Health-Ade SunSip Cream Soda

We were at Whole Foods this weekend, and I spotted a line of soda that had some sun sounding flavors. I grabbed this Cream Soda to drink in my office:

 

Brand: SunSip Cream Soda.

Origin: Terrance, CA.

Purchase Place: Whole Foods, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Agave Inulin, Monk Fruit Juice Extract, and Cane Sugar.

Review: So this is a "prebiotics" soda. I knew that going in. I tend to shy away from these as I don't like the "bite" of kombucha, and many lean in that direction. But we saw so many flavors of this brand that LOOKED good when we were at Whole Foods, so I wanted to give it a try. It only has 4 grams of sugar and 30 calories, as it has 2 other sweeteners before sugar. Would it be drinkable?...

... Barely.

The second ingredient is "apple juice," and that's NOT a flavor that you commonly expect to go with the smoothness of a cream soda. And guess what? It doesn't really work. It had a pungent KICK when I took my first sip. I got a little better as kept drinking, but it was still very SHARP for a cream soda (which is something I expect to be SMOOTH). The cream soda flavor was decent, but it was just really odd paired with the apple juice.

Bottom line: I didn't care for it. If you like cream soda AND kombucha, you could like this! It's not nearly as sharp as a normal kombucha, but it LEANS that way. Just not for me - too odd of a flavor combo. Apple juice and cream soda are not flavors that ever needed to be mixed. I need to stay away from these kinds of "sodas."

Score: 2.5 out of 10.

Liquid Death Killer Cola Flavored Sparkling Water

On Saturday, I stopped at "Five Below" with my son so he could shop for his girlfriend, and I grabbed a Liquid Death. On Sunday, I opened it while I cooked supper:

I was ready to "murder my thirst" as it says at the bottom.  ;)

 

Brand: Liquid Death Killer Cola Flavored Sparkling Water.

Origin: Los Angeles, CA.

Purchase Place: Five Below, Roseville, MN.

Sweetener: Agave Nectar and Stevia Leaf Extract.

Review: First of all, you have to note that it's a "flavored sparkling water" and not a "soda." It's not nearly as sweet as you'd expect a soda to be. But with both agave and stevia, it's still PLENTY sweet - it's not like a La Croix or something.

I don't know if I would have labeled this as a "cola" by just sipping it blindly. It had a real fruity / floral sweetness to it, and a bit of that "sharpness" that stevia tends to add. It wasn't a bad flavor, but it really wasn't what I'd say was "cola." In the end, I didn't care for the sharpness it had (even though it was only slightly carbonated which helped, because otherwise it would have been VERY "sharp"), and the flavor wasn't what I expected. The sweetness was good, so I'll give this a middle-of-the-road score.

Score: 5 out of 10.

Zevia Cherry Cola

I grabbed this while out earlier today:

Enjoying it in my car.

Brand: Zevia Cherry Cola.

Origin: Los Angeles, CA.

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

Sweetener: Stevia Leaf Extract.

Review: Over 7 years ago, I tried "Black Cherry Zevia" and just thought it was OK. (It was weird to me that it was clear.) Well, this was a cherry COLA (not just a SODA) which meant I expected it to be darker, but it was clear as well. This started strong, but it seemed to get worse the more I sipped on it. The cherry flavor wasn't nearly as refined as I expected it to be - it was a bit of an over-the-top child-like cherry. Overall, it wasn't bad, but had that sharpness from Zevia that I sometimes don't care for. I drank it all, but didn't care for it much by the end as it felt sharper and sharper. I'll rank this a bit lower than average.

Score: 4 out of 10.

Nixie Zero Sugar Root Beer

I grabbed this from Fresh Thyme earlier this week, and cracked it open last night:

Brand: Nixie Zero Sugar Root Beer.

Origin: Larkspur, CA.

Purchase Place: Fresh Thyme Farmer's Market, Minneapolis, MN.

Sweetener: Organic Stevia Leaf Extract.

Review: I was curious how this would taste after glancing at the ingredients list: it had vanilla listed pretty high (which I associate with a "smooth" or "creamy" root beer), but it also had ginger listed (which I associate with a root beer with more "bite"). 

It turns out that it was a bit heavier on the "bite" side, but not by much - it had a bit of a Barq's flavor, which is known for having a bite. But the ginger wasn't too heavy, and I appreciated that. There was still a bit of the smoothness from the vanilla, but then each sip ended with a little bite. Overall, it tasted "diet" because it was a bit watery and weak, but the flavor that was there was decent. Not a bad soda - better than I thought it was going to be!

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.

Whirly Pop Juicy Grape Soda

I opened this between classes today:

Brand: Whirly Pop Juicy Grape Soda.

Origin: San Bernardino, CA.

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

Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar.

Review: This was both pompus and child-like at the same time. The first ingredient was "carbonated artesian spring water" (which I've seen before, but not in a drink that seems really marketed towards kids), but there's a big kid-friendly lollipop on the front of the label. So it seems it's somewhere between being marketed to adults who want fancy ingredients (at least "fancy sounding") and kids with it's fun label.

Anyway, on to the flavor. It's not GREAT. It's not the strongest or the sweetest grape flavor - which I think means that even though there's a big lolli on the front, it seems to be marketed to adults. The flavor is a little fake and off. Not great, especially for a grape soda (which I think is a hard soda to screw up).

Score: 4 out of 10.

Gold Mine Root Beer

My boys and I spent 2 nights in a camper cabin at Afton State Park recently, and I brought a big bottle of root beer to share on our first evening there:

Ready for some root beer while playing Catan.

Large 22 oz wax-sealed bottle.

A nice detail on the side label: 5 of these will get you 1 free root beer.

I cut off the "bottom" of the wax seal before taking a few stabs at taking off the cap with my son's multi-tool.

       

Brand: Gold Mine Root Beer.

Origin: Camarillo, CA.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: We didn't know if this would be "fancy" as I remember it being a bit more expensive (and not just like twice as expensive because it's about twice the volume of a normal bottle). It didn't taste fancy, but it was pretty solid! It wasn't very smooth and creamy, but instead it was a root beer with a decent amount of "bite" to it. It wasn't exceptional, but it was a decent and tasty root beer, so I'll rank it just above average.

Score: 7 out of 10.

Diet Shasta Twist Lemon Lime

I tried my 2nd soda from Menards recently: 

Brand: Diet Shasta Twist Lemon Lime.

Origin: Hayward, CA.

Purchase Place: Menards, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Sucralose.

Review: This was a decent, tasty, crisp 7Up-like or Sprite-like lemon line soda. It was refreshing. I could have thought it was diet 7Up, only it's a bit heavier on the "lime" than most lemon lime sodas, which I quite enjoyed.

Score: 7.5 out of 10.

 

Diet Shasta Cola

At Menards last week, I grabbed these 2 cases:

Diet Shasta Cola and Diet Shasta Twist!

I tried this one first at work.

Brand: Diet Shasta Cola.

Origin: Hayward, CA.

Purchase Place: Menards, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Sucralose.

Review: This had more flavor than I expected! It had the extra sweetness like Diet Pepsi compared to Diet Coke, but then there was an extra almost cinnamon-like flavor. Honestly, it got to feel (taste) OVERLY sweet by the end of the can. But surprisingly good (for generic and for diet).

Score: 6 out of 10.

Butter Soda

This was a bad idea...

I grabbed my boys and they both tried a sip:

Brand: Rocket Fizz Butter Soda

Origin: Camarillo, CA.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: So it wasn't great. When I sniffed it, it first just smelled sweet like soda, but then there was a pretty spot-on butter smell. I can see what Henry meant when he said it was a little butterscotch-like as that sort of combines the flavors of "butter" and "sweetness," but it's not as good as butterscotch. It was fun to try, but not great to drink. True hits of butter, but then with a soda-like sweetness as well. Good for the butter lover in your life, and bad for everyone else.

Score: 2.5 out of 10.

Strawberry Vanilla Health-Ade Pop

I was at Whole Foods last night, and I saw these:

Is "last chance" a bad sign?...

I looked over the flavors, and I first thought about the "Apple Snap" on the left. But it was giving me kombucha vibes, and I'm not a fan of kombucha. So I went with the "Strawberry Vanilla:"

Brand: Strawberry Vanilla Health-Ade Pop.

Origin: Torrance, CA.

Purchase Place: Whole Foods, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: So there's still SLIGHT kombucha vibes here as the first ingredient is "organic fermented tea." But it's not as harsh and vinegar-heavy like kombucha is. (But there is a warning that there could be "small piece of culture" floating around.  NO THANKS.) There's only 35 calories in each can, so there's just a little sweetener. And there's also inulin which is supposed to be good for your lower gut.

At first sip, the sparkles hit hard, kind of like a La Croix. And there's a little kombucha-like tang, but it's subtle. The smooth vanilla mixes oddly with the sharpness of the carbonation. I'm left with more of an apple-like aftertaste, with not much strawberry flavor there. It's not bad... I thought it'd be worse. I still can't give this a GREAT score, but it's not horrible. My kombucha-loving wife would probably find this to be a little of a treat.

Score: 4.5 out of 10.

Melba's Fixins Strawberry Shortcake Soda

I opened this with my boys during supper last night: 

Brand: Melba's Fixins Strawberry Shortcake Soda.

Origin: Camarillo, CA.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: I've only had one other "Melba's Fixins" pseudo-novelty soda, and that was decent, so I had relatively high hopes for this. My boys and I sniffed it, and it DID smell like strawberry short cake. When drinking it, the first thing that hit was the creaminess - it was like a "cream soda." And the strawberry flavor was solid, but a bit subtle. The carbonation was a bit harsh, so it was like a cream soda that just had a little "bite" to it. In the end, we all agreed that it totally was a "strawberry shortcake soda." It was like a subtle strawberry flavored cream soda.

Score: 7 out of 10.

Olipop Classic Grape Sparkling Tonic

I opened this before class yesterday: 

 

Brand: Olipop Classic Grape Sparkling Tonic.

Origin: Oakland, CA.

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

Sweetener: Stevia and their "olismart" blend.

Review: Interestingly enough, this can contained 45 calories whereas their "cola" that I had last winter had 35 calories. This one had more fruit juice concentrates, so that must have been the difference: the cola just had apple and lime juice, but this had grape, apple, and lime. (Which makes the sugar content go from 2g to 4g.) But it had the same NINE grams of fiber added to it!

This was pretty good! It wasn't an overly sweet child-like grape soda (or "tonic" I suppose I should say). It was still tinted purple, but the flavor was a little deeper and almost "herbier" than a standard grape - there was more depth to it. I didn't get a bad aftertaste from the Stevia which happens with some drinks. This was a bit better than their cola in my mind! I'll need to keep exploring these tonics!

Score: 7 out of 10.

Tyler the Kid Sarsaparilla

I opened this with my boys last night: 

Brand: Tyler the Kid Sarsaparilla.

Origin: Camarillo, CA.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This was pretty good! If you had told me this was a root beer, I wouldn't have balked. It's just a little more herbaceous than root beer. There was a nice vanilla flavor, and then a bit of a wintergreen kick at the end. Pretty decent overall!   

Score: 7.5 out of 10.

Labrador Root Beer Butterscotch Soda

I was downloading files at one of the colleges where I teach this afternoon, and I brought this with me: 

Nuthin' says "champion of the USA" like a shotgun shell!  ;)

     

Brand: Labrador Root Beer Butterscotch Soda.

Origin: Camarillo, CA.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: At first sniff, the butterscotch was subtle, so I started thinking this might be decent. And I was right! The butterscotch isn't overpowering, and the root beer is really smooth and really creamy. It's a bit strong on the wintergreen, but that wasn't a horrible thing here - I think it balances out the butterscotch a bit. My only possible complaint is that it could be TOO creamy. It's NOT a traditional root beer, but it tasted pretty good. Worth a try!

Score: 8 out of 10.

Looks Like Orange Tastes Like Grape Soda

I opened this while cooking last night: 

I don't know what's with the eyeball...

Brand: Looks Like Orange Tastes Like Grape Soda.

Origin: Gardena, CA.

Purchase Place: Blue Sun Soda, Bloomington, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: Yes, that's the name of the soda. "Looks Like Orange Tastes Like Grape." Guess what? The title says it all. It's a pretty nostalgic grape flavor that's relatively sweet. Nothing fancy here, but just a decent orange-colored grape soda. For some reason.

Score: 8 out of 10.

Olipop Vintage Cola Sparkling Tonic

I was in Kowalski's with my family this weekend, and my wife spotted this: 

Check out that huge ingredients list!

Brand: Olipop Vintage Cola Sparkling Tonic.

Origin: Oakland, CA.

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

Sweetener: Stevia.

Review: So this is marketed saying that it's a "soda that's actually good for you." Well, I don't really buy that, but they're just trying to add things to soda while not adding too much sugar. That's the simple version. There's just 2 grams of sugar (they used Stevia), and they've added prebiotics and fiber... yes, NINE grams of FIBER... to the can.

So how does it all taste? Honestly, better than I thought it would. With the prebiotics and apple juice and fiber and all of those roots, I expected this to taste a bit like licking a hippies armpit. Like a bad kombucha. But it had a lot of deep flavors. It was herby and almost a bit smokey at times. The cola flavor was similar to "Bottle Caps" cola, which is not a bad thing. I don't care for the aftertaste of Stevia, and maybe that was the biggest downside to this soda. SUPER unique, and I'll gladly try some of their other flavors even though I didn't absolutely LOVE this.

Score: 6 out of 10.

 

Beefdrinker Teriyaki Beef Jerky Soda

On our summer vacation recently, I opened this to share with family: 

On the railing of our (rented) cabin.

First of all, I was ready for this to be gross.  I mean, obviously. I liked the tagline on the bottom of the label: "For that deep carnivore thirst." Nice. I poured out sips for everyone to try:

My son smiled saying it wasn't too bad.

My nephew wasn't sure what to think.

My brother-in-law didn't mind it.

My niece was the only one who didn't really care for it.

Brand: Beefdrinker Teriyaki Beef Jerky Soda.

Origin: Gardena, CA.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: As far as novelty sodas go, this wasn't too bad! It wasn't overly smokey or salty, which were 2 of my worries. My nephew described the flavor PERFECTLY: he said it tasted like what Cheeseburger Hamburger Helper powder smells like. And that was spot on. My brother-in-law noted after his first sip that it reminded him of some kind of cream soda, and that wasn't a bad point either. As I sipped more and more, it started tasting more and more like beef. In the end, it wasn't really all that tasty, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be, so I'm calling this "3.5 out of 10" soda a "win" in my book.

Score: 3.5 out of 10.

Second Opinion Soda

This was a weird bottle:

Brand: Second Opinion Soda.

Origin: Gardena, CA.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: The tagline on the front of the bottle is "we do it right the second time." And there's a big speech bubble coming out of the duck that says "It is hereby recommended that for effective quenching of your thirst along with opportunity for refreshment and an invigorating experience that you consume this beverage immediately if not sooner; you may experience a prehistoric euphoria reminiscent of a time when delicious beverages in glass bottles were not yet extinct." It seems to be a bit snobbish as if glass bottle sodas don't exist and it wasn't in a soda shop surrounded by thousands of other glass bottles. It turned me off right away. 

But how did it taste? Well, after a sip, I determined it to be some sort of cola (because that wasn't listed anywhere on the bottle). It's flavor seemed a bit watered down, but it had a nice fruity kick to it - the way many decent colas taste. It's nothing special, but a decent (oddly bottled) cola.

Score: 7 out of 10.

 

Zevia Strawberry Soda

Well, I didn't MEAN to do 2 strawberry reviews back-to-back, but I just happened to be at Whole Foods a few days ago, and this soda caught my eye:

Brand: Zevia Strawberry Soda.

Origin: Los Angeles, CA.

Purchase Place: Whole Foods, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Stevia Leaf Extract.

Review: I've generally not cared for Zevia sodas as they all seem a little weak, but this was WAY better than last week's strawberry soda. It still has a similar complaint to other Zevia sodas in that it tastes SLIGHTLY "sharp," but it's not bad here - it's not overpowering. This is decently sweet for a Zevia soda. The strawberry flavor is nice and almost "fresh" (well... as "fresh" as strawberry "flavor" can be). This was nice on a warm afternoon - refreshing and tasty! And therefore it gets my highest Zevia score to date...

Score: 7 out of 10.