Guinness is a heavy brew whether from draft or the can. Its healthy head of light foam covers the liquid below that is heavy to the tongue, and bitter to the palate. Many first time Guinness drinkers will turn away from it, having spent to many years consuming inferior “light” brews. However, once the first pint is down (a pint is the only way to drink Guinness… unless you wish to take the challenge of drinking a yard of it) the second pint, and every one thereafter goes down much smoother. While Guinness has been described as a “meal in a glass”, it actually is not as high in calories as one might think. At only 198 calories per Imperial Pint (20 fl. oz.), it has less calories than the same size bottle of Coca-Cola (240 calories).

Popcorn’s Rating:

What? Recommending a drink with another drink? This may be the only time this happens… but we need to recommend Bass Ale with Guinness in the form of a Black and Tan. A Black and Tan is a traditionally American drink that features the Guinness layered over the Bass Ale. The two do not mix due to the density of Guinness. The American Black and Tan is made by first filling half the glass with Bass Ale, then pouring the Guinness into the glass over a tablespoon to prevent splashing and the mixing of the layers.

We recommend watching the story of Irish immigrants in Gangs of New York (Two-Disc Collector’s Edition) while drinking Guinness either straight up, or the American style Black and Tan.

It’s a meal in a glass for pete’s sake! The only thing we may recommend to have on hand would be Emerald Nuts Mixed Nuts. Other than that… the only other thing we can recommend is a designated driver… but you should have one of those for whatever it is that your drinking.

As a dark brown carbonated liquid, Pepsi is definitely sweet. In fact, it is so damn sweet it is almost sour to the tongue! It has an acidic aftertaste and is hardly a settling beverage.

With a foul sour taste, high calorie count, extremely high in sugar content, and not a single decent advertising campaign behind it… I can find no reason to voluntarily drink Pepsi unless it is as a beverage of last resort.

Popcorn’s Rating:


Edit: Buttery’s Disgruntled Counter-Rating:

While drinking the tart soft drink you should definitely watch Mommie Dearest (Special Collector’s Edition) to see just how crazy Pepsi executives can be. “NO MORE WIRE COAT HANGERS!”

As a dark brown carbonated beverage, Coca-Cola is sweet to the taste and flows down the gullet smoothly. A glass filled with Coca-Cola and ice on a hot summer day is both refreshing and re-invigorating.

Unfortunately where Coca-Cola falls short, as do most soft drinks, is in its high sugar content (hence why it is so sweet) and its high calorie count that provides little to no nutrition. Luckily, we don’t give a shit about nutrition here and neither do you!

Popcorn’s Rating:

What better movie to watch at home while drinking a Coca-Cola other than The Coca-Cola Kid? Yeah, we couldn’t think of another one either.

By choosing the full calorie beverage, we recommend the slightly healthier yet still flavorful Orville Redenbacher’s Gourmet Microwavable Popcorn, Natural Simply Salted 50% Less Fat.