Sodas Get Run For Your Money

Just a few years ago, almost all the soda in your local supermarket was made by just a few big companies.

Now there are dozens of all-natural drinks on store shelves, mostly made by smaller companies, in smaller batches, swallowing up a growing share of the market.

The new drinks cater to people who want something fizzy, but are concerned with the artificial colors and corn syrup in many sodas.

All-natural sodas or alternative beverages have grown-up, with more and better flavors to pick from. They're considered more sophisticated, non-alcoholic drinks.

On The Early Show Tuesday, Andrew Knowlton, an editor of Bon Appetit magazine (www.epicurious.com/bonappetit), filled in viewers on the ones he thinks are best.

He chose these drinks for the same reasons he picks food he thinks is good.

"It's really the same thing I look for in food: simple, honest, unadulterated flavors that put ingredients first," Knowlton told CBS News. "Lots of sodas hide behind sugar (corn fructose), and the flavors (lemon, lime, orange, grape) they purport to contain are nothing more than artificial chemicals.

"Sodas, beverages should be refreshing and not overwhelm the palate. I think the boom in the artisanal soda movement echoes the public's growing interest in knowing where, how their foods are sourced: real fruit flavors, not artificial flavorings. Cane sugar, not high fructose corn syrup.

"And, you can't deny the appeal of the retro-packaging and 'mom-and-pop' story line of many of the sodas."

CLASSICS

These are the ones with the flavors you might most recognize, since they're trying to be alternatives to the more commercial versions of these drinks. You may not love the taste of these at first, because they aren't the flavors you think of when you have your favorite cola or ginger ale. These are decidedly different.