Rocky Mountain Soda Company Root Beer

I opened this up with my boys last night:

Brand: Rocky Mountain Soda Company Root Beer

Origin: Denver, CO.

Purchase Place: Blue Sun Soda, Spring Lake Park, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.  

Review: I SWEAR I've had this before. But it turns out that all of the other Rocky Mountain Soda Company sodas that I had TEN YEARS AGO did NOT include a root beer. (And something has happened in the last 10 years because those older sodas were sweetened with sugar beets and were made in Commerce City, and this was sweetened with cane sugar and was made in Denver.) So I bought this to try last night after cooking supper with my boys. 

I first noticed the label was a little... maybe... "pretentious" as it noted in its ingredients list that it contained "vegan cane sugar" - I guess I wasn't aware there was a non-vegan cane sugar option, but apparently animal products can be used in the processing of sugar unless it's "organic."  (So they also could have said "organic" sugar as that's always "vegan" as well.)  It also noted "non-GMO citric acid" which made a little more sense at first.

But beyond that, the root beer was decent! It was a bit heavy on the wintergreen, but otherwise a pretty middle-of-road root beer: it didn't have much BITE but it also wasn't super SMOOTH. Normal, decent, tasty root beer. I'll rank this just a bit above average.

Score: 6 out of 10.

Tommyknocker Brewery All Natural Almond Creme

I opened this earlier today: 

 

 

Fun bottle cap.

Brand: Tommyknocker Brewery All Natural Almond Creme

Origin: Idaho Springs, CO.

Purchase Place: "Minnesota's Largest Candy Store," Jordan, MN.

Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar.

Review: At first sip, this really tasted like just a normal creme soda. But then there was a slightly almondy/vanilla kick at the end of the sip. The flavor wasn't super strong, but it was decent. I didn't really care for Tommyknocker Root Beer when I had that years ago, but this was pretty good. I'm not necessarily a fan of almonds, but I still enjoyed it.

Score: 7 out of 10.

Durango Soda Company Zuberfizz Original Cola

I grabbed this for a caffeine boost the other afternoon:

Brand: Durango Soda Company Zuberfizz Original Cola.

Origin: Durango, Colorado.

Purchase Place: "Minnesota's Largest Candy Store," Jordan, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: Like many "good" colas, this has a very deep, rich flavor. It's almost smokey (but not as weird as that sounds), and there are "fruity" hints (but not as wussy as that sounds). It was rich without being heavy. Good flavor. Perfect amount of carbonation without being harsh. If you like colas, give this a try!

Score: 8.5 out of 10.

Tommyknocker 1859 Original Root Beer

I cracked into this during my boy's nap time today:

Brand: Tommyknocker 1859 Original Root Beer.

Origin: Idaho Springs, CO.

Purchase Place: "Minnesota's Largest Candy Store," Jordan, MN.

Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar.

Review: This had a sharp flavor that almost tastes a little burnt. It's super earthy, but not "mellow" earth - it's a "harsh" herby and earthy flavor. I can see how some people might like it (super hippies), but it wasn't a good flavor too me. If it were toned down a bit, it could be good. But it was just too strong.

Score: 5 out of 10.

Durango Soda Company Zuberfizz Creamy Root Beer

Some friends stopped by last week with some tasty treats for me! They came to visit and left this for me:

Zuberfizz that they brought from CO, and Ely Wild that they purchased in Northern MN.

Zuberfizz is their favorite Root Beer (locally made near their house in CO), so I had to try that one first:

Brand: Durango Soda Company Zuberfizz Creamy Root Beer.

Origin: Durango, Colorado.

Purchase Place: King Soopers Grocery Store, Denver, CO.

Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar.

Review: This was total crap. (Just kidding friends from CO! Just trying to scare you!) No really, it was good. It was VERY creamy with a good vanilla root beer flavor. This had a classic taste but with extra cream. My wife thought it tasted a lot like a root beer float, but I didn't think it went that far. The only real downside to all the creaminess is that there is practically no "bite" at all. So if you like a soda with bite, this isn't for you. But I thought it was pretty decent.

Score: 8.5 out of 10.

Rocky Mountain Soda Company Palisade Peaches & Cream

As I was caulking and spot-priming the siding on our new garage this past weekend, I enjoyed a bottle of this:

Brand: Rocky Mountain Soda Company Palisade Peaches & Cream.

Origin: Commerce City, CO.

Purchase Place: Rocket Fizz, somewhere in CO.

Sweetener: Beet Sugar.

Review: I expect "peaches and cream" to be creamy and smooth. But this was a pretty sharp - both the peaches and the cream flavor. Truth be told, I'm not a HUGE peaches and cream fan anyway, and this was a little off. Not my favorite.

Score: 4 out of 10.

Oogave Root Beer

This bottle looked a little "hippy," and it was the first USDA Organic root beer I've had. I didn't know if I'd like it...

Brand: Oogave Root Beer.

Origin: Denver, CO.

Purchase Place: "Minnesota's Largest Candy Store," Jordan, MN.

Sweetener: Agave Nectar.

Review: I usually think of root beers as being someone on a "smooth" to "bite" scale. This was a little different - I wouldn't describe it as BITE, but I think I'd call it SHARP - maybe it was the agave nectar. It had a bit of a cola flavor, as if it were a mix between root beer and cola. It was interesting but not strange, so I'll give it a slightly better than average score.

Score: 6 out of 10.

Rocky Mountain Soda Company Breckenridge Blackberry Soda

I busted out this soda while working on constructing my new garage last week:

I took a sip of this, and my first reaction was a head nod and a "Uh huh!!" That's a good sign! (And pretty rare.)


Brand: Rocky Mountain Soda Company Breckenridge Blackberry Soda.

Origin: Commerce City, CO.

Purchase Place: Rocket Fizz, somewhere in CO.

Sweetener: Beet Sugar.

Review: It tasted just like very sweet blackberries. This was pretty fantastic. There was a slight crisp bite from the blackberry flavor, and then a lot of smooth sweetness from the sugar. The taste was fantastic! (And it wasn't because it was a cold drink on a hot day... look at the photo above - it was a chilly and rainy day.) My only complaint was that it started getting a little TOO sweet by the end of the bottle.

Score: 9.5 out of 10.

Rocky Mountain Soda Company Boulder Birch Beer

After a big day of running around with my 2 year old son, I needed something tasty during his nap...

Brand: Rocky Mountain Soda Company Boulder Birch Beer.

Origin: Commerce City, CO.

Purchase Place: Rocket Fizz, somewhere in CO.

Sweetener: Beet Sugar.

Review: This tasted surprisingly like root beer, but it was a bit more "earthy" and "woodsy." If you told me it was root beer, I'd think it was MAYBE slightly sub-par because it didn't taste like true root beer. But as a birch beer, it's not bad. It's not as good as my first birch beer, but it's still pretty good. I think need to search out more birch beers...

Score: 7 out of 10.

Tommyknocker Strawberry Creme

I popped the top on this and it smelled strong of creme:

Brand: Tommyknocker Strawberry Creme.

Origin: Idaho Springs, CO.

Purchase Place: Rocket Fizz (somewhere in CO).

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: Well, it tasted like it should: part strawberry, and part creme. But it was a bit of a strange combination. It was really frothy and pretty smooth, but it was just a little strange. The "strawberry" part of the flavor was OK, but the "creme" was off. Didn't care for it overall...

Score: 3.5 out of 10.

Rocky Mountain Soda Company Loveland Lemon-Limeade

My first Rocky Mountain Soda wasn't that great, and I was hoping this would be a bit better:

Brand: Rocky Mountain Soda Company Loveland Lemon-Limeade.

Origin: Commerce City, CO.

Purchase Place: Rocket Fizz, somewhere in CO.

Sweetener: Beet Sugar.

Review: This didn't stand out as anything super special, but it was GOOD. Lemon Lime soda is usually "crisp," but this Lemon LimeADE leaned more towards "smooth." It had good Lemon Lime flavor, and went down nice like a sweet and just slightly tart lemonade. Nothing too special, but still a decent soda! If you like Lemon Lime or Lemonade, check out this Rocky Mountain Soda Company Loveland Lemon-Limeade.

Score: 7 out of 10.

Rocky Mountain Soda Company Grand Mesa Grape

Time to crack into the first bottle from my surprise shipment of sodas.

Brand: Rocky Mountain Soda Company Grand Mesa Grape.

Origin: Commerce City, CO.

Purchase Place: Rocket Fizz, somewhere in CO.

Sweetener: Beet Sugar.

Review: Very strong grape smell - syrupy like cough syrup. But it's almost like it's over-cabonated, and it has bit more of a bite than I'd like. The grape flavor itself is good, but the rest needs a little something more. Or less. I'm just not a big fan.

Score: 4 out of 10.

Coco Fizz Chocolate Soda

Chocolate soda?!? How could I NOT at least try it?

I didn't know what color it SHOULD be, but I was a little disturbed to see it was this light:

When the bottle first touched my lips, it was as good as it could be - it smelled and tasted like chocolate syrup. But it wasn't something I really wanted to keep drinking.


Brand: Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory's Coco Fizz Chocolate Soda.

Origin: Durango, CO.

Purchase Place: Frattallone's Ace Hardware, Burnsville, MN.

Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar.

Review: My wife said it tasted like a liquid Tootsie Pop. I think it tastes a bit like that mixed with thin Hersey's Syrup. It tastes like chocolate, which is what is SHOULD taste like. But it's not very "drinkable" - it's only "sip-able." This would be a great novelty soda to try with friends or to give to a chocolate lover, but it's not something I see anyone going out to get a case of.  It's "fun" just like Lester's Fixins Bacon Soda or Sweat Corn Soda. I'll call this a similar "novelty" soda, but I'll give it a higher rating than either of those 2 sodas.

Score: 3.5 out of 10.