Cap'n Eli's Black Cherry Pop

I opened this in my office this afternoon: 

Brand: Cap'n Eli's Black Cherry Pop

Origin: Portland, ME.

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

Sweetener: Cane sugar.

Review: It had a strong taste of black cherry. This wasn't a cola that tasted a little fruity - no, it let you know that it was BLACK CHERRY. The flavor was decent, but not amazing. Being it wasn't a cola, it was pretty clear with a tint of red to it (which is always just a BIT weird to me as I think I always EXPECT a black cherry COLA - but that's my problem and not the soda's). Overall, quite drinkable with decent (but not amazing) black cherry flavor. I didn't enjoy it as much as I enjoyed Cap'n Eli's Root Beer nearly 10 years ago.

Score: 7.5 out of 10.

Can Soda Help Clean the Oven?

Har har...

Brau Bros Bubble Gum Soda

I've been hesitant to open this... 

Brand: Brau Bros Bubble Gum Soda.

Origin: Marshall, MN.

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

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: There is a FRACTION of a second during each sip that this actually tastes like bubble gum. Outside of that moment, it's very chemically and overly sweet. And I don't know what it tastes like. I really wanted to like this because it's from MN, but it's just not good. I didn't get more than a few sips into this. Sorry. 

I finished writing that paragraph, and then poured out a sip for both of my boys (ages 8 and 11). I didn't tell them that I didn't like it because I didn't want to influence their reactions. My 11-year-old just thought it was OK, and my 8-year-old didn't care for it. I assume that a bubble gum soda would appeal to kids, and this did not.

Score: 2 out of 10.

WBC Vanilla Cream Craft Soda

I recently spent 2 nights and 3 days in a little cabin with my boys in Whitewater State Park, and we sipped on this during a game of Catan: 

About to be shared in the tiny camping cups to the left.

Brand: WBC Vanilla Cream Craft Soda.

Origin: Glendale, WI.

Purchase Place: Menards, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This was just OK. It was really sweet and smooth on the front end (and had it stopped there, I'd rank it a little better than average), but then it had a pretty sharp and chemically aftertaste - something that I just hate when trying to enjoy a soda. That extra little "tang" at the end brought this from more of a 6 or 7 down to the 5 range. Not bad, just not great.

Score: 5.5 out of 10.

Making Boxed Cake Mixes with Soda

I've heard about this before, but finally looked more into it over Christmas when talking with family. Did you know that you can mix sodas with cake mix for a TASTY cake?!?

From AllRecipes.com:

Why does this unusual combination work? The leavening agents in the cake mixes still do their duty, even without oil or egg. The soda is all the liquid you need to turn the powdery mix into a bake-able batter. Combine, pour into cake pans, and the mixture will act just like any other cake batter.

But before you think this is some TikTok experiment or Pinterest hack, you should know this method has been around for decades. Old-fashioned cookbooks are filled with soda-meets-cake-mix recipes that were highly fashionable at the time. 

They say that you just use the pan size, oven temp, and baking time on the box, but just add the soda instead of anything else. I HAVE to try this.