Tart cherry, black cherry, and cherry cola are three different drinks wearing the same fruit’s name. Tart cherry is sharp and tangy. Black cherry is dark, sweet, and jammy. Cherry cola is cola first, cherry second. The difference comes down to the fruit — and the sugar.
If you’ve ever grabbed a “cherry” soda expecting one thing and gotten another, this is why. Cherry isn’t one flavor. It’s at least three, and they aren’t interchangeable. Here’s how to tell them apart before you commit to a 12-pack.
Tart cherry soda: sharp, tangy, not too sweet
Tart cherries — sometimes called sour cherries — are a different fruit from the sweet cherries you eat by the handful in summer. They’re smaller, brighter, and considerably more acidic. Think of the cherry in a good cherry pie: the one that makes your jaw tingle a little before the sugar catches up.
In a soda, that acidity does real work. It keeps the drink from going flat and syrupy, and it leaves a clean, dry finish instead of a sugary film. A tart cherry soda leads with tang, lets the fruit follow, then gets out of the way.
That’s the lane Reckon Cherry lives in: deep tart cherry, 90 calories and 15 grams of sugar per 12 oz can — less than half the sugar of a typical cola. Tart first, cherry second, dry finish.
Black cherry soda: dark, sweet, and jammy
Black cherry is the richer cousin. The flavor runs deeper and rounder — less tang, more jam. Where tart cherry acts like a squeeze of acidity, black cherry leans toward dessert: sweet, full-bodied, a little vanilla-adjacent depending on the recipe.
Nothing wrong with that. If you want a soda that drinks like a treat, black cherry delivers. Just know what you’re signing up for. Black cherry sodas usually carry more sugar, and that sweetness sticks around on your palate a while.
Cherry cola: cola first, cherry second
Cherry cola isn’t really a cherry soda at all. It’s a cola with cherry riding along on top. That caramel, spice, citrus-and-vanilla cola profile is still doing most of the talking. Cherry is an accent, not the subject.
Which is why cherry cola tastes so different from the other two. You’re not comparing cherries — you’re comparing a cola to a fruit soda. Worth noting: most colas bring caffeine along with them.
Why does so much “cherry” taste like cough syrup?
The honest answer is artificial flavor. When a soda leans on synthetic cherry flavoring, you get an idea of cherry rather than a natural one — that unmistakable medicine-cabinet note. Pile sugar on top and it reads as candy, not food.
Natural flavor and real acidity do something synthetic flavoring alone can’t. Together they bring brightness, a rounder mouthfeel, and a finish that stops instead of lingering. That’s the whole reason craft soda bothers with them.
So which cherry soda should you pick?
- Want sharp, bright, refreshing? Tart cherry.
- Want rich, sweet, dessert-like? Black cherry.
- Want cola with a twist? Cherry cola — and expect the caffeine.
If tart is your answer, Reckon is caffeine-free, naturally flavored, and naturally colored — that red comes from black carrot, not a dye. Small-batch, based in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. One note for the label-readers: it contains wheat.
Not sure yet? The Cherry + Apricot variety pack lets you taste tart cherry next to our sun-ripe apricot, or browse everything at Shop All Fizz. Not too sweet. On purpose.
Frequently asked questions
What’s the difference between tart cherry and black cherry soda?
Tart cherry soda is sharp and tangy with a dry finish. Black cherry soda is sweeter and jammier, with more sugar and less acidity. Reckon Cherry is a tart cherry soda, not a black cherry soda.
Does cherry cola taste like cherry soda?
Not really. Cherry cola is a cola with cherry as an accent flavor, so the caramel-and-spice cola taste still leads. A tart cherry soda like Reckon puts the tart cherry flavor first and skips the cola base and caffeine entirely.