New Sodas to Try!

My soda-loving-friends have sent me another stash of things to try! (They first sent me some Shaq sodas 10 years ago, then stopped by with more shortly after that, and finally stopped over last year with more goodies!) Here's what arrived in the mail last week:

A heavy box that was $20 to ship!

Well-wrapped goodies inside.

Some root beer from Alaska, another fun Zia to try, and a few kinds of "Brigham's Brews!"

The 2 cans are in the fridge already as I'm excited to try those. Back with a review shortly. Thanks T and Brandon!!

Northern Soda Company Butter Scotch Root Beer

I brought this to work with me earlier this week: 

 

Brand: Northern Soda Company Butter Scotch Root Beer.

Origin: Arden Hills, MN.

Purchase Place: Remix, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This is another soda from my Father's Day variety pack my wife got me from the delicious Remix down the street (click here for a recent post about Remix, and click here for the first time I checked them out). I'm kind of torn on butterscotch flavored things: sometimes it feels too heavy and gross, but other times it's a nice and smooth addition. I tend to like it in a root beer when it's subtle.

But most "butterscotch root beers" aren't too subtle with the butterscotch. And this one was no exception. The butterscotch flavor is quite good and smooth and tasty, but it's just a bit too heavy for my taste. I can barely taste any "root beer" - it's generally just "butterscotch." It's not as extreme as some butterscotch root beers that I've had, but I still wish it was a bit lighter on the butterscotch. It wasn't horrible by any means, so I'll rank this right in the middle...

Score: 5 out of 10.

Babe Ruth Cola

I opened this while making supper tonight:

 

Brand: Babe Ruth Cola.

Origin: Reno, NV.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: Not surprisingly, "Babe Ruth" soda is made by funky "Rocket Fizz" - they make random funny sodas. There was no indication on the label about what would make this different or special as a cola, just that it "tastes like 714 home runs." Mmmmm-kay...

It ended up being pretty decent. It has that rich/sweet kola nut/fruity flavor of a good cola, only it was a bit stronger in this one compared to what I'm used to. And that's not a good or bad thing: it tasted good, but I didn't know if I liked it more or less because it was so strong. If you like a "strong" cola, give this a shot!

Score: 7 out of 10.

Science Can Be Tasty!...

... or a disgusting learning experience.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

Northern Soda Company Bing Cherry Root Beer

I was excited to try this one from the variety pack my wife got me:

Brand: Northern Soda Company Bing Cherry Root Beer.

Origin: Arden Hills, MN.

Purchase Place: Remix, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: I was excited for this one, and it didn't disappoint! This was pretty unique and really tasty! The cherry flavor is a bit "soft" and "creamy," and it's quite good. It's not a strong cherry flavor, and that works really nicely here. And then that cherry flavor transitions into a smooth and tasty root beer. This meld of flavors works really well - they found a cherry flavor to compliment their root beer. This was fun!

Score: 9 out of 10.

Spring Grove Soda Pop on TV at the MN State Fair

My boys and I stopped by the MN State Fair on opening day. We HAD to get a cup of Spring Grove Soda Pop:

We shared a cup of Black Cherry.

Just a few days ago, Spring Grove Soda Pop was interviewed on a local TV program. Check out their interview below:

(In case the embedded video above doesn't work, here's a link to the KSTP video on their website.)

Things Sponsored by Mountain Dew

Lotte Milkis Banana

I grabbed this from an Asian grocery store that I stopped at recently with my boys:

 

Brand: Lotte Milkis Banana.

Origin: Korea.

Purchase Place: Shuang Hur Supermarket, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This was a cute little 8.45 oz can. I didn't know what to expect from it. I was a little scared. This drink was a bit milky, and "powdered skim milk" was the 4th ingredient (after water, sugar, and carbon dioxide)... and I assume that's why it's called MILKis. 

As far as the taste: it wasn't bad! It didn't REALLY taste like banana, but more like banana-flavored things. It was like a liquid version of a banana Runt candy (remember those?!?) with carbonation. It was good, but a little odd, so I'll give it an average score. A fun thing to try in a small can.

Score: 5 out of 10.

Tiny Coke Zero

On our flight back from Italy a week ago (when my wife and I were on an anniversary trip of a lifetime), I was offered this 100 ml can of Coke Zero:

100 ml is about 3.4 oz! Look at how big the carbonation bubbles are in the cup compared to the can. This thing was minuscule! (And adorable.)

Mirinda

This past weekend, my wife and I got back from a 10-day trip to Italy! Here's a soda found in our mind-fridge of our hotel in Rome that I tried:

 

Brand: Mirinda.

Origin: Milanofiori, Milan, Italy.

Purchase Place: Unknown (found in mini-fridge of Hotel Artemide)

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This was pretty OJ heavy, even though it only contained 4% orange juice (the ingredients label noted "succo d'arancai (4%)" after water and sugar). It tasted like a lemon-lime soda with OJ added. That's about it! It was simple and refreshing, and surprisingly only 4% OJ. Tasty and simple, so I'll rank this just barely above average.

Score: 6 out of 10.