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.

Inotea Pobble Passion Fruit + Apple

I grabbed this from Aldi over the weekend:

Here are a few of the "popping pearls" in a glass. 

Brand: Inotea Pobble Passion Fruit + Apple.

Origin: Newark, NJ.

Purchase Place: Aldi, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This was quite good! It was very sweet, and tasted like a "good" apple cider that you might get on the holidays for the kids - like the sparkling kind, even though this wasn't sparkling. It was mainly apple flavored, and then the "popping pearls" had more of the passion fruit flavor inside. Yes, they are little pearls that are liquid filled that "pop" when you bite into them - I don't think everyone is ready for that experience. :)

My wife tried it, and she doesn't like things that are too sweet, so I thought she wouldn't like this. But after her first sip, she paused and said "... oh, that's GOOD." And my boys loved it too, so it went over well in our house. We'll have to try the other 2 flavors we saw at Aldi as well!

Score: 8 out of 10.

Dr. Pepper and Rum Chata

In more than 1 recent "viral" video, I've heard that mixing Dr. Pepper and coconut Rum Chata is supposed to be delicious. My Mom is a huge fan of "regular" Rum Chata, so I grabbed a mini coconut bottle of Rum Chata before a recent family vacation. I paired that with a Diet Dr. Pepper we got from the convenience store near our rented cabin:

On the counter in our cabin.

As a mixed drink. It's hard to tell because of the line in the glass, but the top 1/3 is all frothy head!

It came as no surprise that this was delicious! I've had regular Rum Chata a few times with my Mom (which is good mixed with chocolate milk or root beer, or good on its own over ice), but never the "coconut" Rum Chata. The coconut Rum Chata had a bit of a sunscreen vibe to it (many coconut flavored things have that vibe to me), but it was very smooth and tasty mixed with Dr. Pepper! It was a creamy and easy-to-drink mixed drink! I think I'll bring this combo around more often when I'm together with my Mom.

Moneybag's Creme Soda

I was recently "up north" with family in a cabin, and I brought this to enjoy:

Under the bottle cap.

Wait... Gene Simmons?

     

Brand: Moneybag's Creme Soda.

Origin: Niagara Falls, NY.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: First of all... yes, this is put out by Gene Simmons of KISS fame. I enjoyed the design on the front of the bottle, but didn't spot Simmons's name until I took off the cap. It's a pretty smooth cream (or "créme" as it's spelled on the bottle) and it went down easily. Nice and sugary. There's a BIT of a chemically aftertaste, but it's not bad. I'll rank this just a bit over average.

Score: 6 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.

Black Bear Cherry Soda

I was recently on a camping trip with my boys, niece, and nephew, and I grabbed this from a candy store in Ely:

Brand: Black Bear Cherry Soda.

Origin: Glendale, WI.

Purchase Place: Ely's Old Fashioned Candy, Ely, MN.

Sweetener: Glucose Syrup.

Review: I took the first sip, and had to look again at the label. It had a more “cola” flavor than just a cherry “soda” (but it was just a “soda” and not a “cola” as the label confirmed). I like cherry cola, so that wasn’t a problem. It had a little bit of a sharp medicinal taste that was less desirable. Flavor was strong, but the sharpness wasn’t great. I’ll call this an average “5.”

Score: 5 out of 10.

(And again, see more "up north" photos from our camping trip on my other blog.)

Diet Faygo Cola

I grabbed this on a car ride back from a camping trip, and didn't get a photo of it until I was back home cleaning out my car:

Messy car... unloading from a wet weekend of camping!

Brand: Diet Faygo Cola.

Origin: Detroit, MI.

Purchase Place: Kwik Trip, Rochester, MN.

Sweetener: Aspartame.

Review: This was a decent cola, but there was nothing fancy, special, or unique about it. It had decent flavor for being diet as well - not that strong, but also not TOO weak. Very decent and what I expected (and wanted). I'll rank this just above average.

Score: 6 out of 10.

Lester's Fixins Horchata Soda

I opened this yesterday as it didn't seem to be too "risky" of a novelty soda:

 
Brand: Lester's Fixins Horchata Soda.

Origin: Incline Village, NV.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: Something felt "wrong" about drinking a horchata from a guy named "Lester." (It's a drink that originated in northern Africa before settling in Spain and often being thought of as a Mexican drink today.) 

The first sip was odd because the flavor was about right on (including a cinnamon-like hit at the end like Mexican horchata has), but it was a bit strange with the carbonation. 

I actually let it sit in the fridge open for a while, and I think it got better - I like this more with a "softer" carbonation. Overall, it tasted pretty right on and nicely sweet, but the carbonation added a sharpness to it that wasn't as great.

Score: 6.5 out of 10.

GT's Alive Root Beer Ancient Mushroom Elixir

I knew this was a risk. I still tried it:

 

Brand: GT's Alive Root Beer Ancient Mushroom Elixir.

Origin: Beverly Hills, CA.

Purchase Place: Fresh Thyme Grocery Store, Minneapolis, MN.

Sweetener: Stevia.

Review: "Mushroom Elixir?" I think that means "mushrooms mushed up in water." Umm... yummy?  Maybe not. When we cracked the top (I say "we" because I tried this with my family), it really smelled of pretty classic root beer. I got my hopes up a little! And PART of the flavor of this was root beer, but a lot of it was based off apple cider vinegar. So... no thanks. There was no mushroom funk to this, but the kombucha-like sharpness from the apple cider vinegar overpowered anything that was decent about the root beer flavor. If you like kombucha, this might be worth a try. But if you get it solely based the fact that it's root beer flavored, you'll be let down. Not for me! 

Score: 2 out of 10.

Fresh Fizz Organic Soda Sparkling Jalapeno Limeade

I opened this while in my car waiting for one of my sons' sports practices:

Sitting in my car

Brand: Fresh Fizz Organic Soda Sparkling Jalapeño Limeade.

Origin: Island Park, NY.

Purchase Place: Fresh Thyme, Minneapolis, MN.

Sweetener: Organic Honey.

Review: This was a risky soda. I grow jalapeño peppers and like cooking with them, but I didn't know how I'd like that flavor in a soda... and if they'd be able to CREATE that flavor in a soda.

The first time bringing it to my mouth gave me a sniff of what smelled like TRUE jalapeño peppers - I was impressed already one second before taking my first sip. After my first sip, I was even more impressed - the jalapeño flavor came through well and was spot on! There are only 4 ingredients (carbonated water, lime juice, honey, and jalapeño peppers) and they all pull their own weight. 

This was not a "gulping" soda... this is definitely a "sipping" soda. My wife enjoyed the flavor and remarked this would be good in a cocktail, which is 100% right. The limeade cuts through the jalapeño nicely, and they work well together! It's hard to give this a score because it's not something I would just open and gulp down because it's so tasty, but I would sip on it for a while because it's refreshing. I was impressed by this!

Score: 6.5 out of 10.