Mmmm...old.
Big Lots has three different varieties of soft drinks from Arizona Soda Works. Today I'm reviewing their Rx Enegy Vitamin Soda Tropical & Citrus Blend Elixir. The name rolls right off the tongue, huh? That's probably why it's at Big Lots for 59 cents and not in the fridges at your local supermarket for $2 a bottle. Well, that and the fact that it doesn't taste very good.
This stuff contains panax, Siberian ginseng, guarana, schisandra, and vitamins A, C, & E. But so what? Is it drinkable? Yes. Is it good? Not really. It's not bad, it's just not that enjoyable and refreshing. There's a harshness and citrus peal bitterness to it that I'm not that fond of. But it's drinkable and for 59 cents, it's not bad.
I couldn't dig up anything online about Arizona Soda Works at first, but then I found an article on engery drinks that mentioned Rx Energy. The strange thing was that the company mentioned was called AriZona Beverage Company and the bottles shown were totally different than the ones I had. I went the to the website and there weren't any bottles that looked like what I had. It was the same company because the logo was the same as on my bottles. The above article on engery drinks was dated April 2001. Another article showing the newer bottles was dated January 2001. How old is the stuff I have? So I'm drinking a discontinued product that was bottled in 2000 or ealier? Oh, boy.
Final verdict? I'll get back to you.
Addendum: I sent the company two emails: one asking what year the company changed its name and another asking when the above soft drink variety was discontinued. Only the first question was answered: "It was never named AriZona Soda Works. That was a DBA for our AriZona Soda Beverages." In this context, I think "DBA" stands for "doing business as".
Also I've recently seen current AriZona Beverage Company product locally, but I don't have any plans to try it.
New final verdict? I have no idea. Do you want to drink old soft drinks that are cheap and don't taste that good? Yes? Then head on over to Big Lots.
