North Star Nuclear Dew

I opened this with supper tonight:

Brand: North Star Nuclear Dew.

Origin: Spring Lake Park, MN.

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

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: I was ready for this to be a version of Mountain Dew. Obviously. But it was a bit more unique than I was expecting... it was a bit heavier on the lime (and in a GOOD way), and it was a bit smoother than Mountain Dew. It was quite good!

Score: 8 out of 10.

Lime North Star Craft Soda

I opened this a few hours ago: 

Brand: Lime North Star Craft Soda.

Origin: Spring Lake Park, MN

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

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This was a VERY smooth lime soda. Good flavor and it went down easy. I left a sip in the bottle on the counter, and my wife tried it when she got home. She liked it and remarked that it tasted like a melted lime freezee (in a good way). This was very drinkable on a hot day!

Score: 8.5 out of 10.

North Star Blue Raspberry Soda

My boys and I spent a night at Forestville State Park recently, and this soda made the trip: 

Brand: North Star Blue Raspberry Soda.

Origin: Spring Lake Park, MN.

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

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This was my first soda from my recent soda resupply trip, and it is VERY sugary! It tastes like a liquid blue raspberry Icee, or maybe a liquid version of blue cotton candy (and yes, both of those are very sugary). It's pretty good and fun to drink - my boys LOVED it. If you like SWEET, then you'll love this. But it seems to be more of a "kids" soda instead of an "adult" soda.

Score: 7.5 out of 10.

(See more photos from our "camping" trip here.)

North Star Vanilla Cream Soda

I opened this earlier tonight:

Brand: North Star Vanilla Cream Soda.

Origin: Spring Lake Park, MN. (Purchased by Blue Sun Soda; formerly of Forest Lake, MN.)

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

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: I first had a sip of this at a "cream soda tasting" event at Blue Sun Soda 6 months ago, and I noted in that post that "I remember the North Star being very creamy." It wasn't my favorite at the tasting, but because I noted that, I must have thought it was OK.

Well, it trying it again, I found that quote to be super true. This *MIGHT* be the creamiest and smoothest soda I've ever had. It just floated above my tongue and down my throat. It's pleasantly sweet and almost a bit floral. And there's definitely a little smooth kick of vanilla - I can see why it's called a "vanilla" cream. Its flavor is almost overpowered by just HOW sweet it is. This is quite unique and worth a taste.

Score: 9 out of 10.
 

Cream Soda Tasting at Blue Sun Soda

Yesterday, my boys and I headed to another free tasting event at Blue Sun Soda Shop. It was similar to the tasting the 3 of us went to 2 months ago: they just set out some sodas and some mini-cups, and you can sample them all.

The "event banner" from Blue Sun Soda's Facebook page.

Cream Sodas: Dad's, Fiz, Iron Horse, Sioux City, North Star, Tower, and Henry Weinhard.

The "voting" table: take a bottle cap (far right) and put it in the cup that you
thought was best. They even had a roll of "I voted" stickers to put on (left foreground).

My oldest and I both agreed that Sioux City was our favorite, and my youngest voted for Dad's. I remember the North Star being very creamy (it was called "Vanilla Creme"), and I think it was Henry Weinhard's that had an odd sharpness. Fiz was decent.

Some new "kiddie cocktail" sodas made right at Blue Sun Soda.

All the flavors of "fresh" soda at the soda counter at Blue Sun Soda.

My boys and I split a fresh Root Beer. It was good! My oldest got
a tear in his eye because he said it was SOOO carbonated.

I also stocked up on root beers. I had a few sodas in the basement before this trip to Blue Sun, but only 1 of them was a root beer. I took my time looking through their root beer selection, and I picked up 7 new ones (and 6 other sodas to bring home a baker's dozen). I think I've now had (or have just purchased) EVERY root beer at Blue Sun Soda Shop! Oh no! I'll need to find some new root beers somewhere else soon...

North Star Pineapple Orange Soda

I brought this to class with me today:

With a board full of notes in the background. Busy day.

Brand: North Star Pineapple Orange Soda.

Origin: Forest Lake, MN.

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

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: OK, "pineapple orange" doesn't sound that good to me. I mean, let's be honest. But I just thought I'd give this a try. The flavor is subtle and "soft," and it was surprisingly good. The pineapple isn't harsh or too sharp, and it tastes like a true mix of pineapple and orange. Sure, I had low expectations for this, but it flew past them. Not too shabby.

Score: 6.5 out of 10.

North Star Craft Soda Black Cherry

I did lots of cooking recently, and I enjoyed this as I worked:

Brand: North Star Craft Soda Black Cherry.

Origin: Forest Lake, MN.

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

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This was pretty good! It had a very deep black cherry flavor that I liked very much. It was quite sweet and sugary (maybe too much for some people). No major complaints from me.

Score: 8 out of 10.
 

North Star Craft Soda Orange Cola

This was my last (of 3) sodas from the cabin (see the first one here and the second one here):

On the railing at the cabin with the lake in the background.

Brand: North Star Craft Soda Orange Cola.

Origin: Forest Lake, MN.

Purchase Place: Frattallone's Ace Hardware, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: The "orange" was subtle, which was good. A super ORANGE "orange cola" sounds disgusting. The cola part of this was good - a bit fruity and sweet, with just a bit of a bite. It wasn't as odd as it sounded, and it went down well.

Score: 6 out of 10.
 

North Star Craft Soda Root Beer

I grabbed this the other day:

Brand: North Star Craft Soda Root Beer.

Origin: Forest Lake, MN.

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

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This wasn't great. It tasted like harsh carbonated water with a bit of flavor. The root beer flavor was quite weak, but at the same time, it had too strong of an anise flavor. No thanks.

Score: 3.5 out of 10.