Friday, January 31, 2014

The Nog Not Worth Tracking Down: Bolthouse Farms Holiday Nog Is Disappointing!


The Good: Not as fatty as most egg nogs
The Bad: Expensive, Not as nutritionally beneficial as other Bolthouse Farms beverages, It does not taste great
The Basics: Bolthouse Farms Limited Edition Holiday Nog is an unfortunate waste of money, which is a real rarity for Bolthouse Farms!


I am a big fan of egg nog. I love how the drink is spicy and thick and delicious. There is something fabulous about egg nog and I know that it is probably better for my health and waistline that I can’t get it all year round. So, when I saw that Bolthouse Farms had a new Holiday Nog on the shelves this year, I was excited. My hope was that it would have the health benefits of Bolthouse Farms drinks and the incredible flavor of egg nog.

The Holiday Nog is only available locally in the 52 fl. oz. bottle and that runs $5.99 here. It would have been nice if Bolthouse Farms had released the beverage with a festive reduced price for those of us on a budget, but given how unfortunately flavored this drink is, its price matters less than I would have thought!

Basics

Bolthouse Farms is a health drink, which is like an energy drink except that is designed for more of a full-health solution (as opposed to being a liquid vitamin supplement) and they tend to taste better. And it differs from being a coffee beverage by minimizing the bitter taste of actual coffee in favor of milk and flavoring that pretty much drowns out the coffee flavor. This is like a chocolate milk that is enhanced with nutrients and, in this case, mint. Bolthouse Farms Limited Edition Holiday Nog comes in a 52 fl. oz. plastic bottle that is smooth and not very portable at all. The #1 recyclable bottle is filled with the opaque brown liquid, reminiscent of chocolate milk, which is Limited Edition Holiday Nog. Bolthouse Farms products are one of the leading manufacturers of healthy prepared beverages and one that has the widest (and most consistently delicious) portfolio.

The 52 fl. oz. bottle is intended to give consumers six and a half servings, which continues the company’s regrettable tradition of not providing full, even servings in a bottle.

Ease Of Preparation

Bolthouse Farms Limited Edition Holiday Nog is a liquid in the 52 fl. oz. bottle and is a ready-to-drink beverage. So, preparation is as easy as opening a plastic bottle. Bolthouse Farms beverages have a plastic cap that easily twists off and can be put back on in order to reseal it. It is important to note that this is supposed to be refrigerated, so quality of the beverage may degrade if it is left out at room temperature before or after the bottle is open. This has a pretty standard security seal ring around the lower half of the cap and informs the consumer as to whether the product has been opened by cracking off when the top is twisted.

Taste

Bolthouse Farms Limited Edition Holiday Nog has a surprisingly light aroma to it. It smells mostly of vanilla and does not at all foreshadow the flavor that will be coming when it hits one’s tongue. Unlike Egg Nog, the Holiday Nog does not smell like nutmeg or any other spices.

In the mouth, the Holiday Nog is surprisingly bland. The flavor of whole milk (which is what it tastes like by texture and basic flavor) is cut by a strong undertone of carrot juice. There is a faint vanilla flavor that comes in and out; the dominant flavors are milk and carrot juice, which is rather unsettling.

The Holiday Nog has a slight eggy and milky aftertaste to it. The carrot juice also has a somewhat souring aftertaste that lingers for about two minutes after one is done drinking it.

Nutrition

As a healthy dairy beverage, Bolthouse Farms Limited Edition Holiday Nog Beverage is designed to fill in some of the nutritional gaps one might have in their diet, while tasting like egg nog. Sadly, this drink falls down on both fronts. Nutritionally, Bolthouse Farms Limited Edition Holiday Nog is a mediocre option for those who are dieting or are trying to improve their health; it is nowhere near as bad as egg nog is for one’s health, but nowhere near as healthy as any other Bolthouse Farms drink I’ve reviewed. Limited Edition Holiday Nog is primarily composed of low-fat milk, filtered water, and cane sugar. It contains nothing bad and it is somewhat surprising how strong the carrot juice flavor is when carrot juice from concentrate is one of the last ingredients in the ingredients list. While it is gluten free, it contains milk and whey, so it is in no way Vegan compliant. On the plus side, though, there are no preservatives nor artificial flavors.

This drink is not very healthy, though not as bad as actual egg nog. One serving of Limited Edition Holiday Nog has only 1.5 g fat and 80 calories, 15 of which come from the fat. While there are 12 grams of sugars (12 total grams of carbohydrates), the beverage has only 15 mg of cholesterol and 4 grams of protein! Surprisingly, there are only 65 mg (3% RDA) of sodium in each serving. A single serving does not have significant percentages of any nutrients; the highest is 10% of the RDA of Calcium with 6% of the RDA of Vitamin A as the only other significant nutrient!

Storage/Clean-up

Bolthouse Farms Limited Edition Holiday Nog comes in a plastic bottle and it keeps for only a few months. The bottle my wife and I bought in early December had an expiration date of January 24, 2014 (ours was consumed and this review written well in advance of that!). This beverage must be refrigerated!

This drink is a dairy product and fairly light. If this gets on light clothes, it will certainly stain them. Consult a care guide for your clothes, though I suspect light clothes would need bleach to get this out. Still, the drink wipes off surfaces easily with a cloth, assuming they are impermeable.

Overall

Bolthouse Farms Limited Edition Holiday Nog is an unfortunately vegetable flavored drink that tastes nothing like egg nog, making it a far from festive drink option this holiday season.

For other egg nog flavored items and seasonal drinks, please check out my reviews of:
Bigelow Eggnogg’n tea
Edy’s Limited Edition Egg Nog Ice Cream
Bolthouse Farms Limited Edition Peppermint Mocha Coffee Beverage

4/10

For other food reviews, please visit my Food Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2014 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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