I understand exactly how you feel about rum & ting! We love it! We have tried lots of substitutes for Ting... The closest is Mello Yello (my friend Jason calls it a Rum-ello) or Wegman's diet grapefruit soda. I live in Frederick, MD and we've found places that carry Ting; usually the Latin markets in Gaithersburg have it. It sells for about $1.50 per little bottle, so it isn't cheap. Look around Wheaton in the specialty markets!