Yacht Club Donald's Populist Punch

I've had these bottles for a while (not 4 years - I swear), and it was time to test them out.

Notice it says "Soda Pop Poll" at the bottom of the bottles. They sold 50,000 bottles to see if they could predict the election results, and (after the election results were in) they noted that "Donald's Populist Punch" sold just a bit more than "Hillary's Liberal Limeade" - 22,224 vs 21,360. I thought I'd try them side-by-side. So here's my first review, with the follow up review coming later this week.

Brand: Yacht Club Donald's Populist Punch.

Origin: Centredale, RI.

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

Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar.

Review: The first sip was a bit sharp. It tasted like a cherry fruit punch. It wasn't bad, I just expected it to be a bit smoother for some reason. Quite drinkable, but nothing special, so I'll rank it just above average.

Score: 6.5 out of 10.
 

Pennsylvania Dutch Cherry Cola Candy Cane

I was shopping at "Fresh Thyme Farmer's Market" on University Ave in Minneapolis a few weeks back, and I happened to glance across the flavored candy canes. And I spotted this:

A jar of Pennsylvania Dutch Cherry Cola Candy Canes.

Just the good stuff: sugar, more sugar, fake flavor, and color.

Brand: Pennsylvania Dutch Cherry Cola Candy Cane.

Origin: Hicksville, NY.

Purchase Place: Fresh Thyme, Minneapolis, MN.

Sweetener: Sugar and Corn Syrup.

Review: I was first (pleasantly) surprised to find that there was no strong peppermint taste. Even though it's NOT a traditional candy cane, I was afraid it'd have a hint of peppermint thrown it. But it didn't.

At first, all I tasted was "cherry." There was no other flavor than cherry. "Where's the COLA?" I wondered. Then I realized I was just sucking on a red part - notice in the picture above that the cane is swirled red and brown. I focused my licks on a brown part, and sure enough, that was more "cola" flavored. So that was kinda fun to discover.

Both the cherry and the cola weren't very strong, but they were OK. I'm not really a fan of hard candies, so take that into consideration. This was fine, but there's ZERO chance it could beat an ACTUAL cherry cola. So I'll rank this just below average.

Score: 4 out of 10.
 

Dang! That's Good Diet Root Beer

Five years ago, I had "Dang! That's Good" root beer, and it was pretty good. Would the diet version hold up?

Oops... popped the top before getting my photo.

Brand: Dang! That's Good Diet Root Beer.

Origin: Milwaukee, WI.

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

Sweetener: Aspartame.

Review: The first sip tasted really weak - I think I "expect" full flavor from a bottle, so diet sodas are a kick in the teeth right off the bat. But the flavor was good. It was a pretty classic root beer with just a little bite. Yes, it was weaker ("waterier") that I'd like, but it was a decent diet root beer. I'll call this just a point above average.

Score: 6 out of 10.
 

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"After-thirst?"

Whistler Huckleberry Soda

I opened this the other night:

The bottle cap as proof of flavor.

Brand: Whistler Huckleberry Soda.

Origin: Spring Lake Park, MN.

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

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This has a nostalgic cough syrup feel to it. When I sometimes call something "cough-syrup-like," it's usually because it's THICK and syrupy. But this had the flavor of like the best cough syrup that you LIKED taking as a kid. Like cherry with a slight hint of something sharp. Cherry-like is the best I can describe the flavor. And it was good, and went down easy. This was a good one.

Score: 8 out of 10.
 

Batch Craft Soda Brown Sugar Root Beer

After my last 2 sodas were soooo bad (maybe the worst root beer I've had, and then something that tasted like perfume), I looked for something in my stash that looked promising. So I grabbed this:

Brand: Batch Craft Soda Brown Sugar Root Beer.

Origin: Orange County, California.

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

Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar and Caramelized Unrefined Cane Sugar.

Review: This wasn't bad, but it wasn't amazing (unfortunately). The sweetness was a little odd/sharp, and there was a bit too much wintergreen for me. It sure wasn't a BAD soda, but it wasn't a great root beer. So I guess I still have to wait to break my streak of not-great sodas. I have to rank this a bit below average.

Score: 4 out of 10.