Saturday, March 29, 2025

7-Up Syrup

Someone found a bottle of 7-Up flavor syrup in their grandma's house:

7-Up Syrup

Saturday, March 15, 2025

Fitz's Cardinal Cream Soda

I opened this with supper tonight:

 
Fitz's Cardinal Cream Soda


Brand: Fitz's Cardinal Cream Soda.

Origin: St. Louis, MO.

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

Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar.

Review: I didn't know what this would be like under this big aluminum can (the neck is painted aluminum and not the color of the soda). Honestly, I enjoy the screw-top aluminum bottles like this - I think more places should try that.

On to the flavor... it was a bit of a mix of Dr. Pepper and a cream soda. It had a deeper flavor like Dr. Pepper, but then was REALLY creamy. I had to pour some out into a glass to see what color it was, because it could have been cola/brown, clear, or red, and it turns out it was a pretty deep red. It was LIKE their cream soda that I had years ago, but this had a little more depth and interestingness to it. Not bad!

Score: 7.5 out of 10.

Monday, March 3, 2025

'Breaking Bad's' Los Pollos Hermanos Horchata Soda

I opened this with supper tonight:

'Breaking Bad's' Los Pollos Hermanos Horchata Soda
The fictional "Los Pollos" restaurant from "Breaking Bad."

'Breaking Bad's' Los Pollos Hermanos Horchata Soda
Yep... there's the "Breaking Bad" tie-in.



Brand: 'Breaking Bad's' Los Pollos Hermanos Horchata Soda.

Origin: Incline Village, NV.

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

Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar.

Review: This was OK. It had that "milky sweetness" of Horchata that wasn't bad! But it was a little odd when combined with the "sharpness" of carbonation - this could have been better uncarbonated. There was a little hint of cinnamon that was nice too...

... but wait... I recall writing that before. OH WAIT! I wonder if this is the EXACT SAME SODA as the Lester's Fixins Horchata that's also made by Rocket Fizz. Did they just relabel an old soda to appeal to the "Breaking Bad" crowd? Probably. 

Score: 6 out of 10.

Tuesday, February 25, 2025

NEW Orange Cream Coca-Cola Zero

My wife grabbed some of these to try from someone who was given most of a 12-pack away on our local "buy nothing" page because they didn't care for it:

NEW Orange Cream Coca-Cola Zero
Why is "orange cream" centered in this shot,
but then not "zero sugar" or the text at the bottom?


Brand: Orange Cream Coca-Cola Zero.

Origin: Atlanta, GA.

Purchase Place: gifted from our local "buy nothing" Facebook group.

Sweetener: Aspartame and Sucralose.

Review: Cracking this open, I was assaulted with the scent of orange cream. That smell (and flavor) was pretty spot on! The problem is that I like cola, and there's no cola flavor left because it's just orange cream.

I like Coke Zero - it's in my top 5 of normal "daily" afternoon caffeine pick-me-ups. And I also like Cherry Coke Zero - the cherry flavor works itself in nicely with the cola. But this soda is just ALL orange cream. There's no cola flavor left - this is just an orange cream SODA, and not an orange cream COLA. I wish the orange cream was a little toned down so the cola flavor could come through a bit more. I'll put this right in the middle of "average."

Score: 5 out of 10.

Thursday, February 20, 2025

Excel Lucky Cherry Cola

I cracked into this at work this afternoon:

 
Excel Lucky Cherry Cola


Brand: Lucky Cherry Cola.

Origin: Breese, IL.

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

Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar.

Review: There was "tree fruit & spice" in the ingredients list, which I was curious about! (Along with "essential oils.") The flavor was pretty unique, but I didn't LOVE it. The cola flavor was a little weak, and the cherry flavor was a little "simple" (as in not too complex). This was fine for sipping, but I'll rank it a little lower than average:

Score: 4.5 out of 10.

Saturday, February 8, 2025

Zero Sugar Faygo Orange

I was headed through Rochester today, and I grabbed this at a Kwik Trip:

Zero Sugar Faygo Orange
Back home after being mostly drank!


Brand: Zero Sugar Faygo Orange.

Origin: Detroit, MI.

Purchase Place: Kwik Trip, Rochester, MN.

Sweetener: Sucralose.

Review: The first thing I noticed is that this was my first "ZERO SUGAR" Faygo as opposed to "DIET" Faygo. In the past, I've had a Diet Faygo with aspartame, but this had sucralose. So I figured they maybe had a "new line" of sodas or either changed their formula. Then I found this article from a few months ago talking about their NEW ZERO SUGAR sodas.

So how was it? It was decent. It didn't taste TOO "diet" as it had a pretty full flavor. It was very "real" orange and not "fake" orange, which was nice. It was almost an "orange creme" flavor, but not quite. So if a slightly creamy and slightly actually orange flavored diet soda sounds good to you, then try this! I'll rate it a little better than average.

Score: 6.5 out of 10.

Monday, January 27, 2025

Zevia Cherry Cola

I grabbed this while out earlier today:

Zevia Cherry Cola
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.

Tuesday, January 21, 2025