Ode to Sonic Route 44 Fountain Cokes (without any rhyming)

So... over the last year or so I've started drinking Coke.  It started with insomnia... (it's funny how 2 hours of sleep at night affects your mind & body, don't you think?) and I was desperate for caffeine.  Until then, I rarely ever drank sodas/cokes/ soft drinks (whatever you want to call them) - even as a kid.  This has all changed now.  Mind you - I STILL don't drink most things... I abhor Dr. Pepper; Sprite remind me of stomach flu; Pepsi tastes like watered down Coke...you get the picure -  I only drink Coke.  Classic Coke.    Mmmmmmm...

Just for reference - my favorite thing in the whole world is a Route 44 fountain coke from Sonic.  Sigh...what could be better?  The ice... ohhhhh, the ice.  Why can't everyone have ice like that?  We looked into getting an ice maker that would make "Sonic Ice"... it was $600.  Guess who doesn't get a Sonic Ice ice machine???

Unfortunately for me, the longer I drink Coke, the more I notice the differences in the different TYPES of Classic Coke.  It's disturbing, really... why don't all of the bottling options taste the same?  Bottling options?  Does that even make sense?  Do they call the factory where they put the Coke in cans a "Canning Plant"?  I've never heard of Coca Cola Canning - just Coca Cola Bottling.  How strange.  Sorry...getting off-subject.

This is where I started - canned Coke.  It costs the least and is the easiest to recycle.  Didn't take me long (especialy once I discovered Sonic fountain cokes) to realize that there's something ODD  about the taste of Coke in a can.  Don't get me wrong - when there's nothing else available, this will do... but it is a FAR CRY from a Sonic fountain coke, which as I'm sure you know, is the Holy Grail of all drinks.  I can't quite pin it down, but I'm sure it has something to do with being in a metal can - can drinks taste "aluminumy"????

This is coming a bit closer.  Quite a bit, actually.  But STILL not nearly as satisfyingly yummy as Sonic fountain coke.  There's still something missing - it tastes... sharper, maybe?  I finished a fountain Coke a little while ago and felt like I could still use a little more caffeine.  So, I poured a bottle of coke on top of the remaining ice (my fountain coke was from Charlie's Country Store (the Exxon station just South of town) this morning - they have ice that is SOOO close to Sonic ice and a 44 oz drink costs a LOT less, too!)  Let me just say that the difference between my last drink of fountain Coke and my first drink of bottled Coke was shocking - depressingly shocking.  Of course, I'm still going to DRINK it... but sigh... to have my own Coke fountain would be glorious.  I wonder could it be that fountain cokes have more SUGAR?  LOL - ya think?

BTW - just so you know - this is NASTY.  I do not understand how anyone can drink it.  Every now and then I'll accidently end up with Diet Coke and when I taste it, I just want to shave my tongue!  Grody.  And then there's the after taste...(insert me shuddering here)  And it stays with you forever!  I WISH I liked Diet Coke... I really do - I could really dig the low calorie thing.  But it tastes NOTHING like Coke... NOTHING AT ALL.  I refuse - so there!

I only have one thig to say about Coke Zero...

IT'S A LIE!  (no, no - it does have zero calories - they're not lying about THAT.  But it does NOT taste like Coke.  Blech.)


This concludes my dissertation on Classic Coke. Tune in next time to hear my opinion on glassware (well - cupware would be a better description... basically if my Coke doesn't come in a styrfoam cup - FORGET IT- the ice will melt before you can drink half of it... and the bottom falls out of the paper cups... oh, nevermind!)