Mike's Hard Black Cherry Lemonade

It's been a long time since I reviewed an adult beverage. But I grabbed this when I was getting some wine for my wife for Christmas, and then I cracked into it last night:

Brand: Mike's Hard Black Cherry Lemonade.

Origin: Waddell, AZ.

Purchase Place: Total Wine, Roseville, MN.

Sweetener: High Fructose Corn Syrup and Cane Sugar (not on the label because it's booze).

Review: This is considered a "beer" or a beer-like drink, but tastes NOTHING like beer (which is good as I don't care for beer). It's not as overly sweet as I was afraid it was going to be. There's a pretty deep "black cherry" flavor with just a bit of tartness that's supposed to be the "lemonade" flavor. This went down easy and was quite tasty. Sure, a wussy drink, but I'll have it any day.

Score: 7.5 out of 10.

Rhett and Link Test "Soda Products"

One of my favorite internet duos tested "soda products." Here's the shortened Facebook version which is a cool 6 minutes (and click that link if this embed doesn't work):



And here's the longer YouTube version (which is 22 mins):


Direct link: youtu.be/ONDZTEwuJ6s

Strawberry Vanilla Health-Ade Pop

I was at Whole Foods last night, and I saw these:

Is "last chance" a bad sign?...

I looked over the flavors, and I first thought about the "Apple Snap" on the left. But it was giving me kombucha vibes, and I'm not a fan of kombucha. So I went with the "Strawberry Vanilla:"

Brand: Strawberry Vanilla Health-Ade Pop.

Origin: Torrance, CA.

Purchase Place: Whole Foods, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: So there's still SLIGHT kombucha vibes here as the first ingredient is "organic fermented tea." But it's not as harsh and vinegar-heavy like kombucha is. (But there is a warning that there could be "small piece of culture" floating around.  NO THANKS.) There's only 35 calories in each can, so there's just a little sweetener. And there's also inulin which is supposed to be good for your lower gut.

At first sip, the sparkles hit hard, kind of like a La Croix. And there's a little kombucha-like tang, but it's subtle. The smooth vanilla mixes oddly with the sharpness of the carbonation. I'm left with more of an apple-like aftertaste, with not much strawberry flavor there. It's not bad... I thought it'd be worse. I still can't give this a GREAT score, but it's not horrible. My kombucha-loving wife would probably find this to be a little of a treat.

Score: 4.5 out of 10.

Rocket Fizz Root Beer

I opened this last night: 

Brand: Rocket Fizz Root Beer.

Origin: Incline Village, NV.

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

Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar.

Review: I'm no stranger to Rocket Fizz root beers, but I've never had this one. Their "root beer float" soda was NOT good. But their "boosted" root beer loaded with caffeine was decent. And their "Kiss Army" root beer (yes, as in "KISS" the band) was quite tasty. So I was curious what this one would be like.

At first sip, it's quite smooth and flavorful. Nutmeg is listed on the front ("Root Beer with nutmeg" is listed at the bottom of the front label), but it's not listed in the ingredients, unless that can just be under the "natural flavors" listing. I felt like I COULD taste the nutmeg with a little extra smooth herbiness at the end of each sip. There was also a punch of wintergreen that was nearly a bit too much. This would be closer to a perfect root beer if that wintergreen flavor was toned down a bit, but this was still quite good!

Score: 8.5 out of 10.

North Star Nuclear Dew

I opened this with supper tonight:

Brand: North Star Nuclear Dew.

Origin: Spring Lake Park, MN.

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

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: I was ready for this to be a version of Mountain Dew. Obviously. But it was a bit more unique than I was expecting... it was a bit heavier on the lime (and in a GOOD way), and it was a bit smoother than Mountain Dew. It was quite good!

Score: 8 out of 10.

Coke in 1885

If you know, you know... ;)

Melba's Fixins Strawberry Shortcake Soda

I opened this with my boys during supper last night: 

Brand: Melba's Fixins Strawberry Shortcake Soda.

Origin: Camarillo, CA.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: I've only had one other "Melba's Fixins" pseudo-novelty soda, and that was decent, so I had relatively high hopes for this. My boys and I sniffed it, and it DID smell like strawberry short cake. When drinking it, the first thing that hit was the creaminess - it was like a "cream soda." And the strawberry flavor was solid, but a bit subtle. The carbonation was a bit harsh, so it was like a cream soda that just had a little "bite" to it. In the end, we all agreed that it totally was a "strawberry shortcake soda." It was like a subtle strawberry flavored cream soda.

Score: 7 out of 10.

Barq's Lip Balm

I have this Barq's lip balm in my car:

It's surprisingly "correct" in it's flavor! If I had to guess what major root beer company this was, I'd say Barq's as it has the slight "bite" to it.

Olipop Classic Grape Sparkling Tonic

I opened this before class yesterday: 

 

Brand: Olipop Classic Grape Sparkling Tonic.

Origin: Oakland, CA.

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

Sweetener: Stevia and their "olismart" blend.

Review: Interestingly enough, this can contained 45 calories whereas their "cola" that I had last winter had 35 calories. This one had more fruit juice concentrates, so that must have been the difference: the cola just had apple and lime juice, but this had grape, apple, and lime. (Which makes the sugar content go from 2g to 4g.) But it had the same NINE grams of fiber added to it!

This was pretty good! It wasn't an overly sweet child-like grape soda (or "tonic" I suppose I should say). It was still tinted purple, but the flavor was a little deeper and almost "herbier" than a standard grape - there was more depth to it. I didn't get a bad aftertaste from the Stevia which happens with some drinks. This was a bit better than their cola in my mind! I'll need to keep exploring these tonics!

Score: 7 out of 10.

When Enjoying High Fructose Corn Syrup in a Soda...

The Pop Shoppe Lime Ricky

I opened this last night with supper: 

Brand: The Pop Shoppe Lime Ricky

Origin: Ontario, Canada.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This was appropriately tart. It was more tart than just a lime soda - if you want just a "lime" soda, this won't be what you're after. The tartness adds a nice layer to this. It's still sweet, but then that sweetness it cut with that little tart. Nothing special, but a decent soda!

Score: 6 out of 10.

Coca Cola Zero Sugar Limited Edition "Dreamworld" Dream Flavored Soda

Coke has been trying some new funky "limited edition" flavors. For some reason. I really did not like the "Starlight" Space Flavored Coke Zero that I tried this past spring, but my wife found a different flavor for me to try:

On the dash of my car as I was eating lunch the other day.

Brand: Coca Cola Zero Sugar Limited Edition "Dreamworld" Dream Flavored Soda.  

Origin: Atlanta, GA.

Purchase Place: Casey's, Wells, MN.

Sweetener: Aspartame and Sucralose.  

Review: This wasn't nearly as bad as "Starlight" Space Flavored Coke Zero! Whew! It smelled a bit fruity when I opened it. My very first thought when I took a sip was "Hmmm... mango?!?" It was basically a mango-flavored Coke Zero. The "mango" flavor overpowered the Coke flavor which I didn't care for (but I'm a fan of cola, so I would say that).

After (and only AFTER) drinking it and forming my opinion, I looked up what the internet had to say. This writer described it like this:

I puzzled and puzzled over how to describe the flavor. Here’s what I came up with: maybe if you had a party, and you made a huge bowl of fruit punch, and then accidentally dropped a splash of Coke into it, that’s what Dreamworld tastes like.

So where I said "mango," she said "fruit punch." I don't feel like we're that far off. And she also agrees that it's not very coke flavored. Another writer said "It had a fruity candy smell -- like Skittles mixed with Coca-Cola -- but it definitely didn't taste the same way. I immediately got a citrus flavor from this soda..."

It's not my favorite combination of flavors, but it's not horrible... especially if the thought of a fruity Coke Zero is intriguing to you.

Score: 5 out of 10.

Sarsi Root Beer from the Philippines

I was out to eat with extended family at Kalsada Filipino BBQ down the street here in St. Paul last week, and I started Googling some of their sodas. Many were fruit-based, but this one called "Sarsi" was labeled something between a Sarsaparilla and a Root Beer. When it was brought to my table, it was labeled as a Root Beer:

It only had 80 calories, and that's because it had some real sugar and some sucralose.

Brand: Sarsi Root Beer from the Philippines.

Origin:  Taguig, Philippines.

Purchase Place: Kalsada, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Sugar and Sucralose.

Review: This was really interesting! It was extra "herby" and had a great bite. It was super unique and had a strong, deep flavor. My wife and boys all got a sip, and they enjoyed it as well. Really fun and unique soda that's supposed to only be available for purchase in the Philippines.

Score: 8.5 out of 10.

Teem Lime Soda

I took this with me this morning to grade at one of the colleges where I teach:

Brand: Teem Lime Soda.

Origin: Mukilteo, WA.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: I sort of pegged this as another lemon lime soda, but it was a bit different. First of all, it has caffeine, and none of my “normal” lemon lime sodas are caffeinated. Secondly, it’s labeled as a “citrus refresher,” but it’s only lime flavored. I have no issue with that - it’s just not what I’m expecting when I see “citrus” on a soda.

It was a pretty smooth lime, almost like key lime. But then there’s a refreshing pop/sharpness of the carbonation, so it has a little bit of everything. Good lime flavor, and good to sip on as I was working. Decent, but nothing amazing.

Score: 7 out of 10.

 

10 Year Blogger Birthday!

I had this Facebook memory 2 days ago that first mentioned starting a root beer journal:

Then the next day (October 1st, 2012), I started this blog with this post. Happy Birthday, Root Beer Journal!  :) 

Zia Root Beer

I brought this with me to my office by the darkroom (which explains the cameras in the background) - it was my 2nd Zia from the stash my friends brought me: 

Brand: Zia Root Beer.

Origin: Taos, NM.

Purchase Place: Smith's Food and Drug, somewhere in Utah.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: I was ready for this to be "fancy" as it had a big list of ingredients after the "normal" ones: anise and licorice aren't ALL that unique, but then it has clove, mint, yucca root, and madagascar bourbon vanilla. That's an interesting list. And the root beer is REALLY dark - one of the darker sodas I've seen.

And it WAS a little interesting. What first struck me was a big of a smokiness it had - I think that's the cloves coming through that way. And there's a hint of the mint that feels like normal wintergreen in a root beer. Overall, it's pretty smooth and has a real earthy, herby, smoky flavor. I prefer something a little sweeter, but this is a nice and unique "adult" root beer. (I say "adult" because it's not super sugary - it would not be as popular with kids.) On taste alone, I think I'd give this a 6, but I'm bumping it up for the uniqueness of the experience.

Score: 7 out of 10.

Bazooka Bubble Gum Flavored Soda

I'm currently in the big shared faculty office at the University of Minnesota, and I'm sipping on this: 

Brand: Bazooka Bubble Gum Flavored Soda.

Origin: Incline Village, NV.

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

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This tasted EXACTLY like I thought it would! It *IS* liquid Bazooka gum. It smells just like it too! This might be a bad thing, but it even has that slight chalkiness that the gum has. This is very sweet and I could not finish it - it's definitely a "sipping soda" and not something you just drink down. The taste is spot on, but it's almost too sweet. Kids might love this, but even this sweet loving man thought it was a bit much. But higher marks for NAILING the flavor.

Score: 6.5 out of 10.

Zia Ginger Ale

I opened my first Zia from my friends the other day:

Brand: Zia Ginger Ale.

Origin: Taos, NM.

Purchase Place: Smith's Food and Drug, somewhere in Utah.

Sweetener: Cane sugar.

Review: I was ready for this to be a bit strong as after the first 2 "normal" ingredients (filtered carbonated water and cane sugar), the rest were a bit more extreme: "fresh pressed ginger juice, red chile natural flavors, lime and lemon juice." I was surprised to sniff it and realize it was more subtle than I expected. And the flavor was a bit that way too - it was still flavorful, but not overpowering. Ginger can be a bit much for me, but this just had a nice flavor that ended well with a hit of citrus. There was no back-of-the-throat ginger burn that I get with some ginger sodas. (Oh, I take that back - as I'm drinking it a bit more, it IS biting the back of my throat a little, but not that harshly!) My family all enjoyed this as well. This earned the highest score for a Ginger Ale from me ever!

Score: 8 out of 10.

A Stash of Zia from Utah!

The same fun friends who sent me some Shaq Soda and some Tommyknocker Soda stopped by recently with something that they picked up in Utah for me to try:

 

They picked these up in Utah, and I'll be reviewing my first one shortly. Thanks T and B!

Spring Grove at the MN State Fair

Spring Grove Soda just posted this on Facebook: 

My boys and I were right next to the Spring Grove Soda stand (we got a soft pretzel right next door), but we didn't have any Spring Grove Soda this year. Stop by their stand near the SE corner of the DNR Building!

Tyler the Kid Sarsaparilla

I opened this with my boys last night: 

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.

Some Like a Can of Coke... Some Like a...

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:

On the ladder of my boys' bunk bed at our small hotel.

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.

The Pop Shoppe Black Cherry Soda

I opened this last night after cooking: 

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.

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.

Root Beer Milk

It turns out that this is a real thing:

Announced here on Facebook at Kwik Trip. (Also on the Real Seal page.)

Same!

Ha!!

I need to try to find this at a Kwik Trip sometime...

Lester Fixins Ranch Dressing Soda

I opened this "Ranch Dressing" soda with my extended family on a trip up north recently:

I thought it could pair well with Buffalo Wing Soda.

My youngest was ready to try a shot of it...

...but he immediately spit it into the sink

My brother-in-law and I sniffed it...

Drinking it!

 

Trying not react to the flavor! Ha! (We agreed ahead of time to try to not show our disgust.)

 

Brand: Lester Fixins Ranch Dressing Soda

Origin: Incline Village, NV.

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

Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar.

Review: You know, this WASN'T horrible. It smelled quite like ranch dressing. And then the aftertaste left a ranch dressing-like film in my mouth (but not in an ABSOLUTELY horrible way). 

The biggest positive for this is that the carbonation really helped. And it had a perfect amount of sweetness to cut the almost savory ranch flavor. Both my brother-in-law and I agreed on this. 

It sure isn't a soda that I'd grab on any given day saying "boy, I sure could go for something 'ranch dressing' flavored right now!" But it wasn't BAD. The ranch dressing flavor was about spot on, so give this a (humorous) try if you're a fan of ranch. This had POTENTIAL for being scored at 1 or 2, but it's honestly better than that.

Score: 3.5 out of 10.

Minnesota Soda Pun

A classic joke posted by Blue Sun Soda:

Labrador Root Beer Butterscotch Soda

I was downloading files at one of the colleges where I teach this afternoon, and I brought this with me: 

Nuthin' says "champion of the USA" like a shotgun shell!  ;)

     

Brand: Labrador Root Beer Butterscotch Soda.

Origin: Camarillo, CA.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: At first sniff, the butterscotch was subtle, so I started thinking this might be decent. And I was right! The butterscotch isn't overpowering, and the root beer is really smooth and really creamy. It's a bit strong on the wintergreen, but that wasn't a horrible thing here - I think it balances out the butterscotch a bit. My only possible complaint is that it could be TOO creamy. It's NOT a traditional root beer, but it tasted pretty good. Worth a try!

Score: 8 out of 10.

Excel Lucky Cherry Cola

I opened my first soda from last week's trip to Blue Sun Soda: 

Brand: Excel Lucky Cherry Cola.

Origin: Breese, IL.

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

Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar.

Review: This smelled good from the start - quite sweet. It definitely leans towards "cherry SODA" and not so much "cherry COLA" as there's not a super strong cola element to this. And that's not a bad thing, because it's still quite tasty. It's a pretty solid cherry flavor. Nothing super unique, but a drinkable and tasty soda.

Score: 7 out of 10.

Refill at Blue Sun Soda

Yesterday afternoon, my boys and I headed to the "original" Blue Sun Soda up in the north metro. I slowly worked my way through the root beer aisle and grabbed just a few bottles that I haven't had before. But now after the 2 or 3 that I just purchased, I'll have had everything in this aisle: 

All root beers way down to the end.

Back by the little game room (they've really made that smaller).

The soda fountain section had some old cans being used as vases.

My assorted case from Blue Sun Soda!

I have a few novelty sodas in there that will be GROSS that I plan to try with my extended family as we get together during the summer. Stay tuned for those reviews!

Cool Mountain Root Beer

I was in a bad mood and wanted some good root beer, but unfortunately I only had this: 

Brand: Cool Mountain Root Beer

Origin: Des Plaines, IL.

Purchase Place: Blue Sun Soda, Bloomington, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This wasn't great. It was too caramely with nothing else going for it. Ehh. No thanks.

Score: 3.5 out of 10.

Lime Billy's Bubble Pop

I opened this with supper tonight: 

Brand: Lime Billy's Bubble Pop.

Origin: Spring Lake Park, MN.

Purchase Place: Blue Sun Soda, Bloomington, MN.

Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar.

Review: This is another one of Billy's mixed up color sodas, and it's my favorite one yet! (The other's I've had I've ranked around average with scores around 5 to 6.5.) 

This tastes like an extra sweet and extra "limey" lemon/lime soda. It almost tastes like an overly sweet mojito like I've had in Mexico. One of my boys thought it tasted a little "key lime"-like, but I think he was just thinking it was sweet like a dessert. This was sweet, classic, child-like, and tasty. Nothing special, but sweet and drinkable!

Score: 7.5 out of 10.

Candy and Soda from Ely's Old Fashioned Candy

Last week, my boys and I spent 2 days fishing and "camping" (in a camper cabin) up in Bear Head Lake State Park. We stopped into Ely when we first got there, and we found "Ely's Old Fashioned Candy."

My boys starting to look around inside.

Their soda selection.

These are all root beers, but I'd had them all.

Fresh popcorn and other goodies behind the counter.

My boys were picking out taffy flavors. The little buckets on the right were also
"pay by the ounce" like the taffy, so there was a lot of possible "mix and match" going on.

 
I grabbed a soda, but never took a photo of it when I drank it by the campfire. Just a nice sweet stop while playing outside with my sons!