Romano's Creamy Strawberry Italian Soda

I brought 1 more soda home to my parent's house to enjoy over Christmas:

Brand: Romano's Creamy Strawberry Italian Soda.

Origin: Corvallis, OR.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: I'm used to "fresh" Italian Soda's from coffee shops, and this was a bit different. It wasn't as "sharp" probably because it wasn't made using straight-from-the-tap soda water. But it was decent. It truly was a "creamy" strawberry flavor, which was different but good. Not bad.

Score: 6 out of 10.

Sassy Lil' Lass Root Beer

At Christmas with my parents, I tried this root beer:

At my parent's house, after a lot of snacks.

Brand: Sassy Lil' Lass Root Beer.

Origin: Chicago, IL.

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

Sweetener: High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Review: This was not good. It first tasted weak and almost like a bad diet root beer, and then it ended with an off taste that was a bit chemically. No thanks. Not a fan. And neither was my wife or brother-in-law. No one liked it. I expected more with something called "Sassy." Dang.

Score: 3 out of 10.

Tree Fort Root Beer

These bottles caught my eye when I stopped by Kowalski's a few days back:

So I grabbed a bottle of this foggy-looking root beer to try:

Brand: Tree Fort Root Beer.

Origin: Minneapolis, MN.

Purchase Place: Kowalski's Market, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: When I first took a sip, I had to double check the bottle to make sure I hadn't purchased the ginger ale - it was THAT gingery! It really didn't taste or smell like root beer one bit. Really. It had a bit of a honey taste, and then I saw that "white honey" was the third ingredient. I like honey as a sweetener, but rarely in a root beer. If you like ginger, give this a try. Otherwise, stay away - you won't like it. I didn't care for it.

Score: 3 out of 10.

NuGrape Soda

I didn't realize that I'd had this before, because this logo is much more retro than the first bottle I had:

It's funny it says "A Flavor You Can't Forget" on the label, and I had forgotten I'd had this before.

Brand: NuGrape Soda.

Origin: Waco, TX.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: I made sure not to look at my previous review of this soda as I tried this. It was syrupy, sugary, and delicious. It was a classic "childhood" grape soda. Tasty.

Score: 8 out of 10.

(OK, so I looked at my previous review and I only gave it a 6.5 and called it "weak." So if you try this soda, make sure to grab this retro bottle, because it was much better than the more modern bottle!)

Iron Horse Diet Root Beer

After a big day yesterday, I came home and had this:

Brand: Iron Horse Diet Root Beer.

Origin: Edina, MN.

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

Sweetener: Sucralose.

Review: In typical diet soda fashion, this was a bit weak and watery. The flavor was pretty good - it had a pretty rich head, but then it dwindled away too quick. Decent flavor, but too weak in the end. I'll give it an average score.

Score: 5 out of 10.

Crystal Pepsi is COMING BACK!

Direct link: youtu.be/sAXLD2c18Ac

Johnnie Ryan Cola

I had their diet cola recently, so now it was time to try their "full fat" cola:

Brand: Johnnie Ryan Cola.

Origin: Niagara Falls, NY.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This was good. It had a solid, deep, cola flavor, and a slightly berry aftertaste (which is similar to what I said about their diet cola last month). This is a pretty rich cola. I'm a fan.

Score: 8 out of 10.

Root Beer / Math Humor

North Star Craft Soda Root Beer

I grabbed this the other day:

Brand: North Star Craft Soda Root Beer.

Origin: Forest Lake, MN.

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

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This wasn't great. It tasted like harsh carbonated water with a bit of flavor. The root beer flavor was quite weak, but at the same time, it had too strong of an anise flavor. No thanks.

Score: 3.5 out of 10.

Cherry Breese

I cracked into this at class today:

In my classroom - I forgot my phone, so I took this photo with Photo Booth on my Mac.

Brand: Cherry Breese.

Origin: Breese, IL.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This wasn't too smooth of a soda; it had a little sharpness to it. The ingredients list showed lemon and lime oils, and it maybe came from that. It was just a bit to sharp for me. Not bad, but not great. (p.s. It's called Cherry "BREESE" because it's made in Breese, IL.  Fun fact.)

Score: 4 out of 10.

Johnnie Ryan Diet Soda

I had this as a caffeine boost 2 days ago:

Brand: Johnnie Ryan Diet Soda.

Origin: Niagara Falls, NY.

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

Sweetener: Sucralose.

Review: This tasted like a good cola. I was thinking it was pretty decent with a rich, almost berry flavor, and that it was alright. Then I remembered it was diet, and was quite impressed. There's a lot of flavor here for a DIET soda.

Score: 7 out of 10.

Harmony Springs Sarsaparilla

Had another soda in class today:

Don't judge my messy desktop.

The flavor isn't listed anywhere on the bottle. The bottle says "flavor on crown,"
and that's the only place to see what variety you're drinking.

Brand: Harmony Springs Sarsaparilla

Origin: Ludlow, MA.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This was just OK. It had a strong, earthy, herby flavor that was just a BIT too much for me. If you're into that sort of thing (and I know many people are), then give this a try. But it wasn't quite what I'm into, so I'll give it a slightly lower-than-average score.

Score: 4 out of 10.

Original New York Seltzer Root Beer Soda

I was intrigued by this tiny bottle, so I brought it to class with me today:

Brand: Original New York Seltzer Root Beer Soda.

Origin: Walnut, CA.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This first struck me because it only had 4 ingredients: carbonated water, cane sugar, citric acid, and natural flavors. That's not unheard of, but definitely on the lower end of ingredients. So I was ready for this to be more of a "flavored water" than a "soda." I sniffed it, and it smelled like root beer. The first sip was totally root beer. And then there's a sharpness and crispness that comes later in the sip that's the normal "carbonated water" experience. So really, it's like a carbonated water drink that's flavored like root beer. The sharpness is a LITTLE weird at the end of each drink, but it's not bad. The root beer flavor is pretty classic and smooth (until the sharpness hits). It's a very unique experience - I'll give it a slightly better-than-average score.

Score: 6.5 out of 10.

p.s. Under the cover, there was a message. They were founded in 1981, so it asked "What's the best thing 2 happen 2U in 1981?" Well, I was born. So that was good.

Iron Horse Diet Root Beer

I was at school grading projects yesterday, and I took this with me:

Brand: Iron Horse Diet Root Beer.

Origin: Edina, MN.

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

Sweetener: Sucralose.

Review: This was thin and a bit weak as diet sodas can be, but the flavor was pretty good. There was a hint to wintergreen, and it was pretty smooth. I wish it had a deeper flavor, but it wasn't bad for a diet.

Score: 7 out of 10.

Soda Boy Caramel Cream

This was my LAST soda in my (current) Frattallones Ace soda stash before I get to crack into my 2 cases from MN Largest Candy Store that I got last month.

Brand: Soda Boy Caramel Cream.

Origin: Mukilteo, WA.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: Holy crap. It tastes like a liquified caramel candy. And you know what? That's not really a good thing. It was WAAAAAAY too sweet. I couldn't finish it. I just had about a dozen small sips. The flavor was pretty spot on for "caramel," but just to flippin' sweet!

Score: 3 out of 10.

Old Red Eye Root Beer

I took this outside with me yesterday to enjoy while doing some yard work:

Brand: Old Red Eye Root Beer.

Origin: Mulkilteo, WA.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This was heavy on the wintergreen, but pretty tasty. Besides that, it's got good flavor and is a solid root beer. It seriously was one of the more "wintergreen-y" root beers I can remember having, so if you like wintergreen, you should try this.

Score: 7.5 out of 10.

Grapefruit Kiss Soda

I brought this to my board meeting earlier this week:

Brand: Grapefruit Kiss Soda.

Origin: Mukilteo, WA

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: You know, it tasted like Squirt. All "citrus" sodas taste that way to me. It's like I'm racist, but only towards citrus sodas.

Score: 6 out of 10.

Mong Lee Shang Pearl Soybean Drink with Tapioca Ball

I was getting some groceries at Cub Foods yesterday morning, and I found myself in the ethnic foods section. I ended up leaving with this:

Oh wait, I can't read that side. Here's the english side:

Yeah, I know. A little risky. Still, it sounded like it could be good. I searched the can over for "shake well before opening" because I figured I needed to do that, but I didn't find that anywhere. I shook it well hoping it wasn't carbonated. Here it is partially poured out into a glass:

That glass had NO tapioca balls in it! I felt robbed. But then a fair amount came out in the final pour. They weren't dark like on the can (and like what I'm used to in my bubble tea), and they were tiny. Here's a spoonful of them:

Brand: Mong Lee Shang Pearl Soybean Drink with Tapioca Ball.

Origin: Taipei, Taiwan.

Purchase Place: Cub Foods St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This was pretty tasty. It DID taste like soybeans! (Soybeans was the 2nd ingredient behind water, and before sugar and non-dairy cream.) I was born and raised on a farm, so I know what a soybean tastes like when popped into your mouth. It was like sweet soybeans. It was about as thick as whole milk, and pretty good. I figured this could be something I don't finish, but I downed it all pretty quick.

Score: 7.5 out of 10.

Death Valley Sarsaparilla

We had a work day in class today, so I had this up at the "instructor station" while some students worked:

Brand: Death Valley Sarsaparilla.

Origin: Inyokern, CA.

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

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This had a little herby, slightly "woodsy" bite to it. It was herby-er than root beer, but otherwise it could have been called root beer without much thought. It was OK - nothing great - but decent. I'll rate it just above average.

Score: 6 out of 10.

Dad's Diet Root Beer

I made homemade pizza the other night, and I grabbed this diet root beer to go along with it:

That my hot-out-of-the-oven pizza in the background!

Brand: Dad's Diet Root Beer.

Origin: Jasper, IN.

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

Sweetener: Sucralose.

Review: This was good. Quite good. It had a bit of a bite, but still a nice creamy head. This would have been a good "regular" root beer, so I was very happily surprised that it was actually diet! Try this. It was great.

Score: 9 out of 10.

Americana Cherry Cola

I wanted to crack into my new stash from "Minnesota's Largest Candy Store" this past weekend, but I still have a few bottles from Frattallone's Ace Hardware that I told myself I should drink first. I grabbed this one earlier today because I needed some caffeine:

Brand: Americana Cherry Cola.

Origin: Mukilteo, WA.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This is a decent "adult" cherry cola. It's not overly sugary and sweet like some. The cherry flavor is deep and rich, not just like a piece of hard candy. It starts of almost creamy, and ends with a little bite. Good deep flavor.

Score: 7.5 out of 10.

Stocking up on Soda from "Minnesota's Largest Candy Store"

This past weekend was our annual trip to "Minnesota's Largest Candy Store" outside of Jordan, MN.

Driving through the lot: the 2-story section to the right
was recently added-on since the last time I've been here.

Driving up.  Tip: come early because it's REALLY quiet when they open at 9 a.m.

Waking inside and coming face-to-face with lots of soda! Everything is (mostly) organized by flavor.
The boxes to the left are for customers to load up. (Sorry for the blurry photos - I was holding my 1.5-yr-old.)

More sodas.

This is pretty much ALL ROOT BEER!

A lot of Cola and Grape sodas.

"Novelty" sodas - I didn't get anything too strange this trip.

Beyond the sodas is all the candy. And meat. And apples. And baked goods. They have everything.

Apparently, you make "apple smoked pork" by putting an apple in
a pig's mouth and letting it smoke a cigar. Who knew?

Lots of treats, and lots of puzzles on high shelves along the ceiling.

This is inside the addition.  It's not 2 stories, it just has a high ceiling.

Treats below and TONS of puzzles above. They had a 32,000 piece puzzle
that was something like 6' x 17' when finished.

Licorice and puzzles.

From the back corner of the new addition.

My 2 cases of sodas loaded into my car: 1 assorted case (a lot of grape, cherry, and black cherry),
and 1 case that's mostly root beer with a few sarsaparillas thrown in as well.

Hoping back on Hwy 169 to leave. Until next time. Love you. Miss you. XOXO

Oh, and notice how many cars are now in the lot an hour after they opened. There were a lot more cars off the frame to the right too. It definitely got busier as we were there. Stop by early around 9 (when they open). And FYI: they say they close at 8 pm, but they'll stay open as late as 10 pm if there are people still around.

Boylan Diet Black Cherry Soda

Well, here are 2 back-to-back posts about a Diet Boylan soda. I thought that "regular" Boylan Black Cherry was pretty good when I reviewed it nearly 2 years ago, so now it was time to see how their Diet fared:

Brand: Boylan Diet Black Cherry Soda.

Origin: Teterboro, NJ.

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

Sweetener: Sucralose.

Review: It's been a long time since I had "regular" Boylan Black Cherry, so it's hard to do a true head-to-head comparison, but I THINK I like this Diet Black Cherry better. It's a little creamy, but just a BIT - not enough to be a nasty cherry-cream. It's quite sugary tasting with a pretty deep flavor for a diet soda. There's a slightly off aftertaste, but not bad. This is pretty good, and quite good for a diet!

Score: 8 out of 10.

Boylan Diet Root Beer

I tried this yesterday:

Brand: Boylan Diet Root Beer.

Origin: Teterboro, NJ.

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

Sweetener: Sucralose.

Review: Like many diet sodas, it's a little weak. It's also a little "chemically" and tastes a little off. But there is a nice little berry aftertaste that's unique. It's not that great, and it's even sub-par for a diet. Not the best.

Score: 3 out of 10.

Americana Black Cherry

I brought this to class with me to enjoy today as my students had a work period:

(Yes, a few students thought I was drinking beer.)

Brand: Americana Black Cherry.

Origin: Mukilteo, WA.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: You know, this was OK. Nothing great. It had a bit of a sharpness to it that I didn't care for. Maybe it was the "dark sweet cherry extract" in the ingredients list. I could see this as a flavor that SOME people would really love, but it was just too harsh for me. It was OK - very drinkable - but not the best.

Score: 4 out of 10.

Dwindling Soda Stash

Last October, I stocked up with 2 cases of soda from "Minnesota's Largest Candy Store." Well, my last review was my LAST soda from that stash. Not to fear - I'm heading back in a few weeks.

In the meantime, I stopped at Frattallone's Ace Hardware on Grand Ave in St. Paul 2 days ago to get a few more sodas. I walked away with 8 from their selection:

Back with more reviews soon!

Fitz's Hip Hop Pop

I needed a caffeine boast, so I grabbed this cola that looked like a 50's Diner earlier today:

Brand: Fitz's Hip Hop Pop.

Origin: St. Louis, MO.

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

Sweetener: All natural pure cane sugar.

Review: This first sip blew me away. I was expecting "regular" cola, but there was a berry punch. Cherry cola, maybe? I checked their website, and they only say "lots of raspberry and other berry flavors blended with our sugar cane cola along with a caffeine kicker." I didn't really get "raspberry," but I DID like it. A lot. It was a little sugary and syrupy, but not too much. It went down so easily. I've only had this Fitz soda and their root beer, and both were great, so I need to find some more Fitz's!

Score: 9 out of 10.

Earp's Original Sarsaparilla

I cracked into this while cooking yesterday:

Sorry for the mess - busy cooking.

Brand: Earp's Original Sarsaparilla.

Origin: Mukilteo, WA.

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

Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar.

Review: This was good, but nothing memorable. Decent flavor - what I expected. Smooth with a little bite. Nothing fancy, but good.

Score: 6 out of 10.

Mexican Squirt

I grabbed this at the corner store this past weekend:

Brand: (Mexican) Squirt.

Origin: Mexico.

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

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This had a little more "kick" than the Squirt I'm used to. And I don't think it's all in my head. Squirt that I'm used to is a little smoother, and this isn't. It's sure not bad, but it's just slightly different. Otherwise, the pretty normal citrus flavor I'm used to. (Oh, but COOL bottle. The slight spiral was nice.)

Score: 6 out of 10.