Pepsi Nitro Draft Cola

"Nitrogen-infused cola?!?" I just had to grab this when I saw it:

Chill, "pour hard," and then "admire" and enjoy? Intriguing!

Lots of long-lasting head.

The final pour was 80% foam!

Tearing open the can afterwards to find the nitrogen dispenser at the bottom.

Brand: Pepsi Nitro Draft Cola.

Origin: Purchase, NY.

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

Sweetener: High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Review: The "crack" of opening this can was loud! It startled my wife! I then poured it "hard" (as instructed) into a few glasses for my family to enjoy. It had bigger and longer-lasting head than normal, but nothing too dramatic. 

But it WAS more dramatic in the flavor - it added a real smoothness (almost creaminess) to the Pepsi flavor. This was really good, and very unique on the tongue (if that doesn't sound too pretentious - talking about "mouth feel"). There was a "vanilla cola" version of this next to it at Kowalski's, and I'm thinking about stopping back to try that as well. Very interesting, very tasty, and a bit of a different experience than just a "normal" cola. On taste alone, I'd call this a 9, but I'm almost bumping it up to a 9.5 because of the interesting and foamy head.

Score: 9 out of 10.

Inotea Pobble Passion Fruit + Apple

I grabbed this from Aldi over the weekend:

Here are a few of the "popping pearls" in a glass. 

Brand: Inotea Pobble Passion Fruit + Apple.

Origin: Newark, NJ.

Purchase Place: Aldi, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This was quite good! It was very sweet, and tasted like a "good" apple cider that you might get on the holidays for the kids - like the sparkling kind, even though this wasn't sparkling. It was mainly apple flavored, and then the "popping pearls" had more of the passion fruit flavor inside. Yes, they are little pearls that are liquid filled that "pop" when you bite into them - I don't think everyone is ready for that experience. :)

My wife tried it, and she doesn't like things that are too sweet, so I thought she wouldn't like this. But after her first sip, she paused and said "... oh, that's GOOD." And my boys loved it too, so it went over well in our house. We'll have to try the other 2 flavors we saw at Aldi as well!

Score: 8 out of 10.

Dr. Pepper and Rum Chata

In more than 1 recent "viral" video, I've heard that mixing Dr. Pepper and coconut Rum Chata is supposed to be delicious. My Mom is a huge fan of "regular" Rum Chata, so I grabbed a mini coconut bottle of Rum Chata before a recent family vacation. I paired that with a Diet Dr. Pepper we got from the convenience store near our rented cabin:

On the counter in our cabin.

As a mixed drink. It's hard to tell because of the line in the glass, but the top 1/3 is all frothy head!

It came as no surprise that this was delicious! I've had regular Rum Chata a few times with my Mom (which is good mixed with chocolate milk or root beer, or good on its own over ice), but never the "coconut" Rum Chata. The coconut Rum Chata had a bit of a sunscreen vibe to it (many coconut flavored things have that vibe to me), but it was very smooth and tasty mixed with Dr. Pepper! It was a creamy and easy-to-drink mixed drink! I think I'll bring this combo around more often when I'm together with my Mom.

Moneybag's Creme Soda

I was recently "up north" with family in a cabin, and I brought this to enjoy:

Under the bottle cap.

Wait... Gene Simmons?

     

Brand: Moneybag's Creme Soda.

Origin: Niagara Falls, NY.

Purchase Place: Grandpa Joe's Candy Shop, Spring Lake Park, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: First of all... yes, this is put out by Gene Simmons of KISS fame. I enjoyed the design on the front of the bottle, but didn't spot Simmons's name until I took off the cap. It's a pretty smooth cream (or "créme" as it's spelled on the bottle) and it went down easily. Nice and sugary. There's a BIT of a chemically aftertaste, but it's not bad. I'll rank this just a bit over average.

Score: 6 out of 10.

Buddy's Strawberry Soda

I opened this yesterday afternoon:

 

Brand: Buddy's Strawberry Soda.

Origin: Sleepy Eye, MN.

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

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This was classically good! It had a strong strawberry flavor (like "candy" strawberry and not "real" strawberry), and it was really creamy - not creamy enough to be a "strawberry CREAM," but nice and smooth. This went down easy and had the perfect amount of sweetness - it was really sugary, but not TOO sugary. This was a treat.

Score: 8.5 out of 10.

Black Bear Cherry Soda

I was recently on a camping trip with my boys, niece, and nephew, and I grabbed this from a candy store in Ely:

Brand: Black Bear Cherry Soda.

Origin: Glendale, WI.

Purchase Place: Ely's Old Fashioned Candy, Ely, MN.

Sweetener: Glucose Syrup.

Review: I took the first sip, and had to look again at the label. It had a more “cola” flavor than just a cherry “soda” (but it was just a “soda” and not a “cola” as the label confirmed). I like cherry cola, so that wasn’t a problem. It had a little bit of a sharp medicinal taste that was less desirable. Flavor was strong, but the sharpness wasn’t great. I’ll call this an average “5.”

Score: 5 out of 10.

(And again, see more "up north" photos from our camping trip on my other blog.)

Diet Faygo Cola

I grabbed this on a car ride back from a camping trip, and didn't get a photo of it until I was back home cleaning out my car:

Messy car... unloading from a wet weekend of camping!

Brand: Diet Faygo Cola.

Origin: Detroit, MI.

Purchase Place: Kwik Trip, Rochester, MN.

Sweetener: Aspartame.

Review: This was a decent cola, but there was nothing fancy, special, or unique about it. It had decent flavor for being diet as well - not that strong, but also not TOO weak. Very decent and what I expected (and wanted). I'll rank this just above average.

Score: 6 out of 10.

Lester's Fixins Horchata Soda

I opened this yesterday as it didn't seem to be too "risky" of a novelty soda:

 
Brand: Lester's Fixins Horchata Soda.

Origin: Incline Village, NV.

Purchase Place: "Minnesota's Largest Candy Store," Jordan, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: Something felt "wrong" about drinking a horchata from a guy named "Lester." (It's a drink that originated in northern Africa before settling in Spain and often being thought of as a Mexican drink today.) 

The first sip was odd because the flavor was about right on (including a cinnamon-like hit at the end like Mexican horchata has), but it was a bit strange with the carbonation. 

I actually let it sit in the fridge open for a while, and I think it got better - I like this more with a "softer" carbonation. Overall, it tasted pretty right on and nicely sweet, but the carbonation added a sharpness to it that wasn't as great.

Score: 6.5 out of 10.

GT's Alive Root Beer Ancient Mushroom Elixir

I knew this was a risk. I still tried it:

 

Brand: GT's Alive Root Beer Ancient Mushroom Elixir.

Origin: Beverly Hills, CA.

Purchase Place: Fresh Thyme Grocery Store, Minneapolis, MN.

Sweetener: Stevia.

Review: "Mushroom Elixir?" I think that means "mushrooms mushed up in water." Umm... yummy?  Maybe not. When we cracked the top (I say "we" because I tried this with my family), it really smelled of pretty classic root beer. I got my hopes up a little! And PART of the flavor of this was root beer, but a lot of it was based off apple cider vinegar. So... no thanks. There was no mushroom funk to this, but the kombucha-like sharpness from the apple cider vinegar overpowered anything that was decent about the root beer flavor. If you like kombucha, this might be worth a try. But if you get it solely based the fact that it's root beer flavored, you'll be let down. Not for me! 

Score: 2 out of 10.

Fresh Fizz Organic Soda Sparkling Jalapeno Limeade

I opened this while in my car waiting for one of my sons' sports practices:

Sitting in my car

Brand: Fresh Fizz Organic Soda Sparkling Jalapeño Limeade.

Origin: Island Park, NY.

Purchase Place: Fresh Thyme, Minneapolis, MN.

Sweetener: Organic Honey.

Review: This was a risky soda. I grow jalapeño peppers and like cooking with them, but I didn't know how I'd like that flavor in a soda... and if they'd be able to CREATE that flavor in a soda.

The first time bringing it to my mouth gave me a sniff of what smelled like TRUE jalapeño peppers - I was impressed already one second before taking my first sip. After my first sip, I was even more impressed - the jalapeño flavor came through well and was spot on! There are only 4 ingredients (carbonated water, lime juice, honey, and jalapeño peppers) and they all pull their own weight. 

This was not a "gulping" soda... this is definitely a "sipping" soda. My wife enjoyed the flavor and remarked this would be good in a cocktail, which is 100% right. The limeade cuts through the jalapeño nicely, and they work well together! It's hard to give this a score because it's not something I would just open and gulp down because it's so tasty, but I would sip on it for a while because it's refreshing. I was impressed by this!

Score: 6.5 out of 10.

Pop vs Soda: Where in the US

When I grew up in southern Minnesota, it was always "pop." But over the last 2 decades, I've moved to saying "soda." I'd tend to agree with the gist of this map:

Sno-Cap Root Beer

I opened this while making some ribs the other night (to help baste the ribs, and to also enjoy as a drink):

Brand: Sno-Cap Root Beer.

Origin: Green Bay, WI.

Purchase Place: "Minnesota's Largest Candy Store," Jordan, MN.

Sweetener: Granulated Sugar.

Review: This was pretty smooth, creamy, and tasty! My wife said it tasted like A&W, but it was a bit more unique than that - there was a lot of vanilla flavor, and just a HINT of caramel as well. I don't really care for caramel in root beer, but this is subtle enough that it doesn't ruin it.

Score: 8 out of 10.

Premium Fitz's Pumpkin Pop

I cracked into this at work:

Brand: Premium Fitz's Pumpkin Pop.

Origin: St. Louis, MO.

Purchase Place: "Minnesota's Largest Candy Store," Jordan, MN.

Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar.

Review: I was leary about this from the start. If I hadn't read "pumpkin" on the label, I would NOT have known it was supposed to be pumpkin! It was very heavy on the cinnamon - like baking cinnamon and not "red hot" cinnamon. I think they were going for like a "pumpkin spice" but made it very "spice"-heavy. In this case, it tasted all of cinnamon spice.

Now, all that being said, it was GOOD! It still tasted good. It was sweet and dessert-like. This one surprised me!

Score: 8 out of 10.

Appalachian Root Beer

I opened this at work today as another soda from my Grandpa Joe's grand opening stash: 

Yes, my desk is messy... it's the end of the semester...

Brand: Appalachian Root Beer.

Origin: Mechanicsburg, PA.

Purchase Place: Grandpa Joe's Candy Shop, Spring Lake Park, MN.

Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar and Honey.

Review: This was OK. I don't mind honey as a sweetner in soda (as I LOVE honey), but it sometimes sits as a strange combo with root beer, and it's doing that here - the honey comes on too strong. The root beer is deep and pretty tasty with a hint of wintergreen and a lot of herby notes, but I just don't care for how much honey flavor there is on top of that. Nice and smooth overall. Not bad, but not great.

Score: 6 out of 10.

Unicorn Magic Honeydew Soda

I cracked into this at work earlier today:

Brand: Unicorn Magic Honeydew Soda 

Origin: Incline Village, NV 

Purchase Place: Grandpa Joe's Candy Shop, Spring Lake Park, MN. 

Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar. 

Review: I didn't know what this would taste like... like I wasn't sure what to expect for a "honeydew" flavored soda. And after my first sip, I STILL didn't know what it tasted like. It was like a slightly muted extra sweet Mountain Dew flavor (and I don't think that was just because it was about the same color). 

I kept sipping, and I kept liking it less and less. It had an off flavor to it. I enjoy honeydew, but it SURE wasn't honeydew. I thought this would be decent, but it wasn't. It was like sweet wet cardboard. The score I'm giving it is only as good as it is because it was sweet. 

Score: 2.5 out of 10.

Inotea Brown Sugar Bubble Tea

I grabbed this while shopping with my son at Aldi recently:

Brand: Inotea Brown Sugar Bubble Tea.

Origin: Newark, NJ.

Purchase Place: Aldi, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Sugar and Brown Sugar.

Review: The tea was quite good! I shared a sip with my boys, and they both loved it. It was what I'd expect from a boba tea store when I order a "Milk Tea" or anything along those lines.  (One store near us calls it a "Royal Tea Latte" even though it doesn't have any coffee flavor.) I had no complaints about the tea!

But the tapioca pearls were another story. They were kind of pasty and hard. They weren't "chewy" in a good way, but in a bad way. They almost wanted to disintegrate when bit down on, but only after a fair amount of force. I like tapioca pearls, but apparently they need to be fresh. The drink ("pre-pearls") would have earned about an 8.5, but I had to knock it down after having the pearls. 

Score: 7.5 out of 10.

Wild Bill's Root Beer

Last night, I cracked into my first soda from the Grandpa Joe's grand opening a few weeks back:

Cool skinny "wrapped" can.

Brand: Wild Bill's Root Beer.

Origin: Millington, NJ.

Purchase Place: Grandpa Joe's Candy Shop, Spring Lake Park, MN.

Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar.

Review: Maybe it was just the fancy can that "woo-ed" me, but this was good from the first sip. It wasn't trying too hard to be something new - it was just good. It had a bit of an herby bite, but not too much. It had the perfect amount of sweetness, and the flavor was decent - it MAYBE could have had a bit stronger flavor. All-in-all, a very good root beer! I'm excited to try more "Wild Bill" sodas from Grandpa Joes!

Score: 9 out of 10.

A Tasty April Fool's Soda

Mmmm... smooth and salty...

Coca Cola "Spiced"

My wife picked this up for me recently:

 

Brand: Coca Cola "Spiced"

Origin: Atlanta, GA.

Purchase Place: Target, Minneapolis, MN.

Sweetener: High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Review: It smells like Christmas in a mall near a Yankee Candle store... not IN the store, but just NEAR the store when you get a hint of aroma in the air. And it tastes similar. There's a slight cinnamon flavor to this, as well as like a "Christmas spice." It's not bad. I don't get a ton of "raspberry" flavor even though that's what is says at the bottom of the can: "Raspberry Spiced Coke & Other Natural Flavors." If a slightly cinnamon version of Coke with a hint of generic Christmas spice sounds good to you, then give this a try. It was better than I thought it was going to be!

Score: 7.5 out of 10.

Grand Opening at "Grandpa Joe's" (formerly Blue Sun Soda)

My son and I just got back from the north metro because we HAD to check out the Grand Opening of Grandpa Joe's Candy Shop! They purchased Blue Sun Soda in Spring Lake Park. They just announced it on Facebook 10 days ago, so a LOT has happened since then. 

A little bummed they painted over the mural out front.

It was HOPPIN' inside! Charlie was handed a sweet soda jerk hat when he walked in.

FUDGE! That's new!

This is where all the long aisles of soda used to be, and now it's all CANDY and GAMES! 

Some soda farther back.

I had to grab a "Wild Bill's" root beer, and Grandpa Joe's has some wild novelty flavors.

"Buy 5 Get 1 FREE." So I did!

This has been a big draw from social media: a $5 candy buffet!

More sodas near the register.

Soda fountain AND ice cream bar!

The bottler was up and running, and people could watch.

Back in the candy area. THEY STLL HAVE "BILLY THE SODA JERK" BACK THERE!
He was cracking people up, including my son. 

New hand-painted details by the door.

This was by the checkout. I need to try these sometime.

I still have some Blue Sun sodas to try, so this might not be my last post with the Blue Sun Soda tag, but it's the first with the Grandpa Joe's tag! My son got a few boxes of candy, and I grabbed a six pack of assorted sodas (because the 6th was free). I can't wait to go back to snoop around more without a hundred other people there. They don't seem to have QUITE as much soda as before, but it's a better experience all around - super excited to take my oldest son there sometime as he couldn't make it tonight. We'll be back!

Check out Grandpa Joe's on Facebook to stay in the loop.

Big Red Soda

I didn't know what kind of soda this was... "big red" isn't much of a flavor description. But based the the tiny circle that says "so sweet - so smooth" on the label, I figured it might be cream soda-like.

 
Brand: Big Red Soda.

Origin: Plano, TX.

Purchase Place: Marshall Stop, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Review: My hunch was right - it was like a red cream soda (and "red cream soda" is a thing). It was pretty sickly sweet. I LIKE sweet sodas, but this was a lot even for me. I think my wife would have recoiled at this. Honestly, I couldn't finish it. It was just TOO sweet. A bit chemically, and just too much - too sweet, too weird, no thanks.

Score: 3.5 out of 10.

Root Beer Baby Back Ribs

If you click on my "Cooking with Soda" tag, you'll see I've often done pork roasts and/or beef roasts with Sprite or cola or root beer. But over the last year or 2, I've been using root beer to help finish off my pork rib recipe.  I start by following this recipe all the way through the dry rub and instant pot cooking (I'm not an instant pot freak, but I use it when it can be helpful).  But then when it says to finish under the broiler, I jump outside to my grill instead. 

I add some BBQ sauce and a little honey, and I get just a little char forming on both sides (I like just a little char). And then I douse it all in a little root beer.

Here was the scene last night when I did some ribs for supper:

Root beer ready to help finish these ribs.

Pouring on a little extra sweetness.

Root beer pooling on the "bone" side of the ribs. It stayed nicely, and I closed the lid for a few minutes.

After grilling both sides, I wrapped it tight with foil and poured some extra root beer in there as well.

Back in the house, I opened it after 45 mins after it absorbed some juices/BBQ/root beer.
The dry rub is tasty, and the root beer adds to it! Ready to fall off the bone.

A meal of root beer ribs, cheesy garlic bread, jalapeño poppers, and apples. NICE!

My boys like this a lot too! We had 2.5 lbs of ribs, and we had 0 left overs.

Dr. Wells Soda

This had no "flavor" listed, so I assumed it was Dr. Pepper rip-off:

 

Brand: Dr. Wells Soda.

Origin: Jasper, IN.

Purchase Place: "Minnesota's Largest Candy Store," Jordan, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: I was right. This is a lot like Dr. Pepper, just a bit worse. It really tastes similar, but just has an extra "artificial" flavor at the end that makes it not as great. It was OK... I'll rank this right in the middle.

Score: 5 out of 10.

Bacon Soda to the Extreme

Rhett and Link made an entire meal out of bacon. At about the 2:07 mark, they pulled out the bacon soda (which is gross by itself - see this post to read my review), but then they made is SO MUCH WORSE...

If the embedded video doesn't work, click here to watch it on Facebook. 

Northern Soda Company's Vanilla Bean Root Beer

I opened this during class today:

 

Brand: Northern Soda Company's Vanilla Bean Root Beer.

Origin: Arden Hills, MN.

Purchase Place: Remix, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This was interesting from the first sip. Something about "vanilla bean" made me think it would be a bit smooth and creamy, but it wasn't - there's a slight sharpness to it. It made me pause, but it's not bad! There's also a slight fruitiness to it as well. This was very unique!

In the end, the "vanilla bean" flavor DOES come through, but not before a fruity flavor as well. At VERY first sip, I thought I wasn't going to like this, but even by the end of that first sip, I was on board. This is unique, both smooth and sharp, and has a great flavor.

Score: 8 out of 10.