Hapi Mandarin Orange Float Drink

This past weekend, I needed to make a last-minute stop at Cub Foods, and I spotted this while I was there:

It's not "technically" a soda, but it's sweetened with HFCS, so I figured it'd be kinda like a soda. It wasn't.


Brand: Hapi Mandarin Orange Float Drink.

Origin: Korea.

Purchase Place: Cub Foods, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Review: Well, it tasted like mandarin oranges and it had small chunks of them in it. So that seems about right. But it was kinda gross. It was like bad tasting OJ. The "mandarin orange" flavor was right on (the 2nd ingredient is "mandarin orange pulp" and the 4th is "mandarin orange concentrate"), but it just wasn't good.

Score: 3 out of 10.

Tommyknocker 1859 Original Root Beer

I cracked into this during my boy's nap time today:

Brand: Tommyknocker 1859 Original Root Beer.

Origin: Idaho Springs, CO.

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

Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar.

Review: This had a sharp flavor that almost tastes a little burnt. It's super earthy, but not "mellow" earth - it's a "harsh" herby and earthy flavor. I can see how some people might like it (super hippies), but it wasn't a good flavor too me. If it were toned down a bit, it could be good. But it was just too strong.

Score: 5 out of 10.

Hippo Size Beverages Big Black Cherry

My first "Hippo" soda 2 months ago was FANTASTIC. I thought I'd grab another one from Frattallones Ace's big selection:

Hippos at The Frattallone's Ace on Grand Avenue in St. Paul.

Brand: Hippo Size Beverages Big Black Cherry.

Origin: Mukilteo, Washington.

Purchase Place: Frattallones Ace Hardware, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: The sweetness in this soda was too sharp. I don't expect a Black Cherry to be smooth, but this was just too pungent. The Black Cherry flavor was good, but just didn't care for how sharp this soda was.

Score: 4 out of 10.

Nesbitt's California Honey Lemonade Flavored Drink

This sounded promising, so I cracked it open on a recent much-warmer-than-average March afternoon:

Brand: Nesbitt's California Honey Lemonade Flavored Drink.

Origin: Waco, TX.

Purchase Place: Frattallones Ace Hardware, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: I had high hopes for this, and it was just a little worse than I had hoped. It was a little "heavy," and I had hoped it would be a little lighter than that. The lemonade flavor was good, but the honey seemed to weight it down more than I cared for. But I LOVE honey, so it's nothing against that. Also, it's not carbonated, so that's why it's a "flavored drink" - it's not a soda! Still, it was good and went down easy. Not as great as I hoped, but I still enjoyed it!

Score: 6 out of 10.

Dang! That's Good Root Beer

I've had a good "Dang!" soda and a bad "Dang!" soda. Today, it was time to try their root beer:

Brand: Dang! That's Good Root Beer.

Origin: Milwaukee, WI.

Purchase Place: Frattallones Ace Hardware, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This was super smooth with a decent amount of vanilla flavor. It was very creamy, but it was a DEEP creaminess. Not much anise, and went down quickly. Classic, smooth flavor.

Score: 9 out of 10.

Cool Mountain Black Cherry

I enjoyed a Black Cherry soda at a board meeting last night:

Brand: Cool Mountain Black Cherry.

Origin:  Des Plaines, IL.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This was good. Simple. The black cherry flavor was deep and spot-on. Nothing fancy about this, but it was JUST how it should be. (This is all kinda similar to what I said about Cool Mountain's Cream Soda 2 years ago, so it would appear I like the way Cool Mountain does their thing.)

Score: 8 out of 10.

Final Homemade Bottle of Root Beer from our First Batch

I promised that I'd post an update about the 4th and final bottle of homemade root beer:

If you remember, we made this batch about 6 weeks ago (see all the photos in this post). The first bottle wasn't carbonated at all because I refrigerated it too soon. The 2nd and 3rd bottles were better, but still not fantastic root beer - they were quite sweet and sugary.

This bottle went in the fridge the same time as the 3rd bottle, and just sat there for over a month. I opened this bottle a few weeks ago, and it was OK.

Then it sat and sat.

I cracked back into a few days ago, and it had gotten better. I was afraid it was going to taste too "sharp" because too much alcohol had built up, but that wasn't a problem (I don't think that will happen in the fridge). I took a few drinks and it had a "deeper" flavor that any of the other bottles. Then I put the cap back on and gentle shook it up because there was a little "yeast sludge" that had settled on the bottom. When I opened it back up again, it actually spewed foam everywhere! It had a great head!

So it still was far from the best root beer I'd ever had, but it got a lot better just sitting for longer, letting the yeast do it's thing.

I have ingredients for 1 more batch, and I might try adding some different flavorings to each bottle. Or letting 1 bottle stay out and ferment for twice as long as they say. Or other experiments like that. Any ideas for me to try? Leave a comment.

Rocket Fizz Root Beer Float

I opened this up today as I relaxed after a big night last night:

Brand: Rocket Fizz Root Beer Float

Origin: Camarillo, CA.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: When it first touched my lips, I got the "root beer FLOAT" taste - it was root beer with an extra creaminess. But the rest of it sucked. It then had a sharpness to it that was awful, and it tasted a bit chemically. It was heavy, thick, and just tasted horrible. I couldn't finish the bottle.

Score: 2 out of 10.