Premium Frostop Black Cherry Soda

I grabbed this at the hardware store as I was picking up something to help make Mother's Day presents last week:

 
Brand: Premium Frostop Black Cherry Soda.

Origin: Columbus, OH.

Purchase Place: Frattallone's Ace Hardware, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: High Fructose Corn Sweetener and Cane Sugar.

Review: This is not a black cherry "cola" but just a black cherry "soda." It was VERY sweet and almost a little syrupy. My wife doesn't like things that sweet/syrupy, so I thought she'd make a face when she tried this... but she said it was pretty good. It's a heavy soda: heavy on the sweetness and heavy on the black cherry flavor. But the flavor was good! If you don't mind them a little extra sweet, give this a try.

Score: 8 out of 10.

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.

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.

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.

Gray's Brewing Company Black Cherry Soda

I opened this earlier tonight while working in the kitchen:

Brand: Gray's Brewing Company Black Cherry Soda.

Origin: Janesville, WI.

Purchase Place: Blue Sun Soda, Bloomington, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This was really creamy. I had to re-look at the label because I expected it to say "Black Cherry CREAM." It's not a Black Cherry COLA which is what I think I was expecting initially. The flavor was really deep and strong and almost a little grape-like. (Had you told me it was grape, I would have believed you!) My 10-year-old son loved it too, but my wife thought it was a little too Nyquil-esque. (But I love a sugary soda!) Solid tasty soda!

Score: 8.5 out of 10.

Northern Soda Company Black Cherry Soda

Three non-bottle reviews in a row?!? Yep. I had my second (and final) can from last weekend's Kowalski's trip:

Brand: Northern Soda Company Black Cherry Soda.

Origin: Arden Hills, MN.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This was really good! Just a solid and deep flavored black cherry. I was surprised when I poured out a sip for my boys and saw it was nearly clear (just the slightest pink tint!). I thought it was a bit on the sweet side, but my wife (who hates overly sweet things) thought it was quite tasty. There's nothing special about this, but it tastes really good! Solid soda!

Score: 8.5 out of 10.

Manhattan Special Black Cherry

I opened this tonight after a big day: 

 

Brand: Manhattan Special Black Cherry.  

Origin: Brooklyn, NY.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This had a unique flavor. I sipped it before I looked at the ingredients, and then I noticed it has "vegetable juice for color" as the 3rd ingredient, and I swear I can taste that. It has a "natural/earthiness" to it. The black cherry flavor is somewhere between "black cherry" (but not quite) and some sort of "cherry cream" (but also not quite). It's a unique flavor that I have to give them credit for (they weren't just doing "another black cherry" soda), but not quite my thing. It was just OK.

Score: 5.5 out of 10.

Virgil's Handcrafted Black Cherry Soda

I opened this while in a little motel in Grand Marais recently (after picking it up at the local coop): 

On the stove of our little motel room on the North Shore.

Brand: Virgil's Handcrafted Black Cherry Soda.

Origin: Norwalk, CT.

Purchase Place: Cook County Whole Foods Co-Op, Grand Marais, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This was quite rich. "Cough-syrup-like" as my wife said. It was sweet and tasty. It was NEARLY a "black cherry CREAM soda" as it was so creamy. That was the one thing I actually didn't care for that much. Other than that, it was pretty good! (If you like a sugary soda...)

Score: 6.5 out of 10.

Twig's Diet Black Cherry Soda

I just stopped at "Minnesota's Largest Candy Store" to refresh my soda stash (I might post about that soon), and I only have a few "old" sodas to finish before I get to crack into my "new" ones. Here was was on the old ones that was hiding in the corner of a case: 

Brand: Twig's Diet Black Cherry Soda

Origin: Shawano, WI.

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

Sweetener: Sucralose.

Review: This has a decent black cherry flavor at first, but each sip ends a little weakly (as you'd expect with a diet soda). So it tastes diet, but it's not bad. The black cherry is a bit sharp, but it's good. If this wasn't diet, I'd rate it around average, but I'm giving it an extra point for having decent flavor and still being diet.

Score: 6 out of 10.

Blue Sky Black Cherry Soda

My boys and I brought another one of the Blue Sky Sodas that my wife bought me on a recent trip up to Itasca State Park: 

On the porch table outside of our "four seasons" cabin at Lake Itasca.

Brand: Blue Sky Black Cherry Soda.

Origin: Tustin, CA.

Purchase Place: Mississippi Market, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Invert Cane Sugar.

Review: I've made this mistake before: when I took a sip, I was surprised that it was a CLEAR and NON-COLA "black cherry." That's my own issue - I just see "black cherry" and assume cola for some reason. Once I was past that, it had a pretty decent flavor. It seemed a LITTLE weak, but I think I was just visualizing that it was clear, and it was affecting me. It was good, but nothing special. I'll rank it just over average.

Score: 6 out of 10.

Root Naturals Black Cherry Soda

I opened this FANCY-looking bottle tonight:

Brand: Root Naturals Black Cherry Soda

Origin: Cincinnati, Ohio. 

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: When I took my first sip, I thought there was a slight "sharpness"that I didn't care for. Then I looked at the ingredients and saw "juice blend (cherry, pear, black current, carrot)" listed. It was a hint of pear that I wasn't ready for! It wasn't bad - I just wasn't expecting it and didn't like it at first. Once I identified it as pear, we were good to go.

It's not very sweet, and the flavors are relatively subtle. It's VERY MUCH an "adult" soda that's not overly sugary, and you know me: I usually like things pretty sugary. But, this was unique, pretty tasty, and definitely worth a try if you don't need a super sugary soda.

Score: 7.5 out of 10.
 

Olde Brooklyn Brighton Beach Black Cherry Soda

I opened this last night and shared a few sips with my boys:

Brand: Olde Brooklyn Brighton Beach Black Cherry Soda.

Origin: Whitestone, NY.

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

Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar.

Review: This is really interesting because it starts VERY creamy, but then each sip ends with a bit of a "bite." It's unusual to have both those sensations in the same soda. It's just a basic (but tasty) creamy black cherry soda. I'm a bit surprised that it's not labeled as "black cherry CREAM." It's a solid soda!

Score: 8 out of 10.
 

Henry Weinhard's Black Cherry Cream

I celebrated a final "work week" before finals with a soda in class today:

Before any of my students showed up. Obviously.

Brand: Henry Weinhard's Black Cherry Cream.

Origin: Fort Worth, TX.

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

Sweetener: Sucrose.

Review: This was QUITE creamy. I think I may have tasted the creaminess before actually tasting the black cherry. It was nearly too much. The black cherry part of it had a good deep flavor, but it was paired with this intense creaminess. I don't think it was bad, but it was just a bit more than I expected. I didn't "chug" this, but it was very "sip-able" throughout the morning in my classroom. Not bad. Different. CREAMY.

Score: 6.5 out of 10.

Lift Bridge Black Cherry Soda

We grabbed this from Lund's in Minneapolis last night:

Brand: Lift Bridge Black Cherry Soda

Origin: Stillwater, MN.

Purchase Place: Lund's, Minneapolis, MN (St. Anthony Main area).

Sweetener: Natural Sugar.

Review: I've generally enjoyed Lift Bridge sodas in their extra large cans (and I like that they are made just outside of the Twin Cities here in MN), so I was excited to try this. And it lived up to my expectations. I had to re-look at the label 2 times to make sure it didn't say "Black Cherry CREAM" because it had a very creamy flavor. Trying to remove the "creamy" flavor from my mind while tasting, the black cherry is pretty average, but that's not a bad thing. It's a tasty, creamy black cherry soda.

Score: 8 out of 10.

Polly's Pop Black Cherry

Last night, I opened this while cleaning the kitchen:

Brand: Polly's Pop Black Cherry.

Origin: Independence, MO.

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

Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar.

Review: This sure wasn't a black cherry "cola" - this was just a black cherry "pop" as the brand name implies. It was pretty smooth and just a bit creamy. Nothing remarkable, but pretty tasty. It went down easy.

Score: 6.5 out of 10.

Dead World Royal Rotter Black Cherry Soda

Happy New Year to you in 2019! I had to celebrate by cracking into a soda. This afternoon, I opened this:

Brand: Dead World Royal Rotter Black Cherry Soda.

Origin: Detroit, MI.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This was pretty "thick" - it was relatively syrupy. And that's not something I usually mind. It definitely leaned towards the "cough syrup" end of the cherry soda spectrum. It was smooth and think with a pretty deep black cherry flavor. Not bad, but not great, and nothing unique. Just a decent black cherry.

Score: 6.5 out of 10.

Yacht Club Black Cherry

I opened this tonight while I was gathering some files at work:

Brand: Yacht Club Black Cherry.

Origin: Centredale, Rhode Island.

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

Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar.

Review: This had a lot of KICK for a black cherry soda. It wasn't necessarily a fantastic flavor, but it was a lot of it - it COMMITTED to a flavor, which I can respect. A little odd chemically taste at the end, so it wasn't the best. Still, not horrible. I'll rate it just below average.

Score: 4.5 out of 10.

Fireman's Brew Black Cherry Soda

This was my 2nd "Fireman's Brew" soda in a month. (I'd picked up a few the last time I was at the Blue Sun Soda Shop)

Brand: Fireman's Brew Black Cherry Soda.

Origin: Inyokern, CA.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This was pretty smooth - almost TOO smooth. I would have called this a "black cherry CREME soda" if it were up to me. The black cherry was strong and about spot-on. Not a bad soda, just quite smooth.

Score: 6.5 out of 10.

Dead World Royal Rotter Soda

I'm grading projects right now, and I just cracked into this:

Brand: Dead World Royal Rotter (Black Cherry) Soda

Origin: Detroit, MI.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This was pretty good from the start. Surprisingly good. The black cherry flavor was deep and smooth. This went down fast. No big complaints about this - it was good!

Score: 9 out of 10.

IBC Black Cherry

I opened this earlier today:

Brand: IBC Black Cherry.

Origin: Plano, TX.

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

Sweetener: High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Review: This was good! It was pretty sweet, but not TOO sweet. The black cherry flavor was quite deep and full, and it had a nice extra bite at the start of each sip. Good soda!

Score: 8 out of 10.