My word, we’ve been doing this blog for three years and we still don’t have a post dedicated to Epcot’s Club Cool!
To remedy this, we set up another fun poll at our Disney Food Blog Facebook Page when we asked “What’s your favorite beverage to try at Club Cool?”
Club Cool Sign
Club Cool, located in Epcot’s Future World, dispenses flavorful fountain drinks from around the globe. This is a fun (and free!!) activity included in your park admission.
Flavors Around the World
First, let’s review the choices of Coke products that are available for sampling at Club Cool:
Club Cool Flavors - click for larger version
— Krest Ginger Ale from Mozambique
— Fanta Kolita from Costa Rica
— Beverly from Italy
— Vegeta Beta from Japan
— Kinley Lemon from Israel
— Lift Apple from Mexico
— Smart Watermelon from China
— Mezzo Mix from Germany
(Let us know if you’ve seen different flavors!)
Our Facebook friends chimed in with their favorite flavors and some funny answers! The top three flavors that our readers enjoy sipping are Smart Watermelon, Mezzo Mix, and Lift Apple.
Smart Watermelon
With a decisive 30 mentions, China’s Smart Watermelon wins! Paul L. gives it a shout-out with “the China watermelon-flavored one is amazing.” And Summer C. agrees “Obviously the Watermelon one from China. I sure do wish I could buy that soda!”
China's Smart Watermelon
Smart soft drinks were the first carbonated beverage that Coca-Cola specifically designed for China. This one has a refreshing watermelon flavor!
Mezzo Mix
Coca-Cola with a subtle orange flavor is sold in Germany. Facebook Friend Sandra G. shares that her husband “likes the one from Germany (he lived there as a kid)”!
Mezzo Mix
Fans of this beverage may want to look for the similar Coca-Cola Orange in Coke Freestyle dispensing machines. (Tip: There’s a Coke Freestyle at the AMC Theater in Downtown Disney.)
Lift Apple
Manzana Lift Apple is popular in Mexico. It’s a carbonated beverage combined with real fruit juice. Linda N. said it simply “The apple flavored one”!
Manzana Lift Apple
While the Coca-Cola website states that it’s also in the United States, we’ve never seen it. Let us know if you’ve spotted it in the U.S.!
Beverly
Of course, we have to give an honorable mention to Italy’s Beverly with its distinctive bitter taste due to the ingredient quinine. It’s served as a non-alcoholic aperitif to aid digestion.
Clarissa P. says “NOT Beverly!! haha. But I do love getting people to try it!” Get your camera ready! Misty L. advises “Beverly! It makes for a great photo opportunity!” And James H. has an interesting technique to share – “every time time I go, I always take a shot or two of Beverly to see how much I can handle.”
Surprisingly, we have a few nods to Beverly. Like this one from Jennifer L., “I’m odd and enjoy Beverly :).” She’s not alone, Judy P. admits “I love Beverly. I really do! I always stop in for some. I wish they sold it by the bottle.”
The closest beverage that we could find at Italy’s Coca-Cola website is Kinley (similar to Israel’s Kinley Lemon). Does anyone have a picture of how Beverly is (or was) sold in Italy?
Which flavor do you like to sip (or gulp) at Club Cool? And if you like the Beverly, we want to hear from you too!
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I don’t know about the specific brand of apple soda, lift, but I see apple soda all the time here in Utah (and in California). Check the latin food aisle!
Larissa is another one of the odd Beverly lovers.
I kept my eyes open for the horrid beverage when in Italy last year but had no luck. I recall a WDWToday listener found some and may have even taken pics, but I don’t recall who. Perhaps you could call out to this hero to the sadists next time your on the show.
love watermelon! I remember I loved it when I worked in WDW in 2000 (gosh it was more than 10 years ago !!)
The two that I love the most are definitely the Israel beverage because it’s refreshing and VegitaBeta from Japan! Last time I was at Epcot I had some VegitaBeta and we were heading over to the World Showcase and when we got to Japan we searched the food and drink section of Mitsukoshi Department Store to see if I could take some home to England but there was none! The wonderful cast member told me they don’t stock it and when I asked if they have lots of people look for it, she said its the first time she’s ever been asked? I can’t be the only one who likes it surely? It’s great!
Both Pepsi and Coke make an apple flavored soda in Mexico. I lived there a while and although there is a kind of apple soda in the international food aisle, it isn’t manzana lift or manzanita sol. I found a small Mexican grocery store a few miles from home that sells it in two liter bottles though! Now, to find the watermelon one….
My wife and I both enjoy Beverly. Perhaps it’s because of the taste we have developed for crisp cocktails over the years, but we find it refreshing on a really hot day.
Becca – thanks for the tip. 🙂
Billy H – Great idea. Thanks!
Chris – we had quite a few votes for VegitaBeta in our Facebook poll. 😉
John – Beverly as a refreshing beverage – wow! Definitely an acquired taste that I haven’t developed. 😉
My 18yo son loves Beverly so much he filled a water bottle with it on our last day in August (he drank it on our way home in the car)! It’s been his favorite for years. What a weirdo lol
I love Mezzo Mix, both girls favor Kinley, and my husband likes them all.
I am OBSESSED with the Kinley Lemon soda from Israel. I drink something like 10 “shots” of it over the course of several visits. If only I could find it here on the East Coast!
V – Here’s the info on Kinley Lemon from Coca-Cola: http://www.virtualvender.coca-cola.com/ft/index.jsp?brand_id=242. It’s listed as available in the U.S. but that might be only at Club Cool and World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta. Hopefully this may help you find something similar to curb those obsessive cravings! 🙂
Thanks!! I love this!
Ooh, VegitaBeta – I love it! It tastes of apricots and is always icy cold. Yummy! I too am from the UK and wish we could get something like it here …..
I like all the flavors except the Beverly. It’s just too surprisingly bitter. Maybe it needs a shot of gin… There used to be a Lychee flavor that I liked but that was replaced years ago. What I miss is the original Ice Station Cool as the current “Club” is a bit too commercial. The original was set up to be a sort of ice-cave. You entered it and followed a path that wound around big piles of real ground ice and slush and was really cold. At the end of the path you came upon the tasting room. I think it was going to be temporary but proved to be popular so they did away with the expense of keeping the refrigerated part of the ice-cave.
I’ve grown to love Beverly over the years. I’ll happily drink it straight, but it just screams to be a mixer. They need to serve Beverly over in the Italy pavilion, mixed with a little gin or vodka. Then I think the masses would come on board 🙂
Watermelon is my favorite too! Followed by the Mezzo Mix and the Fanta Kolita. The apple lift doesn’t work for me because — and I realize this erodes my claim to membership in the human race — I don’t like apple juice. Sparkling cider is only a moderate improvement. Hard cider, however, I can get behind; go figure. Perhaps the alcohol dims the dislike?
Bless Beverly. I can’t say I’m a huge fan, but I have some magnificent reaction shots of people I’ve gotten to try it over the years. Really helps my refine my poker face.
I agree with John (and yay for the shout out in the post!) and say that I probably enjoy Beverly because I love the crisp, not sweet, alcoholic drinks too. Gin and tonics, dirty martinis, etc. And like Erin said, I’d LOVE to see Beverly as a mixer with something!
I found Mezzo Mix in Philadelphia at Wegman’s grocery store. It was in the imported section, and it was about $3 for one can of it, but it was worth it!
Silvercat – And you get a healthy dose of beta-carotene!
Alan – Thanks for reminding me of the original Ice Station Cool. Oh, I remember how cold it was in there! See Erin’s comment – she thinks Beverly needs a mixer too! 😉
Erin – I’m not surprised that you’ve acquired a taste for Beverly! 😉 My picky palate doesn’t see it happening even as a mixer. I think your next visit to Epcot should include an experiment to find an appropriate mixer for dear ol’ Beverly. We’ll call it Erin’s Elixir!
I like the watermelon one, because it was sweet, yet light. The Beverly soda tasted just like the cement they used to put my braces on. I didn’t think sodas could taste burnt, but this one definitely did! Not a fan 😉 Lol.
I could drink gallons of the watermelon one! I thought I’d like Beverly, as it’s flavoured with quinine, and I do love a good G&T, but it was far too bitter for me!
Jenn – sounds like Beverly is for crisp drinkers! You may want to join Erin on finding a mixer for Beverly. 😉
Lisa – very fun! And hooray for Wegman’s. I grew up in Rochester NY and will have my parents look for it there. $3 per can – ouch!
Marisa – ROFL. You just brought back a memory that I could have done without. Braces cement made me gag! Eeewww.
Kim… Great idea!!
Erin… Let’s get working on this drink! We could make some serious money! Hahaha
Kinley lemon!
I’m currently living in Italy and can verify that Beverly is almost impossible to find here. This is not, however, because Italians find it disgusting. On the contrary – many bitter drinks like Beverly are consumed in Italy everyday, usually as ‘aperitivi’, or, ‘pre-dinner drinks’.
The brand Beverly though, seems to have fallen out of favor in Italy. Coca-Cola’s official Italian site doesn’t even mention it. Coca-Cola in general is quite popular here, specifically Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Light, and the new Coke Zero.
Beverly’s consumption in Italy was much more popular three decades ago, as evidenced by this commercial from 1984. The dialogue translates as follows:
Narrator: Hey, with the young manager?
Woman: Why not?
Narrator: With the great sailor?
Woman: Yeah!
Narrator: With the handsome polo player?
Woman: Sure!
Narrator: C’mon, who do you drink your Beverly with?
Woman: Not alone!
Narrator: Beverly, always (drank) in company.
Woman: And you? Who do you drink your Beverly with?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sl4muy5sH6w
For the record, in the several months I’ve been here, I’ve yet to see Beverly on a store shelf.
Beverly is such an odd flavor. I’m fine with tonic water, so it’s not the quinine that gets me. In fact, it doesn’t taste sour to me; it actually strikes me as a combination of syrupy sweet and bitter, with some herbal thrown in. If it had more sour, I think I’d like it more.
My fave is Kinley Lemon, a straightforward sour with a bit of sweet. Just like me! 🙂
I wouldn’t say I like Beverly, but I don’t have the reaction that most people have to it. I can take it or leave it. I like to say it’s my Italian heritage that makes me immune to the bitterness!
For me it’s a toss-up between Smart Watermelon and Kinley Lemon.
Smart Watermelon has to be my favorite. I love watching the reactions to Beverly! It’s fun to see people’s faces go from happy to “Oh my gosh!!!”
I haven’t been able to get the Smart Watermelon on my last several trips. It seems they’re always out. And the odd thing that was when my husband was in China a few years ago, I asked him for the Smart Watermelon, and no one knew of it. He did, however, find a Smart green apple that I think was even better. Without the watermelon, my favorite is the Mexican apple. But I’ll be checking for the Smart watermelon again next week.
We like the Fanta from Costa Rica!
We finally tried Beverly on our trip to WDW in December. It wasn’t bad when it first hit my tongue, but it quickly went downhill from there. Our 10yo recorded it for posterity:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Uzkqqqiz_Y&feature=g-upl&context=G2e3a3bdAUAAAAAAABAA
I like the ginger ale from Mozambique myself. Although I always try Beverly whenever I go to Club Cool…
I too love the watermelon and really wish I could buy it somewhere. I always thought it would be great if you could actually buy the sodas right there in Club Cool. Even if they just sold 20 oz bottles or something. Anyway, Pepsi does make an apple soda as someone mentioned. I live in a relatively small area in Wisconsin and I can find it at my local grocery stores. I really like it.
I have a great “spit take” photo of our 11 year old son trying Beverly last August. He repaid the prank on some friends during a school trip in December, only thing was some of his friends actually like it.
My daughter absolutely loves Mezzo Mix! We stop in Club Cool multiple times during our trip so she can have some.
She loves it so much that she even asks (a lot) to go to the World of Coca Cola here in Atlanta, just so she can have some.
There is one kind I have never tried. Both times I’ve been to WDW they’ve been out of some of the flavors. It might have been the Mozambique one, but I also can’t remember if I tried the Watermelon, since I’m not a big fan of that flavor. I like the lemon one though.
As for the Beverly, I tried it at the Coke place in Las Vegas and it tasted just like the Fanta Chinotto I had when I was in Venice, Italy, which I bought unknowing what it would taste like and thinking maybe it was like a Fanta cola, and is the most disgusting thing I’ve ever drank. I don’t know why but the bitter taste I always say reminds me of ash, not that I’ve ever tasted such a thing, but for some reason that is what I think.
I enjoy the three fruity ones from Israel, Mexico and Germany, but my absolute favorite beverage from Club Cool is the Frozen Cokes. You get much more for your money for a Frozen Coke in Club Cool, too. They give you a domed top so there is more room for the slushie! They’re the best drink on a hot day, but you have to be careful of ‘Brain Freeze’! LOL
I don’t remember the best, but the worst was the one from italy…
I remember one that tastes like ginger, i liked that!
I really like Beverly!! As already mentioned I like the crisp tonic water taste! And yes, I filmed my partner trying Beverly for the first time during our last trip…he was not impressed!!
letiziabarcelona – Any unique soda flavors in Spain? My family loved Barcelona when we spent time there before and after our Disney Med cruise!
Katie R – Good tip to visit International stores!
Karen – ROFL with the pic of your and his bottle of Beverly!
Becca – we’ll just call it Bitter Beverly.
Andrew S – I’m glad that I didn’t bother trying to find it when we were in Rome. Lucky you, living in gorgeous Italy! I didn’t see mention of Beverly on the Coca-Cola site so I’m thinking it’s no longer produced. I’m so thankful for the Beverly video so I could see what a bottle of the stuff looked like! Appreciate the translation. 🙂
Marianne – LOL! Nothing wrong with a sour/sweet combo. 😉
Dorothy – interesting that the Smart Watermelon has been out on your visits. Anyone seen it at Club Cool recently? And I love to hear whether these flavors are still on the shelves in other countries. Great info!
Shayne – ROFL! Thanks for sharing.
Maria – good analysis. Marisa in a previous comment mentioned the flavor tastes like something “burnt” to her.
daydreamingdisney – I’m gathering that people that like a crisp drink actually like the taste of Beverly. There seems to be a lot of video takes going on in Club Cool. LOL
I can’t remember which ones I liked. My friends have been going to Disney for a few years and had never been there until I took them last year. We all tried Beverly at the same time. We all agreed it had the aftertaste of baby aspirin. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be.
My son loves Vegeta Beta! He was on line for a long time trying to find a way to order it. No luck!! He won’t even try anything else anymore. I have to have a sip of each. It is one of my traditions! Yes even Beverly……hahahahah
While I don’t think it’s actually Lift, Fanta Apple is available in places with large hispanic populations like in Southern California. I spotted it at a Chick-Fil-A in Long Beach, and I’ve seen bottles of it at Targets around the region.
On the subject of the sodas, I’d kill to see Smart Watermelon make its way to the US, if only for a limited batch. I wonder if you can find it in Chinatown or something…
Love the Mexico beverage! YUM!
I would say the watermelon soda or the ginger ale
I’m from Italy and I’ve never heard of Beverly!
The Mezzo Mix, without a doubt. Although no one else in my family seems to like it very much!
Am currently in WDW, and at Epcot yesterday, they were out of the watermelon one! Devastated! The facts one was my gave, the GF liked the apple one, but enjoyed it more when mixed with the fanta! Go figure!
You can buy the Mexican apple soda at the Mexican pavilion. It is at the quick serve stand next to the newish restaurant. They also sell it at almost every RaceTrac in Central Florida.