A Beverage with a hearty Thums-Up...

...is called "Thums-Up." And, oh man, is it amazing. Okay, the (soda) pop itself is fine--the smooth bite of a cola with a crisp, citrusy finish. But it's the bottle that makes me rate it eponymously. The glass container is thin and tall, like a slimmed-down Coca-Cola bottle with better posture. And near the top, the logo displaying its absent-mindedly spelled name: a red silhouette of a hand, its thumb extended, blocky knuckles clenched together, all outlined in a chunky white. When you thought it couldn't get any better, that this was the finest use of heated up, compressed sand ever in the universe of mass-marketed sugar water, you notice a message stamped on the bottle itself: "Contains No Fruit." Yes, this Coke cousin, as freshly squeezed as it looks, contains none of the real stuff. For all you healthophiles, take heed: it's caffiene-free, as well.

So why haven't we been inundated with the next best thing since Fresca? "Thums-Up," itself a product of the Coca-Cola Company, is produced in India. I procured my own at an Indian market near my residence in *********, USA. All you Bombay citizens reading this (psfght... sorry, I just choked on the final swig of the cola-y citrus-y goodness), go out and drink up. When I brought the bottle to the counter, the Indian cashier told me, without prompting: "The greatest soda in the world." After experiencing the caramel-colored brew while doing laundry on a lazy, overcast Sunday, I might just have to agree.