Blue Sun Soda at the MN State Fair

Blue Sun Soda just posted this on Facebook:

I'm not going this year, so someone have some soda for me! Have some Rocket Bomb Pop, or some root beer from a "root beer barrel," or some Spring Grove soda at their stand by the DNA building!

Million Dollar Strawberry Soda

I opened this for some sippin' last night: 

Brand: Million Dollar Strawberry Soda

Origin: Breese, IL.

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

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This was just OK, and nothing really stood out. It was almost a bit creamy, but otherwise just quite average. The strawberry flavor was very candy-like, and I would consider this a good soda for kids, but it's nothing special.

Score: 5.5 out of 10.

Crazy Candy Co. Cola Sour Belts

I grabbed these at Aldi about a week ago: 

 

I don’t feel like I can rank these on my 1-10 scale as there’s not much to compare them to. My scale is meant for soda, and I don’t really review candy. But I can still say what I thought of these, without an official ranking. 

The cola taste was pretty spot-on. It reminded me of a chewy version of a cola Bottlecap candy. I liked the flavor! And I’m not one for sour candy, but this wasn’t too bad – the sour was a nice “zing” without being a punch in the face. (However, I’d probably be eating them faster without the sour coating, so maybe it’s good that it’s there to slow me down a bit. Ha!) Overall, I’ve been enjoying grabbing 1 or 2 of these out of the cupboard throughout the last few days.

Bull's Head Root Beer

I opened this yesterday afternoon as I was painting my living room:

My living room is all plastic and paint fumes.

Brand: Bull's Head Root Beer.

Origin: Canada.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: I wanted to like this so badly, but I just didn't. It wasn't good. But listen: it MIGHT be for you. It had a SUPER woodsy, earthy, and herby taste that was just too much for me. Some people might like it that strong, but it wasn't for me. It had such a unique bite because of that flavor but it was a "miss" for my palate. I'm giving it an extra point because it tried so hard. 

Score: 3 out of 10.

How NOT to Drink Soda

Please. Not like this.

Tommyknocker Brewery All Natural Almond Creme

I opened this earlier today: 

 

 

Fun bottle cap.

Brand: Tommyknocker Brewery All Natural Almond Creme

Origin: Idaho Springs, CO.

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

Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar.

Review: At first sip, this really tasted like just a normal creme soda. But then there was a slightly almondy/vanilla kick at the end of the sip. The flavor wasn't super strong, but it was decent. I didn't really care for Tommyknocker Root Beer when I had that years ago, but this was pretty good. I'm not necessarily a fan of almonds, but I still enjoyed it.

Score: 7 out of 10.

Lost Trail Root Beer

I've been doing some home improvement projects, and I cracked into this when I needed something refreshing today:

Brand: Lost Trail Root Beer.

Origin: Louisburg, KS.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This was delicious from the start! (And I don't think it's because I was hot after working hard on some plaster repair work in our stairwell.) It was smooth and full of flavor, but it had just the right amount of some sort of anise-like bite as well. It kept a slightly frothy head when I'd set it down. This was a very good root beer for a hot day! I'll have this again!

Score: 9.5 out of 10.

Coca Cola Tic Tacs

Has anyone tried these? I'm curious!!

Polly's Pop Donutology Glazed Donut

Being I was still hanging out with family earlier this week, we all sampled this treat:

On the counter on vacation.

Brand: Polly's Pop Donutology Glazed Donut.

Origin: Kansas City, MO.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: When I opened this, I passed it around for everyone to sniff. Because it TOTALLY smelled like those waxy Hostess mini chocolate donuts. I was excited to try it. But then it tasted a little "off." The aftertaste was a bit chemically and it just tasted like odd sweetness. It was just OK. I'm shocked to think that the beef jerky soda from earlier in the week was better than this!

Score: 3 out of 10.

Beefdrinker Teriyaki Beef Jerky Soda

On our summer vacation recently, I opened this to share with family: 

On the railing of our (rented) cabin.

First of all, I was ready for this to be gross.  I mean, obviously. I liked the tagline on the bottom of the label: "For that deep carnivore thirst." Nice. I poured out sips for everyone to try:

My son smiled saying it wasn't too bad.

My nephew wasn't sure what to think.

My brother-in-law didn't mind it.

My niece was the only one who didn't really care for it.

Brand: Beefdrinker Teriyaki Beef Jerky Soda.

Origin: Gardena, CA.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: As far as novelty sodas go, this wasn't too bad! It wasn't overly smokey or salty, which were 2 of my worries. My nephew described the flavor PERFECTLY: he said it tasted like what Cheeseburger Hamburger Helper powder smells like. And that was spot on. My brother-in-law noted after his first sip that it reminded him of some kind of cream soda, and that wasn't a bad point either. As I sipped more and more, it started tasting more and more like beef. In the end, it wasn't really all that tasty, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be, so I'm calling this "3.5 out of 10" soda a "win" in my book.

Score: 3.5 out of 10.