The Pop Shoppe Lime Ricky

I opened this last night with supper: 

Brand: The Pop Shoppe Lime Ricky

Origin: Ontario, Canada.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This was appropriately tart. It was more tart than just a lime soda - if you want just a "lime" soda, this won't be what you're after. The tartness adds a nice layer to this. It's still sweet, but then that sweetness it cut with that little tart. Nothing special, but a decent soda!

Score: 6 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.

The Pop Shoppe Root Beer

My wife recently grabbed 2 bottles of soda for me at Lunds and called them my Valentine's Day present (I'm not complaining, as it was more than I got her - we don't do Valentine's Day). Here was the first one I cracked into: 

Brand: The Pop Shoppe Root Beer.

Origin: Ontario, Canada.

Purchase Place: Lunds & Byerlys, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This was decent! It had a deep almost smokey flavor that was quite smooth. It did little to stand out from other root beers, but it was relatively classic flavor (maybe a slightly modern take on a classic root beer, but nothing drastically different). 

(And whooooa... this makes 5 out of the last 8 posts being root beer related! Nice!)

Score: 6.5 out of 10.

Bull's Head Root Beer

I opened this yesterday afternoon as I was painting my living room:

My living room is all plastic and paint fumes.

Brand: Bull's Head Root Beer.

Origin: Canada.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: I wanted to like this so badly, but I just didn't. It wasn't good. But listen: it MIGHT be for you. It had a SUPER woodsy, earthy, and herby taste that was just too much for me. Some people might like it that strong, but it wasn't for me. It had such a unique bite because of that flavor but it was a "miss" for my palate. I'm giving it an extra point because it tried so hard. 

Score: 3 out of 10.

Jones Grape Soda

The grocery store in Alexandria (Elden's) had a sale on Jones soda on an end-cap:

So I grabbed two. The first one I opened was grape at the cabin:

Brand: Jones Grape Soda

Origin: Made in Canada.

Purchase Place: Elden's Grocery Store, Alexandria, MN.

Sweetener: Inverted Cane Sugar. 

Review: This was OK. It was a little “sharper” than I’d prefer, when I hoped it was smoother. It wasn’t bad, but it didn’t have the best flavor. Overall, just a bit lower than average.

Score: 4 out of 10.

Jones Birthday Cake Soda

I'm sipping on this during class right now:

Brand: Jones Birthday Cake Soda

Origin: Made in Canada.

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

Sweetener: Inverted Cane Sugar.

Review: Oh my God. It tastes like a sugary fun-fetti birthday cake. For real. I *like* sweet sodas, but this is too sweet to drink. It's a sipping soda for sure. If you like sweet cake/frosting like at a kids birthday party, you'll be happy with this. If you sometimes think some sodas are too sweet, this might be one of them. Good flavor, but a bit too sweet.

Score: 6 out of 10.

Fentimans Rose Lemonade

My son and I were in Lunds the other day when I stopped by the cold soda section:

I popped it open on the ride home.

I've had a lot of Fentimans "interesting" sodas in the past, but this one was just not good.


Brand: Fentimans Rose Lemonade.

Origin: Burnaby, BC, Canada.

Purchase Place: Lunds, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Sugar and Glucose Syrup.

Review: It smelled like a sweet Lemonade. But it tasted like Lemon Pledge furniture polish. Really. Read that again: it tasted like Lemon Pledge. Nothing about that is a good thing. It was slightly drinkable in small, small sips, but any "normal" sip was horrible. I didn't finish the bottle.

Score: 1.5 out of 10.

Fentimans Ginger Beer

I've enjoyed a number of Fentimans Sodas over the past few months, and the other day I tried their Ginger Beer:

In the snow that we just got here in MN.

Brand: Fentimans Ginger Beer.

Origin: Burnaby, BC, Canada.

Purchase Place: Lunds Grocery Store, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar and Glucose Syrup.

Review: This had a good smell and a nice cola / ginger flavor with the first sip. I was pleasantly surprised. But then came the really harsh and sharp ginger bite to the back of my throat. That sharp sharp sharp bite was too much for me, and I could only sip this. The initial flavor is REALLY good, so I'm giving this higher marks than I normally would. But that bite at the end is too much for me. If you like cola and a BIG ginger bite, then try this soda.

Score: 4 out of 10.

The Pop Shoppe Cream Soda

I grabbed this from the basement fridge because I thought it was a cherry soda… then I noticed it was a cream soda:

No bonus points for the unique bottle, even if it is cute.

Brand: The Pop Shoppe Cream Soda.

Origin: Ontario, Canada.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This was VERY smooth and creamy - almost to a fault. It was syrupy and sugary. The red color kept throwing me off - it DID just taste like "cream soda," but at times I thought I tasted cherry (but that was just due to the color). If you like smooth, creamy, and sugary, then try this. If you like a little kick or a little bite, this isn't for you.

Score: 7 out of 10.

The Pop Shoppe Root Beer

Time to crack into another root beer from my recent stop at MN's Largest Candy Store:

Brand: The Pop Shoppe Root Beer.

Origin: Ontario, Canada.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: Very smooth and an INCREDIBLY frothy head, but too much carmel flavor for me. That's about all. Decent, but could be better. I'm giving it an average score.

Score: 5 out of 10.

Fentimans Curiosity Cola

"Curiosity Cola" - that intrigued me.

I saw one of the ingredients was "fermented ginger root," and I wasn't sure what I would think of this. I like a little ginger bite, but not TOO much.


Brand: Fentimans Curiosity Cola.

Origin: Burnaby, BC, Canada.

Purchase Place: Lunds Grocery Store, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This was a bit better than I thought it would be. The ginger is pretty subtle, but it adds a nice different bite to it over traditional cola. The cola flavor itself is a little subdued and not very overpowering at all - in fact, the cola flavor could be stronger. There's a another sharp, crisp, almost citrus-like flavor that I think comes from the juniper. If you like colas that have a little something different to offer, check out Fentimans Curiosity Cola.

Score: 7.5 out of 10.

Fentimans Full Bodied Shandy

I didn't know what a "Shandy" was until I looked it up. Was it a man named Randy who underwent sexual reassignment surgery to become Sandy but got stuck somewhere in the middle?

No, I found out it was not.

According to Wikipedia, a Shandy is "beer mixed with a soft drink, carbonated lemonade, ginger beer, ginger ale, or apple juice. The proportions of the two ingredients are adjusted to taste, usually half-and-half."

Fentimans Shandy is 70% de-alcoholized beer mixed with lemon juice. Sounds weird. How would it taste?

Brand: Fentimans Full Bodied Shandy.

Origin: Burnaby, BC, Canada.

Purchase Place: Lunds Grocery Store, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Granulated Sugar.

Review: I'm not a huge fan of beer, but this was refreshing and pretty tasty. If you like beer, I'm not sure if you'll LIKE this soda (because it tastes a bit like beer) or if you'll NOT LIKE this (because it tastes just a little like beer, but it's not beer). It tastes like a thin summer beer. It's definitely a different flavor for a soda, but it wasn't bad.

Score: 7 out of 10.

Fentimans Cherrytree Cola

I bought this because I liked the label:

This earned an extra half point for being in a 9 oz bottle - I don't always need 12 or 16 ozs, and the 9 oz bottle was nice.

Brand: Fentimans Cherrytree Cola.

Origin: Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada.

Purchase Place: Lunds Grocery Store, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: The cherry was very "deep" and dark. I'd nearly consider it a black cherry flavor. There's not a ton of carbonation, and there's a nice bite. I was trying to think of how to describe the bite before I looked at the ingredients list. It turns out the 2nd ingredient (after carbonated water) is fermented ginger root extracts. I'm not a huge fan of a big ginger bite in my sodas, but this was relatively subtle. I'd try this again.

Score: 8 out of 10.