CideRoad Organic Blueberry Switchel

I was walking through Lunds earlier today, and I saw these:

So I grabbed the blueberry one.

First of all, what is this? I had to look up "Switchel." Apparently, it's this:

Switchel, also switzel, swizzle, ginger-water, haymaker's punch or switchy, is a drink made of water mixed with vinegar, and often seasoned with ginger. Honey, sugar, brown sugar, or maple syrup were sometimes used to sweeten the drink instead of molasses.

This one has water, sugar, vinegar, maple syrup, and some fruit juices (including some ginger). It's not a soda, but it's not a traditional "healthy" drink because it only has 2% of your daily allowance of Vitamin C and Calcium. It is labeled as 14% juice. So what the heck is it? Well... it's switchel, I guess.


Brand: CideRoad Organic Blueberry Switchel.

Origin: Mendham, NJ.

Purchase Place: Lunds Grocery Store, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Syrup and Maple Syrup.

Review: I don't think I've mentioned this here before, but I'm not a fan of kombucha. I can't stand it. My wife loves it, so it's around a lot. Well, this is a bit like a "tame" kombucha. The "tang" that this CideRoad drink has is kombucha-like, but not as overly harsh. I can taste the ginger, but it's not overwhelming. The blueberry is nice. If a "tame" kombucha sounds good to you, give this a try. It would be refreshing for the right person. I just thought it was OK.

Score: 5 out of 10.
 

Sky Valley Organic Root Beer

I tried this earlier today:

Brand: Sky Valley Organic Root Beer.

Origin: Danville, VA.

Purchase Place: Whole Foods, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Organic Cane Sugar.

Review: This was terrible. Down right horrible. There was an odd sharpness to it, and I think it was from the sea salt and/or the apple cider vinegar found in the ingredients list. I thought the apple cider vinegar COULD be an interesting addition, but it made the root beer a little bitter. I only had a few sips - it was one of the worst sodas that I've had in a while. So this makes 2 horrible root beers that I'd have lately. I've got to change that soon...

Score: 1.5 out of 10.

Santa Cruz Organic Root Beer

I just cracked into this oddly skinny 10.5 ounce can of root beer:

Brand: Santa Cruz Organic Root Beer.

Origin: Chico, CA.

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

Sweetener: Organic Evaporated Cane Juice.

Review: This was better than I thought it was going to be, but still not great. It had a strange sharpness to it - I think from the organic lemon juice on the label. (Lemon juice in a root beer? Not sure about that...) Speaking of the ingredients list, what is "organic root beer flavor?" Really, I'm asking. Where can you "grow" root beer flavor organically? What is that?!? Anyway, the sweetness was a little off, but it was OK overall. Different, but not great.

Score: 5 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.