Ramune Original Flavor

I was at HyVee earlier today, and I found this in the Asian Foods aisle:

 

Brand: Ramune Original Flavor.

Origin: Japan.

Purchase Place: HyVee, Eagan, MN.

Sweetener: High Fructose Corn Syrup and Sugar.

Review: "Original Flavor..." what's that? I don't always do well with "mystery" flavors. After the fun task of opening these special bottles, I took a sip. I first thought it was some sort of fruit flavor, but I quickly realized that it's very "bubble gum" favored. My boys both agreed as well. It was very sweet... really TOO sweet. It was good, but I happy it was only 6.7 oz because it was a lot of sugary goodness. It was OK, but just a bit too much sweetness. Between the fun way to open the bottle and the super sweet soda inside, this would be great for a kid... but not an adult.

Score: 4 out of 10.

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.

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.

Goody Red Pop

I brought this to a board meeting last night:

Brand: Goody Red Pop.

Origin: Mukilteo, WA.

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

Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar.

Review: I didn't know what flavor "red" was. But it was very bubble-gum-esque. It was a bit too sugary, and tasted like a kids drink. But I guess that was too be expected. Not bad, but just not stellar either.

Score: 5 out of 10.

Rowdy Roddy Piper Bubble Gum Soda

Pro wrestler "Rowdy" Roddy Piper passed away 3 days ago. In his honor, I thought I'd review his bubble gum soda:

Brand: Rowdy Roddy Piper Bubble Gum Soda.

Origin: Camarillo, CA.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: Solid bubble gum flavor. But really, really sweet. It's super sugary. Kids might really like this. I tend to like pretty sugary sodas, but this is just too much.

Score: 3 out of 10.