Saturday, August 27, 2022

Tyler the Kid Sarsaparilla

I opened this with my boys last night: 

Tyler the Kid Sarsaparilla

Brand: Tyler the Kid Sarsaparilla.

Origin: Camarillo, CA.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This was pretty good! If you had told me this was a root beer, I wouldn't have balked. It's just a little more herbaceous than root beer. There was a nice vanilla flavor, and then a bit of a wintergreen kick at the end. Pretty decent overall!   

Score: 7.5 out of 10.


Sunday, August 14, 2022

Fora the Red Drink by Casamara Club

My boys and I recently got back from 3 days of mountain biking in Cuyuna State Park. On our 2nd day, I found this cool looking can at a fancy ice cream shop:

Fora the Red Drink by Casamara Club
On the ladder of my boys' bunk bed at our small hotel.

Fora the Red Drink by Casamara Club
Look at that wild ingredients list! Grapefruit Peel? Rhubarb Root? Black pepper?!?


Brand: Fora the Red Drink by Casamara Club.

Origin: Detroit, MI.

Purchase Place: Victual, Crosby, MN.

Sweetener: Demerara Cane Sugar.

Review: This tasted unlike anything I've ever had. It's basically a flavored, carbonated, and lightly sweetened water. (And it's just BARELY light pink, so I don't know that it deserves to be called "the red drink.") It initially has the citrus hit of lemon, but then the flavor goes much deeper than that. I feel like the black pepper gives it almost a ginger-like "spiciness," and the hibiscus and rose definitely give it some flowery notes. (And maybe that's some of the strawberry coming through as well.) 

Honestly, I didn't love it, but I enjoyed it because it was so unique! My wife (who loves La Croix and Bubly waters) could have enjoyed this. It's a bit sweeter than La Croix as there's actually 20 calories of sugar in this, and I appreciated that. I'll give it an average 5, although the experience was higher and the flavor was lower.

Score: 5 out of 10.


Monday, August 8, 2022

The Pop Shoppe Black Cherry Soda

I opened this last night after cooking: 

The Pop Shoppe Black Cherry Soda


Brand: The Pop Shoppe Black Cherry Soda

Origin: Canada

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: At first sip, this had a very deep "black cherry" flavor! It quickly became quite sugary, ALMOST to the point of "cough syrup-like." As you all know, I like sugary things, but this was still just ALMOST a bit too much for me. It was good, just a bit heavy. I'll rank it a bit better than average.

Score: 6 out of 10.


Wednesday, August 3, 2022

Lester's Fixins Buffalo Wing Soda

Well, it's been a few weeks since my last review, and that's because I've been sitting on this bottle... scared... 



Brand: Lester's Fixins Buffalo Wing Soda.

Origin: Incline Village, NV.

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

Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar.

Review: You might remember first seeing this bottle when I tried Ranch Dressing Soda last month. I FINALLY got around to opening this one up, and it wasn't really what I expected. 

When I first sniffed it, it didn't smell bad - it was like a "sharp orange flavored" smell. I was hopeful.

And you know what? It didn't taste horrible either. The flavor was kind of meaty (but not in a bad way), smokey, and slightly salty. The problem occurred 5-10 seconds after each sip - there's this burning that happened in the back of my throat. It was like a chemical burn feeling. Not pleasant. And it happened sooner and sooner after each sip. I couldn't finish this. So favor was bad but not horrible, but the general experience of this soda was bad. Just bad.

Score: 1.5 out of 10.