Point Premium Black Cherry Cream

My first Black Cherry Cream Soda was a bit of a let-down, so I was hoping this would be better:

Brand: Point Premium Black Cherry Cream

Origin: Stevens Point, WI.

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

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This was smooth, creamy, and all I hoped it would be. It went down EASY. It had a good black cherry flavor that was super creamy and sweet (hence "black cherry CREAM"). It also had a pretty strong "vanilla cream" aftertaste that was pleasant. This was good. Grab this on a hot summer day.

Score: 8.5 out of 10.

Caamano Bros. High Noon Sarsaparilla

I reached into my "root beer" box last night and pulled out a sarsaparilla. (They're similar in flavor, and I'm OK with either when I'm in the mood for a root beer.) So I tried this:

Brand: Caamano Bros. High Noon Sarsaparilla.

Origin: Berkeley, CA.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This had a strong flavor with a lot of wintergreen. It was pretty smooth, with a bite of wintergreen at the end. It was a little "stronger" than other sarsaparillas that I've had, but I enjoyed the full flavor.

Score: 8 out of 10.

Yacht Club Diet Root Beer

After my first triathlon of the year this past weekend, I enjoyed this diet root beer:

Brand: Yacht Club Diet Root Beer.

Origin: Centredale, RI.

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

Sweetener: Aspartame.

Review: Ehh. It was OK. It was a little weak and watery like most diet root beers are. Flavor was OK. It was fine, just nothing exciting or different. I'll give it an average 5 out of 10.

Score: 5 out of 10.

Green River Soda

It was bright green… I was ready for it to taste pretty "fake."

This was actually so good and refreshing that I took it outside with me as I was doing some work in the backyard:

Brand: Green River Soda.

Origin: Chicago, Illinois.

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

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This wasn't as "crisp" as normal lemon-lime sodas, and it was much heavier on the "lime" (although there is a little lemon in there too). It was very drinkable and went down easy! My wife enjoyed it and said it tasted a bit like a melted Mr. Freeze, but those have a much more "artificial" taste to me than this did. This caught me off guard - it was good!

Score: 8.5 out of 10.

1919 Pony Keg

Whenever I go to Kowalski's or Lunds grocery stores here in St. Paul, I always check for unique sodas for sale. The last few times at Kowalski's, I've noticed this:

It's a 5 liter pony keg of 1919 root beer for $20. I have not tried it, but I'm intrigued. Maybe I'll start a Kickstarter campaign to raise the $20 to give this a taste...

Frostie Blue Cream Soda

I cracked into this tonight:

Brand: Frostie Blue Cream Soda.

Origin: Detroit, MI.

Purchase Place: Lunds Grocery Store, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: High Fructose Corn Syrup and/or Cane Sugar (I hate it when it's like the bottle doesn't even know what's in it).

Review: This is really sweet. REALLY. It could be called "bubblegum" or "cotton candy" flavor. It's not bad, it's just a really sugary cream soda. If that sounds OK to you, you'll like this. Just be ready for a sugar high.

Score: 6.5 out of 10.