Sakura Cherry Blossom Cola

I grabbed this while out my with boys recently:

I used my phone to translate the Japanese on the side of the bottle.

Brand: Sakura Cherry Blossom Cola.

Origin: Japan.

Purchase Place: Shanghai Wholesale Market, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Review: This was sweet and tasty, but it wasn't "cherry blossom" at all. It had a slight citrus sweetness to it that reminded be a bit of Fresca. It was good, but very sweet - this 8 oz bottle had 110 calories (8 oz of Coke would be around 93 calories, and 8 oz of Pepsi would be 100 calories). Sweet, citrusy, and just a BIT floral. It was good, but SWEET!

Score: 6 out of 10.

Lakefront Brewery Golden Maple Root Beer

I opened this while cooking last night:

 

Brand: Lakefront Brewery Golden Maple Root Beer

Origin: Milwaukee, WI.

Purchase Place: Grandpa Joe's Candy Shop, Spring Lake Park, MN.

Sweetener: Pure cane sugar and pure Wisconsin maple syrup.

Review: I didn't get a TON of maple flavor from this. I'd could say I'm disappointed a little, but the flavor wasn't bad, so I'm not too upset. It's less "maple" and more like "if a root beer and a cream soda had a baby" which is NOT a bad thing. It was a bit like a creamy root beer. The flavor wasn't amazing, but it was good for what it was. I'll rank this just a bit above average.

Score: 6 out of 10.