Postobon Kola Flavored Soda

This is Colombian, so I didn't know what to expect:

Brand: Postobon Kola Flavored Soda.

Origin: Colombia, South America.

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

Sweetener: High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Review: It was very berry-like, but I couldn't name the exact flavor. It had the strangest chocolate aftertaste! Really. It was odd and nearly completely destroyed the soda for me. Otherwise, it was pretty smooth and shippable. (Just get rid of that chocolate flavor!)

Score: 4 out of 10.

Dad's Red Cream Soda

Earlier this week, I stopped by Frattallone's Ace on Grand Ave (the one near Macalester College, not near Ramsey Hill), and I looked through their soda selection:

I walked out with a Dad's soda I'd never tried before:

Brand: Dad's Red Cream Soda.

Origin: Jasper, IN.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This was OK. As with my only other "red cream soda" that I've tried, I don't know what flavor "red" is. Cherry-like? This one was a little better than that one. It was pretty smooth, but a little "artificial" tasting at the end. Not bad, but not great.

Score: 5.5 out of 10.

Hansen's Natural Creamy Root Beer

I was at Kowalski's earlier this week picking up some last minute Valentine's treats, and I grabbed this. I didn't realize that I'd never tried anything of Hansen's before!

In my classroom before class today.

Brand: Hansen's Natural Creamy Root Beer.

Origin: Tustin, CA.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: Being this is a "natural" brand, I figured there would be some extra ingredients in here (and not just HFCS and flavoring). I was right: it had wintergreen, birch, anise, sassafras, and Tahitian vanilla extract listed among the ingredients. It sounded good.

The first sip was nice and creamy and smooth, but then there was this sharp aftertaste that really just sucked. (I mean, there's a hint of anise in that aftertaste, but also a hint of burnt garbage water.) So in rating this root beer, I had to go between "nice starter flavor" and "strange ending flavor." I ended up going right down the middle and calling this an average 5 (although it starts much stronger and ends much weaker).

Score: 5 out of 10.

Whistler Vanilla Root Beer

I opened this yesterday afternoon:

Brand: Whistler Vanilla Root Beer.

Origin: Spring Lake Park, MN.

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

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: Like my last 2 Whistler sodas (this one and this one), this one was completely flat. I have a few more Whistlers in the basement, and I think I need to dump them down the drain - I don't think they hold their seal for very long. I may have to stop back to Blue Sun Soda and pick up a few more, but ONLY ones that I can drink over a month. Because this sucks.

That being said, the flavor was good. Nice vanilla flavor, and a deep root beer flavor. I'll give it a 7, but it could have been an 8 or 9 had their been any sign of carbonation. Like I said, I'll have to try a "fresh" one of these and pick up a few more Whistler sodas sometime.

Score: 7 out of 10.

Soda Can Bracelets

Some fun "jewelry" if you're REALLY into soda...

This seems dangerous; wouldn't there be a lot of sharp edges here?

Dad-Gum-It! Root Beer Butterscotch

I opened this last night, and my wife and I both had similar (undesirable) reactions:

Brand: Dad-Gum-It! Root Beer Butterscotch

Origin: Camarillo, CA

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This tasted a bit like rancid root beer. It's so sweet that there's almost a bite from over-sweetness. I don't taste much of the butterscotch. I have another Dad-Gum-It soda in the basement, and this makes me not excited to try it.

Score: 3 out of 10.

IBC Black Cherry

I opened this earlier today:

Brand: IBC Black Cherry.

Origin: Plano, TX.

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

Sweetener: High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Review: This was good! It was pretty sweet, but not TOO sweet. The black cherry flavor was quite deep and full, and it had a nice extra bite at the start of each sip. Good soda!

Score: 8 out of 10.