North Star Craft Soda Black Cherry

I did lots of cooking recently, and I enjoyed this as I worked:

Brand: North Star Craft Soda Black Cherry.

Origin: Forest Lake, MN.

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

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This was pretty good! It had a very deep black cherry flavor that I liked very much. It was quite sweet and sugary (maybe too much for some people). No major complaints from me.

Score: 8 out of 10.
 

Maine Root Pumpkin Pie Soda

Happy (day after) Thanksgiving!  I thought I'd try an appropriately seasonal soda today:

I let my son try a sip.

He thought it was good. (But he never gets soda, so that's not worth much.)

Brand: Maine Root Pumpkin Pie Soda.

Origin: Portland, Maine.

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

Sweetener: Fair Trade Certified organic cane juice (sheesh).

Review: I was ready to not like this. I mean, it sounds kinda gross. But I was intrigued because it only had 3 ingredients: carbonated water, Fair Trade Certified organic cane juice, and spices. Turns out, it was OK. It didn't REALLY taste like pumpkin pie, but it was herby and spicy like a real flavorful pumpkin pie is. It SMELLED really like pumpkin pie. It wasn't bad. I mean, it wasn't GREAT either, but it was one of the better "novelty" sodas that I've had. And, as seen above, my 5-year-old liked it.

Score: 6 out of 10.
 

Stewart's Root Beer

I cracked this open at the end of long Saturday night:

Brand: Stewart's Root Beer.

Origin: Plano, Texas.

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

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This had a deep flavor that was quite good. It's smooth with a bit of vanilla and just a hint of anise. Rich, tasty, and pretty darn good. No big complaints!

Score: 9 out of 10.

Virgil's Zero Root Beer

I opened this up with lunch today:

Brand: Virgil's Zero Root Beer

Origin: Los Angeles, CA.

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

Sweetener: Stevia.

Review: This had a deep flavor, but slightly too much anise (which is what I thought of their regular root beer too). I wasn't a fan. Even though it had a deep flavor, it was still weak. There was an odd berry flavor in there that was OK (and unexpected - maybe the Stevia?), but that the was most this had to offer. Giving it an average score.

Score: 5 out of 10.

Fitz's Orange Pop

I opened this up with supper tonight:

Brand: Fitz's Orange Pop.

Origin: St. Louis, MO.

Purchase Place: Frattallone's Ace Hardware, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: Ehhh, this was OK. Nothing special. It had a bit more of a "bite" than I expected from an orange soda, and that was about it. Otherwise, it was "orangey."

Score: 5 out of 10.

Filbert's Black Cherry

After a 6K Cross Country race this past weekend, I cracked into this:

Brand: Filbert's Black Cherry.

Origin: Chicago, IL.

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

Sweetener: High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Review: This was decent, but nothing special. It had a "tang" to it that was a bit unexpected. I prefer a "smoother" black cherry, but this was OK. I'll give it an average score.

Score: 5 out of 10.

Foxon Park Diet White Birch Soda

I cracked into this last night after a big week of class:

Brand: Foxon Park Diet White Birch Soda.

Origin: East Haven, Connecticut.

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

Sweetener: Aspartame.

Review: This smelled a lot like root beer. It tasted like a creamy, weak root beer with lots of carbonation. It had the typical diet soda issue: the flavor was weak. It wasn't bad, but it was nothing special. I'll give this an average score.

Score: 5 out of 10.

365 Lemon Lime

The boys and I swung by Whole Foods for a snack this past weekend, and I grabbed a lemon lime soda:

At a table at Whole Foods, with dark Selby Ave in the background.

Brand: 365 Lemon Lime.

Origin: Austin, TX.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: There was nothing special about this, but it was good. It wasn't as sugary and sweet as "name brand" lemon lime sodas - it was a bit more crisp and subtle. Maybe it was because I was at Whole Foods, but I felt like this wasn't AS bad for me as normal sodas. (Yeah, that was all in my head.) Pretty good, and not overly sweet.

Score: 6 out of 10.