Scary Soda Black Lemonade Private Reserve Soda

This looked... interesting. I cracked into this yesterday:

"Animal testing was consensual." Sassy.

More sassiness.

Brand: Scary Soda Black Lemonade Private Reserve Soda.

Origin: Gardena, CA.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: OK, the first thing is that this is not just a dark brown "cola" color. When I poured some in a glass, it left a true blueish-black ring. It's really dark. That's odd.

It was almost shocking that it tastes like lemonade! And it was STRONG. It is not a "chugging" soda - it's a "sipping" soda. It would be good as a mixer with alcohol because it's so strong and lemony. As is, it's too sour for me to drink. I'd label this as a "lemon sour" and not a "lemonade." So if you like a strong and sour lemonade / lemon sour, then this is a fun one for you to try! I don't think it's necessarily bad, but I just couldn't drink it as is.

Score: 3.5 out of 10.
 

Christmas Soda Display

Buddy's Orange Soda

I opened this tonight as we worked on wrapping presents:

Brand: Buddy's Orange Soda.

Origin: New Ulm, MN.

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

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This was just OK. It had a little sharpness to it that made it taste less like a super sweet orange soda, and more like a "clementine" soda. (And yes, clementines are sweeter than oranges, but they are NOT sweeter than your typical orange soda.) This wasn't bad, but it just had that sharpness that I didn't totally care for. My boys thought it was fine, but they like any sugar they can get their hands on. I'll rank it middle-of-the-road average.

Score: 5 out of 10. 
 

Soda Deal at Lunds

At Lunds the other day, I noticed a new promotion:

Lunds soda selection.

Mix-and-match any 6 bottles for $9.99.

That's a $1.95 savings for 6 bottles - normally, they are $1.99 individually. I think I have a decent stock of sodas in the basement right now, but I might have to stop by Lunds if I need a fresh assorted 6-pack.

Henry Weinhard's Black Cherry Cream

I celebrated a final "work week" before finals with a soda in class today:

Before any of my students showed up. Obviously.

Brand: Henry Weinhard's Black Cherry Cream.

Origin: Fort Worth, TX.

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

Sweetener: Sucrose.

Review: This was QUITE creamy. I think I may have tasted the creaminess before actually tasting the black cherry. It was nearly too much. The black cherry part of it had a good deep flavor, but it was paired with this intense creaminess. I don't think it was bad, but it was just a bit more than I expected. I didn't "chug" this, but it was very "sip-able" throughout the morning in my classroom. Not bad. Different. CREAMY.

Score: 6.5 out of 10.

Reading Draft Root Beer

I opened this earlier today:

Brand: Reading Draft Root Beer.

Origin: Reading, PA.

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

Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar.

Review: This was a very creamy root beer. It was nearly TOO creamy. It has decent flavor, but it's almost a little weak because of the creaminess. And it had just a hint of anise - not too much. Nothing too fancy, but pretty solid overall.

Score: 7.5 out of 10.