This was another evaluation with my sister Elaine, and bro-in-law, Zac. Elaine and I grew up with limited access to soda and Saturday nights were “soda night”. Most times we chose Fresca as our weekly indulgence. Although Squirt comes in regular and diet, I picked the latter because Fresca is only offered as a diet soda.
Fresca:
Fresca seemed to have particularly big bubbles and had a very nice grapefruit smell. We all agreed the taste was a nice balance of sweet and tart and seemed “full-bodied” because it actually tasted like fruit and not just artificial sweetener that sometimes diet sodas tend to do. This was light, refreshing and very grapefruity.
Squirt:
We found this to be more sour tasting than Fresca. The flavor seemed more muted somehow, but it did smell pretty good. Zac thought it was very watery and we felt the aspartame was a little too much since it wasn’t offset by much fruit flavor. It was almost like watery, sour, lemonade (with bubbles) and tasted harsh.
Wrap up:
Even with Elaine and I’s history with Fresca, we really went into this with an open mind and were interested to see if there was another option for this drink but we really felt Squirt wasn’t as good, this was confirmed by Zac too. This was our evalaution and clearly enough people like Squirt enough to keep it in production, but these really seemed different enough to be able to tell the difference. Fresca seems to be more balanced and smooth, which (for us) makes it more enjoyable to drink.
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Squirt shouldn’t even be offered as diet. Try it as regular and I think you’ll like it more! I’ve never even heard of Fresca, actually.
I’ve never heard of squirt and haven’t had Fresca. We usually have Sprite – is that comparable?
Hi Randi,
You’re in VT, right? I think Squirt is only sold at random locations and only in non-diet. I got this diet squirt out in Oregon , they also had a Ruby Red Squirt that looks pretty good but I had nothing to compare it to. Ethan (my husband) who grew up in NH said he used to drink Ruby Red Squirt so I’m guessing they pulled a Mello Yello on the Northeast and relocated their product (or at least some) to be available only in other parts of the country. Fresca and Squirt are both grapefruit flavored soda but I do have a Sprite/7UP match coming up ?
Yup, I’m in VT. Oooh – Sprite/7Up – that sounds good…
I live on Fresca and Diet Coke. For a long time my morning drive to work was a Fresca and Harvest (Power) Bar. But they redid the bars and now they’re gooey and too sweet. Years ago I only drank (regular) Coke. When New Coke replaced it I switched to Diet Squirt, since Fresca wasn’t available. It tasted a lot like the Fresca I remembered from the 60s. It also helped me switch to Diet Coke. It disappeared here in the Northeast, but Fresca arrived shortly. The one thing I miss from the old days is the grapefruit pulp at the bottom of the bottle!
Make sure you get the Original Citrus flavor, Peach and cherry are just nasty. I recommend cans, they seem more carbonated, and the 2 liters don’t stay bubbly that long.
kaymarie: You mean you’ve never seen Caddyshack? “Say, Danny, how about a Fresca?”
I used to think Fresca was pretty good, but I don’t like it much anymore. I bought a case recently because it was on sale, but I could only drink one can of it. It seemed to have too much of a funky aftertaste for me. I wish Coca-Cola would bring back Citra. Now that was an awesome grapefruity soda! Oh well. Add to the list of great food and drink products that were discontinued like Surge, Tropical Sprite Remix, Reese’s Crunchy Cookie Cups, Crispy M&Ms (in the U.S.), Pillsbury Bagel Shoppe Bagels, Pop-Tarts Minis, Wahoos, Doritos 3Ds…the list could go on and on!
I miss Fresca! I used to mix it half & half with cranberry juice.
“I love you like I love Fresca”
Squirt is whats up, but not if its diet. Ive never seen the diet, but i did once find a 20 oz bottle of squirt with a whole bunch of caffine in it at some random gas station on the interstate. i dont remember what they actually called it, somthing like squirt energy – i know that isnt the actual name, but it was somthin like that, and it tasted exactly the same.
I know I’m posting comments on some pretty old posts, but I just discovered your awesome website. While not available at the time of this showdown, I would recommend the new Sierra Mist Ruby Splash. It’s Pepsi’s first real competitor to Fresca.
I don’t know what’s with Squirt, but the taste of it makes me want to squint and spit it out. It’s horrible and makes me sick. >.
Wouldn’t mind trying Fresca. Maybe it’ll taste better.
I was shocked by this match-up, because I think of Fresca and Diet Squirt as being too different to compare! Fresca has a soft, mild taste, while Squirt has a bit more edge to it! Both delicious! (Although Diet Squirt is a much, much better mixer with cocktails: it’s delicious with gin and a squirt of fresh lemon juice, shaken.)
I find it interesting how much the flavor of Fresca changes depending on how it’s bottled, though. I find it has a more sour tang when canned (which makes sense, because of the aluminium), and the two-liter is its mild, dopey taste cousin. I tried it in a 20-oz. bottle for the first time last night (I’d never seen one before! I guess they have them in Boston, but not on the west coast) and was shocked to find that it had a strong orange essence flavor that completely dominated the grapefruit.
Either way, I think we can agree that either of these is infinitely better than Safeway brand diet pink grapefruit. Blech.
Fresca is just generic citrus, not grapefruit. Ting vs. Squirt: that’s your match-up.
Fresca was good, really good, when it was made with saccharine and came in glass bottles. The canned stuff tasted metallic, but that’s a universal with soda pop. Then about 25 years ago they exchanged saccharine for aspartame, which made it taste like ecckh and also gave me low, dull headaches right over the eyes. Couldn’t drink it anymore.
squrt ive had fresca i have not 7up sierra mist and sprite ive had to sierra mist sprite and 7up do all kinds of flavors but the sweetest one ive tasted is sierra mist cranberry splash
I like Fresca. Squirt is also good, but not as good as Fresca.
Do you remember RONDO? I think it was a Coke Product? That reminded me a Fresca.
Fresca. Never had it,like to try it. I’ll bet that if I like Fresca,I’ll be able to kill off the Mtn.Dew addiction. Does anyone know if Fresca has caffeine? No matter what,nothing can kill my high caffeine addiction.(26mg/8oz or more)
OK,so last night when my Dad’s “brand new” ’89 Dodge Dynasty broke down,I had to take a pill and bought a Fresca to wash it down. I can now say that I officially love Fresca!!! ? Anyway,I’ll try Squirt if I ever get the chance,but I’m seriously wondering why that gas station in Cassleton,ND had Fresca in high supply in 20oz bottles when the local grocery stores have 12 packs and 2 liters only and the gas stations here in Dilworth have neither Fresca or Squirt in any form.
Oh,and may I just mention that Red Rube Squirt is apparently available at the gas station down the street from here? ?
Fresca is a pioneer in the soft drink business: It was first produced 1n 1966.
Hey, Squirt is too damn sweet.
aspartame is known to cause cancer in laboratory animals so be careful`,:
Can I just say that the hardware store down the highway from my house is like a soda bloggers heaven? They have sodas that are otherwise unavalable apparently, plus they have Skybars, best candybar every.
aspartame is good but i think Xylitol is even better because it is natural and organic “
Hey, there are at least three places here in the F-M Metro that are a soda bloggers heaven, but only two have Sky Bars. The weird part is that one of them is a hardware store. ?
“Even with Elaine and I’s history with Fresca” The proper grammar is “even with Elaine’s and my history with Fresca”
Squirt was originally invented in Cassandra Pennsylvania byt the Cassandra Bottling company. It was a much better product before Coca-Cola bought it and changed it.
You’re comparing two diet sodas and you need to make that very clear in your post. Your sub-headings just say “Fresca” and “Squirt”. The thing is, Squirt is predominantly consumed in its regular form. I rarely, if ever, even see diet Squirt on store shelves. Regular Squirt is awesome! The flavor profile elevates this soda far above any other citrus-flavored sodas. Fresca is plain awful. You’re a diet soda drinker, no wonder you enjoyed Fresca. In my opinion, diet soda is feces. The after-taste of any artificial sweetener makes me want to vomit.
****You are complaining about a post made 8 years ago ?