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.
 

Cub Foods Thanksgiving Soda Display

When my boys and I stopped at Cub Foods in St. Paul (Midway neighborhood) last week, we were greeted with this "Pepsi Products" Thanksgiving turkey:

Happy Thanksgiving!!

O-So Cherry Soda

I stopped at Lunds to get some BOGO deals, and I grabbed this in their soda aisle:

Brand: O-So Cherry Soda.

Origin: Mukilteo, WA.

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

Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar.

Review: This isn't a kids cherry soda. It's not overly sweet, and it's got a full, deep flavor. However, I didn't care for it a ton. It was a bit sharper than I'd care for, so I found it to be a "sipping" soda (not a "chugging" soda). If you've ever said that some sodas are too sweet for you, then you might like this. However, if you're like me and you kind of like a super sweet soda, then this might be a bit too harsh for you. It's not *bad*, but I'll rank it a bit lower than average.

Score: 4 out of 10.
 

"Remix:" A New Candy and Popcorn Shop in the Merriam Park Neighborhood of St. Paul

Earlier this week, we stopped by the newest addition to our neighborhood: the popcorn and candy shop named "Remix." (Seen as "Remix Delights" and/or "Remix Popcorn and Delights" in a few places as well.) It's located at 2042 Marshall Ave in St. Paul - near Cleveland and Marshall, on the same block as Izzy's Ice Cream and Choo Choo Bob's Train Store.

Half the candy at "Remix." This is the back half. There's a rack like this in the front.

The candy is all in "bulk" where you scoop your own. Everything is the same price, so you can just pick and choose as you fill you bag! My boys each picked a few treats for their individual bags, and then it got weighed at the counter.

The front wall is decorated with lots of old cassettes...

.... and the light fixtures are even made out of cassettes!

Decorative tubes of flavored popcorn in the front window.

They have fudge in different flavors that is $4 a piece (for a LARGE piece). And their flavored popcorn has a few different "tiers" with lots of different flavors in each tier, and different sizes available to purchase.

Fudge!

Some of the popcorn flavors.

Different size options.

No major signage out front yet, so you have to find it on Marshall!

My boys and I think it's great! Stop by sometime! 2042 Marshall Ave in St. Paul.

Cream Soda Tasting at Blue Sun Soda

Yesterday, my boys and I headed to another free tasting event at Blue Sun Soda Shop. It was similar to the tasting the 3 of us went to 2 months ago: they just set out some sodas and some mini-cups, and you can sample them all.

The "event banner" from Blue Sun Soda's Facebook page.

Cream Sodas: Dad's, Fiz, Iron Horse, Sioux City, North Star, Tower, and Henry Weinhard.

The "voting" table: take a bottle cap (far right) and put it in the cup that you
thought was best. They even had a roll of "I voted" stickers to put on (left foreground).

My oldest and I both agreed that Sioux City was our favorite, and my youngest voted for Dad's. I remember the North Star being very creamy (it was called "Vanilla Creme"), and I think it was Henry Weinhard's that had an odd sharpness. Fiz was decent.

Some new "kiddie cocktail" sodas made right at Blue Sun Soda.

All the flavors of "fresh" soda at the soda counter at Blue Sun Soda.

My boys and I split a fresh Root Beer. It was good! My oldest got
a tear in his eye because he said it was SOOO carbonated.

I also stocked up on root beers. I had a few sodas in the basement before this trip to Blue Sun, but only 1 of them was a root beer. I took my time looking through their root beer selection, and I picked up 7 new ones (and 6 other sodas to bring home a baker's dozen). I think I've now had (or have just purchased) EVERY root beer at Blue Sun Soda Shop! Oh no! I'll need to find some new root beers somewhere else soon...

Zevia Zero Calorie Grape

I was walking through "Fresh Thyme" in Minneapolis, and I grabbed this large can:

Brand: Zevia Zero Calorie Grape.

Origin: Los Angeles, CA.

Purchase Place: Fresh Thyme, Minneapolis, MN.

Sweetener: Stevia Leaf Extract.

Review: Recent "grape soda" posts came to mind with my first sip: last month, I said "I don't know that I've had a 'bad' grape soda," and earlier this year, I said "I think most grape sodas can win me over pretty easily."

But this wasn't great. And it didn't win me over easily. I had to look at the label again to make sure I wasn't drinking flavored carbonated water. Because it had that "sharp/weak" taste of a La Croix. But no, it was a soda. Just a weak weak weak soda.

What's funny though is that the more I sipped it, the more I was OK with it. It wasn't a "drinkable" soda that you'd gulp down in 1 minute. But it was something I kept taking sips of over an hour, and I was OK with that. So initially (like after the first 2 sips), I would have ranked this more like a 3, but after spending some more time with it (in it's large 16 oz can), I became OK with it's weaker flavor and ranked it a bit higher.

Score: 5 out of 10.

Pork Roast a la Sprite

About a week ago, I got a small pork roast on sale. I used a half bottle of flat Sprite we'd had in our fridge for the last 2 weeks (from when my kindergartner was sick) to sweeten up the roast:

About 8 oz of Sprite, a 1.5 lb roast, some seasoning salt, and
an onion on top. Ready to cook for about 3 hours on high.

My 5-year-old ate it as fast as I could shred it!

Being that went over so well, I picked up a handful of pork roasts. A few days ago, I made 2 of those 1.5 lb roasts in the crock pot.  Again, I added Sprite (about 12 oz), seasoning salt, and 2 onions:

Just after pouring the Sprite - lots of carbonation.

After about 3 hours on high and 2 hours on low, here's the chunks of roast ready to be shredded.

I added some (but FAR from all) of the juice/Sprite mixture back in after shredding everything.

These meals go over well with my boys! If you haven't tried soda in roast, give it a shot in your slow cooker!

Grape Billy's Bubble Pop

I opened my "wacky" Billy's Soda that I picked up during our last trip to Blue Sun Soda:

Oops! Blurry. Didn't realize it until after I drank the soda...

... so here's a sharp version once the soda hit my belly.

Brand: Grape Billy's Bubble Pop

Origin: Spring Lake Park, MN.

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

Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar.

Review: In case you're wondering, YES it's grape soda, but YES it's yellow. (See this post from a few months ago that shows a "Billy's Bubble Pop" selections where all the colors don't match the flavor.) Billy is a "lovable soda jerk" at Blue Sun Soda, and he kinda plays being a buffoon. So along with the "I made this" printed on the label, they're (kindly) making fun of Billy. My boys got to meet him in August of 2018, and he goofed around with them. Fun guy.

Anyway, back to this yellow grape soda: it's a pretty decent grape soda. It's hard to screw up grape pop. My wife mentioned that it was a little "cough syrup-y," but it wasn't too much for me - I've had sweeter/sugarier. It was almost SLIGHTLY overly smooth which was a bit odd, but otherwise it was quite good. I'll rate it slightly above average. I'll be eager to try more of Billy's soda (I don't have any more on hand - we'll have to make a trip back to Blue Sun Soda sometime soon).

Score: 6.5 out of 10.

Soda Flavored Lip Balm

I found this package of "Lip Smacker" lip balm at Target yesterday:

I'd probably eat the Barq's one. And I don't know how good Sprite would be on my lips...

Oak Creek Barrel Aged Root Beer

I opened this the other night:

Brand: Oak Creek Barrel Aged Root Beer.

Origin: Redding, California.

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

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: Well, I didn't realize that I reviewed this about 6 months ago. Oops. But it was a good one to crack out after not having a root beer for a while. Last time, I gave it a "9," but this time I'll give it a bit of a lower score. But it's still quite good. It's REALLY creamy, but the flavor could be a bit richer. It's very smooth and goes down down well.

Score: 8 out of 10.
 

Frostie Strawberry Watermelon Soda

I tried this last night with my boys:

Brand: Frostie Strawberry Watermelon Soda.

Origin: Detroit, MI.

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

Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar.

Review: This was really sweet, and tasted like a "kids soda." It tasted like a liquid Jolly Rancher to me. My wife agreed, and also added that it's a bit like a "Freezie." It's decently flavored, but the flavor is soft and it goes down easy. It's not a fancy "adult" soda - just a nicely flavored soda for anyone to enjoy. 

Score: 7.5 out of 10.
 

Pop Can Pun

Shasta Diet Root Beer

I opened this earlier tonight while I was grading at school:

Brand: Shasta Diet Root Beer.

Origin: Hayward, CA.

Purchase Place: Menards, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Sucralose.

Review: For a diet, this was pretty average. It had a typical "weak" and slightly watery flavor, but the flavor wasn't too bad. It's pretty frothy and creamy, but it ends with a slight off/"chemically" taste. Still, pretty decent. I'll rank it right in the middle: average.

Score: 5 out of 10.

Cock N' Bull Bitter Lemon

I opened this while cleaning up last night:

I didn't know what to expect! A "signature bitter taste?" Umm... I'm... excited?

Brand: Cock N' Bull Bitter Lemon.

Origin: Spring Grove, MN.

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

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This was undrinkable! The first sniff / sip seemed promising... like a lemon-heavy lemon-lime. But then the last moment of each drink is a POW of bitterness. It is SO bitter. My 8-year-old was home with me, and he couldn't drink it either. I tried making a mixed drink (because it notes that it's good as a mixer, and I could see that), but what I tried with it didn't work. It still wasn't that drinkable. (Although it was better.) I can understand that this could be good in the right mixed drink, but on it's own (and how I tried it with an Elderflower Liqueur) it's undrinkable. Try it if you're looking for a bitter lemon flavor to add into mixed drinks, but unless that's specifically what you're looking for, stay away!

Score: 1 out of 10.
 

Tower Grape Soda

I opened this tonight as I was cooking:

Brand: Tower Grape Soda.

Origin: North Reading, MA.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar

Review: I don't know that I've had a "bad" grape soda. And this one wasn't bad either. It was sugary, sweet, and went down easy. It was nothing fancy or unique, but grape soda doesn't need to be. No complaints here! Tasty!

Score: 8 out of 10.
 

Pop Machine Options

Personally, I couldn't do it. I'm usually in the mood for a *specific* kind of soda, so I couldn't leave it up to the Lord.

Whistler Lemon Lime Soda

I opened the first of the 8 bottles that I picked up from Blue Sun Soda this past weekend. It was a Whistler Lemon Lime:

Proof that it was Lemon Lime (the bottles all look the same, but the bottle caps have stickers).

I've had issues with Whistler sodas not being sealed (like in my last one which I drank shortly after purchasing it and it STILL had an issue), so I drank this one 3 days after purchase. Luckily (and FINALLY), this soda "psssssstt"-ed when I opened it.


Brand: Whistler Lemon Lime.

Origin: Spring Lake Park, MN.

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

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This was a really sweet lemon lime. I really enjoyed it! It was heavy on the lemon, and NEARLY seemed "thick" because of how sweet it was. Finally, a Whistler that I enjoyed! I knew I'd like some of their flavors, but they just kept selling my un-sealed bottles that had lost all carbonation. Maybe they figured it out, or maybe I just got lucky with this one, but it was good.

Score: 8 out of 10.

"State Fair" Soda Tasting at Blue Sun Soda

Saturday, the boys and I stopped by Blue Sun Soda Shop for a little tasting event they had advertised on Facebook. I knew it would be small (nothing like the big outdoor tasting event last year), but it was an excuse to get to the soda shop.

Blue Sun seems to be changing/expanding every time we stop. Last time we were there, this was where all the pinball machines were, and now it's an "old fashioned" soda shop:

Lots of flavors of soda, and also ice cream floats! (And hot dogs and chips.)

We found the soda tasting at the back of the store, which was just some open bottles and tiny plastic "sipping cups:"

"State Fair" sodas in front of John Wayne.

We all had tiny pours of all 5 kinds of soda. I looked on the labels and saw that the State Fair sodas were made right there at Blue Sun Soda. Here was my ranking from favorite (on the left) to least favorite (on the right):

"Cotton Candy" was like liquid cotton candy! Sweet and tasty! "Kettle Corn" was pretty decent,
tasting like sweet popcorn. "Rocket Bomb Pop" was just OK, "Mini Donut" was cinnamon-y
and alright, and I didn't care for "Chocolate Chip Cookie" that much.

Henry's ranking: he liked Rocket Bomb Pop and Cotton Candy a lot.
Neither of my boys cared for Kettle Corn (ranked last).

New sodas: the boys met Billy last year, and they liked his goofy sodas here. The colors
don't match the flavors. (I bought a grape Billy's Bubble Pop, and that was the yellow one.)

A previously closed space in the back is now the arcade!

The other side of the arcade on the other side of the air hockey table.

The boys using their last quarters, with 2 other kids at the air hockey table.

In that first shot of the arcade, you can see my basket of sodas in the foreground. I walked out with 8 bottles, making it one of my smallest trips to Blue Sun. Thanks for the fun tasting event! We'll be back!