Avery's Fungal Fruit

I brought this with me to my office today:

 

Brand: Avery's Fungal Fruit.

Origin: New Britain, Connecticut.

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

Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar.

Review: Yes, that's rotten fruit on the label. Yippie. As always with these "novelty" flavors, I'm happy when they actually note what the flavor is SUPPOSED to be on the bottle: this "fungal fruit" was really pink passion fruit and lime. I made it a point to NOT look at that until AFTER I tried my first sip, and I got a weak "fruity lime" flavor from that initial sip. The flavor isn't very strong, and it's also not very sugary. It tastes a BIT more "adult" than I expected - I thought this would be strong and possibly really sweet, but it's not. The lime flavor is fine, but this needs a little more of a kick of something. It's just a bit lacking. Ranking it just below average.

Score: 4 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.

Schooners Sarsaparilla

I opened this tonight: 

Brand: Schooners Sarsaparilla

Origin: Mystic, CT.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This had a pretty root-beer-like flavor, and was heavy on the anise. It's a BIT too much anise for me, but it was decent. The flavor was deep, but just not totally for me. I can't really verbalize what I didn't care about it, but it wasn't bad! I'm glad they were TRYING something and not just being generic.

Score: 6 out of 10.

 

Hosmer Mountain Beverages Diet Root Beer

I opened this just before class this afternoon:

Brand: Hosmer Mountain Beverages Diet Root Beer.

Origin: Willimantic, CT.

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

Sweetener: Fructose and Aspartame.

Review: This wasn't that great. First of all, it had that "thin" flavor that many diet sodas have. Secondly, it had a burnt caramel flavor to it that was not appealing at all. Luckily, that flavor wasn't too bad because it didn't have much flavor. This was not very drinkable and well below average.

Score: 2.5 out of 10.

Hosmer Cola-Blue

I cracked into this while cooking recently:

Brand: Hosmer Cola-Blue.

Origin: Willimantic, CT.

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

Sweetener: High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Review: This was a typical "good" cola. It had a deep flavor with a strong slightly fruity aftertaste. It was pretty good, but pretty much like other decent colas.

Score: 6.5 out of 10.

Hosmer Mountain White Birch Beer

As we were doing a lot of cooking last night, I opened this:

Brand: Hosmer Mountain White Birch Beer.

Origin: Willimantic, CT.

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

Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar.

Review: This was good! If I wasn't told it was a "white birch beer," I would have called it a clear root beer. It tasted like a rich root beer that was heavy on the anise (but not TOO heavy). My boys tried sips of this too, and they loved it. I really don't have any complaints! I'm ranking this quite high!

Score: 9.5 out of 10!
 

Hosmer Mountain Black Cherry Soda

I opened this yesterday on my birthday:

Brand: Hosmer Mountain Black Cherry Soda.

Origin: Willimantic, CT.

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

Sweetener: High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Review: This was OK, but not amazing. It had a decent flavor, and ALMOST verged on "black cherry CREAM." Nothing exciting, but was decent. I'll rate it just barely above average.

Score: 6 out of 10.

Foxon Park Diet White Birch Soda

I cracked into this last night after a big week of class:

Brand: Foxon Park Diet White Birch Soda.

Origin: East Haven, Connecticut.

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

Sweetener: Aspartame.

Review: This smelled a lot like root beer. It tasted like a creamy, weak root beer with lots of carbonation. It had the typical diet soda issue: the flavor was weak. It wasn't bad, but it was nothing special. I'll give this an average score.

Score: 5 out of 10.

Foxon Park Strawberry Soda

I brought this to class with me recently:

Brand: Foxon Park Strawberry Soda.

Origin: East Haven, Connecticut.

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

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This "exploded" more than any other soda I've had when I opened it - it was like it was super carbonated. The strawberry flavor was nice and subtle, not overwhelming. It was sweet and subdued overall, but not too sweet - it was a good "adult" soda without being nasty and dry. Simple and nice. I didn't think I'd care for this a ton, but this was enjoyable.

Score: 6.5 out of 10.

Hosmer Root Beer

I enjoyed this between my classes last week:

On my "instructor station" at class.

Brand: Hosmer Root Beer.

Origin: Willimantic, CT.

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

Sweetener: High Fructose Corn Sweetener.

Review: This was really smooth and creamy. There's a bit of a caramel hint that just nearly verges on being too much for me. If you like a bit of caramel in a smooth root beer, then give this a try. It was pretty decent.

Score: 7.5 out of 10.

Always Ask for Avery's Dog Drool

After a decent "gross" soda yesterday, it was time to try another:

With fruit pizza and my sister in the background at the cabin.

Brand: Always Ask for Avery's Dog Drool.

Origin: New Britain, Connecticut.

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

Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar.

Review: This was better than the "Kitty Piddle" that I just had. It tasted like a nice crisp carbonated lemonade. The "orange" part of the "orange lemon" flavor was subtle. Perfect for a summer night.

Score: 6.5 out of 10.

Always Ask for Avery's Kitty Piddle

Still on vacation! I brought these 2 "fun" sodas to share with my 5 and 7-year-old niece and nephew:

In our cabin on Lake Mary.

The first one we tried was the "Kitty Piddle," so this review will be about that.

At the supper table with my Dad in the background.

Brand: Always Ask for Avery's Kitty Piddle.

Origin: New Britain, Connecticut.

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

Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar.

Review: This was pretty refreshing. It tastes like the flavor on the label: pineapple orange. It was pretty sweet and had a nice amount of carbonation. It's nothing fancy, but it was refreshing (with grilled brats for supper at the cabin). I'll give it a middle-of-the-road average score.

Score: 5 out of 10.

Foxon Park Draft Style Root Beer

As I was doing a lot of cooking the other day, I pulled out a root beer from the basement fridge:

Cutting up a butternut squash in the background.

Brand: Foxon Park Draft Style Root Beer.

Origin: East Haven, Connecticut.

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

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This had that pretty classic "draft" taste (it BETTER have that - it was in the title). It had a lot of flavor - there was a strong taste of anise and wintergreen. It was good. If you like a "strongly" flavored root beer, then check this out.

Score: 8 out of 10.

Avery's Gold Coin Root Beer

Time for a root beer:

Brand: Avery's Gold Coin Root Beer.

Origin: New Britain, Connecticut.

Purchase Place: Frattallones Ace Hardware, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: High Fructose Corn Syrup and Sugar.

Review: This was a pretty classic-tasting Root Beer. It was pretty smooth with just a little bite. It was a bit creamy with a little vanilla flavor. Classic, tasty, nothing too strange or "out there."

Score: 8 out of 10.

Hosmer Mountain Sarsaparilla Root Beer

I opened this up earlier this week:

Brand: Hosmer Mountain Sarsaparilla Root Beer.

Origin: Willimantic, CT.

Purchase Place: Frattallones Ace Hardware, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Sugar and Brown Sugar.

Review: It says "Sarsaparilla." It says "Root Beer." Well which is it? It definitely was a Root Beer. It had a good vanilla flavor and was verging on creamy, but it was just a bit too weak and watered down. The flavor was good… there just needed to be MORE of it. Or it needed to hit a little harder. This was OK.

Score: 6 out of 10.

Avery's Zombie Brain Juice

We recently got back from a family vacation on a lake in Alexandria, MN. When we packed for the trip, I made sure to bring a few sodas.  This was the first one I cracked into:

Brand: Avery's Zombie Brain Juice (strawberry orange).

Origin: New Britain, Connecticut.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: The first sip was very "mandarin orange." My wife said it tasted like a sugary wine cooler (something I don't know a ton about). It didn't taste bad even though the bottle said "Totally Gross Soda - It's SODAsgusting." (Which is cute.) It was pretty sweet - even a bit for me, and I like sugary. But the flavor was alright.

Score: 7 out of 10.