Boylan Grape

I've had an up and down relationship with Boylan. It was time for another try. So I opened this over the weekend:

Brand: Boylan Grape Soda.

Origin: New York, NY.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This was sugary and delicious. It had a deep grape flavor and went down easily. It's been a few years since I had Faygo grape soda, but it reminded me of that (but maybe a bit smoother and better). Tasty stuff!

Score: 8.5 out of 10.

A quick trip to Blue Sun Soda

My 2nd grader and I took a trip to Blue Sun Soda this afternoon. His teacher loves root beer, so I made a list of my favorite root beers from this blog (ones rated 9 or 10) and picked up 8 for him as an upcoming Christmas present.

We brought a few dollars worth of quarters for Henry and me.

Playing a slightly older pinball machine.

Rocky Mountain had a nice end cap.

SODAS! The aisle along the wall on the right is all root beer.
Colas are in the middle of this pic. Everything is divided by flavor.

There was a birthday party going on in a back room, which is a great idea! The kids seemed to be having fun. Henry and I grabbed some free popcorn and some goodies for his teacher. I ended up getting:

- Capt'n Eli's Root Beer
- Old Fashioned Killebrew Root Beer
- Dang! That's Good Root Beer
- Barrel Brother's Creamy Vanilla Root Beer
- The Three Stooges Wise Guy Root Beer
- Route 66 Root Beer
- Hippo Size Jumbo Root Beer
- Abita Root Beer

Those last 2 on the list have been the ONLY sodas on this blog that have received "10 out of 10." The rest on this list either got 9s or 9.5s. (You can find reviews of all of these in the sidebar - look for the brand name in the tags.) I hope his teacher likes his Christmas present!

Kickapoo Maliblu (Pina Colada)

I opened this at the end of class today:

Brand: Kickapoo Maliblu (Pina Colada)

Origin: Atlanta, GA

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

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: I mean, it tastes like sunscreen. But also Pina Colada. It's not real drinkable, but it's OK in sips. It COULD be better with booze. But as is, it's a little weird.

Score: 4 out of 10.

Pop vs. Soda

This map seems pretty broad, but ABOUT right from what I've noticed while living in MN, eating out a few times in New Orleans, and visiting AZ and Las Vegas.

In out-state MN, it's "pop," but it's more "soda" here in the Metro.

Do you think this is about right?

Sprecher Diamond Lychee Soda

"Lychee" is one of those flavors that I couldn't describe to you, but I'd know it if I tasted it. With that "knowledge" (or lack there-of), I cracked into this earlier today before class:

I didn't know anything about Sprecher's "Diamond" line, but I found these fancier sodas in a Reddit thread:

Brand: Sprecher Diamond Lychee Soda.

Origin: Glendale, WI.

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

Sweetener: Sugar, Sucrose, and Raw Wisconsin Honey.

Review: This was sweet and smooth. There's a slight fruitiness to it that makes it quite drinkable. The "lychee" flavor is what I'd expected (sorry, I can't define that flavor well, but THIS was IT). There was a slight harshness in it's aftertaste, but that's the only negative thing I can say. I'd be excited to find those other 3 "diamond" sodas shown above.

Oh, and being it's Sprecher, I'm not surprised that honey is one of it's sweeteners.  They use honey a LOT (from what I can recall). This had THREE sweeteners, so it was good and sweet, but not TOO sweet.

Score: 8 out of 10.

Diet Sparkola Cola

I cracked into this last night:

Brand: Diet Sparkola Cola

Origin: Los Angeles, CA.

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

Sweetener: Sucralose.

Review: This had a pretty rich/deep flavor for a diet! It was a decent cola that had a bit of a berry flavor and a hint of cinnamon. Not bad! And quite good considering it's diet. (I wouldn't have guessed it was diet!)

Score: 7 out of 10.

Soda Can Cameras

Need something to do with your soda cans after finishing your drink?  Make a camera!

Sugar Plum Soda

I opened this in my classroom recently:

Brand: Sugar Plum Soda.

Origin: Mukilteo, WA.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This is like a grown-up grape soda. It's not overly syrupy or sweet, and it has a little more depth to it. The flavor is a bit plum-like, but it's similar to grape. Unique, but not strange. Not a bad soda to be sipping during class.

Score: 6 out of 10.

Mr. Newport Lemon-Lime

I opened this over the weekend:

A very formal label.

Brand: Mr. Newport Lemon-Lime.

Origin: Chicago, IL.

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

Sweetener: High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Review: There wasn't anything too special about this. It was generically OK. Just another nice lemon-lime with maybe a BIT too much of a slightly weird aftertaste.

Score: 5 out of 10.

Rosa's Arroz con Leche Sweet Rice Soda

Well, I still haven't cracked into the case I picked up last weekend at Minnesota's Largest Candy Store. But this morning, I grabbed this "interesting" sounding soda to bring to work with me:

Brand: Rosa's Arroz con Leche Sweet Rice Soda.

Origin: Camarillo, CA.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: I'll admit this was odd. The first sip was hard to get through because it tasted (and smelled) like drinking leftover water in the pan after making rice. That was strange! But once I got over that thought, I realized it actually tasted pretty good. Quite sweet. Like the sweetest liquid white rice you can imagine. It's not as milky/sweet as rice pudding, but THAT would be odd in a soda. This wasn't bad - not as bad as I thought it could have been. I'll give it an average score.

Score: 5 out of 10.