain Dew-esque drink but, again, without all the terrible shit in it.

The best Chinotto is the brand Chin8 Neri (get it? Chin-8, like otto as in eight?). It's strong but I love that shit. If you ask someone for it, it's pronounced "keen-otto"

Italians don't like overly sweet shit, which is why their orange Fanta tastes more like carbonated orange juice, or as I like to call it: ass. They like really naturally tasting things, and even their Coke is different than in other places, it's much less sweet and less carbonated. I actually prefer the Coca Cola here to the US one. I still miss Dr. Pepper though.

Best Coca Cola I've ever had was in Austria, however. It's practically flat but sooooo good.

 

[Dead Winter]

Drink this:



Not this:

 

[Traxan]

Italians don't like overly sweet shit, which is why their orange Fanta tastes more like carbonated orange juice, or as I like to call it: ass. They like really naturally tasting things, and even their Coke is different than in other places, it's much less sweet and less carbonated. I actually prefer the Coca Cola here to the US one. I still miss Dr. Pepper though.

Something I've discovered living in SoCal, the imported Mexican version of Coke is MUCH better than the American version. Not sure what they put it in but it's much better tasting. Expensive but worth it. Go figure.

 

[Dead Winter]

I think it's the high fructose corn syrup and all the extra carbonation. If I'm not mistaken, some countries use the old recipe of cane sugar instead of the hfcs.

 

[Shpongled]

I think it's the high fructose corn syrup and all the extra carbonation. If I'm not mistaken, some countries use the old recipe of cane sugar instead of the hfcs.

This. Ridiculous that you have to import Coke to the US that has real sugar in it instead of the nasty fake HFCS. Coke with real sugar here in the states costs considerably more than HFCS drinks.

 

[Dead Winter]

There was a really, really big trade upset a couple of weeks ago between the EU and the US. The US proposed the EU relaxing their public health codes in return for hundreds of billions of dollars in trade deals with things like automobiles and such. The EU told them no.

The difference between the two regions is actually quite simple. In the US, a product has to be proven harmful before it can be taken off the shelf; until then, it's good to go as long as it passes FDA regs. In the EU, the same product has to be proven NOT to be harmful before it can even be put on the shelf. This is why there is such a smaller selection of junk food here than in the US. This is why certain sodas are different, why certain fast food chains aren't allowed here (Taco Bell...but apparently KFC is coming, which is worse imo), etc. Taco Bell has D rated meat, I do believe. They'd have to rearrange their entire menu to fall in line with regulations here. The McDonald's here is quite good, however, even though that's the worst of all fast foods. Pepsi is largely the same, but for some reason we don't have Dr. Pepper here. I still don't understand it.

A lot of people here think all Americans drink Coke all the time. They don't even know about Mountain Dew or Dr. Pepper or Purple/Ernge Drank, etc. until they visit. They're kinda surprised that no one really likes McDonald's and no one really likes Coke that much....not that we eat really healthily, but we have such a big selection we tend to gravitate toward other chains and products.

 

[El Stormo]

Are you talking about Chinotto?

Yes, that and their Ginger. It's like drinking lemonade with chicory juice squeezed in. That's not "natural tasting", that's just gruesome. I appreciate preferring more natural drinks (especially devoid of that poison HFCS), but my god what were they thinking? Every single person that's come over here has tasted it and they all thought it was something I mixed up as a joke, it's that horrendous.

And yeah, the biggest problem with HFCS is that it's 1) way cheaper to produce and 2) much more addictive. Without resorting to tin foil hattery, it's no secret that the food and drinks industry (especially in the US, where the FDA is in the pocket of all the big f&d producers) purposely manufactures things to keep you addicted. And sugar, and especially HFCS, are extremely so. That's why all fast food has a shitload of sugar mixed in too. It's gross, but I do think that if you know and keep in mind what's going on, you can indulge in some occasional fast food without falling into the trap of becoming addicted.

 

[Talking Backwards]

They like really naturally tasting things, and even their Coke is different than in other places, it's much less sweet and less carbonated. I actually prefer the Coca Cola here to the US one. I still miss Dr. Pepper though.

That's probably a lot smarter and safer. Regardless, I am now drinking a glass of Dr. Pepper for you!

 

[Dead Winter]

That's probably a lot smarter and safer. Regardless, I am now drinking a glass of Dr. Pepper for you!

*cries* I WANT SOME DR. PEPPEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRR

 

[Dead Winter]

Yes, that and their Ginger. It's like drinking lemonade with chicory juice squeezed in. That's not "natural tasting", that's just gruesome. I appreciate preferring more natural drinks (especially devoid of that poison HFCS), but my god what were they thinking? Every single person that's come over here has tasted it and they all thought it was something I mixed up as a joke, it's that horrendous.

And yeah, the biggest problem with HFCS is that it's 1) way cheaper to produce and 2) much more addictive. Without resorting to tin foil hattery, it's no secret that the food and drinks industry (especially in the US, where the FDA is in the pocket of all the big f&d producers) purposely manufactures things to keep you addicted. And sugar, and especially HFCS, are extremely so. That's why all fast food has a shitload of sugar mixed in too. It's gross, but I do think that if you know and keep in mind what's going on, you can indulge in some occasional fast food without falling into the trap of becoming addicted.

They have this tendency to dislike even sweet things, I've told them so myself. I can't stand that brand of chinotto but some people like it. I don't like Nutella, either. Their desserts are usually quite bland, although they can still be rich. Their cakes are very good but nothing special, and they don't even know what pie is. They're really good at pasticcine and creams and such. But overall they don't like sugar and tend to avoid it.

The ginger, you mean like gingerino? The little bottles of ginger soda?



That shit is good dude, don't be a pussy, haha. It's not supposed to be sweet, it's supposed to be bitter. I love that shit. You're actually supposed to drink those things as spritz or with white wine as an alcoholic drink, but I like drinking them straight from the bottle. It's not something you drink because you want something sweet, it's something you drink instead of drinking alcohol. It's refreshing and good with a snack. I mean, it's ginger, not chocolate.

Drink this, you'll like it.