Coca Cola Zero Sugar Holiday Creamy Vanilla

I grabbed this while walking through Kowalski's the other day:

 
Brand: Coca Cola Zero Sugar Holiday Creamy Vanilla.

Origin: Atlanta, GA.

Purchase Place: Kowalski's Market, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Aspartame and Sucralose.

Review: I was a little excited for this. I had heard that it was tasty. BUT... it was just too much for me. It was VERY strong on the vanilla. It was almost like it was overly creamy and overly vanilla-y. I suppose that's what it is: a "creamy vanilla" like it says in its name. But it was just too much. Try it if you want something strong on the creamy vanilla, but otherwise stay away.

Score: 4 out of 10.

Zevia Cherry Cola

I grabbed this while out earlier today:

Enjoying it in my car.

Brand: Zevia Cherry Cola.

Origin: Los Angeles, CA.

Purchase Place: Kowalski's Market, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Stevia Leaf Extract.

Review: Over 7 years ago, I tried "Black Cherry Zevia" and just thought it was OK. (It was weird to me that it was clear.) Well, this was a cherry COLA (not just a SODA) which meant I expected it to be darker, but it was clear as well. This started strong, but it seemed to get worse the more I sipped on it. The cherry flavor wasn't nearly as refined as I expected it to be - it was a bit of an over-the-top child-like cherry. Overall, it wasn't bad, but had that sharpness from Zevia that I sometimes don't care for. I drank it all, but didn't care for it much by the end as it felt sharper and sharper. I'll rank this a bit lower than average.

Score: 4 out of 10.

Pepsi Nitro Draft Cola

"Nitrogen-infused cola?!?" I just had to grab this when I saw it:

Chill, "pour hard," and then "admire" and enjoy? Intriguing!

Lots of long-lasting head.

The final pour was 80% foam!

Tearing open the can afterwards to find the nitrogen dispenser at the bottom.

Brand: Pepsi Nitro Draft Cola.

Origin: Purchase, NY.

Purchase Place: Kowalski's Market, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Review: The "crack" of opening this can was loud! It startled my wife! I then poured it "hard" (as instructed) into a few glasses for my family to enjoy. It had bigger and longer-lasting head than normal, but nothing too dramatic. 

But it WAS more dramatic in the flavor - it added a real smoothness (almost creaminess) to the Pepsi flavor. This was really good, and very unique on the tongue (if that doesn't sound too pretentious - talking about "mouth feel"). There was a "vanilla cola" version of this next to it at Kowalski's, and I'm thinking about stopping back to try that as well. Very interesting, very tasty, and a bit of a different experience than just a "normal" cola. On taste alone, I'd call this a 9, but I'm almost bumping it up to a 9.5 because of the interesting and foamy head.

Score: 9 out of 10.

Buddy's Strawberry Soda

I opened this yesterday afternoon:

 

Brand: Buddy's Strawberry Soda.

Origin: Sleepy Eye, MN.

Purchase Place: Kowalski's Market, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This was classically good! It had a strong strawberry flavor (like "candy" strawberry and not "real" strawberry), and it was really creamy - not creamy enough to be a "strawberry CREAM," but nice and smooth. This went down easy and had the perfect amount of sweetness - it was really sugary, but not TOO sugary. This was a treat.

Score: 8.5 out of 10.

Olipop Classic Grape Sparkling Tonic

I opened this before class yesterday: 

 

Brand: Olipop Classic Grape Sparkling Tonic.

Origin: Oakland, CA.

Purchase Place: Kowalski's Market, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Stevia and their "olismart" blend.

Review: Interestingly enough, this can contained 45 calories whereas their "cola" that I had last winter had 35 calories. This one had more fruit juice concentrates, so that must have been the difference: the cola just had apple and lime juice, but this had grape, apple, and lime. (Which makes the sugar content go from 2g to 4g.) But it had the same NINE grams of fiber added to it!

This was pretty good! It wasn't an overly sweet child-like grape soda (or "tonic" I suppose I should say). It was still tinted purple, but the flavor was a little deeper and almost "herbier" than a standard grape - there was more depth to it. I didn't get a bad aftertaste from the Stevia which happens with some drinks. This was a bit better than their cola in my mind! I'll need to keep exploring these tonics!

Score: 7 out of 10.

Northern Soda Company Black Cherry Soda

Three non-bottle reviews in a row?!? Yep. I had my second (and final) can from last weekend's Kowalski's trip:

Brand: Northern Soda Company Black Cherry Soda.

Origin: Arden Hills, MN.

Purchase Place: Kowalski's Market, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This was really good! Just a solid and deep flavored black cherry. I was surprised when I poured out a sip for my boys and saw it was nearly clear (just the slightest pink tint!). I thought it was a bit on the sweet side, but my wife (who hates overly sweet things) thought it was quite tasty. There's nothing special about this, but it tastes really good! Solid soda!

Score: 8.5 out of 10.

Olipop Vintage Cola Sparkling Tonic

I was in Kowalski's with my family this weekend, and my wife spotted this: 

Check out that huge ingredients list!

Brand: Olipop Vintage Cola Sparkling Tonic.

Origin: Oakland, CA.

Purchase Place: Kowalski's Market, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Stevia.

Review: So this is marketed saying that it's a "soda that's actually good for you." Well, I don't really buy that, but they're just trying to add things to soda while not adding too much sugar. That's the simple version. There's just 2 grams of sugar (they used Stevia), and they've added prebiotics and fiber... yes, NINE grams of FIBER... to the can.

So how does it all taste? Honestly, better than I thought it would. With the prebiotics and apple juice and fiber and all of those roots, I expected this to taste a bit like licking a hippies armpit. Like a bad kombucha. But it had a lot of deep flavors. It was herby and almost a bit smokey at times. The cola flavor was similar to "Bottle Caps" cola, which is not a bad thing. I don't care for the aftertaste of Stevia, and maybe that was the biggest downside to this soda. SUPER unique, and I'll gladly try some of their other flavors even though I didn't absolutely LOVE this.

Score: 6 out of 10.

 

Northern Soda Company's Pontoon Punch

I had to swing into Kowalski's last week, so I checked out their soda stash. I grabbed one of these - a brand that Remix Popcorn and Delights carries, but they haven't been open to browse for a while (just taking online orders): 

Brand: Northern Soda Company's Pontoon Punch.

Origin: Arden Hills, MN.

Purchase Place: Kowalski's Market, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: It smelled much like a slightly cherry Fresca, and it was slightly pinkish-red. And I don't think I was projecting this, but I tasted a bit like that too: nicely fruity and sweet with just an undertone of sourness to it. Quite tasty!

Score: 8 out of 10.

1919 Classic American Root Beer

My wife bought me this on New Year's Eve, and I had it with my boys:

Brand: 1919 Classic American Root Beer.

Origin: New Ulm and Sleepy Eye, MN.

Purchase Place: Kowalski's Market, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: First of all, I thought I had this YEARS ago, so I've been passing it up when I've come across it. But it turns out I've never had it. It might be the same as the root beer I had 8 years ago from Lynden's Soda Fountain (now "Cold Front") because the mug had this same logo and the same phrase at the top: "America's Original Brewery Made 1919 Classic American Root Beer." (And maybe part of the reason I thought I'd had this before is that I posted about the pony keg they had of this at Kowalski's back in 2015.)

So how was it? It was VERY strong on the vanilla. It was quite creamy! I poured out 2 glasses for my boys (as this is a big 16 oz can with lots to share) and it formed a good head. I wish the flavor was a little "deeper" though as it seemed a little weak. But that's about my only complaint - otherwise, it was smooth, creamy, heavy on the vanilla, and light on the anise which is the way I like my root beer.

Score: 8.5 out of 10.

Hansen's Natural Creamy Root Beer

I was at Kowalski's earlier this week picking up some last minute Valentine's treats, and I grabbed this. I didn't realize that I'd never tried anything of Hansen's before!

In my classroom before class today.

Brand: Hansen's Natural Creamy Root Beer.

Origin: Tustin, CA.

Purchase Place: Kowalski's Market, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: Being this is a "natural" brand, I figured there would be some extra ingredients in here (and not just HFCS and flavoring). I was right: it had wintergreen, birch, anise, sassafras, and Tahitian vanilla extract listed among the ingredients. It sounded good.

The first sip was nice and creamy and smooth, but then there was this sharp aftertaste that really just sucked. (I mean, there's a hint of anise in that aftertaste, but also a hint of burnt garbage water.) So in rating this root beer, I had to go between "nice starter flavor" and "strange ending flavor." I ended up going right down the middle and calling this an average 5 (although it starts much stronger and ends much weaker).

Score: 5 out of 10.

Strawberry Wisco Pop

My wife picked this up for me at Kowalski's when she was there this past weekend. She was wondering if it'd be as "weird" as their Cherry Soda she got me while visiting her sister.

Brand: Strawberry Wisco Pop.

Origin: Viroqua, WI

Purchase Place: Kowalski's Market, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Organic Sugar.

Review: This had a sharp smell, and I was worried it'd be "weird" like the last Wisco Pop I had. But I was totally wrong. This was REALLY good. It was a pretty smooth, soft strawberry flavor, and it reminded me of tasting jelly as we're making it. It may have been the first soda that I've had where the flavor ("organic strawberry") was listed before the sweetener ("organic sugar"). It was very good, and it went down easily. A very unique strawberry, but very tasty.

Score: 8.5 out of 10.
 

Stewart's Root Beer

I cracked this open at the end of long Saturday night:

Brand: Stewart's Root Beer.

Origin: Plano, Texas.

Purchase Place: Kowalski's, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This had a deep flavor that was quite good. It's smooth with a bit of vanilla and just a hint of anise. Rich, tasty, and pretty darn good. No big complaints!

Score: 9 out of 10.

Virgil's Zero Root Beer

I opened this up with lunch today:

Brand: Virgil's Zero Root Beer

Origin: Los Angeles, CA.

Purchase Place: Kowalski's, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Stevia.

Review: This had a deep flavor, but slightly too much anise (which is what I thought of their regular root beer too). I wasn't a fan. Even though it had a deep flavor, it was still weak. There was an odd berry flavor in there that was OK (and unexpected - maybe the Stevia?), but that the was most this had to offer. Giving it an average score.

Score: 5 out of 10.

Caleb's Kola

I grabbed this from Kowalski's recently:

Brand: Caleb's Kola.

Origin: Riviera Beach, Florida.

Purchase Place: Kowalski's Market, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Fair Trade Cane Sugar.

Review: This is a solid cola. It has a nice bite from the Kola Nut Extract, and there's a BIT of an extra bite that is a little like ginger ale (but not nearly that strong). If you like cola with a slightly bigger kick, then try this. I have no big complaints.

Score: 6 out of 10.

Spindrift Sparkling Lemonade

I needed something fresh yesterday afternoon, so I picked this up at Kowalski's:

Brand: Spindrift Sparkling Lemonade.

Origin: Waltham, MA.

Purchase Place: Kowalski's Market, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This "soda" contains 13% fruit juice, which is super rare. The ingredients are carbonated water, fresh lemon juice, sugar, and natural flavor. It tasted fresh and tart. It's not some new twist on lemonade, it's just good ole' sparkling lemonade, done pretty well.

Score: 6.5 out of 10.

Tree Fort Root Beer

These bottles caught my eye when I stopped by Kowalski's a few days back:

So I grabbed a bottle of this foggy-looking root beer to try:

Brand: Tree Fort Root Beer.

Origin: Minneapolis, MN.

Purchase Place: Kowalski's Market, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: When I first took a sip, I had to double check the bottle to make sure I hadn't purchased the ginger ale - it was THAT gingery! It really didn't taste or smell like root beer one bit. Really. It had a bit of a honey taste, and then I saw that "white honey" was the third ingredient. I like honey as a sweetener, but rarely in a root beer. If you like ginger, give this a try. Otherwise, stay away - you won't like it. I didn't care for it.

Score: 3 out of 10.

Stewart's Key Lime Soda

We headed to a brunch over this past weekend, and I brought along a Key Lime soda:

In my friend's kitchen before we had our brunch.

Brand: Stewart's Key Lime Soda.

Origin: (shoot, I didn't get this before I left the party.)

Purchase Place: Kowalski's Market, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Review: This was really smooth - it tastes like you'd expect it to when you see how "foggy" it is. It's VERY sweet, almost to a fault. But the key lime taste is right on. It was pretty good - great for sipping at a meal.

Score: 6.5 out of 10.

Fanta Strawberry

Time for something sugary:

Brand: Fanta Strawberry.

Origin: Mexico.

Purchase Place: Kowalski's Market, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This was sweet (Fanta seems to usually be sweet). I would never call the flavor "strawberry" - it was almost more cherry. Kinda just "red" flavored. It was sweet and OK. Nothing too great or memorable, but OK.

Score: 5 out of 10.

Diet Stewart's Root Beer

I haven't reviewed a diet soda for a while…

Brand: Diet Stewart's Root Beer.

Origin: Rye Brook, NY.

Purchase Place: Kowalski's Market, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Aspartame.

Review: This was OK. And for a diet soda, it was pretty good. It was "thin" and weak like many diets, but it had a good vanilla flavor and was very smooth and tasty. It had a slightly chemically aftertaste. Not a super fantastic soda, but not too shabby either.

Score: 6.5 out of 10.

Stewart's Black Cherry Soda

We had a feast this past weekend. With the feast, I had a Stewart's Black Cherry Soda:

Lots of food in the background.

Brand: Stewart's Black Cherry Soda.

Origin: Mansfield, OH.

Purchase Place: Kowalski's, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Review: This was sugary and rich. It was a decent Black Cherry. It didn't stand out as anything too unique or different, but it did it's "job" well. Good soda.

Score: 6.5 out of 10.