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.

Yacht Club Hillary's Liberal Limeade

Here's the 2nd part of my "Donald vs Hillary" drink off:

(In case you missed it, here's part 1 from Tuesday. I tried both sodas at the same time to compare them head-to-head.)

Brand: Yacht Club Hillary's Liberal Limeade.

Origin: Centredale, RI.

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

Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar.

Review: Donald's was a bit sharper, but Hillary's was sweeter. The limeade flavor had a refreshing kick.  It was pretty good, but I couldn't get over just HOW unnaturally neon it was. It tasted like a fun summer drink. My wife and 2 boys both thought Hillary was better (my oldest son noting that it was sweeter), but I HONESTLY was pretty split. Donald maybe have better "adult" flavor, and Hillary was a "sweeter" sipper. I'm not trying to ride the political fence here, but I'm giving them the exact same score.

Score: 6.5 out of 10.

Frostie Cherry Limeade Soda

This sounded a bit suspicious...

Brand: Frostie Cherry Limeade Soda.

Origin: Detroit, Michigan.

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

Sweetener: High Fructose Corn Syrup and/or Sugar. (I hate labels like this - do they not know what's in there?!?)

Review: This was OK. It wasn't fantastic, but it was a good sugary soda. The "cherry" part of the "cherry limeade" tasted pretty good, but there was something oddly artificial about the "limeade" part. I didn't care for the sharpness in that. I'd have it again, but it was nothing special. I'll see how I feel about Frostie Root Beer when I have that in a few days...

Score: 6.5 out of 10.

A Soda Surprise from my Parents

My parents came up last month to celebrate my birthday. They brought a surprise.

12 sodas (and a drawing from my nephew to the right)

Mom was proud of herself (and she SHOULD be!). She went to my post about getting sodas in Burnsville, she wrote down what I got there, and she made sure to pick other kinds when they stopped by the Frattallone's Ace Hardware on Grand Avenue here in St. Paul (near Macalester College). There were 4 sodas that I've had in the past (2 from "Minnesota's Largest Candy Store" and 2 ordered online), but 3 were good, so I'll be enjoying them again.

PREVIOUSLY DRANK:
- Triple XXX Root Beer
- Barons Boothill Sarsaparilla (my least favorite of these 4)
- Spring Grove Black Cherry (drank before starting this blog)
- Spring Grove Grape (drank before starting this blog)

ROOT BEER:
- Mason's Root Beer
- Barrel Brothers Root Beer
- Dang! That's Good Butterscotch Root Beer
- Berghoff Root Beer

OTHER SODAS:
- Saranac Shirley Temple
- Jolt Cherry Bomb (2x caffeine)
- Frostie Cherry Limeade Soda
- Always Ask for Avery's Zombie Brain Juice (Strawberry Orange)

So I'll be sipping from my TWO different Frattallone's Ace stashes for the next few months. Check back to see what I think!