Northwoods "The Squeeze:" Lime Mint Soda Water

I think when I grabbed this, I thought it was soda, but it was unsweetened flavored water:

Brand: Northwoods "The Squeeze:" Lime Mint Soda Water.

Origin: Williamsburg, MI.

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

Sweetener: None.

Review: I *think* I thought this was a NorthSTAR and not a NorthWOODS soda when I grabbed it. (And I thought it WAS a soda and not a water.) Oh well. The label was cool and pulled me in. The first sip reminded me of La Croix Lime (or lemon?) that I got from my uncle as a kid. So that was decent. And then each sip ended with that hint of mint flavor, and that was a nice combo with the lime. Not nearly as sweet as a soda (obviously), but still a fun drink.

Score: 6.5 out of 10.

Spindrift Lime Sparkling Water

This is NOT going to turn into a "sparkling water" blog, but I happened to grab this last week and figured I'd review it. 

At work with photo paper, negatives, and the darkroom door in the background.

Brand: Spindrift Lime Sparkling Water.  

Origin: Newton, MA.

Purchase Place: Menards, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: None.

Review: I was walking through Menards and saw these large cans, and they looked good. So I grabbed one. But I was pretty let down with my first sip. Yes, I get that it's JUST carbonated water and lime juice with no sweetener, but the lime flavor had an odd almost fruitiness to it (and not in a good way). I was expecting (and OK with) a sharper citrus punch, and it didn't have that. I didn't expect a smoother lime water - I feel like that wasn't what I signed up for.

But truth be told, it grew on me a bit as I sipped on these 16 ounces. Part of that might have been just figuring out what the flavor was and slowly becoming OK with that. It went from maybe a score of 2 or 3 at the start to more like a 4 by the end of the can. So I still don't love it, but it's not completely horrible.

Score: 4 out of 10.

Apple Rush Sparkling Apple

I opened this today, as it feels very fall-like around here suddenly:

Brand: Apple Rush Sparkling Apple.

Origin: Somewhere in Florida.

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

Sweetener: None.

Review: It's what you'd expect: it's sparkling apple cider. The carbonation is a fun (but not too crazy) addition to cider. Solid drink for this time of year.

Score: 7 out of 10.

Topo Chico Grapefruit Mineral Water

I cracked into this last night:

Brand: Topo Chico Grapefruit Mineral Water.

Origin: Monterrey, Mexico.

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

Sweetener: None.

Review: I saw "grapefruit" on the label, but I didn't realize this was just mineral water until my first sip. It was decent as no-calorie slightly-flavored water. It was like a fancy La Croix. Nothing amazing, but still refreshing. I'll give it an average score.

Score: 5 out of 10.

Vanilla Hi Ball Energy

I did a triathlon 2 weeks ago, and these were being handed out at the finish:

Brand: Vanilla Hi Ball Energy.

Origin: San Francisco, CA.

Purchase Place: Maple Grove Triathlon.

Sweetener: None.

Review: I saw a woman at the race dumping hers on the ground, so I didn't have high hopes. Turns out, she was 100% justified. This was horrible. It tasted like the worst possible version of La Croix water. The vanilla flavor was OK, but NOT in an unsweetened carbonated water drink. Gah. It needed about 50 grams of sugar to be drinkable. Disgusting. I only could manage a few sips of this.

Score: 1 out of 10.

Best Damn Root Beer

I've been seeing billboards like this around the Metro area for the last 2 months or so:

My wife and I were at the liquor store a few nights ago, and we saw a 6-pack, so we picked it up so I could try it.

If you're wondering, YES it's "hard" root beer. It's 5.5% alcohol.


Brand: Best Damn Root Beer.

Origin: St. Louis, MO.

Purchase Place: Marshall Liquors, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Nothing? I'm unsure on this. (Beer is labeled much differently than soda, and everyone online is mentioning they can't find an ingredients list for this.)

Review: It smelled good. The first sip had GOOD (classic) root beer flavor on my tongue. But then the yeastiness of the beer took over, and it ended with not a great flavor. There was a nice amount of vanilla flavor (and on the can it mentions that it's "ale aged on vanilla beans"), but that didn't make up for much. It was an odd flavor combo of root beer and beer that I didn't care for at all. The beer added a strange "bite" to the root beer.

I'm not a big beer fan, so that may be why I was less interested in this. But even on Beer Advocate, it's not getting good reviews and is currently ranked "poor" at 68 out of 100. One reviewer said "it tasted like someone took a cheap light beer and squirted some of that artificial "rootbeer-barrel candy" flavoring into it."

My wife mentioned it could make a good root beer float, so I may have to try that with some of the remaining 5 cans. The Best Damn Root Beer website has some recipes on it, so we might have to give a few of those a try. I'll update if/when I do. But for the time being, this score is just based on the Best Damn Root Beer by itself.

Score: 2.5 out of 10.

Cider Galilee (Drinking Soda in Israel)

I've been in Israel for a few days. So I HAD to try some local soda when I got a pita:

Great lunch!

Brand: Cider Galilee.

Origin: Netanya, Israel.

Purchase Place: "Meat and More," Eilat, Israel.

Sweetener: None?... I think. It said it was just apple juice and carbonation.

Review: This was crisp and tasty. It was a good, "clean," and "pure" tasting apple juice with a nice amount of carbonation. If you want a sweet soda, this won't satisfy. But if you want some tasty carbonated juice, this is right up your alley. Natural and tasty.

Score: 8 out of 10.