Being a lover of soda water I am truly amazed at how many places just don’t do it. Nepal though does, via Kinley Soda, courtesy pop corporate asshats Coca-Cola.
I am though prepared to look past Evil-Empire element and extol its greatness, as it really is a great soda water.
Kinley Soda
Kinley Soda is Coca-Cola’s go-to brand when it comes to soda water. It’s not glamorous, it’s not niche, it’s not artisanal or from a Himalayan spring blessed by monks. It’s just mass-produced carbonated water that does what it says on the tin. It is available across India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and parts of Africa. It also comes in tonic water form, but the plain soda version is what actually gets used in most bars, street joints and by old men mixing their daily/morning whisky.
You’ll find Kinley served in plastic bottles in cities, cans in airports, and glass bottles in all the places that matter. There’s nothing fancy about it, but it’s consistent, fizzy, and cold. It’s not going to win any awards for innovation, but if you need soda, this is usually what you’ll get.
Kinley Soda Nepal
In Nepal Kinley Soda is pretty much the default soda water and usually comes in an old-school glass bottle, the kind that requires a bottle opener and probably sat in a crate of ice behind a half-built restaurant. And that’s exactly how it should be. Drinking soda from a glass bottle just hits different. It’s colder, it fizzes better, and you feel like you’re part of something important, even if that something is just lunch and a hangover.
You’ll find it in most mid-range restaurants, liquor stores, and definitely anywhere that sells whisky by the glass. It’s not expensive and you don’t get funny looks for ordering it like you do in some countries where soda water is treated like a vegan craft beer.
Mixing Kinley Soda
When you order a bottle of Kinley Soda most restaurants will offer you lime cordial which can be added to a glass, or poured in the bottle. You can also add salt, pepper and spices to make a kind of masala soda.
And of course it goes with booze, principally a whisky soda. Also it can of course be mixed with slightly more shit local favourites such as Khukri Rum or Ruslan Vodka.
Overall, it’s just nice to have soda water in a glass bottle.