Sun Drop

Remember this post where I noted which state was known for which soda? Well I finally got around to trying what Minnesota was known for:

Grabbed from the corner store on a walk with my son.

Brand: Sun Drop.

Origin: Plano, TX.

Purchase Place: Marshall Stop, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Review: It's Mountain Dew mixed with Squirt. I don't know what else to say. It was refreshing and OK.

Score: 6 out of 10.

Minnesota Loon Juice Honey Crisp Hard Cider

I reviewed some hard ciders and flavored beers at the end of last year. I'm totally not making this into a beer or hard cider blog, but I tried this the other night (mainly because it was cheap and it was local) and thought I'd share:

It wasn't the best ever, but the carbonation was really nice and crisp. Really, the word here is CRISP because I feel like that's totally the best way to describe this. The flavor was OK, but I hoped it was a little sweeter. If I had to rank it, I'd have to give it a 6 out of 10.

Durango Soda Company Zuberfizz Original Cola

I grabbed this for a caffeine boost the other afternoon:

Brand: Durango Soda Company Zuberfizz Original Cola.

Origin: Durango, Colorado.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: Like many "good" colas, this has a very deep, rich flavor. It's almost smokey (but not as weird as that sounds), and there are "fruity" hints (but not as wussy as that sounds). It was rich without being heavy. Good flavor. Perfect amount of carbonation without being harsh. If you like colas, give this a try!

Score: 8.5 out of 10.

Judge Wapner Root Beer

After a big day of cooking, I thought I'd take a bit of a risk and crack into this:

Nice tag line.  :)

Brand: Judge Wapner Root Beer.

Origin: Camarillo, CA.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This wasn't as bad as I expected. I mean, it's a root beer by the first TV judge of People's Court - I hopes weren't high! But it was OK and quite drinkable. It had a bit of an old fashioned richness to it, with a bit of a bite. It's sure not the best ever, but it was decent. I'll rate this a bit better than average (surprisingly).

Score: 6.5 out of 10.

Jarritos Mango Soda

About 10 days ago, I won a duathlon (it's a run/bike/run race - like a triathlon, but with another run in place of the swim).  Because it was in celebration of Cinco de Mayo, the winner's "goodie bag" had Mexican themed things in it, including a 1.5 liter bottle of Mango flavored Jarritos Mexican soda.

Goodie bag

Brand: Jarritos Mango Soda

Origin: Mexico.

Purchase Place: Unknown.

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: I'll be upfront: I don't really care for mangos. But this was OK. It was sweet, but not too sweet. It was right in the middle of my "smooth vs bite" scale. This surprised me a bit - for not liking mango things, this was as good as it really could have been.

Score: 6 out of 10.

Root Beer Pulled Pork

This past weekend, I made an easy, tasty meal with some root beer. It required 4 ingredients and a crockpot:

The 4 ingredients: pork loin, seasoning, an onion, and root beer.

Pork with seasoning, onion, and root beer in the crockpot.

After 2 hours on high.

After 4 hours on high.

Pork 4.5 hours later.

The juices after 4.5 hours. It had no sweetness, and was very savory. The aftertaste had a hint of root beer.

Shredding the pork, with a pile of fat at the upper right, and the onions in the middle of the top - I had to
cut up the onions so my 3-year-old would eat them.

Shredded with all but about 1 cup of the liquid mixed back in.  We've found it to be too juicy if all the liquid is used.

It's really that easy. I added more seasoning to the pull pork when I put it back in the crockpot for another half hour because a lot of the seasoning that I originally put on the pork came off with all the fat I cut off while shredding. Try this some day!

- pork
- bottle/can of root beer
- 1 cut up onion
- seasoning to taste

Add all ingredients together, and cook until meat is done. (Roughly 3-4 hours on high, 5-8 hours on low.)  Take out pork and shred. Reserve some of the liquid, and add the shredded pork and most of the liquid back to the crockpot. Add more seasoning if desired, as well as however much liquid you'd like. Cook on low for another 30 minutes. Eat.

Americana Honey Cream

I cracked into this in my classroom between classes:

Brand: Americana Honey Cream.

Origin: Mukileteo, WA.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar and Pure Organic Honey.

Review: This is sort of what I hoped it would taste like. It has the smoothness and plainness (I mean that in a good way) of a cream soda. But there's a strong honey flavor as well. I guess that makes sense - it's called "honey creme" after all. The flavor is pretty good, but it lingers a bit in my mouth. Not bad - worth a try if you like honey!

Score: 6 out of 10.